At the time that 1Timothy 4:7-8(ESV) was written, the Apostle Paul was near the end of his life, not because of old age, but because he was in prison and about to be executed for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Timothy was the apprentice that he had trained to follow in his steps. Paul instructed in him in this verse, “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; For “physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.”” This passage totally puts things into perspective for us. The world is obsessed with outer appearance and the physical. God tells us that physical exercise has marginal value, but Godliness benefits every aspect of our being.
For many of us, the notion of knowing the imminence of impending death would rattle our brains. We can’t imagine having the composure to train an apprentice in the Word while continuing to teach the churches as well. How did the Apostle Paul do it? He did it by walking in the Holy Spirit. Paul understood God’s empowerment through the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was everything to him. He said in Philippians 3:8-9(NLT), “8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.”
Holy Spirit power wasn’t just for Paul, it’s for every individual that accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. All our strength and power come from God’s gift of Holy Spirit, and he, the Spirit, abides within us. As believers, we should be over the moon excited about what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. We should also understand this grace was given because of our Heavenly Father’s desire for a family. He wanted children. He wants His children to be like Him, and He desires relationship with each of us.
Our relationship with God isn’t based on our terms. He set the terms of our relationship with Him, and those terms are based on our faith in Him and His love. We demonstrate our love for God by choosing to do what He says. In Ephesians 5:1(ESV), He tells us, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” There is no greater way to live life than to live it through God by imitating His nature. Well, how do we accomplish this? How do we imitate the nature of God? We imitate the nature of God by first finding out what His nature is. The only place we can find this knowledge is by reading and studying God’s Word.
In the Old Testament, God made a covenant with His people. He told them in Exodus 19:5-6(NLT), “5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 6 And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” God made this covenant with His people living during Old Testament times because He wanted to keep them covered in His safety and protection. Most importantly, He wanted to be close to them so that He could lavish them in His love and keep them blessed. Sadly, they did not keep this covenant with God.
He told His prophet, Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:31-33(NLT), “31 The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the LORD. 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” This new covenant that our Heavenly Father prophesied to Jeremiah is the one we have with God because of the accomplishment of Jesus Christ.
The new covenant that we have with God through Christ has made us friends with our Heavenly Father. Before, under His servant, Moses, in the Old Testament, God gave the people His law, but because of Christ, God’s Word doesn’t need to be written on tablets of stones. He has written His Word on our hearts through His precious Holy Spirit that lives within it. Hebrews 10:10-15(NLT) tells us, “10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. 11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so.”
Again, God has written His Word on our hearts through the Holy Spirit, but our minds are our responsibility. Ephesians 4:23 tells us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and this is how we partner with the Holy Spirit. God commands us in Romans 12:2 to change the way we think so that we can learn to know God’s Will for us. Jesus Christ teaches us in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth, and he, the Spirit, will only tell us what he hears from Christ. Like the Apostle Paul, we will endure challenges in life, some of them might seem overwhelming, but the Holy Spirit is our strength. He guides, teaches, comforts and empowers us through God’s Word so that we can remain in God’s Will. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Word Written on Our Hearts”, written for 4theChristianMan.com© 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.