| 4:1 | GOD'S Spirit specifically tells us that in later days there men who abandon the true faith and allow themselves to be spiritually seduced by teachings of demons, |
| 4:2 | teachings given by men who are lying hypocrites, whose consciences are as dead as seared flesh. |
| 4:3 | These men forbid marriage and command abstinence from foodsgood things which God created to be thankfully enjoyed by those who believe in him and know the truth. |
| 4:4 | Everything God made is good, and is meant to be gratefully used, not despised. The holiness or otherwise of a certain food, for instance, depends not on its nature but on whether it is eaten thankfully or not. |
| 4:5 | It is consecrated by the word of God and by prayer. |
| 4:6 | You will be a faithful minister of Christ Jesus if you remind a your church members of these things. You will show yourself as a man nourished by the message of the true faith and by the sound teaching he has followed. |
| 4:7 | But steer clear of all these heathen oldwives' tales. Take time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit. |
| 4:8 | Bodily fitness has a limited value, but spiritual fitness is of unlimited value, for it holds promise both for this present life and for the life to come. |
| 4:9 | There is no doubt about this at all; it is a truth that you can accept completely. |
| 4:10 | It is because we realize the paramount importance of the spiritual that we labour and struggle. We place all our hopes upon the living God, the Saviour of all men, and especially of those who believe in him. |
| 4:11 | These convictions should be the basis of your instruction and teaching. |
| 4:12 | Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young: see that they look up to you because you are an example to believers in your speech and behaviour, in your love and faith and sincerity. |
| 4:13 | Concentrate until my arrival on your reading and on your preaching and teaching. |
| 4:14 | Do not neglect the special gift that was given to you through prophecy at the time when the assembled elders laid their hands on you. |
| 4:15 | Give your whole attention, all your energies, to these things, so that your progress is plain for all to see. |
| 4:16 | Keep a critical eye both upon your own life and on the teaching you give, and if you continue to follow the line I have indicated you will not only save your own soul but the souls your hearers as well. |
1 Timothy 4 - Philips NT in Modern English
