1 Timothy 6:7
“For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
Paul is reinforcing his teaching on contentment by reminding Timothy and his readers that earthly possessions are temporary and cannot accompany us beyond this life.
What Does 1 Timothy 6:7 Mean?
Paul states a plain fact that reframes our whole relationship with possessions: we arrived with nothing, and we will leave with nothing.
This verse supports the call to contentment in the previous one. The argument is disarmingly simple -- look at the two ends of life. At birth we owned nothing; at death we take nothing with us. Everything in between is, in a sense, on loan. Paul's phrase "it is certain" presses the point home; this is not a maybe but a guarantee no one escapes. The realization is meant to loosen our grip. If wealth cannot follow us beyond the grave, then making it our security is a poor investment. Yet this is not a gloomy thought but a freeing one. Once we accept that possessions are temporary, we can hold them lightly, use them generously, and refuse to be enslaved by the fear of losing them. The verse invites a quiet honesty about what we are storing up and where. What we send ahead through a faithful, generous life proves far more durable than what we clutch here, since the latter cannot make the journey with us at all.
In the Original Language
The phrase "it is certain" reflects the Greek dēlon, meaning evident or plainly clear, underscoring that this truth is beyond dispute.
Cross References
“Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither.”
- Job 1:21
“As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:15
“Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”
- Luke 12:20
Application
Hold your possessions loosely and use them generously, remembering that none of them will follow you beyond this life.