The Infrastructure of the Local Church
Ecclesiology • Sermon • Submitted
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· 48 viewsWe are looking at the infrastructure of the local church.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Today in workplaces across America, helping everyone know what their role is in the company is a huge deal!
-Companies have all kinds of orientations, seminars, charts, and graphs to help people know what they are to be doing and how it relates to others in the company
There’s an article I found today entitled “the power of defining roles in the workplace”
-It listed 4 benefits of everyone knowing their role:
-everyone knows what they’re doing
-everything gets done
-people cooperate more effectively
-communication is improved
We see this also on sports teams, where players are given responsibilities and tasks to accomplish to help their teams win
-Now, sometimes as an independent American, we buck against the idea of being defined or limited
-We want to chart our own course and fulfill our own destiny!
-That works great, until your coworker stops doing their job or others in your company or on your team stop doing their jobs right
-The truth is, teams and business and organizations all run well when each member knows what they are to be doing, and is doing it to the best of their abilities
-Does God have specific roles for each person within the local church?
-Or is everyone kinda the same and we should just run around doing whatever pleases us best?
-In the same way you are probably relieved that your workplace or favorite sports team has well-defined roles, so God has for our local churches.
We learned that last week, Christ has died to save us and forgive us for our sins, and bought a special people for Himself!
In light of His loving sacrifice, let’s look at what God requires from us in our local church
1. Pastors
1. Pastors
Vs. 1
-there are 2 different greek words used here for desire
-The first one has the idea of “to reach out after”
-The second one has the idea of “a strong passion”
-MacArthur, in his comments on the passage, says that the first word has the idea of outward action, while the second has to do with inward desire
-It’s good to have a pastor who desires to be a pastor!
-And furthermore, if anyone desires this, it is a good desire
So what are the qualifications for being a pastor?
Vs. 2
-“Blameless” or above reproach
-this is the overarching qualification on the list, and everything else describes what it looks like to be blameless
-This is not in anyway saying that a pastor must be sinless
-But, it is saying that his reputation and character must be held in the highest regard by those around him
-His life is characterized by a reputation of loving God and being faithful to His commands and moral standards
-So often nowadays, men are caught in sexual scandals or misconduct, or embezzling funds, or other things like that. And they very shortly return back to ministry!
-If a pastor falls in sin in a public way, God can 100% forgive him. He just needs to get out of ministry for a long time or possibly permanently
What does it look like to be blameless?
-the husband of one wife
-literally a “one-woman man”
-The pastor should be faithful to his spouse
-The next three deal are “temparate, soberminded, of good behavior”
-These three deal with being restrained, sensible, moderate, respectable, orderly
-a pastor must be “hospitable”
-he welcome people into his home and be gracious in his stewardship of his time and possessions
-Able to teach
-This is the only requirement that has to do with gifting or ability
-There are many godly Christians who meet these requirements! All Christians want to be like this in their character and in their holy living
-But just because someone has these qualities, does not necessarily mean they should be a pastor
-A pastor must be able to teach,
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Why? Because a pastor MUST rightly preach and teach the word of God
-This is a spiritual gift that God gives according to Ephesians 4, Romans 12
-Not everyone is gifted by God to do this, and that’s ok! That’s a clear evidence that God has a different role for them other than being a pastor
-not given to wine
-a pastor shouldn’t be a drunk
-not violent
-you pastor should not be a brawler
-not greedy for money
-a pastor should not have huge desires for money
-gentle, but not quarrelsome
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
-A pastor must be gentle and not argumentative
-not covetous
Vs. 4-5
-Pastor’s are to be men who serve and lead their own family well
-If a pastor has no control over his children, how will he shepherd God’s people?
vs. 6
-He must not be a new believer
vs. 7
-He must have a good testimony among the unsaved in the community
Now, what are pastors primarily supposed to do?
Let me give you 2 things:
-preaching and teaching the word
-shepherding the flock of God
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
-A pastor must be rightly teaching and preaching the word of God
-ultimately, hospital visits, organizing the church calendar, and making sure everyone brings enough food to the church potluck are not the highest or primary calling of the pastor
-Those things are good
-But he is charged to preach the Word
He is to shepherd God’s people
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
Now, a huge part of this is the preaching of the Word of God
-but it also entails caring for and protecting those God has given to you
-it means protecting and warning against false teaching
-it means protecting against division in the church
-and being watchful for sinful things that can enter into the lives of your people
Godly pastors are vital to the life of the local church
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—
And we’ll talk more about the accountability this provides next week
2. Deacons
2. Deacons
-The office of deacon is the 2nd God-ordained office within the local church
-We see the first hints of this office in Acts 6 when 7 men were appointed to help out with the taking care of widows in the church, so that the Apostles could devote themselves to prayer and to the word
-the Greek word for “deacon” means servant
-These are men in the church who lead by serving in practical ways and helping take some of the responsibilities off the pastors’ shoulders
Deacons must be:
-reverent
-the word has the idea of “noble” or “worthy”
-not double-tongued
-not someone who slanders or gossips
-not given to much wine
-someone who is self-controlled when it comes to alcohol
-not greedy for money
-holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience
-A deacon must hold to the faith
-they must understand and grasp the gospel, and embrace it for themselves
-And they must do it from a pure conscience
-they must not have warped consciences like others who’s faith has been shipwrecked
having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,
Vs. 10
-deacons should be tested, to see if they are fit for this office
Vs. 11-12
-A deacon must rule over his family well
Vs. 13
-God rewards and blesses those who serve faithfully in this capacity
Brothers and sisters, it is so important that we have godly leaders in our local churches
Churches today are filled with men who are:
-heretics: they teach and preach false doctrine. They are leading people astray
-bad teachers: they may not teach heretical doctrine per-say, but they are just bad expositors who aren’t rightly handling the word of truth
-immoral: they are caught up in sexual scandals and embezzlement of funds
-ungodly: they are crude, angry, proud men
So, we need godly men in leadership. But what about everyone else? What am I to be like in my local church?
3. Men in the Church
3. Men in the Church
Paul starts with how men should behave in the context of the local church
-Vs. 8
-Men in the church ought to be men of prayer
-Men, we must be characterized by prayer
-The word everywhere, in context in the context of this book, probably refers to everywhere that Christians meet together
-Men ought to pray lifting up holy hands
-This is not saying that every time we pray, we need to assume a certain position
-The emphasis seems to be on “holy”
-Men, are we not only men of prayer, but men of holy living?
-Are we characterized by a lifestyle of holiness and living completely set apart to God?
-Men, it does no good to come to church on Sundays or Wednesdays to worship and pray, when the rest of the week we live in sin or giving ourselves over to things that are of no eternal value
-This does not reflect the character of God, or the Gospel, and it does not make Christ smell sweet in the community, or in our homes
-Your children and wife will not be encouraged on to Christ-likeness, or to a greater love and devotion to the Lord by you worshipping on Sundays and then spending 5 hours a day in front of the TV Monday through Saturday
-And this holiness if specifically applied by Paul further as being without wrath and without doubting
-a better translation of doubting would probably be “arguing” or “disputing”
-Men, we are not to be characterized by anger and contention and strife
-Do not be angry, frustrated fathers
-The world has enough of those, and it doesn’t make Christ seem beautiful
-Don’t be frustrated and exasperated husbands
-Don’t be argumentative co-workers or employees
-In our local church, we are to be men of prayer, of holiness, and not characterized by wrath or anger
-This ought to be practiced throughout the week as well
4. Women in the church
4. Women in the church
Vs. 9-10
-It seems that women were coming to church, and drawing undue attention to themselves in the way they were dressing and carrying themselves
-Paul here wants to put an end to that
-Church meetings and worship times are not about drawing attention to us
-Paul says that they ought to addorn, or dress themselves in modest apparel
-Dressing in a respectable way with propriety and moderation
-A woman’s primary concern should not be to show off or draw attention to herself within the local church context
-Paul further specifies that what he mans by listing some of the things that were going on with these women in the church
-He’s not here strictly forbidding doing your hair or wearing jewelry, but more along the lines of excess
-This could draw attention for these women to themselves in a sexual way, or in a way that would be discouraging for women in the church who are not as rich and couldn’t afford these things
-Instead, a woman is to be adorned by good works
-This is something that pleases God
Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
-God desires women to be characterized and adorned by good works
Vs. 11-12
-These are probably some of the most controversial verses in all of Scripture, especially in our current day and culture
-The command here at the beginning is very positive: let a woman learn!
-Women were not very highly thought of in this day, and Paul wanted the women to learn in church!
-Women have the exact same ability and responsibility to love God and follow Him as men do!
-Women are to learn, but to do it in silence and submission
-Once again, this is in the context of the local assembly, where Christians met together to worship
-During the time of learning, when the word of God was taught, women were to submit and listen to the male leadership in the church as the word of God was proclaied
Vs. 12
-Women are not to teach or have authority over a man
-This does not prohibit women from teaching other women, or children necessarily
-But women are not to preach or teach during the worship meetings, and they are not to be in authority over the men during the worship meetings
-This is not very popular in our culture
-Women preachers and pastors are very prevalent right now
-People have done hermenuetical gymnastics to try to make this verse not really mean what is says
-But, when the word of God offends us in our culture, it is we who need to change and not God’s word
-This is not in any way saying or implying that God likes men better than women, or that men or more important
-In the same way, no one would ever think that just because you submit to your boss, that it somehow makes your boss and inherently more valuable human being than you
-Women are to learn in church, but to do it in submission to God’s ordained leaders, and are not to teach or exercise authority over the men who God has ordained
Now, why is this the case?
Vs. 13-15
2 reasons are given:
vs. 13
-Paul appeals to the creative order
-Paul is saying that the reason women are to submit to their male leadership in the church is because this is how God has always intended it
-God desires men to lead, and women to follow that leadership
-This is how God has designed it and ordained it
-And this is not a result of the fall!
-Male leadership is not a result of the fall, because Paul first appeals to the creative order
-Then, Paul refers to the fall in verse 14
-Paul is not here saying that the fall is the result of woman per-say
-He doesn’t place any sole blame for the fall
-His point is just that Adam was not deceived, but Eve was
-I believe the point is that Eve stepped out from under the authority of her husband, and the results not good obviously
-Adam was ultimately responsible for his sin, but it serves as an illustration why God desires us all to fulfill our roles
Vs. 15
-Paul here encourages women that they have the amazing privilege of nurturing and caring for children, and that it is a wonderful thing that God has entrusted to them
-This does not refer to salvation through having children, nor saying that all women must have children, but that it is a wonderful opportunity to raise godly children
Application
Application
So, what is the point of all this?
-Brothers and sisters, we all have important roles to play in our local church
-God has commanded us how to behave and interact as believers within our local body
Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
-we must submit to the Lordship of Christ
-Pastors must shepherd the flock, teaching and preaching the word of God rightly
-Deacons must serve the pastors by helping them with responsibilities, and serve the congregation by serving them in anyway they can as well
-Men must be men of prayer, holiness, and not giving into anger or arguing
-Women must be modest, learning in submission the leaders God has given
What if I don’t want to do this or don’t like my role?
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
We are to submit to Christ in EVERYTHING, because He loved us and bought us by His own blood
He deserves all our praise and service!
-Let us serve Him joyfully and willingly
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?
But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.