Thomas Aquinas Commentary 1 Timothy 4:6-10

"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]: but refuse profane and old wives` fables. And exercise thyself unto godliness: for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come. Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation. For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe." — 1 Timothy 4:6-10 (ASV)

Previously, the Apostle rejected superstitious abstinence from goods. Here, he commands Timothy to present this teaching to the brothers. He first shows what Timothy should propose, and second, what he should avoid, beginning with the command to but avoid foolish and old wives’ fables.

Regarding the first point, he gives two reasons why Timothy should propose the preceding teaching:

1. First, because of the office entrusted to him.
2. Second, because of his education.

He says, therefore, by proposing these things to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus. The “things” he refers to are what was mentioned before: that every creature is good, and that nothing is to be rejected that is received with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:4). Timothy was appointed to the office of Christ’s minister, for everyone in the office of preaching and ruling is established as a minister of Christ: let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1). A good minister is one who pursues his master’s aim, and Christ taught in Matthew, not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man (Matthew 15:11). Therefore, Timothy’s office requires that he teach this.

Furthermore, Timothy’s education requires this, for a young man according to his way, even when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Therefore, it is unbecoming for anyone nourished by true doctrine to depart from it. To depart from the doctrine with which the Church instructs her children is not the mark of a good minister of Christ. That is why the Apostle says he is nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine. For God’s word is the spiritual nourishment that sustains the soul, just as food sustains the body: not in bread alone does man live, but in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

This word of faith instructs a person, first, about what is to be believed; thus he says, nourished in the words of faith. Second, it instructs about what one should do; therefore, he continues, and of the good doctrine. Alternatively, the words of faith are those which even the simple possess, while the good doctrine is that which spiritual teachers preach.

When the Apostle says, but avoid foolish and old wives’ fables, he shows what must be avoided: foolish and empty fables. According to the Philosopher (Aristotle), a fable is composed of extraordinary events and was originally invented, as he says in the Politics, to persuade people to acquire virtue and avoid vice. Uneducated people are more easily persuaded to such things by representations than by reasons. For this reason, pleasure is found in an unusual event that is well presented, because reason is pleased when it makes comparisons. Just as representation in deeds is pleasurable, so is representation in words. This is what a fable is: a story that represents something and, by that representation, moves a person to act.

The ancients had fables that taught certain truths, and they embedded these truths within the fables. Therefore, a fable has two elements: first, it contains a truth that represents something useful, and second, it must be a fitting vehicle for that truth. If a fable is presented that does not contain a truth, it is called empty. If it is not a fitting vehicle for a certain truth, it is called foolish or inept, like the fables found in the Talmud.

When he says, exercise yourself for godliness, having rejected superstitious abstinence, the Apostle compares virtuous abstinence with other virtues. It should be noted that Timothy was a very abstemious person; for this reason, the Apostle tells him later to use a little wine (1 Timothy 5:23). By this advice, he might have been implying that Timothy should try to be more merciful, because those who are hard on themselves are likely to be hard on others. Consequently, he advises him to prefer godliness to abstinence. The Apostle does four things:

1. He exhorts Timothy to godliness.
2. He shows godliness is superior to abstinence, beginning with for bodily exercise.
3. He supports what was already said, with the words having promise.
4. He gives the formula for teaching godliness, at command and teach these things.

He says, therefore, exercise yourself for godliness. Godliness is the virtue by which we pay the debt of goodwill to our parents and native land, just as religion is the virtue by which we give worship to God. Godliness suggests affection directed toward one’s source. The source of our physical being is our country and our parents, so a person is required to have goodwill toward them. But the source and father of all things is God: if I be a father, where is my honor? (Malachi 1:6). This is why the name “godliness” is applied to the worship of God, as Augustine says in The City of God.

Thus, eusebia is another name for godliness. According to one version of Scripture, behold, godliness is wisdom (Job 28:28), where our version has, behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom. We also read of the acknowledging of the truth, which is according to godliness (Titus 1:1). Earthly godliness is characterized by goodwill toward one’s countrymen. Christian godliness, however, requires goodwill toward all people, because we all belong to the same country. In this sense, godliness is understood as mercy.

Therefore, when he says, exercise yourself for godliness, it can be taken as referring both to the worship of God and to performing acts of mercy. He says exercise, not merely perform, because exercise suggests a readiness. One who is exercised performs a task with less difficulty and in a more delightful and consistent manner: diligently till your ground (Proverbs 24:27).

When he says, bodily exercise is profitable for a little, he shows godliness is superior to abstinence. First, he shows how bodily exercise is profitable, and second, how godliness is profitable, at but godliness.

He says, therefore, that bodily exercises like fasting are not good by their very nature, but are penal. If humanity had not sinned, they would be useless; yet they are good medicine. Just as rhubarb is good for relieving sickness, so bodily exercise is good for repressing sinful desire. It is useful in that respect: I chastise my body and bring it into subjection (1 Corinthians 9:27); mortify your members which are upon the earth (Colossians 3:5). If a person were in a state where they could not sin, they would not need fasting and similar disciplines. For this reason, Chrysostom, commenting on Matthew’s account of when Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi, says, “John, a mere man, needed the medicine of fasting; but Christ was pure God and not merely man; therefore, he did not need such a thing” (Matthew 16:30). Consequently, bodily exercise is useful for little—that is, for the diseases of carnal sin, but not spiritual sin, for sometimes a person falls into anger, vainglory, and so on because of fasting.

Then, when he says, but godliness is profitable to all things, he again shows its superiority. Here, godliness is taken in both senses: divine worship and mercy. It is profitable to all things because it removes all sins—water quenches a flaming fire, and alms resists sin ()—and also because it promotes what is good: the alms of a man is as a signet with him . It also merits God’s special mercy: blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7). To stress this, the Lord gives special praise to works of mercy (Matthew 25).

The Apostle proves his statement when he adds, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. Among the commandments of the Decalogue, there is only one that refers to godliness: to honor your father and your mother. Under this commandment are contained all the precepts concerned with bestowing benefits upon one’s neighbor. Furthermore, this is the only precept concerning our neighbor that has a promise attached to it, namely, that you may be long-lived upon the land which the Lord, your God, will give you (Exodus 20:12). The Apostle here interprets “long-lived” as referring to both the present life and the future life: length of days is in her right hand (Proverbs 3:16).

But a question arises here, for we sometimes observe that a person who pursues godliness does not live long.

I answer, according to the Philosopher, that temporal goods are good only to the extent that they are useful for achieving true happiness. Therefore, if a person had so many temporal goods that they hindered the pursuit of goodness and true happiness, this would not turn out for their good, but for their evil, as is stated in Ethics X. Length of days is one of these temporal goods, since it is an aid to virtue. But sometimes it becomes an occasion for sinning. As a result, God sometimes withholds it from a person, not because He is breaking His promise, but because He wishes to give something better: he was taken away lest wickedness should alter his understanding .

Another question arises: the Apostle seems to prefer godliness over bodily exercise because it holds a promise of the present life and the life to come. But does bodily exercise not also hold a promise? Otherwise, one who fasts would not merit eternal life.

The answer is that when two virtues are related in such a way that one contains the other, the characteristics that belong to the higher virtue by its very nature also belong to the lower virtue, but only incidentally. The virtue that by its very nature merits eternal life is charity, and the proper and immediate effect of charity is godliness. Therefore, it belongs to the very nature of godliness to merit eternal life. This is not so for abstinence, unless it is directed toward charity and godliness. For if a person who fasts does not relate their fasting to the love of God, they do not merit eternal life.

A third question arises from a commentary by Ambrose on this passage. He says that the entire sum of Christian discipline lies in mercy and godliness. When someone follows these, if they experience perils to their flesh, they will undoubtedly be attacked but will not perish. The first part of this statement is explained by the fact that mercy and godliness are immediately directed toward charity, in which the sum of the Christian religion lies.

The second part of the statement raises a problem. Augustine, in The City of God, notes the opinion of some that those who perform acts of godliness will not perish in the end, no matter how many carnal sins they commit. The authority cited for this is the passage where Christ reproaches the damned for not performing works of mercy (Matthew 25:41). From this, they conclude that eternal damnation will fall only on the unmerciful.

But Augustine argues the contrary, because the Apostle states, they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21). No matter how much a person is engaged in works of mercy, if they die in mortal sin, they will not enter the kingdom.

The response to the opposing opinion is that a person is not truly merciful if they are not merciful to their own soul, as it is said: have pity on your own soul, pleasing God . This happens only if a person is united to God in love; otherwise, they cannot be truly merciful. As for the citation from Matthew, Augustine answers that not everyone who sins is cast into hell at once, because there is still room for repentance. Rather, the one who is cast into hell is the one who finally dies in sin, and penance itself pertains to mercy.

But what does Ambrose mean by “experiencing perils in the flesh”? I answer that he is speaking of mortal peril. He says, “he will not perish,” although this is not a merit of strict justice (ex condigno) but one of fittingness (ex congruo), since the soul is disposed toward the good. That is why the Lord restored humanity after the fall. This is especially seen in godliness, because by helping others, a person leads them to pray for him. The Lord sometimes grants pardon to sinners because of the prayers of the saints, as they obtain from Him a pardon for sin and the gift of grace. For a person can merit the first grace for another person by a merit of fittingness (ex congruo); otherwise, the Church’s prayers for sinners would be in vain.

When he says, a faithful saying, he shows that a future life is promised to us. He demonstrates this in three ways:

1. From the labor of the saints.
2. From their hope, at because we hope.
3. From God’s goodness, at who is the Savior.

He says, therefore, that the saying that godliness has a promise is faithful. Why? Because for this we labor—that is, to reach eternal life. As Scripture says, the farmer who labors must first partake of the fruits (2 Timothy 2:6). We also labor to do good, even though we suffer evil for it; for this reason he says, we labor and are reviled. Patience has a good work (James 1:4), and patience works trial (Romans 5:4).

We endure because of the hope of life: because we hope in the living God, who is the Savior of both the present and the future life. We also endure because of God’s work, which is to save: for I am your Savior (Isaiah 43:3). This is God become incarnate and called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Jesus is the same as Savior, because He saves with a bodily salvation that extends to all—thus he says, of all men—and with a spiritual salvation that extends only to the good—thus he says, especially of the faithful.