Cooking in God's Kitchen

“If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed” (1Tim 4:6).

Great cooks become great cooks because they have a great love for great food. They love it and want to share it with others. You know their names. Wolfgang Puck. Anthony Bourdain. Bobby Flay. For heaven’s sake, the TV Food Network dishes them up 24/7/365. 

A couple of thousand years before Gordon Ramsey threw his first kitchen tantrum or Guy Fieri ever drove up to a diner, drive in, or dive, Pastor Timothy was serving up delicious portions of God’s Word to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus. In a letter to his spiritual son, Paul encourages Tim to serve up the same scrumptious Gospel meals he grew up eating. “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed” (v6). God’s grace isn’t just great tasting, it’s great for you.

This is a big change from the junk food the Ephesian believers have been getting recently. Instead of the truth about who Jesus is and what He’s done, a team of false teachers has been cooking up all sorts of unhealthy garbage (1Tim 1:3-4). Myths. Speculations. Worthless ancestry research. These lying hucksters have intentionally lied to folks about self-salvation by subtraction (1Tim 4:1-3). Don’t get married, they say. Avoid certain foods, they say. In other words, live the monk life. Yeah, doesn’t sound very appetizing to me either.

After giving the boot to the spiritual con artists, Paul tells Tim to get the people of Ephesus back to on a nutritious diet. He’s to “put these things before the brothers” (v5). A lot of scholars have their undies in a bundle over just what “these things” are. Are they the things in the preceding verses (1Tim 3:16-4:4)? Are they the things mentioned once we get to chapter 5? I say both. Tim is to fill their plates with “these things” we read all throughout the letter. 

Don’t make the mistake of thinking the apostle is leaving the ladies out of the loop here. Most translations simply say “brothers” or “brethren.” This was first century language for every believer in the fellowship. What a great reminder that we’re aren’t a social or civic club like the Elks or the Kiwanis. We’re a family. God’s family. Through the work of our ultimate Big Brother Jesus, God has adopted us as His sons and daughters. 

Paul sees the importance of basic nourishment for God’s people. The ESV translates the Greek verb hupotithemi as “put.” But there’s a bit more to it than that. It’s a compound word that literally means to “under (hupo-) lay (-tithemi).” It pictures placing under or laying down something. The term carries the idea of basic instruction and foundational teaching. Tim needs to rebuild the church and must start with a new foundation. It’s first things first. Back to the basics. From a spiritual nutrition standpoint, this is the bottom of the Food Pyramid. 

It’s imperative to have a strong foundation to your faith. Know who Jesus is. Know what He’s done. We’re trusting in the fact that He lived the perfect life we failed to live. We’re trusting that He died the death for our sin we should have died. We’re trusting that He rose to the new life we don’t deserve. Those are the footings of our faith. Trust in Christ and His completed work. 

When a pastor like Tim cooks up regular meals using the meat of solid teaching, he “will be a good servant of Christ Jesus” (v6). “Servant” (Gr. diakonos) paints a picture of an attendant, minister, and helper. Earlier, Paul uses the same word describe a deacon (1Tim 3:8,12). It also describes a waiter who serves food and drinks. Back in the very first church, the apostles needed hardworking dudes full of God’s Spirit to make sure everybody was getting food (Acts 6:3). The man from Tarsus sees Pastor Tim as the attentive server delivering the needed nourishment of God’s Word to the church. 

Tim has been “trained in the words of the faith of the good doctrine that you have followed” (v6). So maybe you’re not exactly buying all these food images. Well, check out what Paul says here. In the original language, “trained” is the verb entrepho. It means to nourish or feed oneself on needed sustenance. That’s why it is sometimes translated as nurture or rear. You’ll only find this word in two places ancient Greek lit. Here in Paul’s letter to Tim. Also in one of Plato’s writings. Just another reminder that the apostle was VERY well read. You could say he was a voracious reader. See what I did there?

Paul reminds his protege that he’s grown up at the training table of God’s Word. Now he’s to prepare meals for the followers of Jesus in Ephesus. In the sequel to this epistle, the apostle reminds Pastor Tim of this again. “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ” (2Tim 3:14-15).

Every follower of Jesus should have the taste for God’s Word. It shouldn’t just be limited to teachers and preachers. Let’s regularly read the Bible. Study what God has to say. Meditate on His truth. Remember, this isn’t to fill your head with all sorts of facts and figures. It’s to deepen your relationship with the One who came to your rescue. 

A pastor fulfills God’s call on his life by preparing and delivering scriptural meals to the followers of Jesus that are doctrinally nutritious. Like a great chef, Tim has a passion for the food found in God’s Word and he can’t wait to share His goodness with believers. Messages and Bibles studies are like trips to the training table. Lots of protein. Packed with nutrients. It’s spicy and anything but bland. If you love to eat it, make a point of learning how to prepare it. Who knows, you may be the next great chef in God’s kitchen.

Recipe for Gospel Stew

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (v5-7).

My wife Deb likes surfing on Pinterest. The big reason is to find new recipes. Here in the opening chapter of his second letter, Peter includes the recipe for a delicious new Gospel Stew. He lists all the ingredients for a dish that will not only allow us to fully explore what our salvation is all about but to really get to know God in a deep and intimate way. It’s not really all that complicated. Your key basic ingredient is faith. Start emptying the cabinets of the various components. Go ahead. Dump it all in there. Stir it all together. Let the stuff simmer. And the end result is love. A delicious Gospel Stew.

Pete begins with faith and finishes with love. Always begin with your faith in Jesus. This is the trust in who He is and what He’s done that you and I could never do. He lived the perfect life that I totally failed to do. He died the death for my own sin that I should have died. He rose to a spectacular new life that I in no way deserve. I’m trusting in what He’s done. I place my faith in who He is. This is not so much about the strength of my faith but the strength of the object of my faith. It’s not about gritting your teeth and making yourself believe harder. This is trusting in the most trustworthy One. Jesus. The Rock. So the basic ingredient is faith. Dump in all in. Everything you’ve got.

When we’re done cooking, the result is a scrumptious crockpot that tastes of love. Pete uses the Greek word agape. This is the love that Jesus and His boys talk about constantly in the New Testament. It’s so much more than a warm, fuzzy feeling. It’s so much more than doing something for someone whenever you feel like it. This love is a choice. This love is a decision. It’s a love that does. Love in action. Christ proved His love for you and me by dying in our place while we were still rebels against God’s kingdom (Rom 5:8). Talk about an incredible choice. What starts with faith in Jesus ends in love. Love for God. Love for others. Love that gets me outside of myself.

OK, let’s get started on the stew. With all my faith already in the pot, Pete tells me to grab every bit of  “virtue” I can get my hands on. This is the Greek word arete, which means excellence, goodness, valor, uprightness and character. The apostle is talking about the power to do the right thing. MacArthur says this is the God-given ability to perform heroic deeds. Kinda like when the Wizard of Oz proclaimed the Tin Man as a “Good Deed Doer.”  We read the very same word to describe God’s excellence back in verse 3. One of the great ways to express your faith in what Jesus has done for you is do something good. So how much virtue should we put in the pot? All of it.

Our next ingredient is “knowledge” (Gr. gnosis). There are a LOT of Greek words that get translated as “knowledge.” This one describes correct insight and understanding. This is truth properly comprehended and applied. It’s understanding by virtue of experience. The term is even a way to talk about an intimate relationship with a person. Just before listing the ingredients for this Gospel Stew, Pete tells us that God has already given us everything we need to live a life that brings Him glory. That happens “through the knowledge of Him who called us” (1:3). The former fisherman is talking about Jesus. Take everything you know about Jesus, everything you’ve experienced as a follower of Christ, scoop it all up and put it in the pot. All of it. 

Let’s double check what we’ve got so far. Faith? Check. Virtue? Got it. Knowledge? It’s in there. 

The recipe then calls for “self-control” (Gr. egkrateia). This is the exercise of complete control over one’s desires and actions and mastery over one’s passions. The King Jimmy Bible calls it “temperance.” It’s from a word that literally means “inner force” or “holding oneself in.” It was used of highly trained athletes who were in complete control of their bodies. Pete’s buddy Paul wrote that “self-control” is clear evidence that God’s Spirit is working in your life (Gal 5:22-23). Before Jesus got ahold of me, I had very little discipline. But a very peculiar thing happened after He saved me. I started to have the ability to say “no” to a variety of activities that were destructive and began to say “yes” to those brought glory to God. The irony of “self-control” is that I’m not really controlling myself. God guides me and gives me the strength to do it. So make sure you get all of the God-given “self-control” in the cabin and put it in the pot.

Let’s see, Pete then says to add “steadfastness” to the stew. This is hupomone, which means patient endurance and perseverance. This is unswerving loyalty despite difficulties and testings. A capacity to bear up under difficult circumstances It literally means “a life underneath.” In other words, this is hanging tough when something very hard is pressing down on you. It should come as no shock that Jesus is the perfect example of a living godly life under pressure. He kept His eyes locked on His mission of coming to seek and save the lost. He was steadfast in His life-long journey to the cross. God grants us perseverance when the pressure builds. The folks on the receiving end of this letter know all about perseverance under pressure. Pete’s first note to them was all about godly suffering in ungodly persecution (1Pet 1:6-7; 4:19). Open up every can of “steadfastness” you have and add it to our stew.

Let’s see what’s next. “Godliness” (Gr. eusebeia). Pete’s talking about a godly life expressed as good deeds. This is a life of reverence and respect towards my Creator and Savior. A life in constant view of God. So here’s the deal. Do the things I say and do truly reflect that I’m a follower of Jesus? Am I obedient to His commands? Do I make Him famous with what I do? Do I live my life as an act of worship to God? Let me be totally transparent with you. I fall miserably short on the “godliness” scale. But what I do have, I’m going to scrape it all together and put it in our pot of Gospel Stew.

Now stir in “brotherly affection.” The Greek word is philadelphia. Nope, he’s not talking about the city in Pennsylvania. This isn’t cream cheese. And while a Philly cheesesteak always sounds good, let’s stay focused on our Gospel Stew. This is the love expressed among family members. And in this case, Pete’s talking about the affection between followers of Jesus. Just before He went to the cross, Christ gave His crew a crucial command. Love one another. Believers’ sacrificial love for each other would show the world that we’re His followers (Jn 13:34-35). Dump the entire bag of “brotherly affection” into the pot.

Last but not least we add “love” (Gr. agape). The final ingredient will be the dominant flavor in our Gospel Stew. As we said before, this is a deep love with an outward expression. A love that does. A love with legs. As the guys in DC Talk say, “Love is a verb.” What exactly does it look like? Well, Paul devoted an entire chapter to it. When it doubt of what love looks like, flip over to 1 Corinthians 13. It’s the kind of love God has for us. It’s the kind of love we’re to have for each other. Jesus Himself said that every last bit of the Old Testament hangs on the twin principles of loving God and loving others. My friend Ross Turner used to talk about reaching up and reaching out. You have to do both. Reaching up in our love to Jesus must be done while we’re reaching out in love to those around us. 

Let’s review the recipe for Gospel Stew and make sure we’ve put everything in.

Faith. Check.

Virtue. Check.

Knowledge. Check.

Self-control. Check.

Steadfastness. Check.

Godliness. Check.

Brotherly affection. Check.

Love. Check.

Now, take a taste. Any good chef wants to know if what they’re making is any good. Does it taste like love? Perfect!