Better yet, did you, as a believer, know that was a thing? Did you know you can “train yourself in godliness”? The apostle Paul instructed Timothy, “train yourself in godliness” (1 Tim 4:7). This instruction wouldn’t only work for Timothy but for any believer at any time. If Timothy could so train himself, why couldn’t we?
A couple of questions come to mind when reading this command. What did Paul mean by godliness and what kind of training are we talking about? In this article, I only focus on the latter question by highlighting the four places in the New Testament writings where this spiritual training is talked about in relation to the greek word gymnazo.
What does “train” mean?
We need to take a dive into the original language to discover what Paul meant by train.
A Peek Into the Greek
The greek word gymnazo, which is the word translated “train” or “trained” occurs only four times in the New Testament scriptures: 1 Timothy 4:7; Hebrews 5:14, 12:11; 2 Peter 2:14. We are not going to look deeper into 2 Peter 2:14 simply because the context is the polar opposite of who we want to be although the meaning of gymnazo still applies.
Definition of gymnazo:
Gumnazo or gymnazo from gumnós = “naked” or minimally clothed and descriptive of the common practice of males in the Greco Roman “gymnasia” source of English “gymnasium”, “gymnastics”) literally meant to exercise naked in the palaestra (a school in ancient Greece or Rome for sports).1
Obviously, Paul is not instructing Timothy to train naked for the Greek or Roman Olympics but he is evoking a powerful image with this figure of speech. “Figuratively gumnazo means to exercise so as to discipline oneself (in the moral or ethical “gym”) or to exercise vigorously, in any way, either the body or the mind. It describes the rigorous, strenuous, self-sacrificing training an athlete undergoes.”1
Now let’s look at the related scriptures to gain an immediate context for what we are talking about. This first scripture in Paul’s first letter to Timothy is in the same context of Paul’s command to Timothy to fight the good fight (1 Tim 1:18) using the prophetic words spoken over him by the elders. You see the word “train” as a verb and “training” as a noun. In Greek, train is gymnazo and training is gymnasia, both have the same meaning.
Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
gymnasia, 1st Century A.D.
1 Timothy 4:7
As mentioned, the first occurence is a verb
… solid food is for the mature, whose spiritual senses perceive heavenly matters. And they have been adequately trained by what they’ve experienced to emerge with understanding of the difference between what is truly excellent and what is evil and harmful.
Unknown Author, 1st Century A.D.
Hebrews 5:14
As believers, we have been rescued from the power of this present world and transferred into the Kingdom of Jesus (Col 1:13). The moment you believed God sent His son Jesus to save you from your sins is also the moment your spiritual training began. The purpose of this spiritual training is to mature you into yourself, your “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
1 https://www.preceptaustin.org/2_peter_214#trained