“But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train (‘gumnazó’ – γυμνάζω) yourself in godliness (‘eusebeia’ – εὐσέβεια). For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
1 Timothy 4:7-8, CSB
God wants to do a work in us – the work of revival. He wants to awaken something within us. True Worship.
True Worship is a posture of the heart. A position.
So how do we get into that position? How do we adopt that posture?
Too many people today describe themselves as ‘spiritual’ rather than ‘religious’ – and often it seems that these same people very seldom bear the kind of fruit that a Spirit-filled believer should. It’s because their relationship with God is often purely contemplative, taking place only on the inside.
Others take the route of legalism, living again under the shackles of the Law. It’s all ‘thou shalt nots’, routines, empty rituals, rules and regulations. High-and-mighty machines just going through the motions, having the outward appearance, but lacking the very real substance of joy, peace, love, mercy and grace.
We need to find a balance – and this balance is found in the realization that the work we need to do to make worship our lifestyle, and not just mere lip-service on a Sunday, is just as much work from the outside-in as it is work from the inside-out.
They are like two sides of the same coin.
Paul writes to Timothy and warns him against the dangers of listening to false teachers, encouraging him to not look to the left or the right, but to keep the faith – by training himself in godliness. (1 Tim 4).
The word used for ‘godliness’ in 1 Timothy 4:7-8: is ‘eusebeia’ (εὐσέβεια) which refers to a deep reverence for God displayed in word, in attitude, conduct and deed. It refers to our inner response to the things of God made manifest practically in our lives.
But it goes even deeper than this.
The word used for ‘training’ in verse 7 is ‘gumnazó’ (γυμνάζω) which properly translates as ‘to train naked or lightly clad’. Greek athletes used to train naked or dressed simply in just a loin cloth.
Paul is describing the type of intense, physical effort that goes into living a life of faith.
The life of faith does not only happen on the inside; it is not merely spiritual but rather marked by very real physical effort and, eventually, tangible, manifest fruit.
As believers, we must strive to live a lifestyle of worship – through not just contemplative, but also physical efforts.
Just as the Greek Athlete was disciplined in his training, so we must be disciplined. Just as they practiced naked, we too must give ourselves, in a figurative sense, fully to the process, hiding and holding back nothing – every area of our life brought into submission to not just the Word, but also the Way of God.
It is in practicing the Way, in putting physical effort behind the practice of spiritual disciplines – getting up and doing the work of prayer, Bible study, fellowship, fasting, service, etc – that we position our hearts. The movement of our bodies affects the posture of our hearts, just as much as the posture of our hearts affects our bodies.
One of the best examples I can think of is prayer.
In the last few years God has increasingly been using me to teach people, especially young men, how to pray.
There are many misconceptions around prayer – the most common one being that prayer should somehow just flow from the Christian. However, if we look at the writings of those who came before us, heroes of the faith – Mother Theresa, Martin Luther, Johnathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and many more – we find that prayer doesn’t just come naturally, or even easily, but often takes practice and real concerted effort.
Often our first prayers aren’t as much prayers of faith as they are a longing to believe – the babbling of newborns tentatively reaching out, trying to touch something that looks and feels, even vaguely resembles faith.
But the more we press in – setting aside time, reading about prayer, attending prayer meetings, listening to others pray, praying by ourselves and with others, learning to pray the Word, perhaps working through the Psalms, using it as a prayer book – the easier it becomes.
Our prayers become longer, richer, fuller. Our prayer time becomes a conversation, relationship rather than a routine – and eventually the time we set aside is no longer enough to contain it. If we allow it, desire it and pursue it, prayer starts saturating our whole day.
We take a few minutes in the car, during the commute. We take some time during our lunchbreak. We talk to God on our afternoon stroll.
And as much as we talk to Him, He also talks to us. He leads us, guides us, and carries us through the day.
We start conversing with God throughout the day, abiding in His presence, and His presence abiding in us.
For many of us, our first prayers aren’t prayers of faith. For many of us our first prayers are a searching, a seeking – a reaching out into the unknown.
It’s work from the outside-in.
In engaging in the work of prayer, we make room for God to work inside of us, to awaken faith inside of us – to make the mustard seed of our initial longing erupt into a burning bush.
And the same can be said of all the disciplines. What we do on the outside feeds inward – tills the ground and makes it fertile for the work of the Holy Spirit who renews, restores, revives, and rewires our hearts and minds – and this inner response to God feeds back out and bears tangible, visible fruit in our attitude, conduct, word and deed – glorifying God as Christ shines through in everything we do.
We need to train (‘gumnazó’ – to train like an athlete, real physical effort) ourselves in godliness (‘eusebeia’ – devout reverence in attitude, conduct, and deed).