1 Timothy 6:18 (DBY)

Passage

to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal in distributing, disposed to communicate [of their substance],

Nearby Context

1 Timothy 6:16 who only has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor is able to see; to whom [be] honour and eternal might. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:17 Enjoin on those rich in the present age not to be high-minded, nor to trust on the uncertainty of riches; but in the God who affords us all things richly for [our] enjoyment;

1 Timothy 6:18 to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal in distributing, disposed to communicate [of their substance],

1 Timothy 6:19 laying by for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of [what is] really life.

1 Timothy 6:20 O Timotheus, keep the entrusted deposit, avoiding profane, vain babblings, and oppositions of false-named knowledge,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "good works", "rich", "liberal", "distributing", "disposed", and "communicate". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "good works" and "rich", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Enjoin on those rich in the present..." into verse 19's "laying by for themselves a good foundation...", so "good works" and "rich" 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 "good works" and "rich" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.