Verse 9
‘Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptance,’
Paul now comes to his third ‘faithful saying’, and the second that is worthy of all acceptance. The first pointed to the fact that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, which was worthy of all acceptance (1 Timothy 1:15). The second declared that he who sought to be an overseer over the church of God sought a good work (1 Timothy 3:1). The third declares that we must labour and strive after godliness because we have our heart set on the living God, so that we might enjoy His full salvation. And this too is worthy of all acceptance.
The phrase has previously always preceded the saying referred to, and we must therefore assume that it is the same here. Note the change in 1 Timothy 4:10 from ‘you’ to ‘we’ which may be seen as serving to confirm this, although it is not precisely so for here the saying in 1 Timothy 4:10 leans on what is said in 1 Timothy 4:8. The ‘end’ described is the same as that already mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:8.
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