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to Timothy Series Timothy Series - Lesson Nine Overseers and Deacons, Hopes and Confessions of Faith 1 Timothy Chapter 3 Verses 1-16 John Baugh Overseers and Deacons 1It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the
office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2An overseer, then,
must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent,
respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not addicted to wine or pugnacious,
but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 4He must be one who
manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity
5(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he
take care of the church of God?), 6and not a new convert, so that he will not
become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7And
he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will
not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued,
or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, 9but holding to the mystery
of the faith with a clear conscience. 10These men must also first be tested;
then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. 11Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips,
but temperate, faithful in all things. 12Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good
managers of their children and their own households. 13For those who
have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great
confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. 14I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you
before long; 15but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how
one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. 16By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: Have
you ever considered how complicated we have made the offices of the church?
We have: Ministers, Pastors, Parsons, Vickers, Priests, Deacons, Elders,
Stewards, Bishops, Rectors, Vicars, Administrative Councils and probably some
positions I have left out, ? - In
chapter three of 1st Timothy, Paul lists the requirements and qualifications
for two positions within the church. They
include Elder and Deacon. Verse 1: It is a
trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a
fine work he desires to do. Paul
immediately tells Timothy that taking on the responsibility for a
congregation as an Overseer or Elder is “a fine work”. Some translations use
the term “Noble”. In Paul’s mind, this was a special responsibility, a
significant role within the church and a fine, good or noble aspiration for
anyone. Why
would this position be worthy of Paul’s admiration? An
Overseer, Elder, or head of a congregation has assumed a position of
considerable responsibility. Churches these days are most often run as a
democracy with the members voting on every decision of any consequence. This
was not the case in the early church, such as in The
overseers of the early church took on all of the responsibility for all of
the converts of the church, those who called on the name of Christ. The
overseers laid the foundation for the church, which was its teaching, which
was the gospel message about the life, death and resurrection of Christ
Jesus, and the redemption of sin for all who called on his name. In
1 Corinthians 3:11 (NASB) Paul writes this to the church in The
first elders of the church in However,
the church began to spread to Judea, The
responsibility of the Overseers or Elders was to “look over” (in Greek
episkopos) the congregation. They were to be knowledgeable in what the Lord
had said in his word and to guide the congregation, correct the teaching as
needed and make certain that the teaching of the church remained true to the
word of the Lord. They were not expected to work alone. Theirs was a group responsibility
as they studied, met together, sought out the mind of God and then after
determining as a group, the will of God, they were to direct the church
toward accomplishing God’s will. What they were to be doing is what Paul
called a “Fine Work”. In
verse 2 and following, Paul goes on to give sixteen requirements for a person
desiring to serve the congregation as an elder. 2An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of
one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not
addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of
money. 4He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his
children under control with all dignity 5(but if a man does not know how to
manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6and
not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the
condemnation incurred by the devil. 7And he must have a good reputation with
those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the
snare of the devil. Qualifications
1 & 2 deal with reputation. An Overseer must be: 1 - Above reproach – deals with problems openly,
honestly, ethically. This does not mean that nothing has ever gone wrong in
the life of an elder, only that he handled whatever problems came up in a
manner that was above question. A reasonable extension of this qualification
would be to assume that an elder would be a godly, righteous man. 2 - Husband of one wife – This sounds like the
elder may have been married only once, but it most likely does not mean that
a widower may not be married a second time. It likely indicates that he has
not been divorced, which is the requirement placed on elders by many
denominations, or that he is monogamous and not one who practices polygamy, a
more common thing in Paul’s time than now. In an expansion of this
requirement, it seems reasonable to require an elder to not be a philanderer;
one who chases after women other than his wife. Also, this requirement does
not necessarily mean that an elder must be married, only that there are
requirements for men who are married. Next
come the good habits expected of an overseer. The overseer must be: 3 – Temperate – The elder should be calm, level
headed, not given to angry actions. The term “slow to come to a boil” makes
sense when considering temperance. 4 – Prudent – The elder should be sensible, not
prone to do irrational things. He should be led by inner peace and
discipline. 5 – Respectable – Some translations use the term
dignified here. The elder should have an orderly life and a life that is a
good witness to others. The
next group of qualifications (6 - 12) list expectations that deal with
character. The overseer must be: 6 – Hospitable – The elder should have a home and
life that is open to others within the congregation and outside of the
church. 7 - Able to teach – One of the principal
responsibilities of the body of elders was to discern the will of God and to expound
and to teach scripture to the body they served. The ability to share,
instruct and teach was key to their calling as elders. Many men have good
character, but are unable to teach. Paul lists this ability as a requirement
for serving as an elder. 8 - Not addicted to wine – some translations use
the word “drunkard” here. Wine was the common drink in Paul’s time, since
water quality was always questionable. Paul wrote that a man who falls to the
habit of alcohol consumption would not function well or serve the church
acceptably as an elder. 9 - Pugnacious - combative in nature,
belligerent. 10 – Gentle – not violent, angry or one who
attacks others. 11 – Peaceable – A man of peace is not insistent
on always getting his own way, regardless of the cost. 12 - Free from the love of money – Money is a
requirement for living. Love of money is not. Seeking affluence simply for
the sake of obtaining money (flaunting wealth) is undesirable in an elder. Finally,
Paul writes that the life of an elder should be characterized by four
accomplishments 13 – He should manage his own household well –
This shows wisdom of thought and action by the elder. How an elder manages
his household shows good application of all of the characteristics Paul has
listed 14 - He keeps his own children under control with
dignity – Children who are well behaved and act with dignity show consistency
of parenting. Again, this demonstrates good application of all of the
desirable characteristics Paul has mentioned for an elder. Obviously,
children bring problems into any household, but the elder must face those
problems and deal with them in a loving, dignified manner. The elder must be
a good parent. 15 - He is not a new convert – New converts may
have commendable enthusiasm but time for spiritual growth and maturity is
also needed as preparation for service as an elder. The new convert may be totally sincere in
his willingness to follow the Lord to the best of his ability, but he most
likely has not experienced the effect of exposure to the cross on his life.
Paul most likely worried that new converts would seek to overcome self and
ego through their own power, having not yet learned to seek out the Lord’s
strength as their source of power in dealing with the problems of the world
and worldly powers. Relying on intelligence, personality, and human reasoning
seeks out self as the source of power, denying the power of Christ Jesus, in
understanding that, "that which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God," {Luke 16:15b KJV}. New converts may
not have learned that God says he wants to work with people of a humble and a
contrite heart, who have learned not to exalt themselves. A new convert means
well, but he cannot be trusted because he has not yet learned to put down
self and to trust in Christ. When he does this, he may allow the world to
puff him up and make him proud, arrogant, and conceited. He will then fall
into what Paul calls "the condemnation of the devil," i.e., the
very condemnation the devil himself has achieved by his pride and arrogance. 16 - He must have a good reputation with those
outside of the church. The elder serves the church, but his obligation to his
Master and Lord is to seek out the lost and witness to a world outside of the
church. Having a good reputation with those not of the church allows the
elder to witness to those outside of the congregation of believers.
Understanding this, Paul knew that it was desirable for an elder to have a
good reputation in the eyes of others. Paul
set high standards for the leadership body of the church. He knew the importance of those who desired
to serve the church as elders and the importance of what they were called to
accomplish. In Paul’s mind, such a desire was a noble thing. After Overseers , Paul
Addresses Deacons 8Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued,
or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, 9but holding to the mystery
of the faith with a clear conscience. 10These men must also first be tested; then
let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. 11Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips,
but temperate, faithful in all things. 12Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good
managers of their children and their own households. 13For those who
have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great
confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. Chapter
6 of Acts documents the first appointment of Deacons to serve the food
distribution needs to the widows of the early church. In Acts 6, the Apostles
established three qualifications for those who would serve as deacons. They
included: 1 - Having a good reputation and known within the
congregation to have good character 2 - They were to be filled with the Spirit –
having a view of life in keeping with the scriptural revelation of the Spirit
of God. 3 - They were to possess the gift of wisdom,
having the ability to apply the truth of God’s Holy word to the specific
situations they would encounter. Deacons
serve the church and the Lord by handling the daily concerns of
administration, distribution, finances and whatever problems come up within
the church. The deacons in Acts 6 were chosen and confirmed by the Apostles,
to be the church's helpers; not the servants of the church. Although this may
seem to be a technical point regarding service, the deacons were the servants
of the Lord, serving in the administration of the work within the church,
doing for the congregation what would be difficult for individual members
within the body of believers to do for themselves. The
tradition of deacon service to the church evolves from this initial service
to food distribution. In this thought, deacons are appointed and elected
(ordained) to serve the Lord in the administration of the church, the
distribution of finances or whatever problems the church might encounter. Paul
believed that the qualifications and expectations of deacons were similar to
those of elders, and in congregations where deacon service takes on the
responsibilities of elders, the qualifications to be considered as a
candidate for deacon service probably should be identical. In his letter to
Timothy, Paul lays out ten
qualifications. Qualifications
for male deacons: 1 – Dignity
– They are serious, not flighty in thought or action. You can count on them
ethically and personally. 2 - Not
double tongued – They don’t say one thing to one person and something
else to another. You can trust what they say as honest and factual. They do
not twist the truth to meet the circumstance. 3 - Not
addicted to much wine – moderate and temperate with alcohol (drugs) 4 - Not
fond of sordid gain – not greedy for personal gain at whatever the cost or
action. They are not “wheeler dealers” or out to make a fast buck. This can
be especially important when dealing with those who control the finances of
the church. 5 - Holding
to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience – The mystery of the
faith indicates the scriptures. Deacons should know, believe and follow the
scriptures with a clear conscience. Clear conscience means they must practice
what they preach. It is a simple fact these days that much of the world
rejects the Bible, laughs at it and ridicules it, saying that it does not
deal realistically with life. But those who have come to know the Bible,
understand from experience that scripture is and remains true. It is the
world (not God) that is confused and dealing unrealistically with life.
Therefore, a deacon should be one who has understood the Word of God, who
holds it and believes it himself. As a side note, Paul says that Elders are to be
teachers. Deacons are to hold to the mystery of the faith. They certainly may
teach, but as Paul defines deacons, they are not required to be teachers. 6 - First
be tested – This may be a question and answer session before the body of
deacons, regarding knowledge and belief, but it more likely indicates that
those called to serve have demonstrated a willingness and ability to serve
many other times in the past. Some are asked to serve (committee, work group
or otherwise) and when they perform well, are disappointed when they are
quickly asked to serve again. Service to the Lord is a privilege and not a
punishment. Deacons should have a record of service. In this way, they are
tested for service as a deacon. 7 - Beyond
reproach – This indicates that there are no questions regarding the
qualifications for deaconship. 8 - Husband
of only one wife – As with elders, this indicates a commitment to a
monogamous marriage relationship. 9 - Good
managers of their own children – The conditions stated here are identical
to those for an elder. 10 - Good
managers of their household – The conditions here are identical to those
of an elder. Women
deacons (women must likewise) In
the 16th chapter of Romans Paul singles out a certain woman, Phoebe, who he
calls a deacon (not a deaconess, although that is the word used in several
translations – there actually is no Greek word for a female deacon.). In
Romans 16, Paul says Phoebe was a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, which
was the port city for the city of Paul
writes that “women must likewise” meet the qualifications for deaconship as
follows: 1 – Meets all of the applicable male
qualifications? (Paul does not say this, but it seems to fit) 2 – Dignified
– A character of calmness, seriousness, trustworthiness. Such people are
realistic, not prone to dreaming flights of fancy. Paul expected the same of
women as he did of men when he used the term dignified. 3 - Not
malicious gossips – This is interesting, because (as a joke) it might be
ok for a man to be a malicious gossip. Actually this statement probably
restates what Paul indicated for men as not being double-tongued. Some translations use the term “slanderous”
here. I discovered from one commentary that the
original Greek word used here translates as the term “she-devils”. Political
correctness keeps me from going too deeply into the supposed characteristics
of a “she-devil”. Evidently it described someone who slandered or wrecked the
reputation of others. My common sense tells me that if there are “she-devils”
who do this, there most likely also are “he-devils” who practice the same
undesirable actions. Regarding this, it needs to be said that no actions will
destroy a church any quicker than maliciously and falsely slandering the
character of fellow members of a congregation or the staff. Such activity
serves the work of the evil one better than almost any other action a person
might undertake. 4 – Temperate
– Not angry, impulsive, prone to outbursts. We might call such a person
“level-headed”. Temperance applies to all actions and portions of a person’s
life, including drink, food and social action. A temperate person (whether
male or female) is in control of all areas of their life. 5 - Faithful
in all things – This indicates that the person is responsible, reliable
and trustworthy in the completion of any action or task. We can trust and
count on a faithful person. A person faithful in all things also remains true
to the scripture in belief and action. 13For those who have
served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great
confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. A
deacon “who serves well” -
Obtains
a high standing – with the congregation, but more importantly as
a servant of the Lord. On a temporal level, as our standing grows, so does
the opportunity for service to the church and also to the Lord. -
Obtains
a great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus (the
actual word is “boldness”) - We obtain confidence, or boldness, through the
positive reinforcement we experience as we act in trust. Here, Paul writes
that as the deacon serves, their experiences grow them in their faith in
Christ Jesus. That should be the goal for all Christians. Paul writes that
the work of a deacon accomplishes that. So, who are deacons? If
deacons are those who help carry on the work of the church, freely and
voluntarily, then who are deacons? A full listing of those who freely serve
the church out of love for the Lord might include: Church Council members Plus others who freely serve The
definition of deacon is most likely documented in the charter or by-laws for
a given church, but all of these examples meet the New Testament spirit of
what deacons did, which is to serve the Lord and the congregation. Paul continues by sharing
his hopes and desires for both Timothy and the church at 14I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you
before long; 15but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how
one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the
living God, the pillar and support of the truth. I
am constantly reminded that Paul’s letters to Timothy were: -
The letters of a father to his adopted son. -
The letters of a discipler to the one who
was being discipled. -
The letters of the one who sent out a
pastor, to the pastor who was sent. -
The letters of a traveling evangelist to a
pastor (overseer) of a church. -
The letters of a church builder to the
pastor of an established congregation. -
Letters of instruction, assistance and hope. And
so Paul shares his hopes with Timothy, or more likely reminds Timothy what he
has told him any times. Understand that the statement made in verses 14-15
come after chapter one, Paul has already reminded Timothy of the need to stay
true to the scriptural message and strong against the problems plaguing the
church in 14I am writing these
things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15but in case I am delayed,
I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the
household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
support of the truth. Many
of those who criticize the church today see it as a cold, uncaring ancient
relic of ages past. They question the relevance of the church in these times,
believing (and actively stating) that it has no contribution to make toward
addressing the problems of today’s world. Paul’s
opinion was in absolute opposition to any of those thoughts. Paul’s opinion
was that the church then (and the church now) is a tremendously significant
body. Fact #1: The
church is not a building. It is not the physical property on the corner of
(insert address here). It is not “First XXX” or “Elm Street XXX” or “Agape
Fellowship XXXX”. It has nothing to do with stained glass windows steeples or
bell towers. Fact #2 Church
is not a meeting held every Sunday at 10:30 to 11:30 am (so we can beat the
congregation down the street to the lunch buffet at Luther’s) A
study of Acts will show none of those things. In fact, from reading Acts, it is
not possible to tell what kind of buildings housed the early church
gatherings. Their meetings were probably held in houses, but the simple fact
is that buildings have little importance in the life of a church. The
church is not a building or a meeting. It is people. When the people of
Christ Jesus come together there is a church, or more accurately, there is
His Church. Whatever the work they do when they are together is His Work.
More accurately, the church consists of those people who have been reborn of
the spirit of God and have entered together into a new lifestyle because of
the presence of Christ Jesus in their lives and the work of the Holy Spirit
in their lives. The work (witness, sharing, giving, outreach, evangelism,
training, equipping, whatever) of those people undertaken out of love and
reverence for the Father and our Lord is the work of His Church. The
early Christians met as small groups. They met as large groups. They met with
(daily) frequency and whenever anything special (a visit by Paul) allowed
them to gather. In
v: 14-15, Paul uses two descriptive phrases to describe the church. He
calls the church, "the household of God". This suggests family
intimacy and warmth, a gathering of close relations. He
also calls it, "the church of the living God." This suggests
excitement, power and the direct involvement of God in the church. To
Paul, that is what the church was. To Paul the household of God and Church of
the living God explain the makeup and nature of the church. To
Paul, the household of God included God and his people in the place where,
like the Old Testament tabernacle of the nation of In
the third chapter of Hebrews, we are told that Moses served faithfully as a
servant to the Lord in the Tabernacle and that Jesus serves as God's son in
his house. Then the author of Hebrews tells us that we are his house (Hebrews
3:6b). We are the household of God. In these times, the place to find God is
in church, where the church is at work, where the people of God are. We are
the household of God. Paul
goes on the tell Timothy that we are the church of the living God. We are the
pillar and support of the truth. As those who have been redeemed by the Lamb,
we know that Christ lives within us and as Christ the son lives is us, God
the father also lives within us through the Holy Spirit. Paul had experienced
this fact of relationship many times. He knew from experience that we are the
church of the living God. He knew that in our relationship with God through
Christ Jesus, God and his son have chosen to use the Church to complete the
work that Christ Jesus began. In that way, we are the pillar and support of
the church of the living God. The church is God's instrument for change. It
is the way God chose to accomplish all of his desires for mankind. In spite
of our weakness, and failures, it is his way and he will not allow it to
fail. As Jesus announced right at the very beginning, "On this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it," (Matt 16:18). He guarantees that to
be the case. That is the Paul’s Confession of
Faith Many
churches use the Apostles' Creed as a statement or confession of faith in
their weekly worship services by making the verbal confession as a group
statement. I believe in God the Father almighty, I believe in the Holy Spirit, There
are several other creeds, or statements of belief that formalize the basic
beliefs of Christians. These have existed in one form or another from about
400 AD. Then
there is this statement of faith (verse 16) that Paul shares with Timothy, which
dates back to the first century church. Having
covered qualifications for service and his hopes for the church, Paul ends
this portion of this letter with a beautiful statement of faith. Some bible
scholars believe that, based on structure and sequence that verse 16 may
actually be a hymn of that time. 16By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: The
old Standard Revised Translation is not as accurate, but may be more easily
read. Great indeed, we confess,
is the mystery of our religion: A
Look at verse 16 from both translations: Great
indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion (godliness): How does God make us whole? – Through Christ
Jesus. God did not do it through a religion. He did not do it through a
philosophy. It was accomplished through a man, Christ Jesus. He
was manifested (revealed) in the flesh, - Christ Jesus came here. He was revealed to
us, not as God, not as spirit, but God became Man and “dwelled among us”. God
chose not to come to mankind as anything other than mankind. That was his plan.
God would become us to bring us back to him. While Christ was here, he was
flesh. vindicated
in the Spirit, - Christ Jesus came as man, but he was vindicated
(justified) by spirit. This could mean that he was justified by the Holy
Spirit of God, acting on his temporal life while he was here, or an equally
beautiful interpretation might be that Christ the man, had the spirit of man
within him, that he experienced the same thoughts temptations, emotions as
mankind while he was here with us. As any other man, he experienced joy,
sadness, hunger, rejection, separation, life and death. While here, he was
man in all respects, so that he could take on the sins of man. John gets very close to this in the first chapter
of his Gospel: The
Word became flesh...full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory
as of the only Begotten of the Father.
(John 1:14)
There is a fountain filled with blood That message has been sung as a witness by
thousands of pardoned men and women. For almost 2000 years now, Jesus (his
life, ministry, act of redemption, the very power of his name) has been
preached among the nations. The gospel message is being shared hundreds of
times each minute, even now, almost two thousand years later. Men and women
spread the gospel through the nations. We are the source of the preaching
that Paul shares in this testimony of the early church. (He
was) believed on in the world, - When Jesus ascended
there were about 120 believers (give or take). The story they had to share
was one of a carpenter from
William
Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury wrote this about Jesus in his “In the days of His earthly ministry, only those
could speak to Him who came where He was. If He was in Galilee, men could not
find Him in So, what is the mystery
of our godliness and wholeness? The
testimony that Paul shared with Timothy in this old hymn is Christianity as
it was intended. It is what God wanted our relationship with him to be. All
of this has nothing to do with religion. Religion is man's stumbling through
the dark in a groping, fumbling search, looking for something bigger than
himself that he can believe in when it gets darkest. But Christianity is not
that. Christianity is a living person (Christ Jesus) made available to us by
the Holy Spirit, now standing beside the throne of the Father every moment of
every day, pleading our case, claiming us as his own, purchased with his
blood, granting to us the courage, the power, the cleansing, purity and
abundant grace to live as God's men and God's women in whatever situation we
may encounter. That is Christianity - the great mystery of the godliness and wholeness in our lives. Copyright
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