Marks of the Man of God

About this sermon

Introduction: We said earlier that when Paul addresses Timothy as “man of God,” he is purposely calling to mind the rich heritage of faithful Old Testament proclaimers of the Word of God. Everything that Paul says to Timothy in this letter, serves that exhortation. There is a sense in which, if we want to know what should characterize a man of God, read this entire letter and take into your heart all of Paul’s exhortations to his son in the faith. But if we simply pay close attention to this very chapter in which the description is found, we get a good representation of what that character consists of. What are the marks of the kind of man that Paul wants Timothy to be? What are the marks of a faithful man of God? And there are four aspects of that character that we see in this chapter. A man of God is known by his doctrine (vs.1-2, context) A man of God is known by his distinctiveness (vs.3-16) A man of God is known by his devotion (vs.17-19) A man of God is known by his dependability (vs.20) At the very beginning of this chapter we see that Timothy, as a man of God, MUST BE GOD’S MAN IN HIS TEACHING. THE MAN OF GOD MUST BE GOD’S MAN IN HIS TEACHING A man of God is a man of the Word of God. Our relationship to God’s Word, not only determines what our relationship to God will be, it DEMONSTRATES what our relationship to God currently is. HOW YOU THINK ABOUT SCRIPTURE DEMONSTRATES WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT GOD. The Word of God was there when we were made alive. ESV 1 Peter 1:23 asince you have been born again, bnot of perishable seed but of imperishable, through cthe living and abiding word of God; Jam 1:18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures. The Word of God is the food by which we live and by which our lives are being transformed. ESV Matthew 4:4 But he answered, a"It is written, b"'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" ESV 2 Timothy 3:14 But as for you, acontinue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom1 you learned it 15 and how afrom childhood you have been acquainted with bthe sacred writings, cwhich are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The Word of God can only be responded to rightly when our hearts are in the right frame. ESV James 1:21 Therefore aput away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with bmeekness the implanted word, cwhich is able to save your souls. *So, a man of God has been saved through God’s working by His Word. *He is then a man in whom the Word of God is working in an ongoing way. *He is a man whose redeemed soul is now receptive to the Word of God, submissive and responsive to the Word of God (as a pattern). He is a man whose conscience is determined by the Word of God and bound by the Word of God. ALL OF THIS IS THEN REFLECTED IN HIS TEACHING. His beliefs about the purity of Scripture, the authority of Scripture, the sufficiency of Scripture, is on display in HIS HANDLING of Scripture and HIS OWN RESPONSE to Scripture. ESV 2 Corinthians 2:17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. ESV 2 Corinthians 4:2 But we have renounced adisgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice1 cunning or bto tamper with God's word, but cby the open statement of the truth dwe would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And Paul is here charging Timothy to teach sound doctrine in a way that honors God and His Word.