In this lesson we want to see the exercise of our spirit for godliness. All of the verses in the Scripture reading are from 1 and 2 Timothy. Strictly speaking, the word exercise, in the sense of the exercise of our spirit for godliness, is used in the New Testament only in 1 Timothy. First Timothy 4:7-8 says, "But the profane and old-womanish myths refuse, and exercise yourself unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the present life and of that which is to come." The exercise unto godliness is profitable for all the things of this present life and the coming life.

In the New Testament there are a number of seeming contradictions. Actually, of course, they are not contradictions. On the one hand, the New Testament reveals that we should not have our own works. We should not do things in ourselves either to participate in God's blessing or to accomplish something for God's purpose. But on the other hand, the New Testament uses a strong word such as exercise. In Colossians Paul said that he labored, toiled, fought, and struggled in an agonizing way (1:29; 2:1). These words are stronger words showing something which is very difficult to do. We all need to see these two aspects. Our not doing anything means that we should not do anything by our flesh, by ourselves, or by our natural life. But on the positive side, we have to labor, to travail, and to struggle in our spirit. Actually, the exercise of our spirit comprises and implies all these words: labor, toil, struggle, wrestle, and fight.

Today whatever we do positively in our spirit is a kind of exercise. The word in Greek for exercise is the basis of the English word gymnastics. To participate in gymnastics, one must use all of his energy to exercise his whole physical being. We must exercise our spirit in the same way. The whole environment around us does not help us to exercise. It has an intention to keep us down. The whole situation does not help us to go on to labor. It helps us to be lazy; it helps us to be backsliding. It is a downhill current. The downhill current helps us go down. Actually, the current carries you. But if you go uphill, you have to exercise, and you have to struggle.

In this lesson, we have extracted the life essence from 1 and 2 Timothy. These two books actually deal with godliness as the issue of the divine dispensing for the divine economy. In this lesson, I did my best to pick up all the necessary verses to show us the life of godliness.