So where does one find the gym of godliness?

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

via Passage: 1 Tim 4.7-8 (ESV Bible Online).

I’m puzzling. How do you do this? I know that doing pushups regularly and jogging would be helpful to “bodily training.” What regimen do I use for godliness?

3 thoughts on “So where does one find the gym of godliness?

  1. Sam H

    Well… it must be pursued:

    (1 Tim 6:11) “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”

    It has to do with growth in knowledge & diligence:

    (2 Pet 1:3,5,6) “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;”

    (Titus 1:1) “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness–”

    Paul’s exhortation here may have somewhat to do with living in godliness:

    (1 Tim 2:1-2) “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; {2} For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

    here’s the Olympian Paul:

    (1 Cor 9:23-27) “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. {24} Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. {25} Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. {26} Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. {27} No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

    in the context of:
    (1 Cor 9:19) “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.”

    And then incarnational living, Christ being manifest in my life, by behaving properly in the House of God:

    (1 Tim 3:15-16) “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. {16} And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

    i would venture to say that these all have something to do with it too:
    walking in the Spirit
    walking in the Light
    walking in Love

    what do you think Mark?

    Reply
  2. mark Post author

    All good, but it all seems like “training” and the actual “living” are one and the same. I’ll try to elaborate more in a further post–since you have done the clipping work for me 🙂

    Reply
  3. Ben G.

    Given the context, it looks to me like the “regimen” is internalizing the Word of God and/or practicing thankfulness, particularly in prayer (which seems to be the common thread in Sam’s clippings from 1 Tim.). Looking at the chapter myself, I was a little surprised that you left off the previous sentence in your quote: “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained [entrephomenos] in the words of the faith and the good doctrine that you have followed” – which of course follows pretty closely on an exhortation not to cave to asceticism or legalism about food or marriage, which I would take to be in view when Paul mentions “bodily training” (Col. 2:23 comes to mind).

    So: train yourself for godliness by shaping your attitudes in terms of the received Gospel rather than old wives’ tales, quackery or guruism, and by practicing thanksgiving through prayer.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *