Daily Devotions
1 Timothy
"A pure heart... a good conscience... sincere faith."
Text: 1 Timothy 1:5
LOVE AS A GOAL
The apostle Paul wrote with deep insight concerning the goal of God’s commandment.
“Now the purpose (goal) of the commandment is love
from a pure heart, from a good conscience,
and from sincere faith.”
1 Timothy 1:5
1. The focal point
a) Love is the focal point.
b) It is the goal.
2. Important descriptive phrases
Three significant descriptive phrases are employed to further define the kind of love Paul meant!
a) “From a pure heart”
i) Love must indeed come from the heart.
ii) But it is a heart that has been cleansed.
iii) The word of God has the power to cleanse the heart.
b) “A good conscience”
i) The conscience is the moral aspect of the individual.
ii) The conscience reflects the soul/spirit.
iii) If one is well taught, a good conscience can emerge.
c) “Sincere faith”
i) The word of God produces much-needed faith.
ii) This faith is also marked by “sincerity”.
iii) The word in the Greek text suggests “an unfeigned faith”.
iv) It is a non-hypocritical faith.
THE TEACHING OF THE LORD JESUS
Jesus once summarised all the commandments of God with Love as the core!
“Jesus said to him,
‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it:
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'”
Matthew 22:37-39