FIRST TIMOTHY

Chapter 3

Introduction

Paul wrote Timothy, according to verse 15, so that he "may know how to conduct [him]self in the house of God..." Beginning in chapter two, and continuing through to the end of the letter, Paul gives instructions about proper church conduct.

The church is not a building; it is the people whom God has called-out from the world. These instructions about conduct are therefore not so much about rules and regulations as they are about roles and relationships. He discusses the laity, the leadership, and then the relationships between the laity and the leadership.

Chapter two is a general statement about the laity of the church. "Lay people," or "laity," is a reference to all those in the church who are not recognized in a position of leadership. In chapter two we learned about the roles and relationships of men and women in general.

Chapters three and four look at the leadership of the church. Chapter three discusses elders and deacons, and chapter four discusses the pastor-teacher.

Chapters five and six put it all together, as Paul discusses the role and relationship of the pastor-teacher to various lay people and leaders in the church: older men, younger men, older women, younger women, widows, elders, slaves, false teachers, and the rich.

Our focus this morning is on the elders and deacons. We'll see two things: #1 Your Leaders Should Keep Their Houses In Order, and #2 Your Leaders Should Keep God's House In Order.

Paul, in chapter two, discussed the roles and responsibilities of men and women in the church. He had exhorted men to become involved in the house of God, then told women they could not be the leaders of the church. In chapter three he returns to the men and encourages them to aspire to positions of leadership.

1 Timothy 3:1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.

The word "bishop" is episkopi, where we get our word Episcopalian. The word means "overseer" and describes the function of these leaders. Another word we use to describe these same men is "elder," from the Greek presbuteros, where we get our word Presbyterian. The word elder describes the spiritual maturity of these men. In Paul's letter to Titus he tells Titus to "appoint elders," spiritually mature men, then uses the word "bishop" to describe their function. For our purposes, we call them elders. They are spiritually mature men who oversee the affairs in the house of God.

You are told that eldership is a "position" in the church. Just being a spiritually mature man doesn't make you an elder. You need to be recognized as an elder by the existing leadership, and presented to the body of believers as holding the position of an elder.

How do you recognize these men? Paul gives you a list of their qualities and qualifications, in verses two through seven.

1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless...

"Blameless" means one who cannot be laid hold on. This man may be accused of something, but there are no grounds for the accusation. Blameless is a summary quality: Because this man has the following qualities, he is qualified as blameless.

1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;

1 Timothy 3:3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;

1 Timothy 3:4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence

1 Timothy 3:5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);

1 Timothy 3:6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

1 Timothy 3:7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

These qualities describe your elder's home and his habits.

Take another look at his home:

He is "the husband of one wife." This curious phrase has caused a great deal of confusion and controversy. It has been interpreted by some to mean that elders must be married... By others to mean that elders cannot have ever been divorced... By others to mean that elders cannot remarry even after they are widowed... By still others to mean that elders should not practice polygamy or have a mistress, which was common in New Testament Greek culture.

All of these interpretations go beyond what the words themselves actually indicate. The phrase, translated into English, literally means, "a one-woman man." It is a statement about the elder's attitude and actions toward his wife, should he be married. He must have an exemplary marriage, evidenced by how he feels about and treats his wife.

There are many reasons that an elders marriage must be exemplary. For one thing, marriage is an example of Jesus Christ's love for His church. An elder's marriage should communicate that illustration.

For another thing, elders are called upon to counsel others. Probably 95% of all Christian counseling is marriage counseling. How can an elder counsel unless his own marriage is exemplary?

An elder, you're told later in verse two, must be "hospitable." We take this to mean that he is willing to open up his home to others, to have them over for lunch. Hospitality is more than that. It is being open to meeting the needs and concerns of others - their spiritual and physical needs. Hospitality means the elder is available to the congregation, and that his family understands his availability.

Then, in verses four and five, you have this said about his home:

1 Timothy 3:4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence

1 Timothy 3:5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);

"Rule" means manage or shepherd. An elder tends to his own family as his first ministry. His children, if he has any, are familiar with submitting to godly discipline and discipling. They are taught respect for authority. After all, if you can't manage and shepherd the few folks at home, you can't manage or shepherd the many folks in church!

Take a look at the elder's habits:

"Temperate," in verse two, means that he is free from any bondage to excesses in his life.

"Sober-minded, of good behavior" go together and indicate that he thinks before he acts, and he acts in ways that are appropriate.

"Able to teach" means an elder must be both able to teach truth and refute error. He must be biblically grounded and offer biblical advice and solutions when called upon. He need not have the gift of teaching, but he must be able to skillfully use the Bible in his oversight of the church.

In verse three you read that he must "not [be] given to wine." The idea here is drunkenness. He can drink, but he ought to be careful about it, and especially around others who could be easily stumbled. It's better to abstain...

"Not violent... but gentle, not quarrelsome" means he should not resort to force to resolve issues with others. And he should not be forceful in his position, throwing his spiritual weight around. Even when correcting others he should be gentle.

"Not greedy for money" is a phrase that doesn't occur in the best manuscripts we have for this letter. At any rate, it is included under "not covetous." An elder must be content, not covetous, or he will find himself taking advantage of the generosity of those he is called upon to serve.

Dropping down to verse six, he is "not a novice [a new or recent convert], lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil." This probably means that pride is a particular trap that the devil sets for elders, hoping to catch them in pride and thereby ruin the ministry.

These are qualities that every Christian man should have, but that leaders must have!

There were other leaders in the church besides elders: Deacons are next described. In verse eight, again as a summary, they are described as "reverent." Then certain particular qualities are listed:

"Not double-tongued" means trustworthy in their speech. These are men who don't mince words, and who can be believed.

"Not given to much wine" again indicates a temperate attitude toward intoxicating substances.

"Not greedy for money" was an important quality since these men often handled benevolence needs.

"Holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience." While not called upon to teach in their official capacity, they, too, must be men of the Word whose own lives are not in contradiction to the teachings of the Bible.

1 Timothy 3:10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.

Like eldering, deaconing is a position of serving in the church. Just because you serve in the church doesn't make you a deacon. Everyone is called upon to serve one another, but there is a position of "deacon," and you need to be recognized as a deacon by the existing leadership, and presented to the body of believers as holding the position of a deacon.

Verse eleven mentions the wives of deacons:

1 Timothy 3:11 Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.

Their home life must be in order, as indicated by the behavior of their wives.

1 Timothy 3:12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

The deacons are held to the same high marital standard as are the elders.

1 Timothy 3:13 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.

"Standing" means a position or a platform from which to influence others. Good service as a deacon gives you a platform from which you can with great confidence minister to the needs of others in the fellowship of believers. Even though you may not teach, as elders do, you still command respect for your faithful serving.

As clear and concise as these verses are, they are not without confusion and controversy. In verse eleven, when it mentions "wives," you have a decision to make. "Wives" is the translation of a word that can mean "women." There are those who teach that verse eleven is referring to women who serve as deacons - deaconess's - not to the wives of deacons. Others agree that these are women in general and not the wives of deacons, but they disagree that these are deaconesses. They say that these women are those whom the deacons enlist to help them in their work of ministering to the physical needs of the flock, especially when ministering to other women.

There is no end in sight to the arguing. Here is what we believe and teach: These women are either the wives of the deacons, or the women who are enlisted by the deacons to assist them. They are not deaconesses. This verse does not establish the position of "deaconess" as a leadership position for women in the church.

The other issue here involves the relationships between the pastor, the elders, and the deacons, and the congregation in the government of the church. How many elders are necessary? How do elders function as a group? Is the pastor over the elders, or he he just another elder but one with greater responsibilities to teach? What role do the deacons perform in relation to the pastor and the elders?

These are sincere questions and the Scripture gives you room for several answers! While some believers are certain that their view of church government is the only biblical view, God has given us a great freedom in this area. Read John MacArthur's writings on church government and you'll be almost convinced that the only form of church government is Presbyterian - with a plurality of equal elders ruling the church. Read Manfred Kober's writings on church government and you'll be almost convinced that the only form of church government is Episcopal - with a singular pastor ruling the church.

What do we believe and teach? The Bible specifies three offices of leadership in the local church: The pastor-teacher, elders, and deacons. We've seen elders and deacons in First Timothy chapter three; we'll see the pastor-teacher in chapter four. The pastor-teacher is the one called by God to "tend the flock" and care for its well-being, showing them by precept and example alike the path of Christian faith and life. He has the qualifications of an elder, but he additionally has the calling upon his life to pastor, and he especially must have a spiritual gift for teaching. As the ministry grows the pastor-teacher recognizes and appoints other godly men to help him oversee the spiritual care of the congregation. These men are the elders.

They meet the specific spiritual qualifications listed in 1Timothy 3:1-11 and Titus 1:5-9. They are first raised-up by God the Holy Spirit, then recognized by the pastor. Together with him the elders concern themselves with the spiritual well-being of the church. When the pastor and the elders require help with the physical aspects of the ministry, they appoint certain men as deacons.

They are men who meet the specific spiritual qualifications listed in Acts 6:3 and 1Timothy 3:8-13. They are first raised-up by God the Holy Spirit, then recognized by the pastor and the elders. They minister to specific physical needs of the church.

These leaders must have their houses in order because,

We won't spend much time discussing these verses. They were our text just a few weeks ago when we did our annual review and preview of the ministry of Calvary Chapel of Hanford.

1 Timothy 3:14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly;

1 Timothy 3:15 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 ground of the truth.

The church is the "house of God," and so we should reach-in to edify one another. We are "the church of the living God," and so we should reach -up to exalt Jesus. The church is the "pillar and ground of the truth," and so we should reach-out to evangelize others.

Paul closes his thoughts on the wonder of the church by quoting a first century praise chorus that describes what he calls "the mystery of godliness":

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

A "mystery" in the New Testament is a truth which was once concealed that is now revealed. The church - you and I - reveal "godliness" to the watching world.

How do we do it? By proclaiming the gospel, both in words and in deeds. The song Paul quotes first describes the earthly ministry of Jesus: He was "manifested in the flesh" in His incarnation... "Justified in the Spirit" in His sinless, perfect life, and in His resurrection... He was "seen by angels" in His ascension into heaven.

Then the lyrics describe the ongoing ministry of you and I, the church on earth. Jesus is "preached among the Gentiles..." He is "believed on in the world" as disciples are made and churches established... He is "received up in glory" as we exalt His name and await His return in glory.

This is a great and life-changing message. It is entrusted to you and I - to the church. Leaders are charged with keeping God's house in order so that this message will not be hindered.

Conclusion

Chapters two through six need to be taken together as instruction for proper conduct. Men and women have their roles and responsibilities, and certain men have roles and responsibilities for leadership.

Regardless whether you are a leader or not, you should keep your house in order. Aspire to the qualities and characteristics listed in our text.

If you are a leader, or desire to be one, keep your house in order so that you might be able to keep order in God's house.