1 Timothy 3 - Qualifications for Leaders

this is a message from the ministry of calvary chapel santa barbara for more information about our church please visit calvary SB comm as we pick it up here in the third chapter of 1st Timothy we just see in the flow of the context that after chapter 1 at the beginning of chapter 2 Paul begins to write to Timothy about things relevant to church life about the worship services together about prayer about leadership about the roles of men and women within the church so very much continuing right along with that same theme we come to chapter 3 where Paul is gonna focus on qualifications for leaders and in this chapter we're gonna see that he gives a list of qualifications for those for the position of bishop or overseer I'll explain what that's about in just a few moments and then he gives a list that's an explanation of qualifications for the position of deacon in the church now this is similar to a section in the book of Titus where he gives a similar list of qualifications but we're just gonna focus on what it says here in first Timothy chapter 3 so we begin with verse one that says this is a faithful saying if a man desires the position of a bishop he desires a good work now it's important to say that as Paul deals with qualifications for those who would be leaders spiritually and in the roles of Deacons practically among God's people that he very much has in mind that this is something in distinction to what he's just laid out in chapter 2 now I spent a long time talking about it last Wednesday night how I genuinely believed that Paul's teaching in 1st Timothy chapter 2 which is completely consistent with his teaching in 1st Corinthians and in other books of the New Testament that his teaching is that women should not hold positions of spiritual leadership or doctrinal authority over the congregation in general and I took a great deal of time to explain at least my perspective and and I think which is the historical perspective on that particular section but it's important to understand that at the outset here Paul is not trying to imply at all that you're eligible or qualified for leadership just because you're a man what a strange thought that would be that somebody's gender would qualify them for leadership no no that's not the idea at all and we realized that there is actually a relatively small segment of men so to speak within a congregation that would fulfill these qualifications and so that's why he lays them out in this very straightforward an objective way adding here in verse one if a man desires the position of bishop the office Paul described here is the office of Bishop now we kind of have our own connotation of the idea of a bishop it could be a guy in a pointy hat you know holding a bishops crook or whatever it is a bishop staff that they have well I mean that's sort of a religious outworking of this term actually it just comes from a particular idea from this ancient Greek word that we translate bishop it's the greek word Epis Copas it literally means very literally over that is epi watcher or seer Scopus to scope something out it's an over seer that's all it is so we're not talking about a fancy religious title here and Paul didn't pick a term that was only known among the priests or among you know other religious kind of leaders this is actually a word from the business world just from the cultural world of that time someone who would be an overseer a leader among God's people and in Acts chapter 20 we learned that there were in fact several bishops that is overseers over the particular congregations in Ephesus no doubt that these were men who had oversight because that's what a bishop has oversight he watches over oversight over the different house churches that met throughout the city in the entire region of Ephesus now based on what Bishop means we understand that it just is someone with oversight in the church a leader but that same kind of person can also be called in the New Testament an elder that's a term taken mainly from the Jewish world the Jewish world had the concept of the elders of the community so you have Bishop elder and then a third word that's used in the New Testament is pastor which simply means Shepherd and so you have these three ideas very firmly in the New Testament the idea of the overseer the idea of the elder the idea of the pastor and I'll be honest with you when you study these throughout the New Testament sometimes it seems like they're talking about the exact same thing other times it seems like there might be slight variation between them but the idea is just basically these are offices these are titles some people have thought well let's just break it down it could be referring to the same person but Bishop refers to their competency they're a leader they can oversee things elder refers just to the fact that there are a person of wisdom because an elder in those cultures was supposed to be somebody who was wiser and then pastor has to do sort of with their heart they're supposed to be a faithful Shepherd over the congregation of God now those words Bishop elder pastor they all have their own kind of history and idea but basically they refer to leaders among God's people now the other thing that I find very interesting about this is this organization of the church as it's described right here in 1st Timothy chapter 2 chapter 3 and in Titus and in the rest of the New Testament we gotta admit it's very limited how many elders are you supposed to have in the church the New Testament doesn't say for how long should they be appointed the New Testament doesn't say what specific duties and powers should they have the New Testament doesn't say now can there be one elder or pastor over the rest of them the New Testament doesn't say should they be organized on a city level or just on an individual the New Testament doesn't say what we need to understand is that when it comes to leadership in God's family what the New Testament is very clear about is the character of the leader what it's not so clear about is organization and I'll give you the takeaway that I gained from that you can take it or leave it because this isn't exactly demanded by the text but it's my understanding here is that when it comes to leadership in God's church character is much more important than structure you see traditionally among churches there's been three traditional forms of church government there's the church government that is congregationally led that is everything just kind of happens democratically and they have votes on everything and maybe some of you come from churches like that I know some people are familiar with especially in Europe it's a common way to have a church every month you have a congregational business meeting and you vote on what color coffee cups you should buy for the I mean literally all that kind of stuff and it's just good you do everything by congregational vote then another form of church government is known as Presbyterian or elder rule now that comes from this ancient Greek word for elder which is presbyteries and that has the idea that leadership should just be done on a committee basis then you have another form of church leadership that emphasizes the idea of the bishop as it's revealed here in first Timothy chapter 3 with the idea that there would be one leader who would oversee and other leaders working in cooperation with him this is what I'm just trying to explain is I don't think that the Bible commands any one specific form of church government now I can talk to you about the relative wisdom of church governments and here at Calvary Chapel what we have is we definitely have a team of elders but the emphasis is on the calling and the vision and the gifts that God gives to our pastor Tommy Schneider this is how we understand it and it works praise the Lord it works but the most important thing is not the structure it's the character you can have the best structure in the world if you put in it men a bad character it's going to sink and when people have problems with church government oftentimes they turn to structure they think well if we just need a better structure and this will be fixed listen the bottom line is just simply this character is what matters most in church leadership and I don't mean this tonight to be an examination of the three different forms of church government and to go all off on that that's an interesting thing and if you're interested in that you can talk to me personally about it I want to get more into what Paul talks about being the character of leaders because this is the far more important dynamic but I do want to mention one other thing before we leave verse 1 notice what he says this is a faithful saying if a man desires a position of a bishop he desires a good work if you want to be an overseer among God's people if you want to be a leader if you want to be a pastor you need to realize that you're being called to a good work and I would emphasize both of those words it's good praise the Lord I like to encourage people to be involved in ministry I love speaking with young people who feel a call on their life I feel like God may want to use me in a particular way with the particular calling to give a particular devotion to the service of God in this world and his people I love pouring my time in my life and to young people who feel like they have that call it is something good but don't miss the second word it is a good work and you better believe it's work it's work if you're doing it right if it's all easy and peaches and cream and y'all it's just like that you're probably not doing it right spiritual leadership in the church isn't about titles and it isn't about honor and it isn't about glory fundamentally it's about work Jesus said if anyone desires to be first he must be last of all and servant of all it's a good work but it's a hard work and to quote Charles Spurgeon you can bet Spurgeon has something juicy to say on this one he says quote what is the use of a lazy Minister he's no good either to the world to the church or to himself he's a dishonor to the noblest profession that can be bestowed upon the sons of men amen all right he desires a good work well what are the qualifications in the beginning of verse two just the first few words of verse 2 he says a bishop then must be now we'll talk in a moment about these different things that he says a bishop must be and we'll go over them fairly quickly we're not going to do an in-depth word study on every single qualification but I just want you to understand this initial phrasing a bishop and oversee or a spiritual leader among God's people must be and understand that God has specific qualifications for leaders in the church leaders are not to be for example chosen at random you just go around it's just eenie meenie miney mo you just don't do that no that's not it at all nor are they to be chosen just because they volunteer they're not to be chosen just because they aspire to a position or not even be assumed they're not even to be appointed to a position because they are what we might consider to be natural leaders that in and of itself isn't enough instead leaders must be chosen primarily on how they match the qualifications here now once you notice something we're gonna go through these qualifications again we're not gonna dwell on each individual one but in a fairly you know comprehensive manner we'll look at each one I want you to notice something as we go through this list this list shows that leadership among God's people has very little to do with what we normally consider to be giftedness nowhere in here does he say get the best Bible teacher you can find No where in here does he say get the most charismatic personality you can find no this is my character he doesn't say go out and get the most gifted men and I think this is the reason why is because God can fairly easily bestow gifts upon a man but character that takes time to develop character has to be proven and with all that we can say listen being a good talker does not automatically qualify a man for spiritual leadership going to seminary does not automatically qualify a man for spiritual leadership natural or even spiritual gifts in themselves do not qualify one for spiritual leadership what one gives in money or volunteer time does not automatically qualify them for spiritual leadership what qualifies a man for spiritual leadership is godly character and godly character as it's established by this list in first Timothy and if you want to add the list and Titus as well that's fine no I think I presented that pretty strong didn't I well I'm not trying to take any of this back with what I say next but I do need to balance its out just a bit it's possible to take this list in an overly rigid way it's possible to take this list and say well you know this guy lost his temper 20 years ago he'll never be qualified for office among God's people it's possible to take this list in an overly rigid legalistic way a way which demands perfection in all these areas there's a sense in which these are goals to reach for and a general criteria for selection when you're looking for church leaders you should look to this list and you should ask this man that we're considering does he desire these things with all his heart you take a look at this and you say does that desire here show itself in his life can somebody look at this man's life and say yes he values these things he pursues them maybe he's not perfect regarding them but this is a real desire he values these things and you can see it in his life as well and I'm gonna speak just a little bit pragmatically here is this the guy that matches this list best among the other qualified candidates sometimes you just got to deal with what you have and you see are there other people available who better fulfill the requirements of this list so again he says a bishop then must be one other thing I keep saying this said you could probably count the numbers I try and say one other thing here tonight this is a list describing the qualifications and the character of Bishops overseers spiritual leaders among God's people we all understand that don't we but isn't this a valuable list for every believer every single one of us because even though we may not be or aspire to be or ever be placed in a position of spiritual leadership this is a list that kind of gives us a very easy way to understand this is what God thinks highly of godly character about this is it and so for a man or woman you can take a look at this list and just say how does my life match up into these things this is something that can really be of benefit for each and every one of us so now pick it up again verse 2 where we read a bishop then must be blameless the husband of one wife temperate sober-minded of good behavior hospitable able to teach not given to wine not violent not greedy for money but gentle not quarrelsome not covetousness one who rules his own house well having his children in submission with all reverence before if a man does not know how to rule his own house how will he take care of the Church of God not a novice lest being puffed up with pride he fallen the same condemnation as the devil moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil so do you see this list that Paul lays out here Timothy you need good qualified men to help you there in the work in Ephesus because this wasn't just to work over one congregation even a large congregation this was a work over many congregations you need qualified leaders let me show you how to judge their character and the first thing he listened verse two is that a man must be blameless now this word fundamentally means nothing to take hold upon there's nothing in this man's life that others can take ahold of and bring disrepute to the church about it's sort of a broad term for a man who lives a righteous life that can be seen as righteous nobody can stand up and accuse the man rightfully accurately of Grievous sin and so first blameless secondly again still in verse two the husband of one wife I think this particular qualification has been often misunderstood sometimes it's been misunderstood in the terms of that a leader or overseer in God's church must be married I don't think that's true if it were true you'd have to cross off both Jesus and the Apostle Paul off your list of you know potential candidates there now I don't think it's a requirement that they must be married but it means that they must be faithful to their wife that the idea here is basically and I've heard some Greek commentators translated with this very same phrase that he's a one-woman man again not that he must be married nor is the idea that the leader could never remarry if his wife had passed away the idea is that love and affection and heart are given to woman and that one woman being his lawful and wedded wife if I could put it in the negative I'd say this means that the biblical leader he's not a playboy he's not a player he's not an adulterer he's not a flirt and he does not show romantic or sexual interest in other women including I would say those depictions or images of other women in pornography this right here saying listen men your your attention should be focused on one woman that's your wife not others the next one again in verse two temperate this is the idea of someone who is not given two extremes there reliable and trustworthy you don't have to worry about them having wide swings of vision or mood or action they're just kind of stable people the next one in verse two sober minded this really doesn't have anything to do directly with intoxication this describes the person who's able to think clearly and with clarity they're not always joking around but they know how to deal with serious subjects in a serious way listen I think that the potential leader among God's people you should have a sense of humor if you don't have a sense of humor you better get one because there's gonna be lots of reasons to laugh most importantly looking at yourself there's gonna be reasons to laugh but again sober mind it means hey I'm just not all just everything's not one big joke to me we know when to make it serious the next one listed in verse two is of good behavior the idea there is simply being orderly it's actually the same word translated modest in first Timothy chapter two verse nine in reference to how women should dress one man suggests that the idea here is of dignified that the guy just has a proper bearing the next one in verse two hospitable they're willing and able to open up their home to both friends and strangers next it's still inverse to able to teach they are skilled enough in the Bible to be able to teach others now I don't think this is requires that they teach others necessarily the way I'm teaching right now one person standing in front of many people in a congregation listen I know and probably you know that sometimes some of the best teaching that happens in the church happens with one or two or three people sitting across from each other over cups of coffee that's teaching just as much as this is teaching but you should be able to be able to teach if you're gonna have this position of overseer of an epic opus a bishop over God's people next now we're into verse 3 it says that the one should be not given to wine and the idea here is that they're not addicted to wine or intoxicating drink now this verse in and of itself it does not prohibit godly leadership from drinking alcoholic beverages but it clearly discourages it that's something to look for in people who would be and Epis Copas a leader a pastor among God's people and I often give people the exhortation that the easiest way to deal with that is to just not drink I mean that's just the easiest way to deal with it I have to be honest with you this is not prohibiting the consumption of alcohol by this bishop this episode us it's saying that they be not given to it but the easiest way to fulfill that and it is a easy simple way is to just be temperate and to not partake at all I like the old Puritan commentator John Trapp sometimes he has a kind of a poetic old English way of putting things he says that this person should be no ale steak tavern hunter that sits close at it while the wine inflame him well amen that tavern Haunter trap had a poetic way of saying things that's for sure next in verse three we have the idea of not violent this is a man who's not given to violence either publicly or privately the man who can let God fight his cause listen I think it's always advisable if a man is under consideration for a position of spiritual leadership in a church elder pastor I think it's always good to interview the wife privately and to ask her hey these are some of the qualifications of a leader is it and listen she may be very hesitant to bring up specific instances but you should be able to be do you think that this man is qualified we need to know that you do because again this violence that is mentioned here it could be expressed either in a public or in a private way verse 3 continues on not greedy for money you gotta like the way that the old King James Version puts it it's far more memorable it says not greedy of filthy lucre well it's true this is a very important point that a person shouldn't be greedy to be among leaders and God's people not long ago I read this really wonderful thing written by a great man of God who's passed on to his reward many years ago a man named RA Tory an RA Tory was in his youth an associate of the great American evangelist and preacher Adeel Moody and after dl moody died ra tory wrote a beautiful memoir of him really si and it was seven reasons why God used DL moody and one of the reasons just one of the seven I recommend the whole list to you but one of the reasons was he was completely free from the love of money and I tell you that's something if you want to excel as a spiritual leader God to purify your heart in that area verse three continues on gentle again you don't think of yourself like you know some action movie star but you consider yourself like Jesus verse three not quarrelsome the kind of person who's not always fighting over something or other look we know that there's some people like that their life isn't energized unless they're fighting over something and maybe there's a place to that maybe God can channel that into a good direction but probably not in spiritual leadership over his people verse 3 continues on not covetous you might think that this was already covered when it said not greedy for money but this is a more encompassing thought than merely greedy for money the covetous man is never satisfied with anything the covetous man feels like I always got to have more more more something more something different it speaks to a fundamental dissatisfaction of soul and that's not a good place for a person to be now we go into verse 4 where it says someone who rules his own house well brothers and sisters the godly leader demonstrates his leadership ability first in his own home Paul recognized that it's first in the home where our Christianity is demonstrated his ability to take care of the Church of God do you see that phrase in verse 5 it's built on the foundation of leading his own house well now it's true I believe at least that even a godly leader may have some trouble in his home but you need to take a look very carefully well the trouble that's in their home is it because of the poor leadership of this man in his home or is it despite the poor leadership or the good leadership I would say of that man in his own this is the question that has to be asked I don't think it's a question is is there the complete absence of a problem in the home but how are the problems handled is it godly leadership in the midst of the home even when there are problems does he rule his own house well and then verse 6 we get into the idea not a novice new converts should not be given leadership too quickly the leader should be well past the novice stage in their spiritual development you know the odd idea of a novice there is just simply another way to say newly planted and when a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ it's good to not put them in a place of leadership until they've been allowed to grow a bit and develop some roots now I would make a distinction and I just need to be very straightforward you some people don't make this distinction but I would make the distinction between a place of service and a place of leadership and I'll speak in a little bit of an exaggerated way here just for a moment but just can you kind of get the idea I think that a place of service should be open to anybody who's just come to Jesus you don't need to have spiritual maturity to find a way to serve the Lord so if somebody wants to come and help set up chairs we don't need to start judging you by this list but but if it goes into a true place of spiritual leadership or responsibility now I know that there's some pastors who feel feel very strongly know that a person is not going to do a single thing around the church unless they have since well then that's their kind of peculiarities I would certainly respect it their own congregation but I would make personally the distinction between a position of service and a position of leadership but it's no doubt that promoting a novice too quickly gives occasion to the great sin the sin of pride you saw how he stated it there in verse 6 and 7 not a novice lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil what was the source of the devil's fall it was pride and when you give people responsibility too soon you can help puff them up in a place that outstrips their spiritual maturity and to sort of seal it all up in verse seven he says moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil if these characteristics must be evident to all in other words the man has to live a life that seen as godly seen as godly not just within the church but those within the community as well to be a man of good reputation and a good testimony now next we see starting in verse eight he starts to give the qualifications for Deacons look at what he says again just the first few words of verse eight say this likewise Deacons must be and this is a very interesting office within the church it seems like we have a great example of the appointment of Deacons in Acts chapter 6 where the Apostles saw the need to distribute the daily assistance to the widows among the church yet the Apostles themselves didn't have the time to a de CLE deal with the proper administration of that so what did they do they chose men to essentially act as deacons in that church and so now Paul is going to list several qualifications for deacons now we're just going to really focus on the ones that are different or in addition to let's say than the qualifications for elders because several of them are the same terms given but this is important to see that this idea of having the spiritual responsibility of the church to make sure needs are being met this was seen in some sense as a spiritual office and it's a mistake to look at this as being more prestigious one than the other oh well yeah you're nothing if you're a deacon if you're just meeting practical needs within the church also you're just counseling with people and helping them through their budget and helping them with practical things well that's not very spiritual you got to be an elder no you just and the Bible put that kind of thing on us at all it's all spiritual service that God receives and appreciates so what are these qualifications for deacons again verse 8 likewise deacons must be reverent not double-tongued not given to much wine not greedy for money holding the mystery of the faith with the pure conscience but let these also first be tested and then let them serve as deacons being found blameless likewise their wives must be reverent not slanderers temperate faithful in all things let Deacons be the husbands of one wife ruling their children and their own houses well now right off the bat as I read to you the list of the qualifications for overseers or bishops and the qualifications for deacons you see there's a lot of overlap there don't you I mean that just occurs to us immediately but notice there's a few places where he phrases things at least a little bit differently for example he leads off with in verse 8 saying that deacons must be reverent that means showing proper respect towards God and man and they must be verse 8 says not double-tongued I kind of like that not the kind of person who speaks with a forked tongue saying different things at the same time no this is the kind of man who speaks the truth the first time with no intent to deceive now that we see some overlap there where he says not given to much wine we already saw that with the qualifications of overseers not greedy for money we saw that one as well now in verse 9 he says holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience those who adhere they stick to proper doctrine and they do it out of a pure conscience I like this it's interesting deacons are not said that they need the qualification able to teach that's something that's said of overseers and not Deacons but it doesn't mean that biblical truth is unimportant to deacons no they must look at the wording hold to the mystery of faith with a pure conscience they know the word they study the word and they hold on to it with a pure conscience and then he goes on they must first be tested that's in verse 10 a man demonstrates his fitness for the office in church by his conduct again the idea is that these are things that are tested first it occurs to me that maybe I should have said this at the very beginning when we're talking about overseers or deacons or pastors or elders that first be tested is a huge aspect here mainly in this term you don't appoint someone to that office hoping that they'll fulfill it know you you look for people who already have the spiritual character and who are living these things out and those are the people that you may choose to recognize with that particular title but if somebody's waiting until they get the title to display this character something's wrong no first they're tested and you know sometimes in the church look I don't know what it is I don't know how it is sometimes this way I guess it's just human nature but sometimes people get far too hung up on titles sometimes it's it's just inherent within a person that it's like I have to have this title or my service isn't legitimate to me normally and again I'm just speaking for my own opinion your your own experience may be different but to me personally when I see somebody so anxious for a title it's a huge red flag I mean my tendency is to only want to recognize with the title the people who don't care about the title that's like okay great then I feel good about it with you now that's a bit of an exaggeration because there is an appropriate place to recognize the elder to recognize the overseer to recognize the pastor to recognize the deacon but you're not recognising them hoping that that's what they will become first they are tested as he says there in verse 10 then moving on to verse 11 it says something very interesting it says likewise their wives must be reverent not slanders temperate faithful in all things it's very difficult to know at verse 11 if Paul was speaking about the wives of deacons that's the most natural reading of the translation I just read you the New King James Version it may be just as possible I would even say it's slightly more possible that what he's speaking about there is women deacons we see in the early church there were women who seemed to serve in that office as deacon such as phoebe in romans chapter 16 verse 1 so it's possible that it's a reference to the wives of male deacons or it's possible that he was referring to female or women deacons in the body of Christ now if he's speaking mainly of a male deacons wife it is appropriate to understand that a call to church leadership involves the wife the spouse in a marriage it involves them because it's more than just like a job or a title it's something of a calling on that man's life and so it's appropriate to expect a certain character and conduct from the wife as well it really is in that sense sort of a team playing not because the wife is like a mrs. elder that's not the idea where a mrs. overseer or a mrs. Deacon that's not the idea but the idea is that this is more than just a title for the man this is actually a calling on his life and therefore a calling that at least in some measure is shared in the partnership of a marriage so the idea there is she Reverend is she not one of the slanderers by the way that word for slanderers there it's the same word that we would translate Devils in other places because that's what the word devil means it means a slanderer is she temperate is she faithful in all things and then it continues on there to describe things that were also described as overseers where it says in verses 11 and 12 let Deacons be the husbands of one wife ruling their children and their own houses well and then in verse 13 it gives a wonderful promise for deacons I love this it says for those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus I think it was important for the Apostle Paul to write that and he was truly moved upon by the Holy Spirit when he did because when somebody serves in somewhat practical ways sometimes their service is forgotten its overlooked I remember many many years ago this was in the 1980s seeing a little drawing that somebody did a little piece of artwork and it showed off in the distance of the piece of artwork kind of from the side view a pastor on a platform preaching just like I'm preaching to you right now but then up close in the foreground of the picture it had from an angle off to the side the custodian with a broom right there in the way that the article was structured entitled it really just was kind of communicate something you know both of these are spiritual service both of these are honorable before God and it might be in the nature of people that somebody who stands before others and does what I'm doing right now maybe I get a little more attention because there's more eyeballs on me but let me tell you the most important eyeballs are not any more on me than they are on the most humble unknown servant in our congregation and those eyeballs are God's eyeballs speaking metaphorically of course do you understand what I'm saying here I mean I think it was beautiful that Paul adds us let me read it to you again for those who have served well as deacons obtained for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus God looks upon their work and he honors it he just doesn't look and say what will you give me the people have the most prominence and those are the ones who are my most honored servants let me tell you something when we get to heaven I think there's going to be a lot of surprises for us up there in heaven and we know it was just not long ago that the very esteemed brother in America that man who had stood so long and did such a glorious ministry over so many decades Billy Graham went to heaven and many of us have it in our minds we just kind of think oh man how awesome it's gonna be for Billy Graham in heaven because that man preached to millions and led millions to Christ I mean what a thrilling thing whatever beautiful thing jewels in his crown but don't be surprised for a moment when you get to heaven and you see that Billy Graham is you know down like a number 10 million on the reward and prominent list and it's a bunch of a beautiful saintly old women and young men who've been just been faithful servants and whatever God gave them to do in the body of Christ they fulfilled it was such heart and such purpose and such calling that it far exceeds what anybody who has a lot of eyeballs on them have ever done you understand what I'm saying I don't say that to depreciate the work of a man like Billy Graham in the slightest but just to say God sees God knows and praise the Lord that he does now from verse 14 to the end of the chapter which isn't very long it's just actually just three verses we have Paul just kind of it's one of these beautiful sections where Paul gets a little carried away themself let's just jump into it verse 14 these things I write to you though I hope to come to you shortly but if I am delayed I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God which is the Church of the Living God the pillar and the ground of the truth listen Timothy I hope I see a real soon but but I don't know when I'm gonna see you so I wrote this letter to you aren't you glad that Paul didn't know when he was gonna see Timothy if he knew when he was gonna see him maybe he wouldn't have written this letter but he wrote it and we're so grateful for it because but Timothy I want to remind you I wrote you this letter so that you would know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God brothers sisters used to get this whole framework cuz I've been going back from chapter 2 to chapter 3 and and applying this to how we are together in the house of God I'm not making it up Paul's saying this is how you're to conduct yourself in the house of God so when I say it should be the men praying here when I have this role for the women that I want these qualified overseers I want these people as deacons it's not just making it up as you go along nor is it just a localized thing Paul didn't say how it should be done in Ephesus he deliberately chose this grand broad term the house of God and I would say very consciously the church must regard itself as the house of God if the church will fulfill its role as being the house of God it'll never lack for attendance it'll never lack for a heart and enthusiasm and let me tell you something the church is the house of God it's his house he's the architect he's the one who designed all this he's the Builder he built the church he lives there in the church he provides for the church and he is honored there and he rules there the Church is God's house it is his purchased possession and this just should give a sober pause to men who are in leadership in God's church brother this is God's house it's not yours you're to rule it as a faithful steward that's how you're to lead that's how you're to serve as a faithful steward not regarding it as your plaything as your vehicle but as it is praise the Lord in this congregation it's done with a firkin if this is the house of God it is as verse 15 says it is the Church of the Living God you know in the ancient Greek language church was a non religious word used for a group of people gathered together for a purpose I say the word Church and you get this religious idea in laymen's of course we've been using that way for 2,000 years but when Paul wrote the word Church it was not a religious word at all there were religious words he could have used but he didn't use that no this is a called out group of people a group of people called together for a specific purpose it is God called out assembly of the Living God and then verse 15 the pillar and the ground of truth it is the stability that's what a pillar speaks up it's to be stable and it's to have this firm foundation of ground tragically many churches today don't value the truth as they should and what do they have they have leaning pillars and shaky ground no the church should always have a very important value in the God's truth and then in verse 16 we'll end with this tonight and you can see where Paul gets a little carried away with himself here ready verse 16 and without controversy by the way let me just start right there without I wonder Paul who do you think is controverting you here you're writing a letter to Timothy I just said you see these time and Paul's letter where his spirit just soars no doubt influenced by the work of the Holy Spirit but but also just as a man his spirit is soaring and I'm gonna just wax a little poetic here without controversy great is the mystery of godliness God was manifest in the flesh justified in the spirit seen by angels preached among Gentiles and believed on in the world received up in glory now this is such a beautiful and wonderful testimony a summary of Christian truth it should be without controversy by the way it's interesting I'd love to go around a lot of church leaders today in different churches and such and to say do you got any problem with this because it should be without controversy for example it should be without controversy among believers that God was manifest in the flesh that Jesus Christ was more than a man that when he walked this Worth he was God in the flesh the second person of the Holy Trinity but not only that he was justified in the spirit not in any sense that Jesus once was sinful and made righteous but no in the sense that the Holy Spirit of God declared what he always was completely justified before God the Father that he was seen by angels by the way the angelic participation in Jesus's ministry is kind of fascinating there it is birth there it is temptation there in the Garden of Gethsemane there at the resurrection angels were always scoping out what Jesus was doing and then he was preached among the Gentiles believed on in the world Paul himself did his best to fulfill these statements he was very busy preaching Jesus among the Gentiles and bringing the world to believe and then he says finally received up into glory this reminds us of both the chin of Jesus that he was carried up bodily into heaven and that now he's seated at the right hand of the power on high ever to live to intercede for his people isn't that beautiful Jesus prays for you look I am a blessed man I know that lots of people pray for me you can be one of those lots of people - I don't mind one bit but sometimes I think even if a person is so unfortunate I think of some unfortunate believer and nobody prays for them would that be just kind of sad if there is a believer and nobody prayed for them and then I think you know what Jesus prays for them isn't that wonderful even if you have nobody else that prays for you the Son of God seated at the right hand of the power on high he prays for you he was received up in glory and he's the perfect fulfillment of God's perfect plan now if I could just make a few comments on verse 16 it is interesting to me and I don't know how its laid out in your Bible in my Bible it's given kind of a measured almost like a poetic formation that's because there's a rhythm and a poetry to this in the ancient Greek and many most commentators believe that Paul may be quoting a few lines from a contemporary him one of the hot worship songs that was being sung among believers in his day they would get together and sing this impulses this expresses the heart do you know this song we sing amongst themselves and would it seem to be very natural for him to do such a thing and again we can't say we know this for sure but the rhythmic arrangement just kind of the way it's presented gives us the idea that he's quoting an early Christian song or hymn or worship chorus unto Jesus it also shows - it's really not trying to be a systematic theology right no we're in it doesn't mention for example the death of Jesus on the cross did Paul believe in the death of Jesus on the cross yes that the man who said all I know is Jesus Christ and him crucified for me of course he believed in the work of Jesus on the cross but he liked that worship song that didn't try to explain everything about the life of Jesus but these things that expressed beautifully may very well be that but I can't come to the end of this chapter without thinking then at the end of the chapter its exalts Jesus so much Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of these descriptions of Christian character when you go back and look at that list for the overseer now if you try to put my name in there or somebody else's name in there you might whoa good good good you know whatever you I mean you could or at least we have something to talk about but listen Jesus Christ fulfills every one of them perfectly and it just draws us back to the remembrance that real Christian living is recognizing my union with Jesus and him living that out through me I've got some encouraging news for you if we read through that list and you were kind of hanging your head just a little bit as we went through it here's if you're a believer the best Christian in the world lives inside of you isn't that encouraging news recognize rest in your oneness with Jesus draw close to him and see how far you go in really advancing along those beautiful lines of Christian character knowing that he has planned for us to be transformed into the image of his son that's our destiny father thank you we want to thank you this evening for giving this wonderful high vision of Christian character we pray Lord that here at Calvary Santa Barbara we would continue to live that out and that you would show us Lord guide us to do it better and better along the way at Jesus we pray as well that you would give us that renewed hope that renewed vision of knowing that in Jesus you live inside of us and we want to go for walking in and living in the beautiful union we have with Jesus Christ we love you we praise you together here this evening thank you Lord take these principles from your word implant them in our heart and lord help us to just kind of mole them over in coming days we praise you for your presence among us in Jesus name Amen this is a message from the Ministry of Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara for more information about our church please visit calvary SP calm

Channel: David Guzik

Views: 14,889

Rating: 4.8317757 out of 5

Keywords: pastor elder character

Id: gyw2tqF0Jik

Length: 56min 12sec (3372 seconds)

Published: Sun May 20 2018