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1 Timothy 6 · a question people ask

"what is falsely called knowledge" (6:20). What was it?

In the text

The letter doesn't say. Its words are, "Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of what is falsely called knowledge, which some profess, and thus have wandered from the faith." (6:20-21). It doesn't say what that knowledge was, who professed it, or what they taught, and these notes don't either. They name no teaching, movement, group or people, then or now.

The verses

“Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of what is falsely called knowledge, which some profess, and thus have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.”
1 Timothy 6:20-21 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 1 Timothy 6

1 Timothy 6: Great gain

In 1 Timothy 6, a means of gain and great gain are one Greek noun, which the New Testament has only in these two verses: some "suppose that godliness is a means of gain" (6:5), but "godliness with contentment is great gain" (6:6). And the letter whose greeting gives "Grace, mercy, and peace" (1:2) ends, "Grace be with you. Amen." (6:21).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions