First Timothy 4:7 and 8 say, “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.” These verses speak of two kinds of exercise—bodily exercise and the exercise unto godliness. This second exercise refers neither to the body nor to the soul. Rather, it is the exercise of our human spirit. As we saw in the previous chapter, godliness is the manifestation of God in the flesh (3:16). It is God manifested from within us. Second Timothy 4:22 tells us in what part of our being God dwells. This verse says, “The Lord be with your spirit.” The Lord refers to God plus many items, including incarnation, crucifixion for redemption, resurrection, and ascension. This Lord, who is God with all these items, has come into our spirit. The foregoing verses show that the exercise unto godliness is the exercise of our human spirit. By the exercise of our spirit we touch the Lord so that He may have the way to manifest Himself in us.
The first chapters of both 1 and 2 Timothy speak of the inward parts of our being in relation to the exercise of our spirit. Second Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of sobermindedness.” This verse implies the three parts of our soul—our will, emotion, and mind. A spirit of power is a spirit with a proper will, a spirit of love is a spirit with a proper emotion, and a spirit of sobermindedness is a spirit with a clear, sober, and sound mind. God has given us not a weak spirit but a powerful, loving, and sober spirit. In saying this, Paul’s intention was not merely to tell us something concerning the spirit; it was that we would use our spirit.
Our spirit is encompassed, surrounded, by the three parts of our soul. Therefore, in order to exercise the spirit we must have a subdued and submissive will, a proper emotion, and a clear and sober mind. If all these parts of the soul are under the control of the spirit, the spirit will be powerful, loving, and sober, and it will be released. Otherwise, our soul will hinder the spirit from being released. When the parts of our soul are under the control of the spirit, they become a free course for the spirit to come out and be released.
Dealing with our inward parts for the exercise of the spirit may be compared to purifying a flow of water. A spring of water may be pure and clean, but if it flows through sulfurous and salty passages, it will be mixed with sulfur and salt. In order to purify the flow of water, the passages must be cleared up. Strictly speaking, the problems related to the exercise of our spirit are problems with either our will, our emotion, or our mind. There is nothing wrong with our spirit. According to the entire New Testament, God has reserved our spirit for Himself and has not allowed His enemy to come into it. (“Defilement of spirit” in 2 Corinthians 7:1 refers not to our human spirit but to defilement by things in the spiritual world, such as idols.) God allowed the devil, Satan, to damage the body and the soul, causing the spirit to be deadened under the influence of the sinful body and fallen soul. However, the Scriptures do not tell us that Satan takes over the human spirit directly. God has drawn a boundary to preserve our human spirit. Therefore, to deal with the spirit is firstly a matter of dealing with the inward parts that surround the spirit.
The passage to our human spirit is our soul with its several parts. If our mind, will, or emotion is wrong, our spirit cannot be in a proper condition. Therefore, we need to deal with all the parts of our soul. Our will must be subdued, our emotion balanced, and our mind made clear. If our will is submissive, our emotion balanced, and our mind clear and sober, our spirit will be powerful, loving, sober, and easily released.
The two Epistles to Timothy speak mainly of one thing: our need to exercise ourselves unto godliness, which is to exercise our human spirit for the manifestation of God in us. The central thought of these two books is that whether we are elders, deacons, or anyone else in the service of the church, we need to exercise our spirit so that God in Christ as the Spirit may be manifested in us.
First Timothy 1:3 through 5 speak of a pure heart and a good conscience. These verses say, “Even as I exhorted you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith. But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and out of a good conscience and out of unfeigned faith.” The different teachings, myths, and genealogies produce questionings in the mind. That is, they cause people to exercise their mind to question rather than care for God’s economy. Therefore, for the exercise unto godliness according to God’s economy, which is the mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh, we must have a pure heart and a good conscience.