1 Timothy 3.1-The Second Of Four Trustworthy Statements-If Any Man Aspires To The Office Overseer, He Desires A Good Work
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday April 13, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 3:1-The Second Of Four Trustworthy Statements: If Any Man Aspires To The Office Of Overseer, He Desires A Good Work
Lesson # 52
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 2:11.
Next, we will begin a study of 1 Timothy 3 and in this passage, Paul discusses the qualifications of the man who aspires to the office of overseer, i.e. the gift of pastor-teacher (3:1-7), and deacons (3:8-13).
He then expresses his concern for the household of God and cites a little poem about the incarnation (3:14-16).
Chapter 3 can be divided into five sections: (1) Commendation of the Overseer (verse 1). (2) Qualifications of the Overseer (verses 3-7). (3) Qualifications of the Deacon (verses 8-13). (4) Paul’s Purpose of Pointing Out These Qualifications (verses 14-15). (5) Poem About the Incarnation that Supports the Uniqueness of Christianity (verse 16).
This chapter is addressing the situation in Ephesus at the time of writing, which Paul describes in chapter 1, which reveals that certain pastors in Ephesus were teaching false doctrine as a result of adhering to the teaching of the Judaizers.
Consequently, these pastors were occupied with Jewish myths which were the result of misinterpreting the genealogies of Genesis.
They were misapplying the Law, which was hindering the spiritual growth of the Ephesian church.
The apostle Paul’s teaching in chapter 3 is a continuation of his teaching in 1 Timothy 2:11-15 in which he prohibited Christian women from assuming a leadership role in the body of Christ and gave his reasons for this prohibition.
Now, in chapter 3 he continues his discussion regarding the qualifications for those in leadership positions in the body of Christ, namely those men with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher, which is referred to by the term “overseer” and leadership, which is referred to by the term “deacon.”
This two-fold aspect of church leadership began with the early first century apostolic church, which is indicated by Acts 6.
1 Timothy 3:1-7 contains what scholars call a “duty code” or we could call it simply a “code of conduct.”
This pericope corresponds and parallels the duty code in Titus 1:6-9.
That they correspond to each other is indicated in that a specific introductory line appears in each passage which is “it is necessary for the overseer to be above reproach” (anepilempton, 1 Timothy 3:2), “it is necessary for the overseer to be beyond reproach” (anenkleton, Titus 1:7).
Also, the qualifications that appear in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 also appear in Titus 1:6-9.
In both lists, both positive and negative characteristics appear.
The positive characteristics are to be manifested by the overseer and the negative ones must not.
There are fifteen qualifications listed by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and 17 in Titus 1:6-9.
Many of the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3:2-7 appear in Titus 1:6-9, therefore, when we don’t count the duplicates we have twenty-five qualifications listed by the apostle Paul.
The number twenty-five is significant in Scripture because being the square of five; the number twenty-five expresses the essence of the signification of five, i.e. grace.
Of these twenty-five qualifications listed by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-9, seventeen are positive and eight are negative.
1 Timothy 3:1 contains the second of four trustworthy statements that appear in 1 Timothy.
1 Timothy 3:1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. (NASU)
“It is a trustworthy statement” is composed of the nominative masculine singular form of the adjective pistos (πιστός) (pee-stoce), “a trustworthy” and the articular nominative masculine singular form of the noun logos (λόγος) (loe-goce), “statement.”
The adjective pistos means “faithful, trustworthy” and expresses the idea that this statement “if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do” is an accurate and faithful commendation of the office of overseer as a good work.
It also is a commendation of the value of the office of overseer.
The adjective pertains to the fact that this statement is worthy of trust or belief and is dependable and implies that it originates from God and is inspired by Him.
This adjective ascribed to this statement is an expression of Paul’s apostolic authority and is designed to rebuke and refute those pastors in Ephesus who rejected the authority of the overseer after the failure of many of the overseers in Ephesus who sought to be teachers of the Law and taught false doctrine.
It is designed therefore to reaffirm the value of the office of overseer and the spiritual authority delegated to the overseer by the Lord and expresses Paul’s Spirit inspired evaluation of this office.
The noun logos means “statement” or “saying” and denotes a declaration or an assertion, which is identified for the reader by the conditional clause.
“If any man aspires to the office of overseer” is composed of the conditional particle ei (εἰ) (ee), “if” and the nominative masculine singular form of the indefinite pronoun tis (τις) (teece), “any man” and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun episkope (ἐπισκοπή) (eh-piss-koe-pee), “the office of overseer” and the third person present middle indicative form of the verb orego (ὀρέγω) (ore-raygo), “aspires to.”
This statement is the protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
The idea behind the first class condition is not “since” but rather, “if-and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that, then...”
This would encourage Paul’s audience to respond and come to the conclusion of the apodosis since they already agreed with him on the protasis.
Therefore, Paul is employing the first class condition as a tool of persuasion with his audience and his audience would respond to his protasis.
The indefinite pronoun tis introduces a member of the body of Christ without further identification.
The masculine form of the word indicates that only men can hold this office and possess the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher, which is supported by the fact that in 1 Timothy 3:2, Paul says that the overseer must be a one-woman man.
Also, Paul just got through teaching the women in the Christian community in Ephesus that they could not teach men the Word of God in public in the local assembly or exercise authority over them.
The verb orego denotes a positive ambition that is virtuous since it is produced by the Holy Spirit and is thus according to the will of the Father.
Oswald Sanders, in his classic book on leader¬ship entitled Spiritual Leader-ship, writes, “The true spiritual leader is concerned infinitely more with the service he can render God and his fellowmen than with the benefits and pleasures he can extract from life. He aims to put more into life than he takes out of it.” (Spiritual Leadership, page 20)
Chuck Swindoll writes, “Ambition seeks to gain and wield power for the sake of self. Aspiration, by contrast, cares less about the position as becoming worthy of it.” (Swindoll, Charles R., Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus; page 55; Zondervan; 2010)
The noun episkope means “office of overseer” or “position of overseer.”
It emphasizes the pastor-teacher’s role as the protector of the souls of his congregation by teaching them sound doctrine and refuting false doctrine that originates from the cosmic system of Satan.
The Scriptures teach that the pastor-teacher, i.e. the overseer fulfills this office by fulfilling four responsibilities that are the means by which he tends and shepherds the flock of God: (1) Study (2 Tim. 2:15) (2) Teach (1 Tim. 4:13) (3) Pray (Acts 6:1-4). (4) Exemplify the Christian way of life (1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:10).
“It is a fine work he desires to do” is composed of the genitive neuter singular form of the adjective kalos (καλός) (kah-loce), “ a fine” and the genitive neuter singular form of the noun ergon (ἒργον) (air-gone), “work” and the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb epithumeo (ἐπιθυμέω) (ehpee-thee-meh-owe), “he desires.”
The verb epithumeo means “desire” and is used in a positive sense as indicated by its object καλοῦ ἔργου, “a fine work” and describes a strong positive desire.
The noun ergon means “occupation” since it speaks of the function of the office of overseer or in other words, the function of the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher.
The adjective kalos means “noble” in the sense of possessing outstanding qualities and great importance and describes something whose importance is superior to all others.
Here it describes the office of overseer and describes this office as “noble” in the sense that this position in the body of Christ is of the utmost importance in life possessing outstanding qualities because it is on behalf of a superior sovereign king, Jesus Christ and the body of Christ.
The word speaks of this office as of the utmost importance or the most important thing that a Christian man could do in life since the function of this office promotes spiritual growth of the body of Christ and glorifies God.
It is of the utmost importance because its function protects the flock of God from false doctrine.