1 Timothy 6:17

These verses come near the end of Paul’s first letter to Timothy, whom he had trained and who was now leading the church at Ephesus (1 Timothy 6). The chapter deals first with false teachers and with godliness and contentment (1 Timothy 6:3–10), and then Paul charges Timothy himself to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:11–16). Now he gives Timothy a word for one group in the congregation, those who are rich, and he follows his warnings about the love of money with plain teaching on how wealth is to be held and used.

Ephesus was a major Roman city and port, busy with trade and home to the great Temple of Artemis. Wealth was made there and put on show, and a person’s standing was often measured by what he owned. The church, like other city churches, gathered people from every level of society, the poor and the prosperous together. Among the Greeks and Romans wealth brought power, influence and a sense of self-sufficiency, and rich patrons supported clients in return for loyalty and public honour. Those habits of mind could easily come into the church with its wealthy members, and Paul’s charge meets them head on.

The word for “charge”, parangéllō, means to pass on a message, and so to order or command. Timothy is to give this teaching to the rich plainly, as a command, because wealth brings spiritual dangers of its own that call for clear guidance from their pastor. “Rich in this world” marks out earthly wealth, the riches that belong to this present life, and it prepares the way for the lasting treasure Paul speaks of in verse 19.

The first danger is pride. The word behind “be not highminded”, hypsēlophronéō, is a compound meaning to be lofty in mind, to think highly of oneself. It describes the haughty spirit that so often comes with wealth or rank, an inflated sense of one’s own importance that looks down on others and leans on self in place of God. The cure lies in the last words of the verse. Whatever the rich have, God gave it, and a gift is a reason for thanks.

The second danger is misplaced trust. “Uncertain riches” is literally “the uncertainty of riches”, adēlótēs ploútou. The word adēlótēs describes something unclear, hidden from view and unstable, and ploûtos is wealth. Riches can be lost in ways their owner cannot foresee, and in Paul’s world a fortune could vanish through political upheaval, natural disaster or bandits on the road. Wealth is an unsteady footing for security, for a sense of who we are, or for lasting well-being.

Scripture says this again and again. “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch” (Proverbs 11:28). Jesus told of the rich fool, who stored up his goods for many years and heard God say, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee” (Luke 12:16–21). And he said plainly, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

Paul sets the right object of trust beside the wrong one: “but in the living God”. He is living, active and everlasting, always present and the giver of life, and so he stands apart from dead idols and from money, which is lifeless and passes away. Trust placed in him rests on One who stays.

He is the God “who giveth us richly all things to enjoy”. Every good thing comes from him, and he gives abundantly, with a generous hand. He gives so that his people may enjoy what he gives, which makes wealth a gift to be received with gratitude, held with an open hand and used for the purpose he gave it for. This is the “godliness with contentment” that Paul has already called “great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6).

His giving reaches past material things to joy and peace in the heart: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13).

The English word “rich” comes three times in two verses. The wealthy are “rich in this world”, God gives “richly”, and the wealthy are to be “rich in good works”. Those who receive from so generous a God are called to become givers in his likeness.

With their trust set on God, the rich are given four things to do with their wealth, and every one of them reaches out to other people.

The first is “that they do good”. The verb agathoergéō joins the words for good and work, and means to work good, to do good deeds. It is active, intended kindness that brings real benefit to others and does God’s will, so that faith shows itself in what the hands do.

The second is “that they be rich in good works”. Here “rich” is ploutéō, to be or become wealthy, whether in goods or in a figurative sense. These people already have plenty of one kind of wealth, and Paul calls them to have plenty of another, a life full of charity, service and justice. Their true wealth then lies in their character and in what they give, which endures when goods are gone.

The third is to be “ready to distribute”, eumetádotos, which means easy to impart, liberal in giving. It describes a cheerful, ungrudging readiness that looks for chances to give and gives freely. Paul says the same to the Corinthians: “God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6–7).

The fourth is to be “willing to communicate”, koinōnikós, which means ready to share, liberal, especially with money and goods. It is related to koinōnía, the word for fellowship, partnership and sharing.

God made his people for this. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). James puts it bluntly: “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:14–17).

In Ephesus a rich patron gave in order to gain standing and influence, and he looked for loyalty in return. The giving Paul asks for springs from God’s love, turns wealth from self-display to the good of others and the care of the church, and looks to God for its reward, as verse 19 shows.

“Laying up in store” is apothēsaurízō, to treasure away. It is the language of saving and of putting valuables in a safe place. In Paul’s world people secured their future with land, gold and other goods, and Paul takes that language and applies it to what lasts. The rich lay up treasure by giving in good works and generosity, which is foresight with eternity in view. “For themselves” shows that while the giving benefits others, God’s reward comes back to the giver.

Jesus taught the same: “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19–21). And again: “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not” (Luke 12:33–34).

The word for foundation, themélios, means something laid down, the base on which a building stands, used literally or figuratively. Those who trusted in uncertain riches were building on ground that shifts. The foundation Paul speaks of is a life of generosity and good deeds, and it is “good” both in quality and in how long it lasts. “Against the time to come” looks ahead to the uncertainties still to be met in this life and to the last things, judgement and eternity. Paul himself had counted all his gains as loss: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:7–8).

The verb for “lay hold on”, epilambánomai, means to seize, catch or take hold of, for help or for any other purpose. It is a firm, active grasp. Those who let go of their trust in riches take hold of something worth holding: eternal life, aiṓnios zōḗ, life that lasts without limit of time. They lay hold of it now, as the life God gives his people in this world, and they will have it in full in the age to come. Riches are uncertain, and this life lasts forever.

Paul’s charge to the rich has its perfect pattern in Jesus. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). He trusted himself wholly to his Father, and he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5–8). He “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38). He gave healing, hope and truth freely, and at the cross he gave himself entirely to redeem us.

He is also the foundation of verse 19 and the life it speaks of. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The good foundation the generous lay up rests on him, the eternal life they lay hold of is life in him, and their giving flows from his own as his Spirit makes them like him.

These verses show us a God who is generous to his people. He gives richly, and he gives so that we may enjoy what he gives. He is the living God, so trust placed in him stands firm while every fortune shifts. Riches come from his hand and pass through ours, and he has given them a purpose: good works, free giving and a shared life among his people.

They also show that he is faithful about the future. What is given away in love is laid up as a good foundation, and those who hold their wealth loosely take a firm hold on eternal life. Behind all of it stands Christ, who was rich and became poor for us, so that every believer, rich or poor in this world, is made rich in him.