Training for body and soul
CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER - 28 August 2025
Photo by Fitsum Admasu on Unsplash
Friends in Christ, congratulations to congregation member, Glenn Lockwood, who, Lord willing, runs his 300th Marathon this Sunday morning, 31 August, at the Sydney Marathon. And despite the road closures you can still make it to church at the Cathedral – click this link for details.
The Apostle Paul was probably a sports fan. He often used sporting illustrations... Fight the good fight of faith. Run the race. Wrestle in prayer.
And note his comment in 1 Timothy 4:8 that bodily training is of "some" value... That could be dismissive – a swipe at sports-crazed Ephesus, where much effort was spent training men for sporting contests at pagan festivals.
But given his love of sporting analogies, and the fact he just said the physical creation is to be received with thanksgiving (1 Tim 4:3-5), I think Paul is saying physical training has real value. Its value is real but limited, rather than little.
Sport can teach teamwork, perseverance, and respect for the rules. It can provide a way of connecting with others. It’s good for health. Professional sport provides entertainment for millions. And it's great when a Christian sport-star models prayer, not for victory but for protection from injury, and for contentment regardless of result.
But sport is not eternal. Train for godliness (v7). The implication in verse 8 is that physical training only holds promise for the present life, not the one to come. But we train for the life to come. We train in the gospel.
We are spiritual fitness fanatics. As verse 10 puts it, we toil and strive, literally ‘fight’—like an athletic contest—because we’ve put our hope in God who is the Saviour.
And that note of eternal hope puts all your sporting efforts into perspective. Even Glenn's 300th marathon!
Don’t hope in sport. The best fitness regime in the world will not stop you dying in the end.
We need a Saviour! No amount of sporting entertainment can hide that. Paul writes earlier in 1 Timothy 2:3-6 of
“God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”
And quite likely, the “training in godliness” in 1 Timothy 4:7-8 refers to "training in religion”—Christianity! The word translated ‘godliness’ often just refers to religion's doctrines and practice. The same word is used in 1 Timothy 3:16, where the 'mystery of godliness' is a poetic list of key truths about Jesus: his appearance in the flesh, his vindication by the Spirit, and the angel-endorsed, glorious preaching of Jesus among the nations as the great object of faith.
The parallels to “training in godliness” here in chapter 4 are “the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed” (verse 6). So “training in godliness” probably doesn’t mean learning how to say your prayers or good works like visiting the sick. They are good things to do. But we are saved by Jesus, not by good deeds.
Rather, training in godliness means steeping yourself in the doctrine of Jesus.
That’s real hope. That’s how you get the promise of the life to come. Sticking with Jesus.
Do you know the teachings of the Bible better than you know the football rulebook? Or this Sunday, are you as excited about the gospel of Jesus as much as the world's best marathon runners?
Warmly in Christ,
Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney