Tuesday Night Study, 1st Timothy 3

Elders (1-7)

So last time we left off with Jon-David going over Paul’s instructions regarding the responsibility of men to lead the church, and women to adorn themselves properly. That was a very delicate topic and I appreciated the tact with which he handled it. We will be picking up in chapter 3, verse 1. If I can get some one to read verses 1 through 7. Here Paul lays out the qualifications for elders. If your reading from the KJV, it will say bishops, as opposed to elders. Although a lot of the catholic church’s hierarchy of church leadership comes from both apocryphal literature, or just tradition, this is where they claim their basis for their governing system comes from. But anyways, Paul begins with another trustworthy saying (the first having occurred in 1:15), that is, a popular proverb which he now endorses as reliable. It’s a commendation for those who would seek the position of elder or deacon, calling it a “good work”. What follows is a clear and simple list that tends to get made more of than I think there is. A lot of folks who are trying to shove a square peg of a man into he round hole of these qualifications will try to distort the meanings of this list. For example, “the husband of one wife.” That seems pretty cut and dry, but folks try and say that an unmarried man can be an elder, because he doesn't have more than one wife. But notice, it says husband of one wife, not husband of up to one wife. A while back, I was talking to a friend of mine by the name of Gary Kerr. He is a gospel preacher that used to serve as an elder. I asked him during q and a session at a camp some of the other guys here have attended, YMLC, but anyways I asked that if a man had faithfully served as an elder for some time, but then his wife passed away, what should he do? I didn't know it then, but he had been in that exact position. He replied “I don’t see how he couldn’t step down.” He went on to explain that his wife had been crucial to his successful eldership, and as soon as she passed, he now felt inadequate to serve in that capacity. So, despite the pleas of the congregation, he stepped down. I find that a very telling testimony. And I use testimony due to a lack of first hand experience, being neither married, nor an elder. I know that was a lot of time spent on that one qualification, but I felt it was important, so thank you for bearing with me. Over the next verse and a half, he gives a list of virtues that the elder should have. He starts with temperate, which can mean patient, or self-controlled. Obviously important for some-one who has to deal with a lot of people. He follows it up with sensible, or sober-minded. I think this has to deal with the focus needed to make big decisions for the church. Next is respectable, or of good repute. A church needs a good leader figure, some-one they can look up to for guidance. Last in verse two is able to teach. It doesn't matter how wise the elder is if he is unable to convey his wisdom to the congregation in a way they can understand. Verse three begins with not given to wine, which would bee an obvious impediment to the judgement of a man who needs to be as clear-minded as possible. Not a striker doesn’t mean that he will actually attempt to attack people, it’s more rooted in the idea of not getting into arguments with no basis. Somebody who just wants to pick a fight. In the latter half of verse three he lays out the alternatives to the last two negative qualities, what they should be. considerate, instead of putting his own desires in front of the good of his church. Peaceful, as opposed to the aforementioned striker, which will certainly help to keep trouble out of the assembly. I love how the Legacy Standard puts the last qualification on the list, “free from the love of money. Implying that it is a burden, and the freedom thereof is a relief. Next up, verses 4 and 5 form a pair on the home of the would-be elder. Paul draws an analogy between the elder’s family and God’s church. He is called to leadership in two families, his and God’s, and the former is to be the training-ground for the latter. The argument is straightforward. If he cannot look after his own family, he cannot be expected to look after God’s. Eli the priest remains a solemn warning to us in this area, for his sons were both immoral and greedy, but ‘he failed to restrain them. So in conclusion for this section, those responsible for selecting candidates for the eldership must investigate not only their personal qualities, but also their home and family life, because that is a direct reflections of some things that may not be visible at first glance. Verse six rules out new converts, with again, clear and simple reasoning. Appoint someone to the eldership right after their baptism, and it will be very easy for them to get a big head. This is a massive liability to the church. If your new elder starts making poor decisions that reflect badly on the church, that leaves a wide open space for accusations that will inevitably cause strife within the church. So, something curios is that the word that is most likely translated “devil” at the end of verse 6, diablos, can very well mean devil, but it is also translated slanderer. This, I think more fully brings out the idea Paul is conveying here. Do y'all know of a way to make yourself talk slower. Were good, I just don’t want to burn through my material like a string of firecrackers. Any ways, verse 7. Paul finishes this section of text on elders with a different warning, but the same reasoning. It’s a verification of the candidate's reputation with the community. One of the church’s primary responsibilities is evangelism, so having a man with good standing with the would-be converts is imperative. (Stop and ask for commentary.)

The next section that we will be looking at starts in verse 8, then goes through verse 13, if I could get someone to read that for me. This passage is on the diaconate, a word that I did not know existed until my research for the study. What deacon actually means is basically a servant or waiter, literally. I think you will find the text supports this idea well. The qualifications listed here seem nigh identical to the ones required of the elder in the previous seven verses, with much the same reasoning behind them. Since the qualifications for the diaconate overlap with those for the Elder-ship, it will not be necessary to study them all in detail. But the following four areas are emphasized. First, deacons must have self-mastery. Four words in verse 8 seem to form a natural grouping. First, dignified, or worthy of respect. Also, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain, Thus in these four areas, in their behaviour, speech, use of alcohol and attitude to money, candidates for the diaconate are to have control of themselves. Secondly, they are to hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Often times the word mystery when used in biblical context can confuse and even scare us. We can say God moves in mysterious ways as an explanation for the seemingly inexplicable. But the actual word used here, sorry to bring out the Greek, but the actual word, mysterion is almost comically different from the meaning we typically ascribe to it. It literally means deep truths, unchangeable. Which I think provides a clearer understanding of the requirement, and unlike the false teachers, who have rejected their conscience and so shipwrecked their faith (1:19), and have even ‘cauterized’ their conscience by constantly disregarding it (4:2), the deacons are to maintain ‘a clear conscience’, holding on to God’s revelation with sincere and strong conviction. Verse 10 deals with the process of appointment, or testing. It is a trial period to verify their aptitude for the position. I really appreciate Pepper road’s efforts on this matter with their “grace period” they have when appointing a church official. It is again a stern reminder of the importance the position holds, and why Paul takes the time to meticulously lay out the requirements, which makes it all the more sad when they are not followed. Moving on. Unfortunately, there is a lot of controversy over verse 11, though not for the same reasons in the previous chapter. The argument is whether the text references deaconesses, or the wives of deacons. Proponents of the former will typically drag out Pheobe from Romans 16:1, because she is called a servant, but then you would have to qualify a lot of others, because the theme of servitude runs strong in the new testament, and there are many given that title, though I would argue that without context to the affirmative, it doesn't make them a deacon. In favour of deacons wives, on the other hand, the reference to them is sandwiched between two references to deacons, which would make an allusion to their wives quite natural; and the omission of a reference to the women’s married faithfulness, corresponding to verses 2 and 12, would be explained if these women were the deacons’ wives, and therefore already faithfully married. Verse 12 is a repetition of the rules regarding the family in verse 2, Looking back, it is clear that the qualifications for the eldership, and the diaconate are very similar. There is a core of Christian qualities, which all Christian leaders should exhibit. Putting the two lists together, we note that there are five main areas to be investigated. In regard to himself the candidate must be self-controlled and mature, including the areas of drink, money, temper and tongue; in regard to his family, both faithful to his wife and able to discipline his children; in regard to his relationships, hospitable and gentle; in regard to outsiders, highly esteemed; and in regard to the faith, strong in his hold on its truth and gifted in teaching it. The whole first half of this chapter is a good example of the balance of Scripture. For there is material here both to encourage the right people to offer for pastoral ministry and to discourage the wrong ones from doing so. The discouragement is that the required standards are high and the task is daunting. However, the reward actually is only now being mentioned after all of the things some might consider distasteful, again, a good filtering mechanism to keep out false teachers. That is not to say that there has not been a man appointed to elder who has been a false teacher, it is when the congregation fails to see the wolf through the sheepskin that the they are able to infiltrate the church. But, despite the burdensome seeming task the reward far overshadows the trials required. At the conclusion to this section, Paul explains why this is a good work, like he mentioned earlier. He says that those who have served faithfully obtain great standing and boldness with the faith that is Jesus Christ. He is essentially saying that it is worth every bit if you are willing to put in the effort required. (Stop and ask for commentary) Now, will someone read the last three verses. From the qualifications for the pastorate Paul turns to the church in which they serve. For the nature of the ministry is determined by the nature of the church. We see Paul planning to come visit them to attend to the church on a personal level, but he has sent this letter as a contingency plan. It is fortunate for us that he did this, i daresay providential, so we could have a firm account of his words, not sketchy renditions of oral instruction. But because the apostolic instructions were written down, we know what we would not otherwise have known, namely how people ought to conduct themselves in the church. Paul uses three descriptive expressions of the church, each of which illustrates a different aspect of it, namely God’s household or family, the church of the living God, and the pillar and foundation of the truth. The word oikos can mean either a house (the building) or a household (the family that occupies the building). And Scripture tells us that the church is both God’s house and God’s household. The two concepts are sometimes brought together. But since in this chapter oikos has already been used three times of a household (verses 4, 5, 12), it seems likely that it has the same connotation in verse 15. By new birth of the Spirit we become members of the family of God, related to him as our Father and to all fellow believers as our sisters and brothers. Although Paul does not here draw out the implications of our being God’s household or family, he does elsewhere. He emphasizes that as God’s children we have an equal dignity before him, irrespective of age, gender, race or culture; and that as sisters and brothers we are called to love, encourage, and support one another On a number of occasions in the Old Testament Yahweh is named ‘the living God’ in deliberate contrast to the lifeless idols of the heathen. Indeed, still today Christian conversion involves turning ‘to God from idols to serve the living and true God’. But where does the living God live? Joshua answered this question succinctly: ‘The living God is among you. For this was the essence of God’s covenant promise to Israel: ‘I will dwell among you and be your God, and you shall be my people.’ Israel’s consciousness that the living God lived among them profoundly affected their community life. Even an elementary lesson in personal hygiene was based on the fact that the LORD God walked among them and must not see anything indecent. And they were incensed when the heathen presumed to ‘defy’, ‘insult’ or ‘ridicule’ the living God. An even more vivid consciousness of the presence of the living God should characterize the Christian church today. For we are ‘the temple of the living God’, ‘a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit’.70 When the members of the congregation are scattered during most of the week it is difficult to remain aware of this reality. But when we come together as the church of the living God, every aspect of our common life is enriched by the knowledge of his presence in our midst. In our worship we bow down before the living God. Through the reading and exposition of his Word we hear his voice addressing us. We meet him at his table, when he makes himself known to us through the breaking of bread. In our fellowship we love each other as he has loved us. And our witness becomes bolder and more urgent. The Having considered our duty to each other as the household of God, and to God as his dwelling-place, we come to our duty to the truth as its pillar and foundation. The hedraiōma of a building is its mainstay. It may refer either to its foundation or to a buttress or bulwark which supports it. In either case the hedraiōma stabilizes the building. Just so, the church is responsible to hold the truth steady against the storms of heresy and unbelief.The word stylos, however, means a pillar or column. The purpose of pillars is not only to hold the roof firm, but to thrust it high so that it can be clearly seen even from a distance. The inhabitants of Ephesus had a vivid illustration of this in their temple of Diana or Artemis. Regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world, it boasted 100 Ionic columns, each over 18 meters high, which together lifted its massive, shining, marble roof. Just so, the church holds the truth aloft, so that it is seen and admired by the world. Indeed, as pillars lift a building high while remaining themselves unseen, so the church’s function is not to advertise itself but to advertise and display the truth. Here then is the double responsibility of the church towards the truth. First, as its foundation it is to hold it firm, so that it does not collapse under the weight of false teaching. Secondly, as its pillar it is to hold it high, so that it is not hidden from the world. To hold the truth firm is the defence and confirmation of the gospel; to hold it high is the proclamation of the gospel. What this chapter ends with is almost a poem, and there is a lot of interesting things in the Greek to be found here, structure-wise, but given that we are about out of time, and I think i have, suffice it to say that it is Paul’s declaration of the worthiness of christ and his deeds, and his present stance regarding the church. (stop and ask for commentary)