Godly Leadership (Elders)

Planning

Passage

1 Timothy 3 NIV

1 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. 8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11 In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. 14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Passage structure

Big stuff

Big idea: When we relate well to our leaders, our church lives out its identity as the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Fallen condition focus: We think we can ignore our elders.

Good news statement: A good relationship between the church and the elders allows the church to live out its identity as the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Big question: How should the church relate to our elders so that we can all flourish?

Sermon structure

Intro

Relating well with our leaders is good for everyone

Relating well to my parents

Not relating well to my RTA boss

Church: reactive response vs learning from God’s word

God teaches us what he wants from our leaders and therefore how we should relate to them.

1, Elders (vv. 1-7)

God wants us to have good leadership (not no leadership).

We want good leadership (family, school, work, and now church)

Overseer (v. 1)

Overseer = elder = a man who leads God’s people with other elders

Titus 1:5–7 “5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.”

Acts 20:17 “17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.”

Acts 20:28 “28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”

Principles of Christian leadership and we don’t have to elders vs we should have elders

Which is it?

Principles of Christian leadership - yes

We should have elders

Paul appointed elders in every church

Acts 14:23 “23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”

Use Seth Fellows’ technique of ‘fill in the blank’

Titus 1:5 “5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”

The rest of the NT letters describe elders as well (1 Peter 5, James 5:14)

Nation of Israel had elders

This is the Presbyterian position: πρεσβύτερος

As we look at this passage, we’re not just thinking about Christian leaders but elders specifically.

Who are our elders? Tim (not a senior pastor who has authority over the elders), Michael McGarity, Trent Pellow, David Whitelaw

We relate to elders by learning from their teaching (v. 3)

Doesn’t specify the manner of teaching (preaching, leading a home group)

Learn from their teaching

Go to church regularly

Be ready to learn (pray, take notes, put phones away)

We relate to elders by learning from their godly example.

1 Timothy: sound teaching leads to sound living

Show examples from chapters 1 and 2

E.g. Tim: faithful to his wife (v. 2)

E.g. Michael: gentle (v. 3)

E.g. Dave: Not a lover of money (v. 3) but loving God, his family, 5-6

E.g. Trent: managing his own family well (v. 4)

Challenge to elders to be godly

Being an elder isn’t just about taking part in the meetings and making plans for the church

It’s all of life, because your whole life should reveal to the church how Jesus has transformed your life

Encouragement that I have seen godly character

We relate to elders by recognising that they are responsible for overseeing the church.

It’s not just pragmatic wisdom. It’s a God-ordained responsibility.

How?

Respect (v. 2, v. 4, v. 7)

Acknowledge the call for respect has been misused and affirm healthy dialogue

Not taking over that responsibility

Giving suggestions in respectful ways (give positive examples)

Acknowledge that some elders fail and there is information about accountability in 1 Tim 5

Call for some men to consider becoming elders.

Aside on men-only eldership

Knowing how to relate to our elders helps our whole church to flourish.

2, Deacons (vv. 8-13)

Will spend less time on this since the Bible doesn’t spend that much time on deacons.

“elder” around 195 times in ESV

“deacon” less than 10 in ESV

Why this is relevant for the whole church

So that we appoint the right people.

This passage is showing us that we should want men and women who have godly character and good management skills.

What deacons are

The word literally means “servant”

Much more variation in what deacons do across churches

In our church: Committee of Management and leaders of the care team

Members

Adrian Carswell, Michael Johnson, Ray Otten, John Powers, Michael Whitelaw, Kate Baron, Riaan Grebe, Chris Wansink + all the elders

Adrian Carswell and Vicki Nicholas

Function

CoM: Managing the finances and assets, including the building expansion

Care team:

Crisis and chronic conditions

Care is usually through home groups (makes sense to receive care from people you know)

Encouragement to be part of a home group

Inform people about contacting elders or Vicki or Adrian if care is required

Exegesis

What do we want from these people?

Same as elders

Godly character

Understanding of the truth

Management abilities

Different to elders

Women are qualified to be deacons (v. 11)

Could be ‘wives’ but probably not: it would be unusual to have a restriction on deacons but not on elders, Phoebe is likely described as a deaconness (Rom 16), and the translation of ‘wife’ is typically accompanied by ‘his’ or ‘their’ (possessive pronouns) but isn’t here

Don’t need to teach

Transition

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about church structure.

If we come out of here thinking that church structure is the end goal, we’ve missed the point.

Church structure is there to help the church live out its identity.

3, Church (vv. 14-15)

What is the church? Building, a gathering (“going to church this morning”), or people

Read vv. 14-15

Building - societal definition

Gathering

People - household (family)

Identity

God’s truth - broad

Truth not as in every single true statement (joke about breakfast)

Truth about how to live

Not simply doctrines that don’t change lives

Sound teaching leads to sound living

Truth about God loving us leads to us loving others

v. 15 - how people out to conduct themselves

Previous chapters

Challenge to elders about their teaching and godliness

Challenge to live out the truth, not just know it

God’s truth - gospel

Truth first and foremost about the gospel (1 Timothy 2:3–4 “3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”)

ὁμολογουμένως - literally confessedly, meaning beyond all question

Mystery

Not like a murder mystery where we have to figure it out ourselves

This mystery (across Paul’s letters) is about how people can be saved.

How is it that people dead in their sin can receive new life?

How is it that people who have made themselves enemies of God can now call him their Father?

How is it that people who live in rejection of God can now live godly lives?

Only through Jesus

This mystery is the gospel of Jesus -> v. 16 could be “beyond all question, the gospel of salvation in Jesus is great”

The content of the mystery/gospel

He appeared in the flesh, -> incarnation (and sacrifical death)

was vindicated by the Spirit, -> resurrection

was seen by angels, -> shown to the angels to prove God’s wisdom (Ephesians 3:10 “10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,” )

was preached among the nations, -> preaching the gospel

was believed on in the world, -> people believing the gospel

was taken up in glory. -> ascension (not chronological), pointing to ultimate glory

Challenge to non-Christian to confess this gospel

Encouragement to Christians to keep this gospel central

Conclusion

Our church lives out our identity as the pillar and foundation of the truth when everyone is clear about our identity.

When we know what it looks like to live it out.

When our elders help us to do so: through teaching the truth, being godly examples of the truth, and amaging the church well.

Let’s pray that we, New Life Presbyterian Church, will remember who we are and live it out.

Prayer

Song intro

Here We Stand

Here we stand, contending for the faith

Standing for the truth in every age

Feedback with Tim on the old sermon

Good

v. 11 on female deacons

Improve

Shorten point 1 background, including overseer = elder

Shorten deacon section

Show relevance to the whole church

Show why God’s order is good for the church

What God thinks is important for elders is important for us

These are the men you should respect

People need to know what to look for in an upcoming elder

Submitting to elders since they are our leaders -> three-fold respect

Elaborate on some of the character traits… can use illustrations

Show the more positive picture before bringing in the negative picture

Sermon

Intro

When I was growing up, my parents taught me what my relationship with them should look like.

I knew what things I could do myself and what things I should ask permission to do.

I knew that my parents would provide for me and would teach me how to live.

And I knew it was important to listen to them and respect them.

Relating well with my parents helped me to grow as a child, made it easier for my parents, and was good for the whole household.

As I grew older, I took up my first engineering job.

I’ve worked in three engineering positions.

And in my first job, I didn’t know how to speak with my boss.

The main thing was I didn’t know how to ask for more work.

So I spent a significant portion of that placement not doing anything productive.

It wasn’t good for me.

It wasn’t good for my boss.

It didn’t benefit the company.

We didn’t have any conflict.

But my lack of understanding about how to connect with my boss helped no one.

What about church?

What does it look like for members of the church to have healthy relationships with the leadership?

What does it look like for members of New Life Presbyterian Church to have healthy relationships with our elders?

When we know how to relate to our leaders, it benefits everyone.

The members, the leaders, and it’s good testament to the world around us.

I’m soon going to be speaking from 1 Timothy 3 and I’ll exhort us to learn from our leadership and to respect our leadership.

And as I say that, I recognise that there could be some personal things for people here that might make it hard for them to listen to that exhortation.

Someone might think that I’m just using this passage as a platform to get people to respect me and to do my bidding.

If that’s you, I want to reassure you that that’s not the case.

I already feel respected and supported by our church, which I’m very thankful for.

So I don’t need to demand respect.

Neither do I want slaves to do carry out my orders.

What I do want and what I believe God wants from this passage is healthy leadership.

Healthy relationships between the church and the leadership.

When we do have those healthy relationships, our church is more effective at its mission of making and growing disciples of Jesus Christ.

I also know that some people have been hurt by Christian leaders in another church and it could be hard for you to trust the leaders here.

If that’s you, then I hope you know that God doesn’t condone the misuse of authority.

In today’s passage, God sets a high standard for church leadership, especially in godliness.

So I hope that as you get to know the leaders of our church, that trust can be built.

I hope that New Life Presbyterian Church is a safe space for healing for you as you are reminded about God’s love for you.

And perhaps there’s someone here who has been hurt by one of the leaders of our church.

I remember when I was at Bible college, one of the lecturers said something I felt was quite nasty.

I lost respect for him.

I still tried to learn from him since that’s what I was at college for.

But I just couldn’t focus on what he was saying.

Eventually, I worked up the courage to talk with him.

And I’m glad I did that because he listened to me.

He acknowledged what he did, he apologised, and he asked for forgiveness.

We reconciled.

And I could learn from him and respect him again.

If you still carry hurt from an elder or a pastor here, please talk to him.

We all know our sinful nature and we are all willing to reconcile.

If it’s too intimindating to talk to them directly, please reach out to a trusted brother or sister.

Perhaps the two of you can work out some ways to repair the relationship.

With all that said, let’s get into 1 Timothy 3.

We’ll focus on three things in the passage.

1, Elders (vv. 1-7)

2, Deacons (vv. 8-13)

3, The Church (vv. 14-16)

That’s the structure of this morning’s sermon.

1, Elders (vv. 1-7)

2, Deacons (vv. 8-13)

3, The Church (vv. 14-16)

Let’s start with the first point.

1, Elders (vv. 1-7)

Elders.

Paul begins this chapter by affirming the role of overseer.

That’s in verse 1.

1 Timothy 3:1.

1 Timothy 3:1 NIV

1 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.

That makes us wonder, what is an overseer?

Well in the New Testament, the word ‘overseer’ is used interchangeably with the word ‘elder’.

We won’t look at them now, but passages like Titus 1 and Acts 20 show us that ‘overseer’ means ‘elder’.

The two words describe the same role, the same office.

And in the whole Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, elders were men who led God’s people together.

So, 1 Timothy 3 is Paul writing to Timothy about elders.

And before we get into the details of the qualifications for elders, we need to know how we move from Paul and Timothy’s situation to ours.

Should we broaden this out to all Christian leaders?

Home group leaders, New Life Kids leaders, and so on?

Or is this passage still about our elders today?

Should our church be led by elders?

Well our church is Presbyterian and we do have elders lead our church.

A big part of that is that we trust the apostles’ teaching and their methodology.

Like in Acts 14.

In Acts 14, Paul visits some of the churches he planted.

[Don’t read]

Acts 14:23 NIV

23 Paul and Barnabas _______________________ for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

What’s so important that he does this in every church?

That’s right.

[Don’t read]

Acts 14:23 NIV

23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

He appointed elders in every church.

Having elders lead the church is universal New Testament practice.

[Quickly]

Paul tells Titus in Titus 1 to appoint elders in every town.

Peter speaks to elders in 1 Peter 5.

James mentions elders in James 5.

The apostles have been sent by Jesus.

So we should trust them.

And if they want churches to be led by elders, then so do we.

Churches should be led by elders.

That’s the Presbyterian position.

Fun fact: even the word ‘Presbyterian’ shows you what Presbyterians believe.

The word comes from the Greek word

πρεσβύτερος (presbuteros)

which means, “elder”.

So we come to 1 Timothy 3 then, we’re thinking specifically about elders.

It’s what the passage says.

That means it would be good for us as New Life Presbyterian Church to know who our elders are.

They’re up on the screen.

(Thank you Elvanto and LinkedIn for the lovely pictures.)

We have Michael McGarity.

Trent Pellow.

David Whitelaw.

And Tim Baron.

And yes, Tim is our senior pastor but he’s still an elder.

He was ordained as an elder in 2023 and he still makes decisions with the other elders.

Being the senior pastor simply means he takes a more active role in leading the church.

But it doesn’t mean that he has authority over the elders.

It’s still the elders leading the church together.

Let’s come back to our passage.

1 Timothy 3 gives us qualifications for elders.

It tells these four men and potential elders what they should be like.

But that doesn’t mean they pay attention and the rest of the church should zone out.

See, as we understand what God wants from our elders, we learn how we should relate to them.

Knowing what our elders should be like teaches us how to relate to them.

Let’s look at three positive ways to relate to our elders.

Firstly, we relate to our elders by learning from their teaching.

We learn from their teaching.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:2 NIV

2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Verse 2 tells us that an overseer or elder should be able to teach.

It doesn’t specify the manner of teaching.

It could be preaching.

Leading a home group.

Teaching the kids at New Life Kids.

The elders are responsible for the teaching in the church.

And that means that the rest of the church should be taught.

If the elders are responsible for teaching, then the members of our church should be willing to learn.

So to Michael, Trent, David…

And especially Tim since you are the elder who spends more time preaching to us all...

Keep growing in your understanding of the Bible.

Make sure that teaching is a key part of church.

Our church needs you to teach us the truth.

And to members of our church:

Are you willing to learn from the elders’ teaching?

That willingness to learn can express itself in many ways.

It means wanting to go to church every Sunday to hear the sermon.

If you can’t make it, the sermon is recorded. Just check the website.

It could mean putting away your phone during church if you get distracted by it.

It could mean praying for the elders to teach faithfully and praying for your mind and heart to be moved by God’s word.

That’s the first way to relate to our elders.

We learn from their teaching.

Secondly, we relate to our elders by learning from their godly examples.

We learn from their godly examples.

Throughout 1 Timothy, we learn that true teaching leads to good works.

So if elders are responsible for teaching, that teaching must be carried out not just with their words, but by their actions.

True teaching happens not just through words but their godly living.

That’s why most of the qualifications for elders are about godly character.

Now, if elders teach us by being godly examples, then we learn from them by following their examples.

We learn from their godly examples.

What does that look like?

Well verse 2 says an elder should be faithful to his wife.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:2 NIV

2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Members of our church have spent time with Tim and Kate.

They’ve watched how Tim cares for Kate by his words and actions.

So those who are married are encouraged to stay faithful to their spouse.

Of course, all our elders are faithful to their wives.

I’m just using some examples to give us a picture of what the 1 Timothy 3 elder looks like.

Verse 3 says an elder must be gentle.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:2–3 NIV

2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

People here have spoken with Michael.

When they share their struggles, he is gentle with them.

When they express a different viewpoint, he is gentle.

And as they see his gentleness, they are encouraged to be gentle as well.

Verse 3 also says an elder shouldn’t love money.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:2–3 NIV

2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

Those who have spent time with Dave knows he doesn’t love money.

He doesn’t even talk about it very often.

People see instead that that he loves God.

In fact, he’s teaching some kids about God right now at New Life Kids.

And we’re spurred on not to love money but to love God instead.

Verses 4 and 5 describes an elder managing his own family well.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:4–5 NIV

4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)

Trent has nurtured his marriage with Meghan and his relationship with his son Tom.

He loves them and they love him.

I really appreciated the way they all served together for the youth trivia night.

And I was encouraged to manage my family well and to help us serve God together.

Of course, our elders aren’t perfect.

They sin like we all do.

That’s why Jesus is our ultimate example.

Only he is perfect.

Yet, in his organising of his church, Jesus has appointed godly leaders, elders, who we can look up to as well.

So to Michael, Trent, David, and Tim…

Keep growing in your godliness.

Allow the truth of God’s word to transform your lives.

Remember that being an elder isn’t just about what you’re formally doing at church.

It’s about your whole life since your godliness should be evident in all parts of your life.

Keep being godly.

If elders teach us by modelling godliness, then the rest of the church learns from the elders’ example.

So church, are you willing to learn from them?

If so, don’t just listen to their teaching.

Spend time with them.

Watch them.

Watch them to see their godliness and to learn from it.

Pay attention to their love for God and for people.

And allow that to deepen your own love as well.

We learn from our elders by their teaching.

We learn from our elders by their godly examples.

And thirdly, we relate to our elders by recognise that they are responsible for overseeing the church.

Recognise that they are responsible for overseeing the church.

We see this in the name of the role.

An elder is an overseer.

And we see their responsibility in verse 5.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:5 NIV

5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)

Paul is saying that someone who can’t manage their family well shouldn’t be an elder since being an elder involves managing the church.

The assumption is that elders manage the church.

So Michael, Trent, David, and Tim… keep managing what happens at our church.

Make sure that our Sunday gathering and all the different ministries of our church align with God’s word.

It doesn’t mean that you have to do everything yourselves.

But oversee the church.

Lead the leaders, equip people for works of service, and listen to people well.

Do all this so that everything that happens at New Life Presbyterian Church is for the glory of God and the good of his people.

And for the members of our church, we recognise that the elders are responsible for overseeing the church.

Recognise that the elders are responsible for overseeing the church.

That recognition shifts how we speak with the elders.

If you want to start a ministry at our church, great!

Chat with the elders about it.

If church is going well for you, let an elder know.

Overseeing the church is a big responsibility and some encouragement can go a long way.

If you think something here can be improved, chat with the elders about it.

The elders will be the first to tell you that they aren’t perfect.

They’re willing to listen and they want to do what’s best for the church.

And please pray for the elders.

1 Timothy 2 calls us to pray for those in authority.

The elders would love your prayers.

At this point, maybe some of you think that maybe you could serve as an elder.

If that’s you, that’s a good desire.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:1 NIV

1 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.

Verse 1 says that whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.

If you want to serve as an elder, first check that you meet all the criteria in this passage.

And if you do, chat with any of the elders.

All the current elders agree that our church would benefit from more elders.

But it can’t be just anyone.

In today’s passage, there is a very high standard for elders.

I am thankful for our elders.

I hope you are too.

And I trust that knowing how to relate to them (learning from their teaching, learning from their godly examples, and recognising their oversight of the church)

Knowing how to relate to them will help our church flourish.

It’s not just our relationships with our elders that helps though.

There’s a second role, a second office, that helps our church.

We’re at point 2.

2, Deacons (vv. 8-13)

Deacons.

I’ll spend less time on this section because the Bible spends less time on deacons.

The word “elder” appears in the Bible almost 200 times.

The word “deacon” appears less than ten times and most of them are in today’s passage.

The Bible just doesn’t specify exactly what a deacon does.

It seems to be about some sort of formal service (in fact, the word ‘deacon’ means ‘servant’).

But the Bible doesn’t describe exactly what that formal service is.

And that’s why there’s much more variation across churches with what deacons do.

Which isn’t a bad thing.

Different churches have different circumstances and need different things.

At our church, what matches the biblical picture of deacons are the Committee of Management and the leaders of the care team.

The Committee of Management and the leaders of the care team.

I’ll put up on the screen who they are.

[Don’t read]

Committee of Management

Adrian Carswell

Michael Johnson

Ray Otten

John Powers

Michael Whitelaw

Kate Baron

Riaan Grebe

Chris Wansink

All the elders

Care team leaders

Adrian Carswell and Vicki Nicholas

Our Committee of Management manages the finances and assets of the church.

That includes our current building expansion project.

Thank you, Committee, for how you serve us.

The leaders of the care team manage a team that provides extra care for people, especially in crisis and chronic conditions.

Thank you, Adrian and Vicki, for how you serve us.

Care happens well with existing relationships, but sometimes extra care is required.

So if you need care, you should first talk with those you’re closest with.

Family, friends, your home group...

But if that’s not enough, if you need extra care, you can chat with the leaders of the care team, Adrian and Vicki.

Or chat with one of the elders.

Let’s come back to the passage.

It’s about deacons.

Why should we spend time thinking about deacons?

Well some of you might want to join the Committee of Management or the care team.

If that’s you, you should make sure you fit the criteria in this passage.

And then, if you want to join the Committee, chat with Trent since he leads the Committee.

And if you want to join the care team, chat with Adrian or Vicki or Tim.

We should also pay attention to this passage because the whole church votes for who’s in the Committee.

That happens at the Annual Congregational Meeting in March.

So we should pay attention to this passage because it helps us decide who should be in.

So what are these qualifications?

Well as we compare the deacon qualifications to the elders, we see two main differences.

Firstly, the deacons don’t have to teach.

Elders must be able to teach.

That’s verse 2.

But deacons don’t.

Secondly, the deacons explicitly include women.

That’s in verse 11.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:11 NIV

11 In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

Some translations say this is about the wives of deacons, not female deacons.

Because the Greek word can be translated as woman or wife.

But I suspect it’s not about wives for three reasons.

Very quickly:

1, Usually there is a possessive pronoun like “his” or “their” when the word refers to someone’s wife, but there isn’t one in the Greek.

2, In Romans 16, there’s a woman named Phoebe who is likely a female deacon in the church.

And 3, it would be unusual to have a restriction here on deacons that isn’t applied to elders.

Deacons can be women.

And that’s why, when we think about the Committee of Management and leaders of the care team,

We want women involved.

As you can see with the committee, it’s mostly men.

If you are a woman and are thinking about joining the committee, this is a great way to serve.

Let’s return to the passage.

The rest of the qualifications for deacons are like those for elders.

Basically, it’s about godly character and good management skills.

Godly character and good management skills.

You can see why we want these traits in the Committee of Management and the leaders of the care team.

We want a committee that can help our church manage our finances and assets in a godly way.

We want care team leaders who can manage a team to help address people’s needs.

So as we think about who should be on our Committee of Management, as we appoint leaders of the care team,

Let’s not just choose anyone.

This passage is showing us that we should want men and women who have godly character and good management skills.

Well we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the different roles in the church.

Elders and deacons.

Having elders and deacons isn’t the end goal.

These roles or offices are there for the good of the whole church.

So let’s learn from God’s word about the church.

We’re at point 3.

3, The Church (vv. 14-16)

The church.

What is church?

Let’s read verses 14 and 15 and find out.

1 Timothy 3:14–15 NIV

14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Paul equates the church with God’s household.

God’s family.

The church refers to the people of God.

That means that New Life Presbyterian Church isn’t this building.

It isn’t this Sunday service.

We are New Life Presbyterian Church.

But being the church isn’t just about being God’s people.

Paul tells us more about our identity as his people.

We are the pillar and foundation of the truth.

I found that a bit surprising.

See, I think of God as the source of truth.

I think of the Bible as the source of truth.

And it’s right to think that because other parts of the Bible affirm those things.

But here, Paul says that we, the church, are the pillar and the foundation of the truth.

He’s helping us see that God has given us the unique privilege of proclaiming the truth.

That is our task… to share the truth.

What truth is he talking about?

Paul doesn’t mean every single true statement.

Did you know… that the name Martin comes from the Roman god Mars?

That’s truth.

But people don’t need to know that.

Maybe it might pop up in next year’s youth trivia night.

The truths that God wants us to know are truths that change our lives.

Truth is lived out in godliness.

It’s even here in verses 14 and 15.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:14–15 NIV

14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Paul is writing this truth…

Not so that people will just know more things...

But so we would know how we should live as God’s people.

We saw that in chapter 1.

The truth of the gospel leads to action.

To commanding people not to teach false doctrines and insisting on the gospel.

We saw it in chapter 2.

The truth of God’s love for all people leads us to pray for all people.

The truth about God’s good order for men and women leads us as men and women to live out that good order.

And we saw it at the start of chapter 3.

The truth about how God has set up the church leads us to have elders - godly and competent men who teach and oversee our church.

New Life Presbyterian Church, we must remember our identity.

We are pillar and foundation of the truth.

So let’s keep sharing that truth…

And let’s live out the truth.

We cannot let knowledge puff up our heads without changing our lives.

Otherwise we become like the false teachers in chapter 1 who are devoted to endless genealogies and promote speculations.

No, let’s allow the truth of God’s word to shape our living.

And that in turn promotes the truth.

Godly living shows everyone the truth of God’s word.

Now, God’s word includes many truths.

Are there truths that we should prioritise above other truths?

Let’s read verse 16.

1 Timothy 3:16 NIV

16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Paul says there’s a truth that’s beyond all question.

That literally means ‘confessedly’.

Something that every Christian should confess.

Paul describes that truth as the mystery.

How can the truth be a mystery?

Well across Paul’s many letters, he uses the word ‘mystery’ to refer to how people can be saved.

How is it that people dead in their sin can receive life?

How is it that people who have made themselves enemies of God can now call him their Father?

How is it that people who live in rejection of God can now live godly lives?

The Jews in the Old Testament didn’t know the full answer.

It was a mystery.

But God has been gracious to us.

He has revealed to us how people can be saved.

It’s the gospel.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

He died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins, so that we can be saved.

So the mystery is the gospel of Jesus.

We could paraphrase verse 16 to say, “beyond all question, the gospel of Jesus is great”.

1 Timothy 3:16 NIV

16 Beyond all question, the gospel of Jesus is great …

It’s so great that Paul ends the chapter with a little poem that explains the gospel.

A little hymn with the content of the gospel.

[Don’t read]

1 Timothy 3:16 NIV

16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Jesus appeared in the flesh.

That’s the incarnation.

Jesus, who is fully God, took on a human nature.

He lived in obedience to God the Father.

And he died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus was vindicated by the Spirit.

That’s the resurrection.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was raised to life.

He has conquered death.

Jesus was seen by angels.

That’s God proving his wisdom to the heavenly beings.

Like in Ephesians 3:10.

Ephesians 3:10 NIV

10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

God raising Jesus to life and saving people to be his church proves his wisdom to the heavenly beings.

Jesus was preached among the nations.

That’s the spreading of the gospel.

Jesus was believed on in the world.

That’s people putting their faith in Jesus as their Lord and their Saviour.

And Jesus was taken up in glory.

That’s the ascension.

After Jesus was raised to life, he ascended to the right hand of God.

It points to ultimate glory.

One day, Jesus will return.

And we will be in the new creation in glory forever.

Church, this is the gospel that we proclaim.

We are the pillar and foundation of the truth.

It’s a high calling.

So let’s proclaim the truth.

Especially the truth of the gospel.

Let’s pray.

Dear Heavenly Father,

You are the God of truth. You have given us your truth in your word. And you call us as your church to be the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Help us hold tightly to that truth. Help us to know it and to share it. Grow in us a love for your truth and a desire to live it out.

And please strengthen our elders to be godly men. Help them to teach us the truth and to manage our church well so that we are always centred on the truth.

We pray all this in Jesus’ name, Amen

The song we’re about to sing expresses what we are to do as God’s church.

The second verse says,

Here we stand, contending for the faith

Standing for the truth in every age

Church, let’s stand and sing!