God's Design for Men in the Church
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
A. Men in their hearts want to give their lives to something great.
There is nothing greater a man can give their life to than serving Jesus Christ in His Church.
When it comes to men in the church ...
Their intensity is seen in ministry
Their character is proven and tested
Their family takes precedence
Their maturity is deepening
Their reputation is honorable
I. Their Intensity is Seen in Ministry (v. 1)
I. Their Intensity is Seen in Ministry (v. 1)
A. What does it mean to aspire to something?
Notice how Paul begins in verse 1: this is a faithful saying. In other words, this is true, this is accurate, you can bank on this.
To desire or aspire is to seek to attain a particular goal. It means to reach out after, to desire to accomplish, to long to pursue. We receive this picture of a runner nearing the end of his race who is straining his entire body towards the finish line, lunging forward towards the goal.
B. It is a good or fine desire
That sounds like a passive statement, “It’s fine” or “It’s good.” We use these words all the time. “The food was good.” “The movie was good.” “Work was fine.” It can have a lackluster connotation to it. But that’s not what the Greek means here.
The Greek word here means excellent, choice (like the choice cut of meat), commendable, admirable. Men, it is like when you first laid eyes on your wife and you thought to yourself, “That woman is fine.” That wasn’t a derogatory description. In other words, she is excellent, the choice woman out of all the options available. And this desire is worthy of respect.
C. What desire is worthy?
In short, ministry. If any man desires the position of bishop or overseer. What is that? Well, let’s talk about it. I’m going to give you three Greek words today and these three words are used interchangeably throughout the New Testament.
επισκοπη — Overseer/Bishop — The Position
This is word being used in 1 Timothy 3. He is aware and watching out for everything that is going on in and around God’s people.
ποιμην — Pastor/Shepherd — The Duties
The overseer is tasked with shepherding. He is guiding, caring for, and tending to the God’s people. He is responsible with feeding them, nourishing them, and directing them.
πρεσβυτερους — Elder — The Maturity
The word elder means older. Oftentimes pastors/elders within the Church are older men. This doesn’t prohibit a younger man from aspiring to this position. But there should be a maturity about him. And even if it isn’t a physical maturity, there must be a spiritual and life maturity that he possesses.
1 Peter 5:1–2 (NASB95)
1 Therefore, I exhort the (3) elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 (2) shepherd the flock of God among you, (1) exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;
D. “I’m not called to do any of those things.”
Yes, yes you are.
These are not just positional qualities, they are the exemplary character qualities that God desires to see in all men within the church. They are biblically required for men in positions of leadership within the church, but they are something every man should aspire to. Why?
1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
Paul says he is an imitator of Christ. We reflect Christ, but we are not perfect. The moon gets its light by reflecting the sun. The moon will never be the sun. In the same way, we will never be Christ, but we are tasked with growing in our reflection of Him so that we may daily shine brighter before men.
Men, can we agree there was only one perfect Man, the Man Jesus Christ? So, we are growing in these qualities increasingly, not perfectly. And every single one of us as men should aspire to be able to say, “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.”
Talk like I talk
Pray like I pray
Repent like I repent
Lead like I lead
Speak truth like I speak truth
Men, your desire should be that those around you, whether its your wife, your children, your coworkers, your friends, the people on the street. No matter who it is, your desire should be that others would see you as an inspiration for how a godly man leads his life.
II. Their Character is Proven and Tested (vv. 2-3)
II. Their Character is Proven and Tested (vv. 2-3)
A. Blameless
Literally means not to be laid hold of
Proven, observable conduct that is blameless in marital life, social life, family life, and business life.
A charge or accusation will not stick
What does it mean to be blameless if none of us are perfect?
13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.
B. Husband of One Wife
Literally means the man of one woman or a one woman man
It means this men: you find one woman and completely devote yourself to her. You find one woman make her your standard of beauty. You find one woman and love her, care for her, provide and protect her until one of you dies.
C. Temperate
Temperate means showing moderation or self-restraint.
A man who is the same no matter when you meet him, whether inside the church or out.
D. Sober Minded
In other words men, be disciplined. It means you give careful consideration to your actions and responsibilities.
E. Of Good Behavior
This means you are marked by qualities that evoke admiration or delight. You are a man who others desire to imitate in their life and walk with the Lord.
F. Hospitable
In other words men, you are called to be approachable. It means you are willing and welcome to engage with anyone.
G. Able to Teach
Men, this does not mean that every single one of you should be stand before a congregation and preach to tens, or hundreds, or thousands of people. So what does it mean?
9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
It means this men: you set God’s Word as your foundation, you proclaim sound doctrine, and you refute any contradictions to it. Every single one of you is called to do that as a man.
H. Not Given to Wine
The Bible says nothing about whether or not we can consume alcohol. It does say do not consume alcohol to the point of becoming drunk.
So, what is Paul saying here? If you look at the word given in the Greek, it gives the idea of not being associated or known for wine. In other words men, you should not be known as someone who drinks.
I. Not Violent
It means you’re not a bully. The word means one who delivers a blow. It means you are not abusive physically, verbally, or emotionally.
J. Gentle
Considerate, gracious, quick to forgive
K. Not Contentious
Peaceable, not looking for a fight
L. Not Greedy For Money
It does not say anything about how much money a man has. It means that you as a man are not known for your money but known for your generosity. It’s not about how much money you have, its how much does your money have you?
III. Their Family Takes Precedence (vv. 4-5)
III. Their Family Takes Precedence (vv. 4-5)
A. What does priority mean?
In our culture we talk about priorities. Everything is a priority. But a priority is a singular issue of the utmost importance. It means above everything else, this takes precedence.
It means this men: your work is not your priority, your hobbies are not your priority, your family is your priority. That whole long list of characteristics we just went through? It means you learn to model and exercise those with your wife and children before anyone else.
B. Called to grow increasingly, not perfectly
I could call my wife up here, I could call my parents up here, I could call my siblings up here and not one of them would say I am perfect. In fact, all of them have a multitude of stories of how imperfect I am. But if you were to ask any of them, “Does Ethan really love the Lord?” “Is Ethan striving to hear God’s voice and be obedient?” “Is Ethan allowing the Holy Spirit to change him?” every single one of them would say yes. And if they don’t, then there is a problem.
C. What does this look like?
It looks like this: It is your children being able to say, “My daddy models what a life of prayer and devotion looks like.” “My daddy shows us what it means to love our mommy.” “My daddy goes out of his way to support me in my interests and passions.” “When my daddy does something wrong, he asks me for forgiveness.” “My daddy taught me to work hard and treat others with respect.”
It is your wife being able to say: “My husband preferences me above everyone else.” “My husband is directly involved with raising our children.” “My husband provides for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.”
D. Messed up men make for messed up families. Messed up families make for a messed up church.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
IV. Their Maturity is Deepening (v. 6)
IV. Their Maturity is Deepening (v. 6)
A. Men who lead in the church are to be seasoned spiritually
Once again, this is not talking about age, this is talking about a spiritual maturity. Even if you are a gifted man who has the ability to teach and lead, but you’re new to the faith, it’s probably not time to put you into a position of leadership. Why? Because that zeal can quickly turn into pride if its not first grounded properly.
That’s what this phrase lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil means. Men, you rely on your strength. You’re known for getting the job done. But when it comes to the church and ministry, the spiritual mature man recognizes, it is not I who does the work but Christ in me. In other words, the spiritually mature man recognizes that God doesn’t need him in order to accomplish His purpose. The spread of the Gospel and growth of God’s Church is not dependent upon man’s strength.
6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Men, God desires to accomplish His purpose through you, but it doesn’t require you to stand on your own strength. It requires you to kneel with a humble heart before the King.
V. Their Reputation is Honorable (v. 7)
V. Their Reputation is Honorable (v. 7)
A. Known as reputable men by outsiders
It means this men: even if the people outside the Church disagree with your beliefs, they have nothing bad to say about your conduct. In other words, those who are in leadership within the Church should be known by those outside the Church as good men.
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips but deny Him by their lifestyle.
The world says they want nothing to do with church because those Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites. The world can’t fathom Christianity because many of the men who lead Christ’s Church talk a good game on the inside, but don’t walk the walk on the outside. That’s not what leaders in the church should be known for.
Conclusion
Conclusion