Striving Servants
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
De-holifying the word “Ministry”. Let us dispose of the idea that one enters “ministry” when one gets paid.
Personal charges to Timothy,
relevant to all Church leaders,
and good for all of us to follow in our own context.
Good Servants Speak Truth
Good Servants Speak Truth
v6
Paul is going to make a string of commands to Timothy to set him up for a fruitful and healthy service in God’s church.
If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.
To understand this, we first need to ask what this verse is refering to. What are “these things”?
At the very least it is:
The Church is the Pillar of Truth, the Household of God.
But, there will be false teachers who bring in the doctrine of demons, including telling Christians to keep food laws.
“These Things” - probably everything Paul is writing, including what we have already read:
Curb the teaching of bad doctrine (1:3-4)
There is a good use of God’s law against sin
Jesus Christ came to save sinners!
Fight the Good fight of Faith.
Pray for all people, including leaders.
When you gather, the men should pray without anger or arguing, and the ladies should be modest & godly. The Ladies shouldn’t take leadership positions but instead learn in all submissiveness.
Appoint men of Good character too lead the church.
Who leads the Church? Elders & Deacons. Remember the NT uses the word Elder, overseer/bishop and pastor interchangeably. An elder is a Pastor, and a elder is a Bishop.
Deacons are servants. Deacons are distinct from Elders in that they are not required to teach. So they are people, like the men of acts 6, who are made responsible for practical matters of church life.
Now, a problem we run into with the word Deacon is that it is a very common word “Servant”. Someone who serves. When we take a very common word and use it to describe an official office in the church sometimes there is confusion about when the word is being used in an official capacity, or when it is being used in a more casual sense.
Maybe a good corollary would be the word “builder”. Any old person can build something and thus casually be called a builder. There are laborers who work for building companies who are colloquially called “builders,” but there is also an official group of people who have done an apprenticeship and have the formal qualifications who are a “capital-B Builder”. In the Bible we need to distinguish between who is an older person and who is a “Elder” as a leadership position. Similarly, we need to distinguish between people who are servants as a job, people who are serving one another in general love, and those who are given an official title with responsibilities in the Church.
Timothy here is being called to be a good servant, that is a Good Deacon of Jesus. So, one might assume from this, in light of a recent passage about the qualifications for deacon, that Timothy must be a Deacon in the church at Ephesus, instead of an Elder.
Yet, note this particularly: All through this letter Paul is giving instructions on teaching. So even though Timothy is here described as a good deacon, the only way that he can fulfill the commands Paul is giving him is to be an Overseer in the Church.
What would make timothy a good servant?
IF you put these things before “the brothers” (The church) you will be a good servant.
Servants of Jesus can be tested by their willingness to put the Truth before God’s people!
So, in our day, if there are leaders who are unwilling to say what God’s word says, then they are not good servants of Jesus. We must proclaim the truth unadulterated. Give it straight, no chaser! Give us God’s word straight from the source in all it’s glorious
Putting truth before the Church isn’t just a tick-box job to do, it is something that affects the person bringing the truth and the hearers. This truth trains and nourishes faith, gives word and shape to our faith. It is like when we say “I was brought up in an Christian home.” That means we expect someone to have grown up in a Christian environment and to be shaped by it.
Paul expects Timothy & hearers to be shaped by Christian doctrine, to have life and ministry formed
Good Servants Train for Godliness
Good Servants Train for Godliness
v7-10
We live in a world that has both analogue and digital. And I don’t mean that in a technological sense, i mean that we have aspects of life that are on a scale, things grow, age, there are shades of color. We have different levels of commitment and relationship.
But there are things about life that are binary. They are digital. They are either or.
You are either dead or alive. People are either male or female.
You either belong to Jesus or you do not.
Paul calls timothy to have a binary attitude: What should he stay away from? and what should he pursue?
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;
Get rid of one, pursue the other.
lit. Worthless myths of Elderly women. = “Old Wive’s Tales”
Don’t wast your time with weird ideas and unfounded conspiracy theories.
Don’t get sucked into theological curiosities that have no biblical foundation, or tall tales about this saint or the other.
Have nothing to do with worthless myths.
As a replacement, train for Godliness. Godliness has value, where myths are worthless. This is what Paul says next:
for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.
Godliness has great value.
You know what else has value? Body training.
Being fit and in shape is good for us, we know this. We automatically understand the value in this. It comes with lots of benefits: Having less health problems, living longer, being able to accomplish more in life, looking good, being able to stand your ground in a fight (or run away faster than the other guy!).
We can see all the multitude of benefits to be gained by physical training, and Paul uses that as a comparison for training for godliness. There are a multitude of benefits for getting fit, how much more valuable is godliness!
Godliness doesn’t diminish with age like strength does.
Godliness can’t be taken away from you by illness or injury.
Godliness is beneficial now, and forever! It is something that goes with us into the next life.
How is it of value now? (answer)
This is a trustworthy says (perhaps this was a proverb or something).
This Godliness is something that must be trained for. You need to start small and work at it. It takes a lot of effort! Paul explains this:
For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
Toil and Strive! Hard work. Effort.
All leaders should train for Godliness, but it is something for all of us. Leaders are not godly on behalf of others. They set an example for you to follow!
I ask you seriously, how much effort do you put into pursuing godliness?
What resistance training are you doing on this front? How are you training for spiritual warfare?
Toil and Strive for it!
Why? Because our hope is set on God. Because it is for Him and we expect it to pay off! No one would go to work tomorrow morning if they didn’t expect to get paid. You work hard because you have a hope that you will get paid, that you will build a good business, that you will get respect for your efforts, you serve your kids because you expect that they will grow up better, you teach them about Jesus because you’re seeking the payoff that they will become a true Christian.
You toil and strive for Godliness because your hope is that God will be pleased, that he will accept your labours, that he will give you a reward.
Not to get saved, or stay saved! Jesus Saves. God is our Savior sent into the world at the proper time.
He is the Savior of all. Especially of those who believe.
How is he the Savior of all?
Not all will be saved from Hellfire, so it’s not an eternal salvation.
He is the savior of All in the sense that God has provided and sustained every living person on the world at every moment. If he were to stop caring and providing for every person they would die. So God has given every good thing that every person has ever enjoyed. He is the helper and provider of all, saving them from imminent physical death.
Yet, there is also a sense that God’s salvation message is for all, it is universal! Anyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved from hellfire and condemnation. They will enter blessed eternal life! Anyone who turns to God in faith will receive the gift of the HS and be adopted into God’s family. He will free you from the power of Satan and his demons, moving you from darkness to light.
Yet, God is the savior especially of the Believer, God is a savior, the only savior, but that is only really effective for the future if you believe. You must trust in Jesus. There is no other name under heaven by which a person may be saved!
Good Servants Command & Set an Example
Good Servants Command & Set an Example
v11-13
Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
Not all elders are elderly!
Timothy has grown up in faith and because he was filled by the HS and shaped by the truth from such a young age, he is formed and prepared for leadership in God’s Church younger than others.
Despite the fact that he is a bit younger than others, no one should despise him for it. It can be a bit confronting and upsetting when someone younger than you is more Godly than you! But don’t let malice and bitterness and jealousy spring up in your heart, thank God for what he has given you what he has done in the lives of others and press on together in Christ.
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
Key aspects of church gatherings.
Good Servants Use their Gifts
Good Servants Use their Gifts
v14-16
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
Dunno what this gift is,
Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
What now?
What now?