<p>4:15 <i>Be diligent in these things</i>- Gk. 'keep practicing', a present active imperative, alluding to the command to exercise spiritually (:8). </p><p><i>Give yourself wholly to them</i>- Gk. 'be in these things'. His whole being was to be in the things of serving the Lord. Such total dedication is often smiled off as fanaticism, obsession and imbalance. But if indeed we shall live eternally and can help others to, and if the Lord's glory is truly achieved by our efforts- then it follows that we will be &quot;be&quot; them now, for we shall eternally be continually and totally &quot;in&quot; them.</p><p><i>That your progress may be manifest to all</i>- The obvious personal progress of a teacher is the greatest inspiration to those being taught. Otherwise, he or she becomes merely a purveyor of facts and truths which may as well be read in a book. But if the teacher models growth, then the word really becomes flesh and powerful to transform. Such progress also reveals a humility, in that the teacher themselves is a pupil and also on a learning curve. This was quite contrary to the popular conception that a teacher was some static figure passing on truths which had long been held as a kind of conduit.</p>