The Church and its Leaders
Wiersby calls this portion, "Follow the leader". We all know from experience that
the success or failure of any venture depends upon its leadership. Within the
church there is established two offices of leadership. The Pastor or Minister and
the lay leaders called Elders or Deacons in most denominations. Lets look first at
Paul's description and qualifications for Pastor or Minister, here translated
Bishop.
In verses 1 thru 7, Paul lists 16 qualifications for this office.
- He is to be "blameless". This is not, nor was it ever meant to
imply, "sinless". The word means to live a life above reproach.
No giving Satan or the agnostics anything to criticize about.
- He is to be the husband of one wife. There are two accepted
interpretations of this qualification for Pastor. One, he
must not be divorced and remarried. Two, he must not have
but one wife. As I understand the Greek, Paul is condemning
polygamy, that practice of the Old Testament of one man having
numerous wives. There was also the practice of taking
concubines as "secondary wives" in the Old Testament but as
a rule, polygamy was frowned upon and monogamy, the having of
only one wife, was encouraged and practiced.
- He is to be "temperate". This means that he is to keep his
head at all times. He is to exercise temperance is all
situations and use good judgment in the settlement of all
affairs.
- He is to be "sober" or "sensible", having a serious attitude,
not prone to senseless humor. This does not mean that he
should not have a "sense of humor", rather, he must not
cheapen the ministry of the Gospel by foolish behavior.
- He is to be "dignified". This includes good organization of
his personal life as well as his spiritual life. Being
someone who can be respected in his thinking, his living,
his teaching and his preaching.
- He is to be given to "hospitality". This literally means,
"loving the stranger". A big part of sharing the Gospel
is simply being hospitable. It wouldn't hurt the laypeople
in our churches to be a little more hospitable when strangers
come into the church.
- He is to be an "apt teacher". Originally, the Pastor's main
function was to teach. Jesus told Peter three times to
"Feed His sheep". Some Pastors are good teachers and some
are not. Matthew Henry says that preaching comes by
inspiration of God, but teaching comes by hard work. Paul
is saying that a Pastor must be a student of the Word and
be able to teach it to the layman.
- He is not to be a "drunkard". I do not believe that this
means that he is to practice total abstinence but rather,
as with every thing else, do so in moderation. Elsewhere,
Paul tells Timothy to use a little wine for medicinal
purposes. Sad to say, many got drunk at Corinth, in the
observance of the Lord's Supper, from drinking too much
wine. Wine was much safer to drink than water in Paul's
day. A Godly Pastor should, as Paul suggests elsewhere,
subvert his freedom in this area for the sake of a weaker
brother.
- He should be even "tempered". He should not be looking for
a fight but rather seeking ways constantly to keep his
temper and the tempers of others, in tow. Use the Bible,
not your fists, it will serve you better.
- He should not be "greedy". What exactly, did Paul mean by
this? Paul never took anything for his ministry. Should
we expect our ministers to do as Paul did and earn their own
living? I think not. I believe that Paul was saying that
a Pastor deserves to be paid a decent wage just like any one
else but they are not to become "greedy". Now greed can take
over areas of our lives beside money. Some Pastors become
greedy with power. That needs to be controlled also.
- He should be "patient" or as some translate, "gentle". He must
be willing to listen to people and accept their short comings
in love and render his decisions with gentleness. He must be
patient with the flock.
- He must not be "quarrelsome". Actually, he should be a peace
maker. Even when he is right and others are wrong, he must
make his point without being disagreeable.
- He must not be "covetous". Claiming anything for yourself that
is not yours is being covetous. Money is only one thing that
Pastors might covet. Popularity, growth, attention and others
are things that Pastors must not seek. O. S. Hawkins in a
sermon that he made at a Southern Baptist Convention, said,
"Covetousness is like barnacles on the side of a ship, they
need to be scraped off every now and again."
- He must have a godly family. Paul is speaking of the need
of a Pastor to rule his home as he rules his church. Both
need to be done in a Godly manner. His authority in the
church will be in relation to what the congregation sees
as his ability to govern his own family.
- He must be "mature" in spirit, not necessarily in age. He
should not be young in the faith nor inexperienced in the
Word. He must acknowledge the source of his strength and
give God the credit for all that he is able to accomplish.
- He must have a "good testimony" outside the church. Does he
pay his bills? Does he mingle well? Does he show compassion
toward the unsaved? Does he have a good reputation with those
with whom he does business? All of these influence your
testimony outside the church.
Now I ask you, do you know any Pastor or Minister that has all 16 of these
qualifications? I'm sure if you would ask them, they would feel that they lacked
in many of these areas. No one feels totally adequate in the Lord's work, so we
must constantly be in prayer for them.
Deacons (Elders)
["Click here for I Timothy 3:8-13"]
The English word Deacon comes from the Greek word Dis-ko-nos which means, humble
servant. The office of Elder began in Jerusalem and spread elsewhere. They were
lay leaders who were entrusted with pastoral duties and moral supervision of the
church. Paul spells out 8 qualifications for this office.
- He should be worthy of respect. (serious or grave) His life
should be exemplary and worthy of imitation. He should take
his office seriously and labor in it not just fill it.
- He should not be double-tongued. He should not tell tales out of
school. He should not be a gossip. He should not be telling
one thing to some and something else to others. He must be
consistent in his speech.
- He must not be given to much wine. He must not drink to excess.
This indicates that total abstinence was not demanded of believers.
But as Paul indicates elsewhere, we should abstain from anything
that might cause a brother to fall.
- He must not be greedy. The King James seems to limit this to
money, but the true interpretation limits greed to all forms of
personal gain. Now note that Paul does not suggest that personal
gain was wrong, he suggests that love of personal gain that leads to
greed, is wrong. As with money, there is nothing wrong with it,
only the love of money that leads to greed is wrong.
- He must have a "sound doctrine". "Hold (and understand), the
mystery of the faith." The word translated "mystery" means,
"truth once hidden but now revealed". Church Lay Leaders
should know and believe the doctrines of their denomination.
This is necessary if they are to council or if they are to be
involved in decision making in the church. A word of caution,
simply because a member is popular, successful and generous
in his giving does not necessarily mean that he is qualified
to be a Lay Leader.
- He should be "tested and proved". This requires time. No new
convert should be elected to this position in the church.
Matthew Henry says, "An untested Christian is an unprepared
Deacon or Elder."
- He should be from "godly" homes. There are three parts of this
requirement. The wife must be serious, temperate and faithful
in all things. The husband should have only one wife and the
children should be well mannered and examples of good management
by their parents. The qualifications concerning the husband
and the wife, have two interpretations. The Greek word "gynaikas"
is translated "women" in the R.S.V. It is translated "wives" in
the K.J. Therefore, some believe the reference about women
refers to women Deacons and not the wives of Deacons. Many
do not believe that women should be Deacons or Elders, however,
it would appear that Phebe was a Deacon at the church in Cenchreae
(Rom. 16:1) The other difference is in the instruction to the
husband, some believe Paul was speaking of divorced men rather
than men with one wife. The qualification is not clear, some
believe that this was a holdover from Judaism. To be elected
to the Sanhedrin, the highest body of lay men in the Jewish
religion, the man had to be married to one wife. Some believe
that Paul was saying that a Deacon had to be married to hold
that office. Marriage indicated that the man was ready to
settle down and assume the responsibilities of an adult. One
commentary suggests that it means all three. He should not
be divorced, he should be married and have only one wife.
- He should be "willing" to work. He should have a good work
ethic. Men elected to this post must be willing to do the
work required. So often they do not seem to have the time or
the inclination to do the things that are required of them
in relation to their church families or their church attendance.
A Deacon or Elder should attend all the meetings, know his
church families and be aware of their needs, and when those
needs arise, meet those needs.
These are the 8 qualifications that Paul sets out for the office of Deacon or Elder
or whatever name the ruling lay leaders go by in your church.
Believers
["Click here for I Timothy 3:14-16"]
Paul has set forth qualifications for Pastors and Deacons and now he speaks about
the rest of the body of believers. The Church is made up of believers in Christ.
Three terms are used here to describe that body of believers.
- The household of God. When a sinner repents and accepts Christ as
his Lord and Savior he immediately is born into the "Family of
God". Paul, writing to Timothy, the Pastor, advises him to
treat these members as though they were actually members of
his own family. To do this, he needed to do two things. First,
he was to "feed them" the word of God and then he was to discipline
them.
- The Assembly of God. The Greek word "ekklayseea" means assembly.
It is used 100 times in the New Testament. It literally means
"Those who are called out." To these "called" people, Paul
Paul sends instructions to Timothy on how to support, build,
nourish and discipline them.
- The Spiritual Architecture of God. This describes, in architectural
terms, the make up of the church. To terms are used, pillar and
bulwark or wall. The "pillar" of the church is the "truth of the
Word". This "truth" should be displayed like a statue for all to
see. The "bulwark or wall" is that which protects the truth and
makes sure that it does not fail. We must never compromise the
truth. When churches do this, they fail. There is a hymn that
is called, "A mighty bulwark is our God". This is the truth that
the church must bear witness to.
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