What Does 1 Timothy 6:18 Mean?
That they work the good, and be rich in good works, ready to give a share, and willing to share in common.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;THE KEY
Here, wealth is not only what you hold; it is what becomes available for good and shared life.
THE MEANING
Your abundance takes shape in good that reaches beyond you: in work that benefits others, in resources ready to be shared, and in a life open to what can be held in common. The verse places giving and participation side by side, so wealth becomes active in both what you pass on and how you share life with others.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that wealth is measured only by what remains exclusively yours: here, riches become visible in what is made available for good and shared.
THE ROOT
κοινωνικούς
koinōnikous
GROWS FROM
κοινός
koinos
common, shared
“willing to share in common” in this verse is koinōnikous. The Greek word carries the sense of being ready to share in what is common. Beside “ready to distribute,” it shows that abundance is both something passed on and a way of participating in shared life.
ALSO GROWS
koinōnia: Participation or sharing together
κοινωνία
It shows that the verse’s sharing reaches beyond a transfer of goods into a life held in common.
koinōneō: To take part in or share something with another
κοινωνέω
It makes “communicate” concrete: the word points to participation and sharing, not merely speech.
εὐμεταδότους
eumetadotous
GROWS FROM
μεταδίδωμι
metadidōmi
to impart, give a share
“ready to give a share” in this verse is eumetadotous. The word describes readiness to let something pass into another person’s share. Paired with being communal, it presents abundance as something in motion: given onward and shared with others.
ALSO GROWS
metadidōmi: To give a portion or share to another
μεταδίδωμι
This is the action contained in readiness to distribute: another person receives a share.
didōmi: To give or put something into another’s hands
δίδωμι
It reveals the giving at the center of imparting: what is held can be placed into another’s care.
THE PATTERN
In Scripture, abundance becomes fruitful as it flows outward into provision and shared life.
The living soul of blessing is made fat, and the one who waters is himself watered.And the multitude of those who trusted were of one heart and one living soul. Not one of them said that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared all things in common.And God is able to make all favor overflow toward you, so that you, always holding all you need in everything, may overflow into every good work.THE THREAD
And all who trusted were together, and had all things in common.“Common” translates κοινά (koina), from the same Greek root κοινός (koinos) behind “willing to communicate.” The shared root makes the connection plain: readiness to share is a life in which what is held can become common.
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