1 Timothy 4:3

Specific Doctrines

1 Timothy 4:3 “Men who forbid marriage”: “A false asceticism is the key emphasis of their teaching. How often has this sort of ascetic teaching, under the guise of. more spiritual religion, arisen to plague mankind! The Essenses and Therapeutae in the days before the church, the Gnostics during the early centuries, Roman Catholicism with its celibacy for priests down to the present hour all are examples of this practice” (Kent p. 152). In the centuries to come, Augustine (354-430) A.D.), would advocate celibacy and argued that even sexual relations in marriage is evil. “When Gnosticism had finally flowered into its completed form, that religion too forbade marriage as one of the necessities for the person who would be holy” (Reese p. 165).. more recent example of forbidding marriage would be the Shakers in the 18 th and 19 th centuries.

During the fourth century A.D., most of the “bishops” in Greece, Egypt, and Western Europe were unmarried or left their wives after consecration. In the East, the sixth and seventh centuries saw laws enacted which forbade the marriage of bishops. If he were already married before consecration he had to put his wife away in. distant monastery. Celibacy in the western church became. canonical obligation for the clergy through the combined efforts of the popes and regional church councils.

In contrast, Jesus endorsed the marriage relationship (Matthew 19:3), and the Hebrew writer noted that marriage is honorable in all (Hebrews 13:4).

Modern Application:

Some have tried to argue that any attempt to forbid any marriage is. mark of apostasy. Jesus noted that certain “marriages” are sinful (Matthew 19:9; Matthew 5:32) and so did Paul (Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10). John the Baptist told Herod that it was unlawful for him to have. certain wife (Matthew 14:4). In the above passage Paul is taking about forbidding people from marrying who have the Scriptural right to marry.

1 Timothy 4:3 “Advocate abstaining from foods”: The term “foods” here (“meats” in some translations) means foods of any kind. Broma means solid food in general, not merely animal meat. “Judaizers, Gnostics, Catholics (Fridays, Lent), Seventh-day Adventists, and all types of ascetics have promoted this error. Paul faced it squarely in his Epistle to the Colossians (Colossians 2:21). The error arises from. false conception that our physical bodies are evil just because they are physical, and therefore to deny their normal appetites is thought to be praiseworthy” (Kent p. 152). See Matthew 15:11. “Consequently, vegetarianism is not. means of sanctification. On the contrary, if it is observed on religious grounds, it is. disrespect of God” (Kent p. 152).

1 Timothy 4:3 “Which”: That is, both marriage and foods. The term “which” in the Greek text is plural.

1 Timothy 4:3 “God has created”: God created food (Genesis 1:29; Genesis 9:3) as well as marriage (1 Timothy 1:28; 1 Timothy 2:24). The fact that God created them was proof that they were not to be regarded as evil. Gnostic teachers argued that some sort of lesser aeons, that is lesser gods, generations removed from God, did the creating. In their view this is how. good God could have created. material world that is evil. Paul notes that God Himself did all the creating and what He created was good!

1 Timothy 4:3 “To be gratefully shared in”: That is to be received and participated in with gratitude. “The participation is to be ‘with thanksgiving' in due recognition of them as God's good gifts” (Hiebert p. 79).

1 Timothy 4:3 “By those who believe and know the truth”: People who truly believe God and accept His truth will realize that marriage is honorable in all (Hebrews 13:4). Notice that one cannot truly appreciate to the full all of God's blessings in this world without being. Christian. Some unbelievers ignorantly deprive themselves of God's blessings, other unbelievers pervert God's blessings, and others have no one to thank for such blessings. In addition, such. statement is an attack upon false teachers who might argue that the “truth” could only be known by the elite, or through some sort of extreme self-denial. In contrast, every Christian can know the truth. Note that the word “know” means to know thoroughly, accurately, and to know well (Thayer p. 237).

Side Note

One way in which Christians inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5) is that they make the best use of their time here and of the blessings that God has given them. Of all people, Christians should enjoy and appreciate marriage more than all others, for they truly understand the meaning, depth, and length of marriage. The above verse also infers that apart from gratitude to God,. person will simply and completely miss how good God has been to them. How many times do you see unbelievers who are completely unappreciative of their mates or who gobble down their food without any acknowledgement or gratitude for what was just given to them?