GODLINESS IS PROFITABLE

MEMORY VERSE: for bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come, 1 Timothy 4:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 32, Ps 119:121-144, Isa 59, Matt 9

Many have read and misunderstood the part a of 1 Timothy 4:8 which says for bodily exercise profiteth little. The bible does not say exercise is bad. Exercise is good because it helps controls weight; combats health conditions and diseases (stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and depression, certain types of cancers, arthritis and falls); improves mood; boosts energy; promotes better sleep e.t.c. Exercise is also good for pregnant women. It helps reduce pregnancy discomfort, prepare for childbirth, helps them sleep better, reduces stress and lifts their spirits. Exercise does help you sleep better and it improves your mood. 

1 Timothy 4:8 says for bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Godliness is profitable now and in time to come. If you want your life to become profitable become like God. What is godliness? Godliness is becoming like God in nature, character and ability. When you give your life to Christ, God’s nature is put inside you. All born again Christians have God’s nature. Few have God’s character and fewer still have God’s ability. To become like God you need to have God’s character and ability. God’s character is love. 1 John 4:8 says God is love. 1 Corinthians 13 expands on love (God’s character) and this is a function of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). As the character of God begins to dominate your will, emotion and thought God will begin to entrust you with His ability.

God cannot entrust His ability to anyone who is yet develop His character. Having God’s ability without God’s character is like a baby with a sub machine gun; that’s disaster! Godliness is simply becoming like Jesus. John 10:30 says I and the Father are one. When Jesus was on the earth, He operated as a man not God. God is Omni-present and Jesus was not Omni- present when He was here. Jesus grew in wisdom and nature (Luke 2:52), but God does not grow. While He was on earth, He was stripped of His divine nature. The different between Jesus then and us now is that Jesus had the spirit without measure but we have the spirit with measure. This was why Jesus was able to do many things like work on water. Everyone has the potential to have the spirit without measure, even Jesus said we would greater works than He did, John 14:12. God will only entrust you with spirit without measure when you develop His character.

PONDER ON: The more like Jesus you become, the more profitable your life will become.