The mention of using godliness as a means of gaining profit leads directly to this verse, which contrasts with the last part of verse 5 (that is, godliness being used for profit), but at the same time it uses the same concepts there to assume the proper relationship between godliness and profit. The relationship between these two verses is indicated by the connective that is not translated in Revised Standard Version but appears in Good News Translation as “Well” (compare New Revised Standard Version “Of course”).

The verse affirms that there is indeed great gain in godliness, but gain is used here in a spiritual rather than a material sense, and one may translate as “lots of good things in their hearts.” The problem with people whose preoccupation is gathering wealth is that they are never satisfied; they always have this craving for more and more wealth. Other ways to express There is great gain in godliness are “Of course, if one is a Christian, his life is full of good things” or “Of course, being a Christian causes one’s life to be full of good things.” In contrast, those who have discovered the real meaning of godliness know the meaning of contentment. The word used here describes a favorite Greek virtue, one especially valued by Stoic philosophers. The word itself can mean either sufficiency, that is, having enough resources in oneself and therefore lacking in nothing, or contentment, that is, being content with one’s state or condition in life. Some translations focus on the former meaning; for example, New English Bible “the man whose resources are within him.” Many others stress the meaning of contentment; for example, Good News Translation “if he is satisfied with what he has,” Jerusalem Bible “only to those who are content with what they have.” One other problem is how to take the expression godliness with contentment, which can mean godliness that is characterized by contentment, or, more likely, godliness that is accompanied by contentment; this latter position is reflected in most modern translations.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .