NOTES for Ti1 6:11-12
The apostle Paul instructs his disciple, calling him at the same time a "man of God." But does a person of God need instruction? He does. Our belonging to God begins with a small seed and grows. This growth is nourished by grace sent from God, and in just this way righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness enter and increase in our life. But all this is like what happens in our schooling: knowledge is given to us by teachers, but we must make progress so that the knowledge becomes ours. So Paul speaks of progress, of acceptance, of aiming at the gifts of grace, of the heartfelt labor, the struggle, of faith, and of constant awareness that this life here and now is the beginning of eternal life.