Self-Discipline

Among young men today, a strong contrast exists between the discipline of the body and the discipline of the soul. Athletes of all kinds train on a daily basis, getting up early, going through the rigors of intense physical exercise, and keeping a strict diet, so that they might excel in their sport of choice. Other men spend hours in the gym on a regimented schedule merely for the sake of their appearance. Yet in the majority of cases, self-discipline reaches no further than the physical domain. The body may be disciplined well enough, but the soul is utterly neglected.

For the apostle Paul, such an imbalance was unthinkable. On several occasions, Paul appealed to bodily self-discipline as an illustration of a more significant form of self-discipline—that which aims for godliness. One such example is in 1 Timothy 4, where Paul says, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance” (1 Timothy 4:7–9).

The word for “discipline” that Paul uses here is gumnazō, from which our English words gymnasium and gymnastics derive. It means “to train,” or “to exercise,” speaking of the rigorous, strenuous, self-sacrificing training an athlete undergoes.

Every Greek city had its gymnasium, and Ephesus, where Timothy ministered, was no exception. Youths customarily spent much of their time from ages sixteen to eighteen in physical training. That was vital, since life in those days involved much physical activity. Not only that, but there was a great emphasis on the glory of winning athletic events which motivated many to a life of training.

By using gumnazō, Paul played off that cultural phenomenon and applied it to the spiritual realm. As Greek culture emphasized dedicated training of the body, Paul urged Timothy to train his inner man for godliness.

Godliness is the reality of reverence, piety, and true spiritual virtue. It is a right attitude and response toward the true Creator God—a preoccupation from the heart with holy and sacred realities. It is respect for what is due to God, and is thus the highest of all virtues. It is the heart and soul of Christian character and the aim of Christian living (cf. 1 Timothy 2:2; 2 Peter 3:11).

Paul identifies self-discipline as a key to godly living in several places in his letters. In 2 Timothy 2:3–5, Paul likens spiritual discipline to that required of a soldier and an athlete. Such discipline is necessary for victory in war, or in elite competition.

A lack of spiritual discipline is the primary reason so many men fall into sin. They fail to spend time cultivating the means of grace in the Word, in prayer, and in self-sacrificial service. They have undisciplined minds, easily seduced by worldly ideologies. They have undisciplined desires, easily drawn after what God has forbidden. They have undisciplined behavior, with no defense when their impulses prompt them toward sin. Rather than seeing godliness as something to be diligently pursued, they believe they will fall into it without the discipline that Scripture clearly teaches is necessary for sanctification. But no athlete ever succeeded without hard, purposeful work, and no Christian ever grows in godliness without self-discipline.

Therefore, men are to be disciplining themselves for godliness because of its eternal value, unlike bodily discipline which endures only for a short period during man’s fading earthly life. Discipline in godliness is also profitable to body and soul, unlike bodily discipline which only conditions the physical component of man. Godliness, not physical strength, athletic success, or earthly accolades, is the pursuit of the Christian man. He must apply all the means of grace as he endeavors to be able to say, as did Paul, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Running for the Prize

Paul uses a similar metaphor to encourage self-discipline in 1 Corinthians 9: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:24–25).

In the midst of addressing the Corinthian church about the use of Christian liberty, Paul teaches them that liberty must be limited by self-control. Our sinfulness resents and resists restrictions, sometimes even in the name of spiritual freedom. Thus, it must be subdued, much like physical tendencies toward laziness and indulgence have to be brought under control by the athlete. If they are not, the athlete will have no chance of winning.

The Greeks had two great athletic festivals: the Olympic Games and the Isthmian Games. The Isthmian Games were held at Corinth and were therefore intimately familiar to the recipients of this letter. Contestants in the games had to prove rigorous training for ten months. The last month was spent at Corinth, with supervised daily workouts in the gymnasium and athletic fields.

The footrace was always a major attraction at the games, and that is the figure Paul uses to illustrate the faithful Christian life. No one would train so hard for so long without intending to win. Yet out of the large number of runners, only one would win.

While in the case of the Christian “race,” every Christian who pays the price of careful training can win, Paul still highlights the fact that believers must train to win. We do not compete against each other but against the obstacles—practical, physical, and spiritual—that would hinder us. In a sense, every Christian runs his own race, enabling each one of us to be a winner. Paul therefore counsels all believers to run in such a way that we may win.

If the Olympic and Isthmian athletes exercised such great discipline and self-control in all things, why can’t Christians, Paul asks. After all, the reward that they were receiving would fade quickly, but the believer’s reward is forever.

The prize in the Isthmian Games was a pine wreath. The contestants competed for more than that, of course. But the wreath represented fame, acclaim, and the life of a hero. Winners were immortalized, much as they are today. Yet that “immortality” was just as mortal as the wreath itself, and lasted little longer. Both were perishable.

Christians do not run for a short-lived pine wreath or for short-lived fame. They already have true immortality. They run in order to receive a “crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award . . . on that day” (2 Timothy 4:8), “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4). That prize is forever.

But the imperishable requires self-control, just as the perishable. No Christian man will be successful in anything worthwhile without discipline. Every good thing we accomplish—whether in learning, business, artistic skill, marriage, spiritual living, witnessing, or whatever—is accomplished through discipline and self-control.

If an athlete expects to excel, he voluntarily, and often severely, restricts his liberty. His sleep, his diet, and his exercise are not determined by his rights or by his feelings but by the requirements of his training. Professional athletes today often are highly paid. But the Isthmian Games were amateur. And still, amateur athletes train rigorously for years, often at considerable expense, for the sake of an inexpensive prize and the brief acclaim that goes with it.

The athlete’s disciplined self-control is a rebuke of half-hearted, spiritually out-of-shape Christian men who do almost nothing to prepare themselves for their God-given duties. The laziness, apathy, and over-indulgence that are rife among men pose a serious threat to the church. Many are disqualifying themselves because they do not realize that self-discipline is required for a fruitful Christian life, just as it is for a successful athletic career.

Paul had a purpose in running. He was not without aim. His goal, which he states four times in 1 Corinthians 9:19–22, was to win as many people to Jesus Christ as possible by as many means as possible.

Boxing with Intention

Changing metaphors, Paul adds, “I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave” (1 Corinthians 9:26–27). He did not shadow box; he was always fighting the real fight, “the good fight” (1 Timothy 1:18). He was not just working up a sweat, but engaging in a real battle.

A considerable part of that fight was against Paul’s own body. He went so far as to say that he buffeted his body and made it his slave. “Buffet” literally means “to hit under the eye”; he figuratively would give his body a black eye, even knock it out if necessary, if that’s what it took to bring it under control. The control Paul had over his body was comparable to a master over a slave. As the slave was at the beck and call of his master, so was Paul’s body subjected to do his bidding.

Unlike Paul, most men are instead slaves to their bodies—their bodies tell their minds what to do. Their bodies decide when to eat, what to eat, how much to eat, when to sleep and get up, and so on. An athlete cannot allow that. He follows the training rules, not his body. He runs when he would rather be resting, he eats a balanced meal when he would rather eat ice cream, he goes to bed when he would rather stay up, and he gets up early to train when he would rather stay in bed. An athlete leads his body; he does not follow it. It is his slave, not the other way around.

Competing with Integrity

Paul adds one more metaphor from the Isthmian Games in 1 Corinthians 9:27: “I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (emphasis added). A contestant who failed to meet the training requirements was disqualified. He could not even run, much less win. Paul did not want to spend his life preaching the requirements to others and then be disqualified for not meeting the requirements himself.

Often, men start the Christian life with enthusiasm and devotion. They train carefully for a while but soon tire of the effort and begin to “break training.” Before long they are disqualified from being effective witnesses. They do not have what it takes, because they are unwilling to pay the price. The flesh, the world, everyday affairs, personal interests, and often simple laziness hinder spiritual growth and preparation for service.

If Christian men showed the same enthusiasm for spiritual self-discipline as many of them do for physical training, they would be examples of godliness—the kind of leaders that the church needs. It is time for men in the church to recognize that holiness does not come through following whims. It comes from dedication to Christ that denies self for His cause. It comes from self-discipline. And the stakes are high. Let us discipline ourselves so that we not only avoid disqualification, but attain the imperishable prize.