The first condition for becoming a good minister of Christ Jesus is to put these instructions before the brethren. These instructions is literally “these things,” which is a favorite way in the Pastorals to refer to teaching in general. The instructions referred to here may pertain only to the immediately preceding section, namely, the teaching regarding the proper attitude toward food. It is possible, however, that the instructions may include everything that has been said up to this point. Put translates a participle that comes from a verb meaning “to suggest,” “to point out something to someone,” hence “to instruct,” “to remind,” and in a stronger sense conveys the idea of convincing and ordering people to believe in something. It is very likely that the milder meaning is in focus here, which would mean that it is Timothy’s job to make sure that these instructions are kept before the brethren, which in the present context refers not only to the leaders but to the whole Christian community, including both men and women (so New Revised Standard Version “brothers and sisters”). In certain languages brethren will be expressed as “elders and youngers,” while in others translators may say “all the believers.” If translators take these instructions to refer to what immediately precedes this verse, one may translate, for example, “If you keep on reminding the brothers and sisters (or, believers) about the things I have just mentioned…”; but if translators feel that the phrase these instructions points back to everything that Paul has talked about from chapter 1-4.3, another way of expressing this first sentence is “If you keep reminding the brothers and sisters about all my instructions (or, all the things I have instructed you in this letter)….”
This then is the first condition for Timothy to be a good minister of Christ Jesus. The word for minister is discussed in 3.8, where it also appears as “Deacons.” But to remain a good minister, Timothy also needs to be nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine. The word for nourished occurs nowhere else in the New Testament; the metaphor very likely comes from child rearing and pertains to all the activities that have something to do with the nurturing of a child, such as feeding and training. It should further be noted that nourished translates a present participle, which suggests that the nurturing of a good minister is a continuing activity, in much the same way that a child is nourished and nurtured from infancy until it grows up. Good News Translation‘s model “as you feed yourself spiritually” is a good one. Another way of translating this is “as you feed your heart.” But if the idea of “feed” is unnatural in some languages, one may say, for example, “if you use the words of the Christian message and the true teaching to make you stronger believers (or, to believe more strongly in Christ).”
The nourishment of Timothy comes from the words of the faith and of the good doctrine. Faith here may be understood subjectively, in which case the whole expression refers to the words that are used to lead people to trust in Jesus Christ or to become Christians. But since faith is with the definite article, it seems more likely that it should be understood objectively, as in verse 1. For further discussion see 1.2. Doctrine appears in verse 1 and in 1.10; there it is qualified by the adjective “sound,” whereas here it is described as good. The meaning is the same, but the focus in 1.10 is on the content, whereas here it is on the practical effect of the doctrine on the life of believers. Good doctrine is in the genitive case and should be read with the words, hence the words … of the good doctrine. There is therefore a clear parallelism between the words of the faith and the words … of the good doctrine, both referring to the Christian message, with the former putting focus on the total content of the message, and the latter emphasizing the actual proclamation of that content in a form that is accepted by the community as an authoritative measurement of what they should believe. Another way of translating the words of the faith and of the good doctrine is “on the words of the Christian message and the true teachings.”
These teachings have been observed by Timothy in his spiritual journey. The relative pronoun which has as its antecedent both the words of the faith and the words … of the good doctrine. You have followed translates a perfect participle, giving the sense of faithful and continuous adherence until the present time. The word for followed is a compound verb that pertains to following someone by being always at his or her side; the verb therefore gives the sense of not only following, but following closely and faithfully.
In languages where dependent clauses must precede the main clause, one may restructure this verse as follows:
• If you continually remind the brothers and sisters (or, all the believers) about what I have just instructed you, and you feed your heart on the words of the Christian message and the true teachings which you have followed (or, obeyed), you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus.
In certain other languages, though, one may restructure as follows:
• You will be a good servant of Christ Jesus if you keep reminding the believers about the things I have just mentioned. As you do this you must also feed your heart….
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .