Conduct in the House of God

Overview

In this chapter, Paul tells Timothy the appropriate conduct in the house of God. This was written approximately 62-66 AD, which is about 30 years after Jesus’ ascension to heaven.

We are going to start in verse 14 and and then go back to the first 13 verses.

The Church

1 Timothy 3:14–16 NKJV

14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

There is an expectation they are functioning in a fellowship they refer to as the “house of God”. This is important because there are some who say that the organized church is not real because you and I AM the church.

We are the church, meeting in a church, as the church of the living God.

The organized “church” is the pillar and ground of truth.

I believe they quickly found that so many false doctrines required there to be an organized focal point of good doctrine for people to trust and rely in.

In the book, “Shepherding Like Jesus”, Andrew Hebert talks about three tiers of fellowship within the church of Jesus.

Tier 1 are those who have the same faith and doctrine as you.

Tier 2 are those who have the same faith but different doctrine. Fellowship is only hindered for the sake of overall Unity.

Tier 3 are those who believe things foundationally different where all fellowship would be compromising the core of our faith.

There is an urgency to establish this for the fellowship of believers because the church was growing and many were moving into leadership roles very quickly.

Notice, Paul is talking about how “you” ought to conduct yourself. This could mean Paul is telling Timothy how to behave, but more likely, he is talking about “y’all” as in the whole congregation.

Leaders in the Church

1 Timothy 3:1–13 NKJV

1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. 10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. 11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

A Bishop, or Elder, is a person who leads the people of God. We call them pastors, but we need to understand that a pastor is a gift of shepherding.

A pastor may lead a congregation, but “Pastor” is a function and not a position.

I always considered a Bishop in the context of the Church of God to be a pastor of pastors. Not a hierarchical ladder to climb, or an honorary title, but a position of service, care, and ministry.

The Elder (Same root word), is a leader in the church. Sometimes the church is led by an elder who has organizational leadership skills.

Sadly, we call whoever is the leader, the pastor, whether that is truly their function in the body.

There is a Church who has an Evangelist as the organizational leader. He is still called Pastor. When I spoke to him, he said they have some functional pastors in the church who care for the shepherding aspect, even while he is the leader of the congregation.

The Deacon is a position of service toward the congregation. This is a person who serves the Church of God. Their focus is more on the temporal needs of the church. Stephen is considered the first Deacon.

Last thing I want to mention here is that this is not a list of things isolated to leaders, elders, pastors, bishops, and deacons. Rather, it is a list of things that should be already established in the life of the Christian prior to allowing them to step into these roles. This should be what all believers strive toward

Application

What are some areas in your life that need to mature based on these attributes? Is there anything that needs to begin or stop in your life?

Serving in leadership is a good thing to desire. These attributes should be in the life of a believer who professes Jesus as their KING.