Model Christlikeness

Observe and Imitate

1 Timothy 3:1-7

3 This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.” 2 An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not an excessive drinker, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy. 4 He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.

Main idea: Elders are to model the character of Christ Jesus.

Background and recap of the situation at the Ephesian church:

The church at Ephesus had been blessed with the most excellent leadership level. It was founded by Paul, who ministered in the church of Ephesus for three years (Acts 20:31). During that time, he trained a core of godly leaders to lead the church after his departure (Acts 20:17). However, the elders of the church allowed false leaders to surface after Paul departed from Ephesus (Acts 20:29–30).

After Paul’s release from his first Roman imprisonment, Paul returned to Ephesus consequent to receiving awful news about the elders. He specifically dealt with two elders in the church, Alexander and Hymenaeus (1:20).

Paul left young Timothy to handle the rest of the other issues in the church, as Paul set out for Macedonia (1:3). Soon after his departure, Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, directing him with a strategy to fix and develop and restore godly leadership at the Ephesian church. In other words, Paul instructs Timothy to clean the house by selecting proper leadership. Timothy’s job was to measure each man next to a divinely inspired checklist of qualifications.

Understanding Paul’s purpose concerning the checklist of qualifications:

The qualifications Paul gives in 3:2–7 is set in comparison to the incompetent leaders in Ephesus. Some of the leaders were teaching false doctrine (1:3; 4:1–3, 7; 6:3–5), and the people had been corrupted by turning to “fruitless discussion” (1:6). They misused the law and misunderstood the gospel (1:7–11). And the train does not stop there! Some were women taking the position of eldership in the church (2:12). Others were guilty of sin and needed public rebuke (5:20).

One of the purposes of Paul’s (God’s qualifications) is to ensure the safety of God’s people and that the church has men competent to lead.

There is no doubting the importance of good leadership. Men who can ‘shepherd’ God’s people by modeling Christlikeness will bring about excellent stability to a local church, while those who abuse their position can inflict terrible damage. Sadly, terrible damage took place in Ephesus.

As a result of the damage inflicted in Ephesus, the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to inscribe the qualifications of eldership. It must be said that the qualifications of eldership are located in more than 1 Timothy 3. We can find related qualifications shared in Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-3:

Titus 1:5-9

5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town. 6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who are not accused of wildness or rebellion. 7 As an overseer of God’s household, he must be blameless, not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not an excessive drinker, not a bully, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.

1 Peter 5:1-3

1 I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: 2 Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

So, when you put together 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-3 you will discover that all 3 passages point to what? Character qualifications.

What makes character qualifications so important?

Two words, observe and imitate:

Hebrews 13:7

7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives (Our leaders Character), imitate their faith.

We are commanded to observe and imitate our local church leaders as a church. When our leader’s character displays brotherly love, compassion, sexual purity, and contentment in their lives. Then we are commanded by God to imitate their character by displaying what? The same goldy characteristic as our leaders. We must display the same brotherly love, compassion, sexual purity, and contentment.

Paul recognizes the importance of modeling Christ. And he did his utmost to model Christ and expected people to follow:

1 Corinthians 4:16 = Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.

1 Corinthians 11:1 = Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

Philippians 4:9 = The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 = 7 For you yourselves know how you should imitate us: We were not idle among you; 8 we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and toiled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us.

Even Jesus said to His disciples to imitate Him:

John 13:15 = For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.

John said 3 John 1:11

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

I want to give you an Old Testament example of imitating what is evil. Turn your Bibles to:

Hosea 4:1

Hear the word of the Lord, people of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land!

Why did the Lord say, “There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land!? The answer is given in verse 4

Hosea 4:4

But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for my case is against you priests.

What is the Old Testament priest?

The Old Testament priests served as representatives between the people of Israel and God Almighty. Old Testaments priests served as a mediator between God and man. The priests in the Old Testament were selected for a specific purpose, that is to serve God by being living examples of the character of God. The Priest’s duties were to teach proper worship, thankfulness, devotion, sacrificial giving, and a life of obedience to God.

The priesthood is to be a picture or "type" of the coming ministry of Jesus Christ.

However, the priests spoken in Hosea 4 refused (rejected) to be the picture or “type” of Christlikeness for the people of Israel to observe and imitate.

Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.

The priest is removed from their position. Why? They rejected God’s Word, rejected to be a picture of Christ Jesus for the people. The priest rejected:

Rejected to teach proper worship.

Rejected to teach thanksgiving.

Rejected to show devotion to God for the people of Israel to observe and imitate.

Rejected to live a life of obedience to God.

The priest never took God’s Word seriously! As a result, the people of Israel did not take God seriously! Like people, Like priests. What happens next?

God presents His case:

God’s case against Israel’s priest:

The priest intentionally made a conscience decision to reject God’s Word. As a result, God removed these incompetent priests from office in verse 6.

God’s case against the people of Israel:

The people of Israel followed their leader’s example and rejected God’s Word.

Hosea 4:12

My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray; they act promiscuously in disobedience to their God.

God makes it clear about idol worship:

Exodus 20:3-5:

3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.

What does it mean for the people of Israel? Judgment!

God judges the people of Israel since the priest failed to observe and imitate the character of God.

Hosea 4:9

The same judgment will happen to both people and priests. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.

Like people, like the priest, chapter 4 Hosea gives us an understanding of what the Apostle John said about imitating what is evil.

Remember, John said:

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

In a nutshell, John is saying do not follow blindly!

It is essential that all local church elders are living examples for people to follow (1 Peter 5:3 it says, “being examples to the flock.”). Scriptures tell us that God calls his people to be righteous and above reproach amid a corrupt and wicked generation. In Philippians 2:15 teaches that the elders must lead God’s children to be morally above reproach and a model of godly living.

How is goldy living achieved? Elders must be a model of Christlikeness. Elders must imitate the character of Christ. When the elders imitate Christ, God’s children will imitate the elder’s faith, so they will also model Christlikeness.

Sadly, a great deal of frailty and disobedience in our churches today is due directly to our failure to require that godly men meet God’s standards for office. If we want our local churches to be spiritually fit, we must require our shepherds to be spiritually fit. We must learn the lessons from Hosea 4 because truths should weigh deeply on any man who aspires to lead God’s church.

Any man who aspires to the office of eldership must understand that you are called to observe and imitate Christlikeness. When you observe and imitate Christlikeness, then the church will follow in step. When the whole church is in one accord about observing and imitating Christlikeness, then the world will see Christlikeness. When the world sees the church unit in Christlikeness, then we will hope that the world will observe and imitate Christlikeness.

It is essential to mention that elders have flaws! Elder will only fulfill these qualifications ideally. However, it does not take away that each elder must live a life worth imitating. The life of an elder must reflect the character of Christ:

It should be reflective in His:

His Personal life: Is he honest? Is he Self-Controlled? Is he disciplined?

His family life: Is he the leader in his home? If he is single, is he self-controlled?

Social/Business life: Does he show favoritism? Does he have a blameless reputation?

His Spiritual life Does he love God’s Word? Is he making disciples? Is he a man of prayer?

If a man is not a godly model for others to follow, he cannot be an elder, even if he is a good teacher and manager. A personal example is an excellent way to encourage and motivate people for God.

Today men and women crave authentic examples of true Christianity in action. Who can better provide week-by-week, long-term examples of family, business, and church life than local church elders? Therefore, it is so critical that each elder is continually living a life observing and imitating the character of Christ.

Paul’s list of qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 expresses the importance of good leadership. Men who can ‘shepherd’ God’s people in a Christ-like way bring excellent stability to a local church, while those who abuse their position can inflict terrible damage.

My exhortation to elders is that you continue to observe and imitate the character of Christ. Be about the Word, teach the Word, and obey the Word of God so that people of God will be provoked to considerable faithfulness.

My exhortation to the church is that you continue to observe and imitate your leader’s faith. Be about the Word, teach it, and obey it so that people in the world will be provoked to repent of their sins and live a holy and acceptable life to our God.

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