I will give our verses from I Timothy 4:13-16 again: “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; them that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
It is evident that Paul desired Timothy to deliver this exhortation to those who might hear him speak, so we cannot relegate the above verses only to Timothy’s personal practice, for he would give these to the believers in churches where he spoke. More than that, they are written in the Word of God for believers of all eras of time to read and practice. Sometimes people seem to be prone to think that these things are “just for the preacher”, but they are for all believers, as well as for any unbeliever who wishes to read them.
Since I have covered the matters of reading, exhortation and doctrine in previous articles, I will pick up here with the words: “Neglect not the gift that is in thee”. Paul knew that God had given Timothy at least one gift, and likely several more, so he told Timothy to be sure that he did not neglect that God-given ability that he had. I have heard many people say, “Oh God has never given me any gift that I can use in His work”. I think that at least some of these people who use this language are simply seeking to get away from any responsibility to use what God has given them. All believers do not have the same gifts, but it seems that all believers have at least one gift that can be used by the Lord. Often it is others who recognize that gift in a fellow believer, before the believer himself recognizes it. God does not mean for us to do His work without also equipping us to do it! We are not told exactly what gift Timothy had, but it seems that it must have related to preaching and leading a church in the work of God. Yes, some preachers and pastors do seem to have more gifts than others, and some are “more polished” in the use of those gifts. Yet some of the most effective Christians I have known have not had a great deal of education and have not been “polished speakers”, yet God has used them in their own way to deliver His message!
Notice that Paul said the gift that Timothy had was given him by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery, a group of elders, or older men. (Presbytery appears only one time in the Bible.) The laying on of the hands of the presbytery did not necessarily convey any special power or ability, but was seemingly a recognition by this group that God’s call was upon Timothy. So, the gift was not given by the presbytery, but rather simply recognized by them. It should be that those who are called to a specific ministry also have this kind of recognition from “seasoned saints” who are in the church of our day! Paul told Timothy not to neglect the gift that God had given him, and the presbytery had recognized. This is a much needed exhortation from an old man of God to a younger man of God. It might be worth stating here that perhaps most young preachers, including myself when I began the preaching ministry 62 years ago, are prone to think that they have no particular need of guidance or advice from those who have been in the ministry for many years. The fact is: we all can learn from fellow believers, and those in the ministry of God’s Word certainly need to take “some ques” from those who have been ministering for a long time. Timothy is a prime example of one who seems clearly to have submitted to the leadership of the apostle Paul, for he evidently knew that Paul had traveled some roads that he had not yet traveled. I have been blessed to sit under some of the greatest preachers in the world, most of which are now in heaven, and I cherish those times with them.
( By J. Briggs King)