Life Group Lesson: January 22, 2023
1 Timothy 4:14-16; Chapter 5
5:9–10 The previous passage (vv. 3–8) deals with the church’s general obligation to care for widows who have no one else to care for them. This passage speaks of a narrower group of widows whose names are placed on a list (i.e., “enrolled”). Not every woman who is “truly” a widow goes on this list, but only those who meet a certain set of qualifications. Paul lists three:
(1) “Not less than sixty years of age.” An enrolled woman must be mature in the faith and must have taken a vow not to remarry but to remain unmarried (cf. vv. 11–12).
(2) “The wife of one husband.” Paul is not specifying this as a contrast to polyandry (having multiple husbands), because that practice was not known in Paul’s time. Nor is he disqualifying women who remarried after their husbands died, since he exhorts younger widows to do that very thing in the following verses. The best way to understand this phrase is the same way in which we understood the corresponding phrase applied to elders in 3:2, “the husband of one wife.” Just like the elder has to be a “one-woman man,” the widows on this list have to have been a “one-man woman.” The phrase expresses the woman’s exclusive, faithful devotion to her husband over the course of their marriage.
(3) “A reputation for good works.” The rest of verse 10 list four specific items that constitute “good works,” and then the list ends with a bookend indicating that the widow has a track record of following “every good work.” Such good works include:
(a) Bringing up children. Raising children is the primary job of a mother. This can include raising orphans, but for most of these women this will involve raising children they bore themselves.
(b) Showing hospitality. In addition to raising her own children, the widow must have practiced hospitality. Her home was not to have been a fortress against outsiders but a place of blessing and provision for others.
(c) Washing “the feet of the saints.” This woman has to have been a servant. In the ancient world, footwashing was one of the most menial of tasks. When people came into a home after a journey, their sandaled feet were often sweaty and caked with dirt, and someone had the lowly job of washing those feet. This recalls the example that Jesus provided when he washed his disciples’ feet. This woman is a servant like Jesus; she does not think of herself as being above menial work.
(d) Caring “for the afflicted.” This could be a reference to persecuted Christians. More likely, however, Paul refers to those who are “afflicted” in the sense of James 1:27. This woman has cared for needy people.
All four of these good works are focused on serving others, not oneself. Further, all four of these activities are based in the woman’s home. They grow not from a home in disarray but rather from one that is well-ordered.
The only type of woman who can be enrolled is one with a proven track record of these kinds of good works, because these women are to have a part in the church’s ministry. The good works at which these women excelled, the church now calls on them to do on the church’s behalf.47
This does not mean that the church refuses to help other widows. On the contrary, the church still has an obligation to support those who are “truly widows” (cf. vv. 3–8). Nor does this mean that Paul mandates all churches to have such a list of ministry widows. It does mean, however, that there is a scriptural basis for women in ministry who are in the employ of the church.
5:11–12 There is another kind of widow who should not be placed on the list: “younger widows.” Those widows who have the opportunity to remarry should pursue marriage. A younger woman is more likely to feel the desire to be married again. Paul says of them that “their passions” may “draw them away from Christ.” Then, when they marry, they “incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith.” This does not mean that widows are consigned to hell, as if marriage were tantamount to apostasy. The word for “faith” can also be translated “pledge” (cf. NASB). The women on the list apparently make a vow to God never to remarry, a vow that is abandoned if they decide later to marry. The word translated “condemnation” is applied to believers elsewhere and thus does not always refer to eternal punishment (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:29, 34; James 3:1). In this context it has the nuance of “censure.” When widows remarry after pledging not to do so, they have their own home to care for and can no longer fulfill the ministry to which they have committed themselves. Thus it is better for such younger women not to be placed on the list in the first place.
5:13 In addition to potentially breaking a pledge, a younger unmarried widow may be at greater risk of becoming an “idler.” If she does not have proven character, she may not fulfill the ministry of the enrolled widows. If a church enrolls morally weak women on the list, they might be tempted to use their time not ministering to others but rather going around to the homes of friends and church members engaging in idle gossip and “saying what they should not.” Rather than taking care of God’s business, or even her own business, such a woman would be getting into everyone else’s business. Such a woman cannot be placed on a list intended only for wise, faithful women who are walking with Christ and helping others to do the same.
5:14–15 Just as “childbearing” probably stands for all of a wife’s duties in the home in 2:15, so to “bear children” and “manage their households” probably stand for the same here in verse 14 (cf. comment on 2:15). In this way, younger widows should pursue marriage and all of the duties it entails. This is not unlike Paul’s fuller expression of wifely duties in Titus 2:4–5: “Train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” In fulfilling these duties, a younger woman removes herself from the temptations of the idler and the busybody and thereby gives no legitimate grounds for anyone to speak ill of her (either an “adversary” or perhaps by the “adversary,” the Devil).
5:16 Paul concludes with a summary of the foregoing. A family should care for its own widowed mothers and grandmothers. This is to relieve the church of the burden of providing support in cases in which alternate means of support are available. The church has limited funds, and what it has should be reserved for those who are “truly widows” (i.e., those who have no other recourse but the church).
5:17 This is the third time the term “elder” has appeared in 1 Timothy. The first two occurrences were in verses 1–2 of this chapter, as Paul referred to older men and women. But this passage specifies a group of mature men whose regular work includes the preaching and teaching of the Word of God: the elders.
In the comments on 3:1–7, we observed that the NT uses three different terms to refer to the one office of leadership in the church: pastor, overseer, and elder. So what follows pertains to the office of pastor.
The “elders who rule [or care for the flock] well” are worthy of “double honor.” “Double honor” could rightly be translated twofold honor, meaning that there are two ways in which a church should honor a faithful elder. The first is in the sense of giving the elder reverence and respect. The second is in the sense of an honorarium. Just as honoring widows in verse 3 meant providing for them financially, so also honor in verse 17 means providing for elders financially. Thus the church must give these elders both respect and monetary remuneration.48
Does this mean that all elders must be in the paid employ of the church? The answer to that question appears to be no, because Paul explains which elders should be paid: “especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” Some have taken this last phrase as evidence that the church should have two separate classes of elders: ruling elders and preaching elders. Churches that recognize two classes of elders usually have ruling elders who focus on leading the church (manager-types, laymen) and others who focus on teaching the church (preachers in the paid employ of the church).
But this text is not teaching two separate classes of elders—teaching and ruling. The key to seeing this is in that little word translated “especially.” The Greek term is malista, and it often does mean “especially.” But in the Pastoral Epistles, some argue that Paul uses the term to mean something like “that is” or “in particular” or “namely” (cf. comment on 4:10). So I hold that the sense is something like this: “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, in particular I mean those who labor in preaching and teaching.” Two different groups of elders are not in view here. Rather, the “elders who rule well” are “those who labor in preaching in teaching.” They are one and the same group.
This means that the aim of all elders should be to “rule well.” And “ruling well” means “teaching and preaching” well. This is the job not of a select group of elders but of all elders. Any pastor who fails to learn the Word, communicate the Word, and apply the Word will not be worthy of double honor. This means also that congregations must respect their elders in part by paying them for their labors.
5:18 Paul explains why a church must give honor to its pastor: “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’ ” The first half of the verse is a quotation from Deuteronomy 25:4: “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” In the ancient world, threshing was the process by which the grain in wheat was separated from its husk. Often oxen were used to walk over the wheat stalks in order to crush and separate them. The law of Moses stipulated that Israel was to allow the oxen to eat from the grain they were threshing. The logic is simple: just as an ox is allowed to acquire sustenance from his labors, so also is a pastor (cf. 1 Cor. 9:8–12).
“The laborer deserves his wages” is a quote not from the OT but from Jesus himself. When Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples to minister from town to town, he tells them to stay in the homes of those who receive their message and to eat and drink “what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages” (Luke 10:7). Paul writes, “For the Scripture says” and then quotes the OT and Jesus as if they possess equal authority. On the authority of Jesus and on the authority of God’s Word, Paul contends that God’s people are to compensate elders who labor at preaching and teaching. This shows that Paul regards Jesus’ words to have the same authority as Scripture.
5:19–20 Paul next offers guidance to Timothy about how to receive an accusation against an elder. When someone alleges sin on the part of an elder, such accusations must be dealt with properly. Paul’s process for dealing with elders accused of a sin accords with what Jesus requires to be done for any brother accused of sin. In Matthew 18:15–20, Jesus states that if a brother sins against another brother, the offended brother should confront the offender in private. If the offender does not repent, then the offended brother must initiate another confrontation and take along two or three witnesses to establish the charges made against the sinning brother. If they establish the charges and yet he still refuses to turn from his sin, the matter must come before the church. If the offender refuses to repent after it is brought to the church, he must be excommunicated.
This is the same process in play for elders in 1 Timothy 5:19–20, except that this text picks up with the second step—establishing charges in the presence of witnesses. If the sinning pastor is unresponsive to that confrontation (“those who persist in sin”), then the matter goes before the church for a public rebuke and call to repentance as in Matthew 18.
This process is formulated to establish guilt and to prevent false accusations. It is a serious sin to bear false witness against a fellow church member. And it is no less scandalous to bring false accusations against an elder. Unfounded, scurrilous accusations are not to be entertained or spread within the church.
5:20–21 Paul adds gravity to his command by invoking the presence of the inhabitants of heaven: “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you.” The procedures for disciplining an elder must be scrupulously followed. Not “prejudging” means that no one should presume someone’s guilt just because they are accused. Nor should one presume innocence having heard only one side of a story. Neither the witnesses nor the church are allowed to predetermine guilt or innocence before the facts are received and considered (cf. Prov. 18:17). Keeping these rules without “partiality” means that the church must enforce these standards no matter who are the accused or the accusers. Everything must be done fairly, consistently, and in order.
5:22 The “laying on of hands” is a reference to a church’s setting aside a person for a task or ministry within the congregation (cf. 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6). The force of the command requires the church not to make anyone an elder who is not qualified. The elder qualifications have already been discussed in 3:1–7, but knowing those qualifications and confirming that someone meets them are two different things. The list of qualifications can be learned in short order; the confirmation of such character takes time. This is why an elder must not be a “recent convert” (3:6); he must have a proven track record of faithfulness. If a man is made an elder too quickly and then commits grievous sin as an elder, those who recognized him as an elder share in the shame insofar as they overlooked character flaws they should have noticed. This seems to be what it means to “take part in the sins of others.” Elders and congregations must be vigilant about whom they ordain. Thus Paul says, “Keep yourself pure.” Timothy cannot get bogged down by someone else’s sin because of not being vigilant when appointing elders.