The Meaning of 1 Timothy 4:3 Explained

1 Timothy 4:3

KJV: Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

YLT: forbidding to marry -- to abstain from meats that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those believing and acknowledging the truth,

Darby: forbidding to marry, bidding to abstain from meats, which God has created for receiving with thanksgiving for them who are faithful and know the truth.

ASV: forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Forbidding  to marry,  [and commanding] to abstain from  meats,  which  God  hath created  to  be received  with  thanksgiving  of them which believe  and  know  the truth. 

What does 1 Timothy 4:3 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Timothy 4:1-8 - Reject False And Foolish Teaching
We have here the Apostle's forecast of the last times, i.e., the condition in which men will find themselves as the age draws to a close. Notwithstanding all that Christ has done, the prevalence of evil will be enormous, not because of any failure in God but because the Church has failed to be the organ through which His saving help could reach mankind. The symptoms are set forth with great clearness, such as demon spirits dwelling and working in men, error taught under the specious guise of excessive religious devotion, consciences seared, natural instincts thwarted and outraged. On the contrary, let us believe that the whole body, and all gifts that are natural and innocent, are to be cherished and used under three sanctions:
1.They must be accepted and enjoyed with thanksgiving to the Creator and Father.
2.They must be sanctioned by the Word of God.
3.Their use and enjoyment must, not interfere with our prayer-life.
The minister of Christ must be daily nourished by the words of Christian truth. If he is not fed on Christ's body and blood, his teaching will soon deteriorate, John 6:1-71. He must also exercise himself in godliness with as much care as the gymnast, who is continually exercising his joints and muscles so as to keep supple and alert. This is also God's purpose in the spiritual trials and discipline which He sends. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Timothy 4

1  He foretells that in the latter times there shall be a departure from the faith
6  And to the end that Timothy might not fail in doing his duty, he furnishes him with various precepts

Greek Commentary for 1 Timothy 4:3

Forbidding to marry [κωλυοντων γαμειν]
Present active participle of common verb κωλυω — kōluō to hinder, genitive case agreeing with πσευδολογων — pseudologōn See note on Colossians 2:16, Colossians 2:21., where Paul condemns the ascetic practices of the Gnostics. The Essenes, Therapeutae and other oriental sects forbade marriage. In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul does not condemn marriage. [source]
To abstain from meats [απεχεσται βρωματων]
Infinitive dependent, not on κωλυοντων — kōluontōn but on the positive idea κελευοντων — keleuontōn (implied, not expressed). Ablative case of βρωματων — brōmatōn after απεχεσται — apechesthai (present direct middle, to hold oneself away from). See 1 Corinthians 8-10; Romans 14; 15 for disputes about “meats offered to idols” and 1 Corinthians 1:22. for the Gnostic asceticism. Which God created (α ο τεος εκτισεν — ha ho theos ektisen). First active indicative of κτιζω — ktizō (Corinthians 1 Corinthians 1:16). Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:25. To be received “For reception.” Old word, only here in N.T. By them that believe and know (τοις πιστοις και επεγνωκοσι — tois pistois kai epegnōkosi). Dative case, “for the believers and those who (one article unites closely) have known fully” (perfect active participle of επιγινωσκω — epiginōskō), a Pauline use of the word (Colossians 1:6). [source]
Which God created [α ο τεος εκτισεν]
First active indicative of κτιζω — ktizō (Corinthians 1 Corinthians 1:16). Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:25. [source]
To be received [εις μεταλημπσιν]
“For reception.” Old word, only here in N.T. By them that believe and know (τοις πιστοις και επεγνωκοσι — tois pistois kai epegnōkosi). Dative case, “for the believers and those who (one article unites closely) have known fully” (perfect active participle of επιγινωσκω — epiginōskō), a Pauline use of the word (Colossians 1:6). [source]
By them that believe and know [τοις πιστοις και επεγνωκοσι]
Dative case, “for the believers and those who (one article unites closely) have known fully” (perfect active participle of επιγινωσκω — epiginōskō), a Pauline use of the word (Colossians 1:6). [source]
Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats [κωλυόντων γαμεῖν, ἀπέχεσθαι βρωμάτων]
Κωλύειν , properly to hinder or check. Ἁπέχεσθαι to hold one's self off. In Paul, 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; Philemon 1:15. Commanding is not expressed, but is implied in forbidding; “Bidding not to marry and (bidding) to abstain from meats.” The ascetic tendencies indicated by these prohibitions developed earlier than these Epistles among the Essenes, an ascetic Jewish brotherhood on the shores of the Dead Sea, who repudiated marriage except as a necessity for preserving the race, and allowed it only under protest and under stringent regulations. They also abstained strictly from wine and animal food. This sect was in existence in the lifetime of our Lord. Strong traces of its influence appear in the heresy assailed in Paul's Epistle to the Colossians. The Christian body received large accessions from it after the destruction of Jerusalem (70 a.d.). The prohibitions above named were imposed by the later Gnosticism of the second century. [source]
Hath created [ἔκτισεν]
A common Pauline word. Only here in the Pastorals. [source]
To be received [εἰς μετάλημψιν]
Lit. for participation. N.T. olxx. It occurs in Plato and Aristotle. [source]
Of them which believe and know the truth [τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ ἐπεγνωκόσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν]
The dative depends on created for participation, and should be rendered; “for them which believe,” etc., marking those for whom the food was created. The A.V. misses this by the rendering to be received of (by ). Πιστοῖς and ἐπεγκνωκόσι do not denote two classes, but one. Those who believe are described as those who have full knowledge of the truth. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Timothy 4:3

1 Corinthians 3:2 I fed [ἐπότισα]
Lit., I gave you to drink. An instance of the rhetorical figure zeugma, by which one verb is attached to two nouns, of which it only suits the meaning of one, but suggests a verb suitable for the other. Thus “gave to drink ” is applied to meat as well as to milk. For another illustration see hindering (A.V. and Rev., forbidding ), 1 Timothy 4:3. [source]
1 Corinthians 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote [περι δε ων εγραπσατε]
An ellipsis of περι τουτων — peri toutōn the antecedent of περι ων — peri hōn is easily supplied as in papyri. The church had written Paul a letter in which a number of specific problems about marriage were raised. He answers them seriatim. The questions must be clearly before one in order intelligently to interpret Paul‘s replies. The first is whether a single life is wrong. Paul pointedly says that it is not wrong, but good One will get a one-sided view of Paul‘s teaching on marriage unless he keeps a proper perspective. One of the marks of certain heretics will be forbidding to marry (1 Timothy 4:3). Paul uses marriage as a metaphor of our relation to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Romans 7:4; Ephesians 5:28-33). Paul is not here opposing marriage. He is only arguing that celibacy may be good in certain limitations. The genitive case with απτεσται — haptesthai (touch) is the usual construction. [source]
1 Timothy 3:2 The husband of one wife [μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα]
Comp. 1 Timothy 3:12; Titus 1:6. Is the injunction aimed (a) at immoralities respecting marriage - concubinage, etc., or (b) at polygamy, or (c) at remarriage after death or divorce? The last is probably meant. Much of the difficulty arises from the assumption that the Pastorals were written by Paul. In that case his views seem to conflict. See Romans 7:2, Romans 7:3; 1 Corinthians 7:39; 1 Corinthians 8:8, 1 Corinthians 8:9, where Paul declares that widows are free to marry again, and puts widows and virgins on the same level; and comp. 1 Timothy 5:9, according to which a widow is to be enrolled only on the condition of having been the wife of but one man. The Pauline view is modified in detail by the writer of the Pastorals. Paul, while asserting that marriage is right and honorable, regards celibacy as the higher state (1 Corinthians 7:1, 1 Corinthians 7:7, 1 Corinthians 7:26, 1 Corinthians 7:34, 1 Corinthians 7:37, 1 Corinthians 7:38). In this the Pastoral writer does not follow him (see 1 Timothy 2:15; 1 Timothy 3:4, 1 Timothy 3:12; 1 Timothy 4:3; 1 Timothy 5:10, 1 Timothy 5:14). The motive for marriage, namely, protection against incontinency, which is adduced by Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:2, 1 Corinthians 7:9, is given in 1 Timothy 5:11-14. As in Paul, the married state is honorable, for Bishops, Deacons, and Presbyters are married (1 Timothy 3:2, 1 Timothy 3:12; Titus 1:6), and the honor of childbearing conferred upon the mother of our Lord is reflected in the Christian woman of later times (1 Timothy 2:15). While Paul advises against second marriages (1 Corinthians 7:8, 1 Corinthians 7:9, 1 Corinthians 7:27, 1 Corinthians 7:39, 1 Corinthians 7:40), in the Pastorals emphasis is laid only on the remarriage of church-officers and church-widows. In the Pastorals we see a reflection of the conditions of the earlier post-apostolic age, when a non-Pauline asceticism was showing itself (see 1 Timothy 4:3, 1 Timothy 4:4, 1 Timothy 4:8; Titus 1:15). The opposition to second marriage became very strong in the latter part of the second century. It was elevated into an article of faith by the Montanists, and was emphasized by Tertullian, and by Athenagoras, who called second marriage “a specious adultery” ( εὐπρεπής μοιχεία )|Vigilant ( νηφάλιον )|Only in the Pastorals. See 1 Timothy 3:11, and Titus 2:2. olxx. The kindred verb νήφειν means to be sober with reference to drink, and, in a metaphorical sense, to be sober and wary; cool and unimpassioned. Thus Epicharmus, νᾶφε καὶ μέμνας ἀπιστεῖν bewary and remember not to be credulous. See on 1 Thessalonians 5:6. In N.T. the meaning of the verb is always metaphorical, to be calm, dispassionate, and circumspect. The A.V. vigilant is too limited. Wise caution may be included; but it is better to render sober, as A.V. in 1 Timothy 3:11and Titus 2:2, in the metaphorical sense as opposed to youthful levity.|Of good behavior ( κόσμιον )|oP. Only here and 1 Timothy 2:9, see note. Rend. orderly.|Given to hospitality ( φιλόξενον )|oP. Comp. Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9. See note on pursuing hospitality, Romans 12:13.|Apt to teach ( διδακτικόν )|oP. Only here and 2 Timothy 2:24. olxx, oClass. In the Pastorals the function of teaching pertains to both Bishops and Elders (see 1 Timothy 5:17; Titus 1:9). It is at this point that the tendency to confound and identify the two reveals itself. Bishops and Presbyters are not identical. Earlier, the teaching function does not seem to have attached to the position of ἐπίσκοπος. The office acquired a different character when it assumed that function, which is not assigned to it in Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians. In the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (about 100 a.d.) the ministry of teaching is to be assumed by the Bishops only in the absence of the Prophets and Teachers (xiii., xv).| [source]
1 Timothy 2:4 Come to the knowledge of the truth [εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν]
The phrase only here and 2 Timothy 3:7. Ἑπίγνωσις is a favorite Pauline word. See on Romans 3:20; see on Colossians 1:9; see on 1 Timothy 2:4; see on 1 Timothy 4:3. It signifies advanced or full knowledge. The difference between the simple γνῶσις and the compound word is illustrated in Romans 1:21, Romans 1:28, and 1 Corinthians 13:12. In N.T. always of the knowledge of things ethical or divine, and never ascribed to God. For ἀλήθεια truthsee on sound doctrine, 1 Timothy 1:10. It appears 14 times in the Pastorals, and always without a defining genitive. So, often in Paul, but several times with a defining genitive, as truth of God, of Christ, of the gospel. The logical relation in the writer's mind between salvation and the knowledge of the truth is not quite clear. Knowledge of the truth may be regarded as the means of salvation, or it may be the ideal goal of the whole saving work. See 1 Corinthians 13:12; Philemon 3:8; John 17:3. The latter is more in accord with the general drift of teaching in these Epistles. [source]
Titus 1:14 Who turn away from the truth [αποστρεπομενων]
Present middle (direct) participle of αποστρεπω — apostrephō “men turning themselves away from the truth” (accusative according to regular idiom). “The truth” (1 Timothy 4:3) is the gospel (Ephesians 4:21). [source]
Revelation 14:4 For they are virgins [παρτενοι γαρ εισιν]
Παρτενος — Parthenos can be applied to men as well as women. Swete takes this language “metaphorically, as the symbolical character of the Book suggests.” Charles considers it an interpolation in the interest of celibacy for both men and women. If taken literally, the words can refer only to adultery or fornication (Beckwith). Jesus recognised abstinence only for those able to receive it (Matthew 19:12), as did Paul (1 Corinthians 7:1, 1 Corinthians 7:8, 1 Corinthians 7:32, 1 Corinthians 7:36). Marriage is approved by Paul in 1 Timothy 4:3 and by Hebrews 13:4. The New Testament exalts marriage and this passage should not be construed as degrading it.Whithersoever he goeth (οπου αν υπαγει — hopou an hupagei). Indefinite local clause with modal αν — an and the present active indicative of υπαγω — hupagō The Christian life is following the Lamb of God as Jesus taught (Mark 2:14; Mark 10:21; Luke 9:59; John 1:43; John 21:19, etc.) and as Peter taught (1 Peter 2:21) and John (1 John 2:6).Were purchased from among men First aorist passive indicative of αγοραζω — agorazō repeating the close of Revelation 14:3.First fruits (απαρχη — aparchē). See for this word 1 Corinthians 16:15; Romans 11:16; Romans 16:5. This seems to mean that the 144,000 represent not the whole, but only a portion of the great harvest to come (Matthew 9:37), not only the first installment, but those marked by high spiritual service to God and the Lamb (Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:15; 1 Peter 2:5). [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Timothy 4:3 mean?

forbidding to marry [commanding] to abstain from foods that - God created for reception with thanksgiving by the faithful and [those] knowing the truth
κωλυόντων γαμεῖν ἀπέχεσθαι βρωμάτων Θεὸς ἔκτισεν εἰς μετάλημψιν μετὰ εὐχαριστίας τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ ἐπεγνωκόσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν

κωλυόντων  forbidding 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: κωλύω  
Sense: to hinder, prevent forbid.
γαμεῖν  to  marry 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: γαμέω  
Sense: to lead in marriage, take to wife.
ἀπέχεσθαι  [commanding]  to  abstain 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Middle
Root: ἀπέχω  
Sense: have.
βρωμάτων  from  foods 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: βρῶμα  
Sense: that which is eaten, food.
  that 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεὸς  God 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
ἔκτισεν  created 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: κτίζω  
Sense: to make habitable, to people, a place, region, island.
μετάλημψιν  reception 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μετάλημψις  
Sense: a taking, participation.
εὐχαριστίας  thanksgiving 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: εὐχαριστία  
Sense: thankfulness.
τοῖς  by  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
πιστοῖς  faithful 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: πιστός  
Sense: trusty, faithful.
ἐπεγνωκόσι  [those]  knowing 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Active, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: ἐπιγινώσκω  
Sense: to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly.
ἀλήθειαν  truth 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀλήθεια  
Sense: objectively.