1 Timothy 6:5b–10 - Seeing True Value
In Matthew 13, Jesus gives one of his most famous parables. He says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” “Kingdom of heaven” is a biblical term loaded with meaning. But simply put, it’s about knowing and having the one true God as your God.
The apostle Paul writes that apart from Christ we are “without God in the world.” Jesus compares knowing and having God to a treasure of surpassing worth. And because we have God only through Christ, the parable teaches that what we gain in having Christ is greater than everything else we could ever gain combined. In fact, having Christ is worth trading all that we possess.
Now, that’s quite a claim, isn’t it? Everything you have to know and have Christ? Is that an exaggeration? Is it even reasonable or logical? Paul adds that without God, we’re hopeless. So a person could possess all the world has to offer, but without God, in the long run, that person has nothing.
It’s strange isn’t it, that things of such high value in this life have no value in the life to come?
We’re easily deceived about value. Money and possessions have a strong appeal. They’re useful in life, but they’re only temporary. The man in the parable realized that the treasure in the field would last forever, whereas everything else that he had would eventually be gone.
Part of us believes that money and possessions will satisfy us forever. They aren’t inherently bad, but our sinful nature is. That nature cannot give up its effort to find contentment only in things of this world. But by doing so, it seeks contentment apart from God.
The parable raises an important question. If knowing God is such an incomparable treasure, how could sinners like us ever obtain it? Paul answers in Ephesians 2. We were “separated from Christ...having no hope and without God in the world.” Yet he immediately adds, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
Christ secured for us the greatest treasure. Because of Him, we now know God, we belong to Him, and we possess every spiritual blessing in Him. So we should seek the contentment available in so great a treasure.
What Paul says here helps us see true value. Christ, by His Word and Spirt, causes us to see more of His surpassing worth. And as that happens, we seek satisfaction in knowing and having Christ, and in turn, our lives are given to what is eternal rather than temporary, and our desires are strengthened toward what is helpful rather than harmful.
Let’s start with the end of verse 5 there. Teachers in error were a problem in Ephesus when Paul left Timothy there. These teachers didn’t keep Christ squarely in focus. They were proud and foolish. But Paul reveals something here about their motives – “imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” They treated God as a way to acquire earthly things – as a means to an end.
But notice Paul’s next statement, verse 6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” God is not a great means to some greater end. He is the greatest end.
What is this “godliness with contentment.” Godliness is a life of reverence toward God and obedience to Him that flows from Christ to us because of our union with Him. “Godliness with contentment” is a mind and heart satisfied in and with God Himself. That phrase describes a believer who recognizes that God Himself is the greatest gain.
The next line is Paul’s rationale. This is his Holy Spirit-guided reasoning. Verse 7, “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” This is straight forward logic. No money or possessions that we acquire in this life can be transported to the next.
The person with the greatest earthly wealth loses it all the moment they die.
The most powerful person loses all power.
The most famous person loses all the benefits of fame. So one might think,
“Get what you can while you can, because you can’t take it with you.” But there’s a problem with that life strategy. When we seek satisfaction in money and possessions,
our lives are given to what will not last. We will leave this world the way we came into it.Christ is the one treasure that death won’t take away.
Go back to the treasure parable. Imagine that man years later. The clothes he sold are long gone. The furniture he once owned has worn out. The money he had has long since been spent. But he still possesses the treasure from the field. Everything else was temporary.
Now imagine that man dies and leaves behind every earthly possession he still had. He would never regret what he gave up to get that treasure. Compared with the treasure, all that he gave up was small.
That's the perspective Paul is describing. When we seek satisfaction in knowing and having Christ, our lives are given to what is eternal rather than temporary. All earthly things will eventually be stripped away, but Christ will still be ours, and we will still be His.
When your earthly life is over, you won’t wish you had spent more time accumulating what could never last. But if you have Christ, you will marvel that, by His grace, He gave you Himself as your everlasting treasure.
In Matthew 6, Jesus says, ““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
What has your life recently revealed about where your heart is? What consumes your thoughts? What drives you? What motivates you? What have you been depending on to satisfy your soul?
Paul warned about teachers seeking earthly gain through God rather than seeing God Himself as the greatest gain. This still goes on today. Some teach people to use God to get something else. They gain a following because our own sinful hearts constantly try to do the same thing.
Perhaps you’ve been focused on some purchase, or promotion, or financial milestone – things which may not even be bad in any way. If they overshadow Christ, then you’ve lost sight of Him. But when, through the means He has ordained for you to receive Him and know Him, you will realize that He is greater and more satisfying than all you could ever possess.
Now look at verse [8] “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” In light of verse 6, this is a way of saying “if we have our basic needs met and we have God, that will be enough.” How can that be? Food and clothing don’t satisfy the soul. But we need them. Paul is describing the glorious reality for the believer who has Christ. There is an inward wholeness and richness found in knowing and having Christ. When this is enjoyed, along with having our basic needs met, that is enough.
However, verse [9] “those who desire to be rich,” who only want an abundance of outward possessions, danger awaits. They “fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
The desire itself is a trap. Indulging the desire is foolish and fatal. It leads to a miserable end – miserable, in part, because in the end, the person will become fully aware that so much time was wasted.
And see verse [10] “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Notice it doesn’t say “money is the root of all evil.” That’s a common misquote. Paul uses the same word translated simply “all” back in 1 Timothy 2, where he writes, “God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved.” I explained at that time that this means all kinds of people. The love of money is not the root of all evils, but of all kinds of evils.
Many perverse behaviors are the result of greed and the lust for wealth. Many injustices result from it. Many people are taken advantage of because of the selfish desire to get wealth. Resources are wasted, relationships are ruined, and precious time is lost – because of a vain, man-centered love of earthly possessions, pleasures, and security.
Paul adds, “It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” There’s nothing wrong with working hard and succeeding. In fact, it’s commendable. Furthermore, it’s commanded: “Whatever you do, do your best as for the Lord and not for men.” But hard work and success to what end? For God’s glory, or self glory? To serve Him or serve only self? That more people may know and have God, or mainly just so you can have more?
Do you like to fish? I like fishing. My family went fishing the other day. My sweet wife outfished me! We both caught two, but her two fish were bigger! Here’s the thing about a fish. It doesn't bite because it wants the hook, does it? No. It bites because it wants the bait. What pierces is hidden beneath what looks delicious. What kills is wrapped in what looks satisfying.
That’s Paul’s meaning here. The craving for wealth promises freedom, security, significance, and happiness. But that desire leads us into a trap. What looks like a path to satisfaction through worldly gain is a path to great harm. But when we seek satisfaction in knowing and having Christ, our desires are strengthened toward what is helpful rather than harmful.
As Christ ministers to us through His appointed means – the Word, sacraments, and prayer – He reshapes our desires. We begin to recognize sinful motives that once seemed perfectly reasonable. We begin to discern our own desires even more. We behold Him and we are transformed into His image. This causes us to see our errors and turn from our foolish ways.
This is why teachers in error can’t help us. They direct our dependence to self and encourage the desires of the flesh. Christ – by His Word and Spirit – directs our dependence to Himself and encourages the desires of His Holy Spirit within us. And we’re not pierced through with many sorrows. Instead, we’re satisfied in the Man of Sorrows who was pierced for our sins.
Here at His table, He shows us how to seek satisfaction in Him. We receive what He gives in the way He has determined to give it. These visible signs set forth Christ crucified, given to and for us.
It’s not just a memorial. It’s not only symbolic. By His Spirit, He strengthens us spiritually as we commune with Him here. This is not His actual body and blood – Christ lives and His body is in heaven. Yet He is spiritually present at His table, ministering to us as He does through all the elements of biblical worship. He has established all of this so that we may see true value, and seeing it, live in light of it.
Let’s bow together in prayer.
The apostle Paul writes that apart from Christ we are “without God in the world.” Jesus compares knowing and having God to a treasure of surpassing worth. And because we have God only through Christ, the parable teaches that what we gain in having Christ is greater than everything else we could ever gain combined. In fact, having Christ is worth trading all that we possess.
Now, that’s quite a claim, isn’t it? Everything you have to know and have Christ? Is that an exaggeration? Is it even reasonable or logical? Paul adds that without God, we’re hopeless. So a person could possess all the world has to offer, but without God, in the long run, that person has nothing.
It’s strange isn’t it, that things of such high value in this life have no value in the life to come?
We’re easily deceived about value. Money and possessions have a strong appeal. They’re useful in life, but they’re only temporary. The man in the parable realized that the treasure in the field would last forever, whereas everything else that he had would eventually be gone.
Part of us believes that money and possessions will satisfy us forever. They aren’t inherently bad, but our sinful nature is. That nature cannot give up its effort to find contentment only in things of this world. But by doing so, it seeks contentment apart from God.
The parable raises an important question. If knowing God is such an incomparable treasure, how could sinners like us ever obtain it? Paul answers in Ephesians 2. We were “separated from Christ...having no hope and without God in the world.” Yet he immediately adds, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
Christ secured for us the greatest treasure. Because of Him, we now know God, we belong to Him, and we possess every spiritual blessing in Him. So we should seek the contentment available in so great a treasure.
What Paul says here helps us see true value. Christ, by His Word and Spirt, causes us to see more of His surpassing worth. And as that happens, we seek satisfaction in knowing and having Christ, and in turn, our lives are given to what is eternal rather than temporary, and our desires are strengthened toward what is helpful rather than harmful.
Let’s start with the end of verse 5 there. Teachers in error were a problem in Ephesus when Paul left Timothy there. These teachers didn’t keep Christ squarely in focus. They were proud and foolish. But Paul reveals something here about their motives – “imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” They treated God as a way to acquire earthly things – as a means to an end.
But notice Paul’s next statement, verse 6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” God is not a great means to some greater end. He is the greatest end.
What is this “godliness with contentment.” Godliness is a life of reverence toward God and obedience to Him that flows from Christ to us because of our union with Him. “Godliness with contentment” is a mind and heart satisfied in and with God Himself. That phrase describes a believer who recognizes that God Himself is the greatest gain.
The next line is Paul’s rationale. This is his Holy Spirit-guided reasoning. Verse 7, “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” This is straight forward logic. No money or possessions that we acquire in this life can be transported to the next.
The person with the greatest earthly wealth loses it all the moment they die.
The most powerful person loses all power.
The most famous person loses all the benefits of fame. So one might think,
“Get what you can while you can, because you can’t take it with you.” But there’s a problem with that life strategy. When we seek satisfaction in money and possessions,
our lives are given to what will not last. We will leave this world the way we came into it.Christ is the one treasure that death won’t take away.
Go back to the treasure parable. Imagine that man years later. The clothes he sold are long gone. The furniture he once owned has worn out. The money he had has long since been spent. But he still possesses the treasure from the field. Everything else was temporary.
Now imagine that man dies and leaves behind every earthly possession he still had. He would never regret what he gave up to get that treasure. Compared with the treasure, all that he gave up was small.
That's the perspective Paul is describing. When we seek satisfaction in knowing and having Christ, our lives are given to what is eternal rather than temporary. All earthly things will eventually be stripped away, but Christ will still be ours, and we will still be His.
When your earthly life is over, you won’t wish you had spent more time accumulating what could never last. But if you have Christ, you will marvel that, by His grace, He gave you Himself as your everlasting treasure.
In Matthew 6, Jesus says, ““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
What has your life recently revealed about where your heart is? What consumes your thoughts? What drives you? What motivates you? What have you been depending on to satisfy your soul?
Paul warned about teachers seeking earthly gain through God rather than seeing God Himself as the greatest gain. This still goes on today. Some teach people to use God to get something else. They gain a following because our own sinful hearts constantly try to do the same thing.
Perhaps you’ve been focused on some purchase, or promotion, or financial milestone – things which may not even be bad in any way. If they overshadow Christ, then you’ve lost sight of Him. But when, through the means He has ordained for you to receive Him and know Him, you will realize that He is greater and more satisfying than all you could ever possess.
Now look at verse [8] “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” In light of verse 6, this is a way of saying “if we have our basic needs met and we have God, that will be enough.” How can that be? Food and clothing don’t satisfy the soul. But we need them. Paul is describing the glorious reality for the believer who has Christ. There is an inward wholeness and richness found in knowing and having Christ. When this is enjoyed, along with having our basic needs met, that is enough.
However, verse [9] “those who desire to be rich,” who only want an abundance of outward possessions, danger awaits. They “fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
The desire itself is a trap. Indulging the desire is foolish and fatal. It leads to a miserable end – miserable, in part, because in the end, the person will become fully aware that so much time was wasted.
And see verse [10] “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Notice it doesn’t say “money is the root of all evil.” That’s a common misquote. Paul uses the same word translated simply “all” back in 1 Timothy 2, where he writes, “God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved.” I explained at that time that this means all kinds of people. The love of money is not the root of all evils, but of all kinds of evils.
Many perverse behaviors are the result of greed and the lust for wealth. Many injustices result from it. Many people are taken advantage of because of the selfish desire to get wealth. Resources are wasted, relationships are ruined, and precious time is lost – because of a vain, man-centered love of earthly possessions, pleasures, and security.
Paul adds, “It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” There’s nothing wrong with working hard and succeeding. In fact, it’s commendable. Furthermore, it’s commanded: “Whatever you do, do your best as for the Lord and not for men.” But hard work and success to what end? For God’s glory, or self glory? To serve Him or serve only self? That more people may know and have God, or mainly just so you can have more?
Do you like to fish? I like fishing. My family went fishing the other day. My sweet wife outfished me! We both caught two, but her two fish were bigger! Here’s the thing about a fish. It doesn't bite because it wants the hook, does it? No. It bites because it wants the bait. What pierces is hidden beneath what looks delicious. What kills is wrapped in what looks satisfying.
That’s Paul’s meaning here. The craving for wealth promises freedom, security, significance, and happiness. But that desire leads us into a trap. What looks like a path to satisfaction through worldly gain is a path to great harm. But when we seek satisfaction in knowing and having Christ, our desires are strengthened toward what is helpful rather than harmful.
As Christ ministers to us through His appointed means – the Word, sacraments, and prayer – He reshapes our desires. We begin to recognize sinful motives that once seemed perfectly reasonable. We begin to discern our own desires even more. We behold Him and we are transformed into His image. This causes us to see our errors and turn from our foolish ways.
This is why teachers in error can’t help us. They direct our dependence to self and encourage the desires of the flesh. Christ – by His Word and Spirit – directs our dependence to Himself and encourages the desires of His Holy Spirit within us. And we’re not pierced through with many sorrows. Instead, we’re satisfied in the Man of Sorrows who was pierced for our sins.
Here at His table, He shows us how to seek satisfaction in Him. We receive what He gives in the way He has determined to give it. These visible signs set forth Christ crucified, given to and for us.
It’s not just a memorial. It’s not only symbolic. By His Spirit, He strengthens us spiritually as we commune with Him here. This is not His actual body and blood – Christ lives and His body is in heaven. Yet He is spiritually present at His table, ministering to us as He does through all the elements of biblical worship. He has established all of this so that we may see true value, and seeing it, live in light of it.
Let’s bow together in prayer.
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