1 Timothy 3:8-4:16

Sonshine - Nursery - Wednesday - GREAT BLESSING - GREAT NEED - Tristen heading up...

Now, I have said before, and I am putting my money where my mouth is today. If the text at hand requires a little more than the normal time slot, I will use the extra time to make sure I feel the text is communicated in fullness. ON THE CONTRARY - If the text at hand requires a bit less than the normal time slot, I won’t stretch it just to stretch it...

One of the first times we ever visited . . . Wayne . . . 17 minutes . . . I could see it in PopPop’s eyes, this is home.

We’ve moved into the second half of the book, and because of the shift from the didactic thesis into practical application, we will move more quickly and cover larger portions of text. Paul turns directly to Timothy here in chapter 4, so instead of moving verse by verse, we will be pulling principles out of the text.

However, before we totally make that shift, we had this section at the end of chapter 3 that I just didn’t have time to cover last week, so we will look at that today.

First, I want to look at the way chapter 3 ends, and be reminded of the purpose of Timothy’s writing.

1 Timothy 3:14–16 (ESV)

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

This isnt just “so that you’ll know how to live as a Christian,” its so you’ll know how to be HERE - this is a big deal, it is crucial that we find ourselves members of a local body and commit ourselves to being there on Sundays and looking for ways to help others grow.

Then God, through Paul, beautifully and succinctly describes what this is

Household of God - God’s Family meets here

This is a family get together, brothers and sisters, spiritual fathers and mothers and children

Ekklesia of the Living God - Phrase used for when Israel gathered all together to hear God speak

This is what we are doing. We gather to hear God speak! DON’T LET THE AWE OF THAT BE LOST ON YOU

Pillar of the Truth - We lift the Truth and protect it from being defamed by any dirt, and we Lift the Truth high for all to see. For us to again look up at and marvel and rejoice, and for the world to look up at and be reminded of what they already know down deep - It Really Is True

I am writing so that you will be these things, and do these things. I am writing because the church is God’s primary means of your sanctification, and of the Gospel going to the world. I am writing these things because this matters.

The direct context, what he says right before these words are his guidelines for appointing leaders for this household, ELDERS that will disciple, guard, encourage, hold accountable, guide. Mature Godly men that will use their wisdom.

And also Deacons, which we will look at now.

Deacons

We get very little in the Bible about Deacons, the word itself means Servant and is often used to just mean that, but there certainly was also an Office of Deacon.

Philippians 1:1 ESV

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

The largest section by far explicitly about Deacons is here in 1 Timothy 3, so it would be borderline sinful for us not to consider it.

1 Timothy 3:8-13 READ

Like Elders - Dignified, Honest, Self-Control, Not Greedy, Knowledgable (Hold the Mystery of the Faith with a clear conscience), Tested. One Woman Man. Good Household Manager. - MATURE CHRISTIAN!

Unlike Elders - “Wives” mentioned. Woman and Wives is same word… choice needed

Could be referring to female deacons potentially - Pheobe.

Romans 16:1 (ESV)

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a Deacon of the church at Cenchreae

That could just mean she was a servant of that church, but any other time that “of the church” formula is used and a particular congregation mentioned, its referring to the Office.

If it just means wives of deacons, it is very odd that deacons wives have qualifications but not elders wives. Deacons need godly wives but elders dont? Also, the qualifications seem to be for someone that will be DOing ministry like the deacons just mentioned - parallel qualifications.

At the very least, deacons wives are expected to be very involved in the work of the church.

We do know that there were female deacons in the church at least by the 2nd century and throughout church history, deacons did a lot of the baptizing and catechizing, it was deemed inappropriate for men to touch women like that or to be with them alone that way, so the female deacons would do the stuff aimed at women - women’s ministry. Women that served as Deacons were deacons particularly for Women and children. It may have been that couples were appointed together as deacons.

Each church and elders can decide for themselves and that congregation should submit to those decisions.

So that’s one difference, the other is that Deacon is not a teaching role - not an authority role

Which is why the church historically never had female elders, though they did have female deacons.

Probably the primary passage that is used to define the role of the deacon is from Acts 6 - the word Deacon is never actually used here, but the church has seen this passage this way traditionally.

Acts 6:1–7 (ESV)

“It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”... And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.

The Idea of the Deacon has been that the normal requirements of the church body (prototyped here as serving tables) are handled by the Deacons so the Elders may be devoted to the explicitly spiritual and authoritative work of teaching and praying

Paul says filling these roles well will aid the church in being what God intended for it to be.

Household of God

Ekklesia of the Living God

Pillar of the Truth

The Place where God’s Family Meets

The Position that God’s People Take

The People who Shine God’s Light

—Church isnt a place - it is though, and thats ok

— We place ourselves at the feet of our Father (one of primary differences in the Christian and the non Christian . . . )

— The church is a people, and its the people that life the truth and shine by the way we live and love

Paul ends this chapter with a statement of the Truth that makes us the Church, the Truth that we hold High - that truth not being just a message, but a Person

1 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.