When Paul wrote 1 Timothy 4:16, Timothy was serving as pastor of the giant church of Ephesus – the world’s largest church at that time. Young Timothy was working ferociously to see the machinery of the church was working well. In fact he was so busy taking care of everything and everyone else that he was forgetting to take care of himself. He actually came to the point of believing that the church would not make it unless he did all that he was doing.
Fortunately, however, Timothy had a mentor who cared for him so much that in the midst of his busy and what he believed to be his absolutely necessary responsibilities, Paul warned him to Stop, Look and Listen. Paul’s wise admonition to Timothy was this: “Take heed to thyself.” This phrase “take heed” comes from the Greek word Epecho, which is a compound of “ep” and “echo.” The word “ep” means on, and the word “echo” means to hold firmly. When these two words are compounded, into one word, it means “grab hold or take charge of yourself spiritually.”
It is so easy to get distracted by things which scream for your attention and which appear to be absolutely necessary for your church to continue to exist. This is exactly what was happening to Timothy, so Paul was warning his young protégé unless he began to take care of himself he would lose his ministry by losing his vital relationship with Jesus, all the time thinking he had to do what he was doing. Paul’s word to Timothy, translated into its full meaning, was nothing less than the following:
Tim, get hold of yourself firmly…
Make your own spiritual life a priority
Don’t get so busy you forget you have spiritual needs too.
Following this strong general admonition, Paul told Timothy that the priorities of the godly leader are summed up in:
- personal holiness
- the preaching of apostolic doctrine.
The word “doctrine” is the same word as used in Acts 2:42 where it says the early Christian cont’d steadfast in the “apostles’ doctrine,” meaning the basic doctrines set forth in the New Testament, all centered in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
What would be the results for Timothy? He would
- Save his own soul, meaning a personal spirituality and walk with God enabling him to stay in the battle until his mission was accomplished. Otherwise he would lose his ministry right in the midst of frantic work, and also
- by careful attention to his own godly life and faithful preaching of apostolic truth (not pop psychology or the insights of all kinds of innovators) he would continue to be the human instrument through which God would bring the gospel, resulting in the salvation of many souls. This word to the wise is sufficient. Woe to the unwise who refuse to heed it.