1 Timothy 4:8 (KJV)

Passage

For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Nearby Context

1 Timothy 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

1 Timothy 4:7 But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

1 Timothy 4:9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "bodily", "exercise", "profiteth", "little", "godliness", "profitable", and "having". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "bodily", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "But refuse profane and old wives fables..." into verse 9's "This is a faithful saying and worthy...", so "all things" and "bodily" belong inside that flow. In 1 Timothy context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "all things" and "bodily" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.