A thoughtful guide for your walk of faith Read with context, practice with grace.
Pauline Letters · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

1 Timothy 4

Guidance for teaching, worship, leadership, care, money, and church order.

New Testament

1 Timothy 4

1But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,

2through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron,

3forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

4For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.

5For it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.

6If you instruct the brothers of these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed.

7But refuse profane and old wives’ fables. Exercise yourself toward godliness.

8For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now and of that which is to come.

9This saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance.

10For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

11Command and teach these things.

12Let no man despise your youth; but be an example to those who believe, in word, in your way of life, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.

13Until I come, pay attention to reading, to exhortation, and to teaching.

14Don’t neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the elders.

15Be diligent in these things. Give yourself wholly to them, that your progress may be revealed to all.

16Pay attention to yourself and to your teaching. Continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Guidance for teaching, worship, leadership, care, money, and church order. Read 1 Timothy 4 within the complete 1 Timothy overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in 1 Timothy 4

1 Timothy 4 contains 16 verses and about 324 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 16 closes: “Pay attention to yourself and to your teaching. Continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include things, yourself, will, faith, attention, believe. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About 1 Timothy 4

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, 1 Timothy 4:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer