"Qualifications of Church and Community Life" Part IIII
Notes
Transcript
How important is the Church? Why is it so important?
Over the past several weeks we have learned about church government, the aspiration to leadership, as well as the qualifications of biblical leadership. (we have looked at the qualifications based on personal, and family life - today we are looking at church and community life)
This morning we are going to finish the section addressing qualifications for “elders/overseers.” We are going to see what the qualifications are for both church and community life.
Interrogative question - How are you serving both your Church and your Community?
6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
1. Called to Maturity - vs. 6
1. Called to Maturity - vs. 6
“New Convert” - this is an adjective - the question is what noun is it describing? (go back to verse 2 and notice that it is describing the “overseer”)
[3745] νεόφυτος neophytos 1× newly or recently planted met. a neophyte, one newly implanted into the Christian Church, a new convert, 1 Tim. 3:6* [3504]
Sense: convert - plant - a new convert understood as a plant just recently sown -
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
The implication is that the Overseer/Elder is mature man of God - The question that we are faced with is what constitutes a mature man? (you mused use the previous qualifications as bases)
1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
97 O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
31 The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”
7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings.
16 Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.
19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
A. Avoid prideful behavior
A. Avoid prideful behavior
1. tuphoo (τυφόω, 5187) properly means “to wrap in smoke” (from tuphos, “smoke”; metaphorically, for “conceit”); it is used in the passive voice, metaphorically in 1 Tim. 3:6, “puffed up,” RV (KJV, “lifted up with pride”); so 6:4, KJV, “proud,” and 2 Tim. 3:4, KJV, “highminded.” See PROUD, PUFF (UP)
Sense - to be proud - be puffed up - to be or become proud, conceived of as being puffed up with air
2 Timothy 3:1–5 (NASB95)
1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
Luke 10:15–20 (NASB95)
15 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! 16 “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” 17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
Luke 4:1–5 (NASB95) - “The Temptation of Jesus
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ” 5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. 19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
2 When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.
12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, But humility goes before honor.
16 “As for the terror of you, The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, O you who live in the clefts of the rock, Who occupy the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as an eagle’s, I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.
3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, You who live in the clefts of the rock, In the loftiness of your dwelling place, Who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’ 4 “Though you build high like the eagle, Though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
B. Avoid condemnation
B. Avoid condemnation
Sense - condemnation - a legal decision of guilty in a criminal case; often with the ensuing punishment understood
New Testament
Noun: κρίμα (krima), GK 3210 (S 2917), 27×. krima refers to the act of “judgment” or its consequences (e.g., “punishment, condemnation”). (1) Paul uses this noun to describe the mystery of the mind of God, how “unsearchable [are] his judgments” because the wisdom and knowledge that God uses to make judgments is so beyond mere humans (Rom 11:33).
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
That does not mean that humans are totally unable to understand God’s judgment, for Paul also says that God’s judgment is according to truth (2:2) and is sure (2:3). In fact, there is a human parallel to the divine judgment, in that decisions of law courts were also called krima (1 Cor. 6:7). krima is not limited to a human legal context either, for Jesus warns the disciples that they will be judged with the “judgment” by which they judge others (Mt 7:2), and James states that teachers will receive a stricter “judgment” because of their position (Jas 3:1).
(2) krima also refers to the results of judging. Jesus describes his purpose for coming into the world as one of bringing judgment, a judgment that is a blessing to some (“so the blind will see”) and a punishment or condemnation of others (“those who see will become blind”) (Jn 9:39).
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
Those who prey on the weak will receive a severe judgment (Mk 12:40; Lk 20:47). The crucifixion endured by the thief is described as his (and Jesus’) judgment (Lk 23:40), a “sentence to death” (24:20). Such punishment or condemnation can be the result of any one of a manifold expressions of sin, including rebellion against God (Rom 13:2), slander (Rom 3:8), misuse of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:29), pride (1 Tim. 3:6), or teaching false doctrine (Gal 5:10). The judgment for personal sin is a result of the “judgment” that entered the world through Adam’s first sin (Rom 5:16).
Furthermore, krima can also be used for the final eternal judgment of God (Heb 6:2) that will come on all creatures (Acts 24:25), starting with God’s people (1 Pet. 4:17) and resulting in the damnation of those who have rejected the faith (1 Tim. 5:12), oppose God (2 Pet. 2:3; Jude 4), and persecute his people (Rev 18:20). See NIDNTT-A, 318–19.
“Fall” - verb, aorist, active, subjunctive, third person, singular - finite verb
Sense - to become - fall - to enter into a state, perhaps as if unintentionally; conceived of as falling into that state
However, 33× in the NT diabolos refer to a literal, evil being—“the devil” (see Satan for his other titles). “The devil” appears to be more of a title for the diabolical creature, while “Satan” is his personal name. Both Jesus and John are clear “the devil” was in the serpent in Eden (Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9; 20:2). Various attributes of the devil are brought to the surface in the NT: he is a tempter (Mt. 4:1ff.), a liar and murderer (Jn 8:44), a betrayer (Jn 13:2), a perpetual sinner (1 Jn. 3:8), full of hate (1 Pet. 5:8; 1 Jn. 3:10), and conceited (1 Tim. 3:6). Those who live in this same manner are considered “his children” (Jn 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1 Jn. 3:10).
Both Matthew 4 and Luke 4 speak of the temptation of Jesus
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
The works of the devil are always painful and many times subtle. He longs to bring suffering on believers—prison and persecution, “even to the point of death” (Rev 2:10; 12:17). He is a devious schemer (Acts 13:10; Eph 6:11; 1 Tim. 3:7; 2 Tim. 2:26), who sneaks enemies of the gospel into the church (Mt 13:39) and snatches the gospel from some who hear it (Lk 8:12).
2. Called to Conformity - vs. 7
2. Called to Conformity - vs. 7
1 Timothy 3:7 “7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
“Must have” - verb, it is to be a continual pattern of your life
Sense - to be obligatory - to be required by obligation, compulsion, or convention.
“A reputation” -
Noun: μαρτυρία (martyria), GK 3456 (S 3141), 37×. martyria is similar to martyrion (“testimony”) and is used frequently in conjunction with the verb martyreō (“to witness”; Jn. 3:11, 32; 5:31ff.; 1 Jn. 5:9, 10; 3 Jn. 12; Rev. 1:2). martyria denotes the act of testifying or the content of a certain testimony. The former is exhibited in the statements that John “came for (the purpose of) testifying” (Jn. 1:7), and “now when they completed their testimony” (Rev. 11:7). The latter use is seen in such statements as, “and this is the testimony of John” (Jn. 1:19), and “the word of his testimony” (Rev. 12:11).
As with the noun martys (“witness”), martyria can have a legal meaning, such as in Mk. 14:55ff. and Lk. 22:71, in the accounts of Jesus’ trial before the Jewish leadership. However, martyria is most frequently employed in the NT in the context of a testimony of or to Jesus or his gospel; e.g., “you people do not accept our testimony” (Jn. 3:11) and “your testimony about me” (Acts 22:18; also Jn. 1:7; Rev. 1:2; 12:17; 19:10).
Human testimony is mentioned in several passages. Jesus told the Pharisees, “In your own law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid” (Jn. 8:17—a reference to Deut. 17:6; 19:15). Paul describes a quote from the poet Epimenides as a martyria (Tit. 1:12–13). John contrasts the testimony of God and that of people (1 Jn. 5:9ff.). Also related to human testimony is the use of martyria to denote reputation in 1 Tim. 3:7. See NIDNTT-A, 355–57.
Sense - character testimony - a confirmed testimony concerning a person’s character
“Good” - adjective
Sense - good - having desirable or positive qualities; especially those suitable for a thing specified
What would the community say about you?
A. Avoid reproach
A. Avoid reproach
“Reproach” - noun
Sense: insult - a rude communication that belittles or offends somebody or something unjustly.
B. Avoid the trap
B. Avoid the trap
“the snare”
Sense: snare (quick) - a quickly reacting trap for catching birds or small animals
9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
The Devil is intent on attempting to take the church down, I believe that he does this by targeting the leadership of the Church.
So What?
Believer - How are you serving both your Church and your Community?
Get involved in the Ministries
Sunday School
Men’s Ministries
Women’s Ministries
Outreach Ministries
Get Serving in the Ministries
Kids Sunday School
Children’s Church
Youth Ministry
Nursery
Apple Fest
Unbeliever - Repent and come to Christ
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”