1 Timothy 3-4: Order in the Church

Introduction

As we continue through Paul’s first letter to Timothy, we’ll see the qualifications that Paul lays down for leaders in the church. This is a continuation of his commands to men and women in chapter 2. Again, Paul is telling Timothy (and us) all of these things so that “you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God”.

This will transition into the “middle” part of the letter which is Paul’s direct instruction to Timothy. This will set up Timothy to be an excellent example of how all Christians (and in particular, Christian leaders) should behave.

1 Timothy 3:1-7: Elders

This first section of chapter 3 deals with leaders in the church. The word Paul uses here is “episkopes” (you probably recognize the English word “episcopal” comes from this). Older translations will translate this as “bishop” while modern translations will say “overseer” or something similar.

Interestingly, this is one of two words used in the NT to describe elders. The other is presbyteros (from which we get the English word presbyter or Presbyterian).

For all intents and purposes, they seem to refer to the same group of people: Elders. “Presbyteros” describes them personally: older men who were respected members of the community. “Episkopes” describes their function: oversee the life and work of the Church.

It’s worth noting that the church tends to take these terms (along with “deacon”) and arrange them into a hierarchy that is familiar to them culturally.

For example, the traditional translation of this word as “bishop” shows how it developed in the early church, which is still reflected in the Catholic church, with Bishops over the Priests (or the “Presbyteros”), and the Deacons serving as assistants to both.

In American culture, many denominations structure their churches similar to our own government: the elders and deacons function as the “Congress”, with the senior pastor filling in the “President” role.

Elders, or overseers, were common in both Jewish and Greek culture. They are still fairly common in most cultures. Every society tends to produce structures where the older and more respected (and trustworthy) individuals, especially men, naturally lead and oversee the community.

The Church was and is no different. It needs leadership and it needs leaders who will oversee the flock and protect it. Paul knew this, which is why he instructed Timothy and Titus to establish elders in every church

Titus 1:5 “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—”

But here is where the Church is unique: the Church as a culture finds itself living and growing in diverse cultures. And I think Paul knew that. Which is why his qualifications for elders (and deacons) are somewhat broad.

When we encounter “lists” in Scripture, there is much value in the specific items of the list, but it’s also important to take a step back and see the big “why”, or common denominator of all the items in the list.

In this case, it’s very clear that no matter what culture the church is surrounded by, Paul wants its elders to be godly men of high character and standing, both inside and outside the church, and basically be a good father to God’s household.

With that in mind, the qualifications Paul gives are important:

Above reproach - refers to living a life that is so good no fault can be found with it. Ideally, it is perfection.

The husband of one wife - in a culture where marriage, divorce, and remarriage was rampant (sound familiar?), Paul is establishing a new standard for Christian leaders. I think this also ties into the man’s ability to lead his wife and family. If he’s callously treats marriage this way, how can he treat the Bride of Christ any better?

Sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, nor quarrelsome, not a lover of money

Sober-minded and not a drunkard are related: “overindulging in wine”. It’s not that alcohol is inherently bad, it’s the (negative) effects it can have on someone - anyone who’s been around a drunk knows this. In this case it can impair judgement and bring embarrassment to the church if her leaders are too indulgent.

Self-controlled: This is a difficult word to define, but it’s the idea of “keeping one’s mind safe and sound” by having “complete control over sensual desires”. Church leaders need to have complete control of themselves - and the only way to achieve this is to have Christ reigning in their mortal bodies.

Respectable: Plato described a person like this as, “the citizen who is quiet in the land, who duly fulfils in his place and order the duties which are incumbent upon him as such”. His inner being is to be reflected in an outer beauty in his life

Hospitable: Literally means to have an “open house”, particularly for other Christians - this is a quality that the New Testament emphasizes for all Christians. Our leaders have to set the standard for being hospitable to guests.

Able to teach: Elders are expected to be able to teach the flock - either verbally (preaching and teaching) or at the very least in their lifestyle, teaching other Christians how they ought to live.

not violent: From the Apostolic Canons (an ancient church rulebook), “A bishop, priest or deacon who smites the faithful when they err, or the unbelievers when they commit injury, and desires by such means as this to terrify them, we command to be deposed; for nowhere hath the Lord taught us this. When he was reviled, he reviled not again, but the contrary. When he was smitten, he smote not again; when he suffered, he threatened not.”

Gentle: In the same vein our leaders correct others with love and kindness - not violence.

Not quarrelsome: literally “disinclined to fight”. In other words, not “trigger-happy”. They want peace at all costs.

Not a lover of money: our leaders won’t do anything simply for profit’s sake. It also means they aren’t prone to bribes.

In verse 4-5 Paul gets to the real “meat” of what should qualify an elder: being a good leader in their family. If he can’t manage his own household, how can he possibly lead God’s family?

He can’t be a recent convert: Notice this doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with age (as we’ll see shortly), it has to do with spiritual health. No corporation would make the summer intern the CEO - the church shouldn’t put spiritual infants in charge either.

And Paul gives two good reasons for this: first, they might get prideful over their authority and position. Second they might “fall into the condemnation of the devil” - which is probably akin to setting them up for failure.

Which leads to Paul’s last qualification: must be well thought of by outsiders. It’s not just the church that is watching, it’s also non-Christians as well. People may not agree with us, but they should at least be able to say, “Those Christians and their pastors are good people.”

1 Timothy 3:8-13: Deacons

Paul follows up by then talking about deacons. The word literally means “servant”. Their exact role in the early church isn’t crystal clear, but they evidently helped with administrative duties. In practice however, elders and deacons are functionally similar as ministers within the church.

With that in mind, Paul’s qualifications for these individuals are very similar to that of elders (“Deacons likewise...”) And the big picture of these qualifications again is to live a godly life and set a standard that is radically different from the culture that surrounds the church.

There are a couple of differences in this list that are worth noting:

“not double-tongued” - deacons, as most pastors are, find themselves hearing many “confidential” things among the flock. It’s important that as servants they don’t abuse this information. It goes hand in hand with being dignified.

Similar to what Paul told Timothy previously, deacons must “hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience”. Whatever they did, they had to do it to the best of their ability knowing they were living out their faith properly

They needed to be tested first: this testing is probably going to look different in every church, but it’s important that deacons be held to a high standard in all that they do.

Verse 11 could be directed to their wives, or women who want to be deacons (the early church did have deaconesses). Whatever the case, they must be like their male counterparts: dignified, not slanderers, sober-minded, faithful in all things

Again, the ideal deacon has their family in order

Those who “deacon” (serve) well, make not only themselves look good, but also build confidence in Christ and the faith to both insiders and outsiders. Basically: our leaders display the truth of the Gospel through their lives.

I think it is important to stress the big picture of all these qualifications: godliness and high standards that differentiate Christianity from the world around the church. Some churches take these lists (and the one in Titus) extremely literally. Which may or may not be a bad thing. But the church should never find itself leaderless if it has godly men (and women) who may not fit all of these exact qualifications. It’s the “spirit of the law” that I think Paul intends us to follow.

1 Timothy 3:14-16: Why it all matters

Paul wraps up this section by reminding Timothy why he’s sending this letter. It pretty much sums up the important of all three Pastoral letters: people need to know how to behave.

Why do we need to know how to behave? Because we are part of the “household of God, the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth”. If we are to take the Gospel, the truth, to the world - we have to show through our lives why it matters and why it is important and different.

We want to consider ourselves special? Then we have to act like it. And how special are we? Well we confess “the mystery of godliness”.

What is that mystery? Jesus Christ! He is the fullness of godliness, because He is God in the flesh. And Paul lays this out in what is probably one of the earliest known Christian hymns:

This little verse encapsulates the Gospel: that God became man

He was justified in all He did by the Spirit (“Jesus was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead”),

Seen by angels (reflecting Christ’s power on earth and in heaven)

Proclaimed among the nations (pretty remarkable for a dead rabbi who only had 120 followers before Pentecost!)

Believed on in the world (It wasn’t just one nation that believed, it was every nation!)

Taken up in glory (the King was crowned at his ascension)

Think about how remarkable this is: Paul is writing these words, which may have already been a well established hymn among the churches, less than 30-40 years after the ascension.

If Jesus Christ is the “mystery of godliness” that we confess, then it is truly important that all of us - men, women, and leaders, live in such a way as to demonstrate and reveal that mystery. It will do us no good to tell people, “We have the Truth! We know the Way to godliness!” if their response is, “Cool, but you’re no different than us.”

1 Timothy 4:1-5: One last thing...

Before Paul turns to the back half of his letter with very practical advice and applications for Timothy and the church, he is going to remind Timothy about a harsh reality: that some will abandon the faith.

Primarily, he wants to remind Timothy that some “will depart from the faith” and this shouldn’t be a surprise. In fact, he says that the Spirit expressly says this will happen. So if God says it, it shouldn’t be a shock.

It’s still tragic, especially in light of how so many people fall away from Jesus: “by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.”

And for 2000 years, in these “later times” this has continued to happen. People will follow “what their itching ears want to hear” and the worst of leaders.

In the case of Ephesus and Timothy, these people were teaching that the “physical word/body” is bad, and therefore needs to be deprived. The consequences: marriage was forbidden, and so was food.

To these prohibitions, Paul says, “Hogwash!” Everything God creates is good - that includes marriage and food - and nothing is to be rejected if received with thanksgiving. “For it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

This really sets Christians apart from almost every other major world religion which have major prohibitions and rules regarding food and drink.

I think the key to this passage is “the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared”. This is in direct contrast to deacons (and Timothy) whom Paul says need to “hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience”.

You can almost always tell which leaders truly believe what they teach: through their lives. A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit and a bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit.

Too many people are left hurt by church leaders who said one thing, but did another. And this often comes in the form of, “Don’t do XYZ.” while they themselves do just that. It is true hypocrisy. And it is the danger of installing unqualified leaders.

Conclusion

As the church we are a “pillar and buttress of the truth” and that truth we confess is the “mystery of godliness”. That mystery is revealed in Jesus Christ, and as such we proclaim Him to the entire world. In order to do that we must live a truly godly life and we must have leaders that do the same. This godly live is demonstrated most fully in a life of service to everyone around us.