1 Timothy 6:18 (LSB)

Passage

Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

Nearby Context

1 Timothy 6:16 who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal might! Amen.

1 Timothy 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

1 Timothy 6:18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

1 Timothy 6:19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning aside from godless and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge—

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "good works", "command", "rich", "generous", "ready", and "share". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "good works" and "command", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Command those who are rich in this..." into verse 19's "storing up for themselves the treasure of...", so "good works" and "command" 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 "command" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.