1 Timothy Study #5

“A Fine Work”

1 Timothy 3:1-7

Study #5 in 1 Timothy Series 

INTRODUCTION:

It used to be that many parents dreamed of their son or their daughter becoming a doctor, or a lawyer, or even a dentist. For many parents, such a profession represented the absolute pinnacle of human endeavors. They reason, “What could possibly be better than my little Johnny becoming a great brain surgeon, making a lot of money, living in a big house, and driving a new BMW? It would just make me so proud!”

In fact, some parents are so driven by this kind of thinking that they become insufferable to be around. They live vicariously through the accomplishments of their children. They have a good day, or a bad day based on the grade their kid brings home on his spelling test. “Oh no, Johnny only got a C-. Now maybe he won’t get into Yale.” And they put those annoying bumper stickers on their SUVs that say, “My daughter was Student of the Year at Moosedrool Elementary School!” I am sorry but it makes me want to run them and their bumper sticker right off the road!

TRANSITION:

Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that we should not want the “best” for our children.  Rather, I am saying that we may have a skewed idea of what constitutes “best.” I think that if you would have asked the Apostle Paul about what he considered to be a good, and honorable, and noble profession you might have been surprised at his answer. 

In our text for today Paul makes a statement about a vocation that in our day has come into some ill repute, admittedly in large part because of some of the people that are known to be in the profession. “The Reverend Al Sharpton.” “The Reverend Jesse Jackson.” “The Reverend Jimmy Swaggart.” “The Reverend Kenneth Copeland.” “The Reverend Jesse Duplantis.” I could go on and on, but I think you get my drift. For lots of mothers today they would rather hear that their son is going to be a janitor or dig ditches for the rest of his natural life than to get the news that he is, perish the thought “…going into the ministry.”         

That is sad and shameful, for Paul tells us that the Gospel ministry is, in his words, “…a fine work.” I am confident that Paul would tell us that there is no greater job and no greater honor than to serve the King of kings and to care for His people.

NOTES on the Text:

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. 

• “It is a trustworthy statement.” This is the second time in this letter that Paul has used this expression (cf. 1:15, 3:1, and 4:9). On the surface it sounds like he is citing a proverbial statement known to everyone. That is not what is going on here though. Rather, he is simply using a Hebraism to emphasize the truth of a statement he is about to make. It is his way of saying, “What I am getting ready to say is extremely important and 100% true, so listen up!” Namely, that if “anyone aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.” 
• There are several things that stand out to me from this verse. First, Paul is assuming that a candidate for this office of “overseer” is not being coerced or pressured into taking the position, but is accepting it willingly, of his own volition. This is emphasized by the words, “aspire” and “desire.”
• Secondly, we need to understand the word “overseer.” This is the Greek word episkopos, which is also sometimes translated as “bishop,” and refers to a man who oversees and administers a congregation or even a group of churches. It is a word with an honorable and responsible history, although it has been misused by the Roman Catholics and a few other denominations.
• But there is another Greek word that is used interchangeably with episkopos and it is the word presbuteros, always translated as “elder.” This word goes far back into Jewish history, clear back to the time of Moses when he chose 70 men to help him in the task of controlling and caring for the people of Israel (cf. Numbers 11:16). Every synagogue had its elders, and they presided over the worship, administered rebuke and discipline where necessary, and settled disputes between the people of the congregation. This idea passed directly from Judaism into Christianity. You will see that “overseer” (episkopos) and “elder” (presbuteros) are used interchangeably in the New Testament to describe the same office. The word “overseer” emphasizes the organizational side of the office, while the word “elder” emphasizes the relational side of the office.
• “…it is a fine work he desires to do.” And Paul should know because he had functioned in this role for many years, and he loved his work. The other Greek word used to describe this same office is poimein, which is translated as “shepherd, or pastor” and is the word we have come to use most commonly in our day, but it is the very same office. The pastors/overseers/elders are the men that Christ has assigned in His Church to guide, direct, feed, protect, and care for His sheep and lambs. Ephesians 4:11-12 tell us, “And He [i.e., Christ] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the Body of Christ.”
• Just one more thing before we move on… Notice that the text says, “…to the office of overseer.” In the Early Church elders/overseers were officially and formally set apart for their office. Titus was instructed to ordain elders in every church (cf. Titus 1:5), and these individuals were to be publicly recognized as leaders. They had to undergo a period of testing and evaluation (1 Tim. 3:10). Their living expenses were paid by the congregation to free them up to do ministry (1 Tim. 5:18).  They were liable to censure and were held to a high moral, doctrinal, and ethical standard (1 Tim. 5:19-22). They bore the duty of presiding over the Christian church, giving themselves to administration, instruction, and prayer (1 Tim. 5:17). These men were not to be recent converts but well-seasoned, tried and tested so that they would not become full of pride and end up falling into sin and bringing shame to Christ and to His church. 

Verse 2: An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,   

• Here Paul starts in to give some important character qualities that must be present in any man placed in leadership over the congregation.
• The first one was in the previous verse, and we already touched on it briefly: he should desire the office and aspire to it. Too often in churches people get shoved into roles because we have a hole to fill. That is a terrible way to get a new elder and it will eventually backfire.
• “…must be above reproach.” This is an interesting word. The Greek word is used in various ways in classical literature. In a military context it is used of a position that is not open to attack. In a moral sense it is used of a life that is not open to censure. In the context of art, it is used of a work that is so perfect that it leaves no room for finding fault with it. In the legal realm it is used of a contract that is so professionally written that it has no loopholes and is thus unassailable. The Greeks themselves used the word in a battlefield context to mean “giving nothing that an adversary can take hold of, providing no handles or handholds.” That is why the ancient soldiers shaved their beards and kept their hair short.
• So, was Paul looking for perfection in potential leaders for the church? No, but he sets the bar high! The Christian leader must seek to offer to the world and to the church a life of such purity and nobility that he leaves no handles for the devil or for critics to grab hold of and bring scathing accusations.
• “…the husband of one wife.” This phrase has been the subject of much discussion for many years. What does Paul mean by it? First, he is obviously limiting this office to a very select group of men, males. It is not an office that is open to women. This has been a bone of contention for many, specifically those who hold to an “egalitarian” view of leadership in the home and in the church. However, the Bible teaches what we call “complementarianism,” meaning that while men and women are equal before God in terms of our value, our roles are different, both in the home and in the church. We are not the same, but we “complement” one another. Also, notice that this requirement is couched in a list of character traits, not of historical points. And the phrase should be interpreted as a character trait, not as a description of how many times a man has been married, if ever.
• Secondly, and this follows from our last study, I see no wiggle room here to retranslate this as “the spouse of one spouse” as some have tried to do, removing the gender-specific language. The Greek here is crystal clear and Paul does not leave the door open for a defense of female elders, overseers, or pastors.
• If we adopt the narrowest interpretation, we will have to conclude that neither bachelors nor widowers can be appointed as elders/overseers/pastors because they are not husbands at all. However, that position would eliminate both Paul and Timothy, so I do not think that is what Paul had in mind here.
• Others say that it means that an elder can only have one wife at a time, unlike some of the polygamous Patriarchs of old.
• Still others claim that Paul was eliminating anyone who had ever been divorced, even if the divorce was not of his choosing or of his doing. They say that he was making sure that an elder only had one wife during his lifetime, which would also eliminate a widower who might choose to remarry.
• As you can see, this starts to get messy! The solution is to back up the truck and look again at the text itself. What Paul says, literally, is that the overseer must be “a one-woman man.” Now what does that mean if you think of it as a character attribute? I believe that in its context it means that the Christian leader must be a loyal husband, preserving marriage in all its purity, having love and affection only for his wife and not lusting for other women. Now let’s be honest… I know men who have only been married to one woman but who have eyes for anyone who walks by in a skirt. They are not “one-woman men” in their hearts. On the other hand, I know men who have either gone through a divorce or have been widowed and remarried who are as solid as a rock and are faithful to their wives in their thought lives as well as in their actions. I believe that those are the kind of men Paul was saying that we should look for to lead our churches.
• “temperate” The Greek word originally meant temperate in the use of wine but here it is to be taken in the broader sense, since the next verse forbids intemperance. Paul uses it here to mean self-controlled or self-possessed. The Christian leader should not go to excess in any area.
• “prudent” Some versions say “sober” or “sober minded.” In part it involves being wise and having good godly common sense. (cf. Titus 1:8; 2:2, 5)
• “respectable” When you take the word apart it means “able to be respected.” If you cannot respect your pastor, he should probably not be your pastor. Right? The ASV translates this same word as “orderly” in 2:9 referring to women’s clothes.
• “hospitable” A pastor’s home is an important part of his ministry. He needs to lead by example in using his home as a welcoming place, a haven where people can come and receive help and comfort from him and his wife. (cf. Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9; Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2)
• “able to teach” Obviously not all pastors are going to be capable of preaching like D.L Moody, Martin Lloyd-Jones, or John MacArthur but they all need to be able to communicate God’s Word accurately, clearly, and humbly, and be able to feed God’s flock. Elders who cannot or will not teach should be removed from their position.

Verse 3: …not addicted to wine, or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

• “…not addicted to wine.” Notice, Paul was not a teetotaler. In fact, a little later in this same letter, in 5:23 Paul advised Timothy, “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” But a Christian leader should not be addicted to anything! – Alcohol, prescription painkillers, golf, television, coffee, tobacco, food, or fishing, just to name a few things.
• “…not pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable.” Pugnacious is an old word that means prone to get into fights at the drop of a hat. Synonyms are “belligerent, confrontational, contentious, argumentative.” The words “gentle and peaceable” are the exact opposite of pugnacious and are the qualities that a leader should possess. That does not mean that a church leader should be a milksop weakling, but he should not be someone with a chip on his shoulder either, always looking for a chance to prove himself in mortal combat against a perceived enemy.
• “…free from the love of money.” This is important! Paul himself says later in this letter in 6:10 that “…the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Wow, ain’t that the truth! There is no place in the life of a Christian leader for the love of money. It will destroy him eventually because it becomes a pseudo-god, a mistress vying for his affections. That is why Jesus said in Luke 16:13, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Notice that He did not say, “you should not serve both” but rather, “you cannot serve both.”

Verses 4-5: He 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?) 

• “…one who manages his household well.” This does not mean that he is to be a little tyrant at home, keeping his family under his thumb. Rather, it means that he is a good Christian father and husband, doing everything in his power to lead his family by example, with wisdom, love, humor, and kindness.
• We all know good Christian people who are not good at parenting their children. In some cases, they are too strict, producing children who are embittered against them, the church, and the Lord. In other cases, even Christian parents can be too lax, too hands-off, and their little darlings rule the roost at home, at school, at Sunday School, and anywhere else they can get away with it. To be around them makes your palms itch to be able to paddle the daylights out of them, when really it is probably the parents who need the paddling. Paul would say that neither of these extremes is the ideal for a man who is going to be a leader in the church.
• Again, Paul is not looking for perfection but for men who have a track record of parenting that gives them the right to speak truth into the lives of those who come along after them and seek advice on how to parent their children. By the way, this is just one more reason why I have no respect for the celibate priesthood in the Roman Church.

Verse 6: …and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

• I mentioned this earlier but here you see it spelled out. An elder in the church is given a certain amount of authority and power and if he is not spiritually mature and wired up right it can go to his head. The devil loves nothing more than to use a Christian leader to weaken or destroy a church from the inside and there are plenty of examples. For this reason, Paul says to make sure that the men we choose to lead us have the Christian maturity to handle the job without getting the “big head.”

Verse 7: And 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. 

• A leader in the church is always subject to observation and speculation. In fact, sometimes it is a little bit like living in a fishbowl. For this reason, Paul says that a man being considered for the office of elder “must have [cf. v. 2, 4, 7] a good reputation with those outside the church.” The words “must have…” tell me that this is not an option. Then Paul adds this rather cryptic statement, “…so that he will not fall into reproach [same word as up in verse 2] and the snare of the devil.” What does that mean?
• The sin that brought Satan down was the sin of pride. He got all puffed-up and full of himself and decided that he was every bit as powerful and important as God. Pride was the thing that snared him. But ironically, it has become the preferred snare that he has used ever since to entrap many of God’s servants. Indeed, pride has been the root problem and reason for the downfall of many Christian leaders.

CONCLUSION:

I have barely begun to scratch the surface of this topic, but my hope is that it will whet your appetite to study it more on your own. 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are the two primary texts that describe what we should look for in our leaders and the standard to which they must be held. Again, the bar is not set at perfection, but it is set high, and we lower it to our peril.