John Calvin Commentary 1 Timothy 4:6

"If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast followed [until now]:" — 1 Timothy 4:6 (ASV)

Exhibiting these things to the brethren. By this expression, he exhorts Timothy to mention these things frequently; and he later repeats this a second and a third time, for they are things of such a nature that it is proper to recall them frequently.

We should also make the contrast that is implied, for the doctrine he commends is contrasted here not with false or wicked doctrines, but with useless trifles that do not edify. He wishes that those trifles be entirely buried in forgetfulness when he instructs Timothy to be earnest in teaching other things.

Thou shalt be a good minister. People frequently aim at something other than commending themselves to Christ; consequently, many desire to be applauded for genius, eloquence, and profound knowledge. That is the very reason they pay less attention to necessary things, which do not tend to gain the admiration of the common people.

But Paul instructs Timothy to be satisfied with this alone: to be a faithful minister of Christ. And certainly, we should regard this as a far more honorable title than to be called "seraphic and subtle doctors" a thousand times. Therefore, let us remember that, as it is the highest honor for a godly pastor to be considered a good servant of Christ, he should aim at nothing else during his entire ministry.

For whoever has any other object in view may obtain applause from men, but will not please God. Accordingly, so that we are not deprived of so great a blessing, let us learn to seek nothing else, consider nothing as valuable, and treat everything as worthless in comparison with this single object.

Nourished. The Greek word ἐντρεφόμενος, being a participle in the Middle Voice, might also have been translated in an active sense, nourishing. However, as there is no noun governed by the verb, I think this would be a rather forced construction. Therefore, I prefer to take it in a passive sense, as confirming the preceding exhortation by Timothy's education. It is as if he had said, “As you have been properly instructed in the faith from your infancy and, so to speak, have imbibed sound doctrine along with your mother's milk, and have made continual progress in it until now, endeavor by faithful ministry to prove that you are such.” This meaning also agrees with the composition of the word ἐντρεφόμενος.

In the words of faith and of good doctrine. Faith is here taken for the sum of Christian doctrine; and what he immediately adds about good doctrine is for the sake of explanation. For he means that all other doctrines, however plausible they may be, are not profitable at all.

Which thou hast followed. This clause denotes perseverance, for many who purely learned Christ from their childhood later degenerate over time; and the Apostle says that Timothy was very different from these people.