Thoughts on 1 Timothy – Part 2
1TIM 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
1TIM 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
1TIM 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
1TIM 2:10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
Verse 9 says in like manner also and then says women should array themselves with good works. And that they should behave themselves and present themselves in the right way.
Both men and women Christians are to be serious about serving Jesus the way He wants.
And this also includes the authority structure in the church that God wants. And that is Jesus as the head of the church and then a God called man. Some call that position the under shepherd or the Pastor. And then under the Pastor is the flock.
Having the proper authority structure in the church solves a lot of problems. God’s ways are always the best.
And men are to be the spiritual leaders of both the home and of the church. Some get upset at this, but this is the way God set it up. And he has reasons for it.
This is in no way putting women down and it is not teaching to treat them as less important. This is not teaching that they cannot open their mouth in the church or teach a Sunday school class or teach other women.
If you remember it was a woman that Jesus 1st showed Himself to after He rose from the dead and He instructed Mary to go and meet with the church and open her mouth and tell them that He had arose.
So it is very important to not take this simple principal and try to make it more than it is. Men are to be the spiritual leaders of the church.
1TIM 2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
1TIM 2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
1TIM 2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
1TIM 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
1TIM 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
1TIM 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
1TIM 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1TIM 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
This is not a popular subject in the day in which we live, but God does have standards for pastors.
A pastor is to be blameless. That covers a lot right there. This does not mean that he has to be perfect. If that was the case, then no one would qualify. It means that he lives in such a way that no one can blame him for wrong doing.
A pastor is to be the husband of one wife. That means that a pastor has to be a man. A woman cannot be the husband of one wife.
A pastor is to be vigilant. To be vigilant is to be watchful, circumspect, and attentive to discover and avoid danger.
A pastor is to be sober and of good behavior. He is to be given to hospitality.
A pastor is to be a good teacher. He is to teach the Word of God. All of it. Both the parts people like and the parts that they don’t like.
A pastor is not to drink booze.
A pastor is not to be a fighter or a brawler.
A pastor is not to be in it for the money. He is not to be greedy.
A pastor is not to be covetous of what others have. This would include being covetous of another pastor’s ministry.
God takes the office of a pastor very serious, and He holds them to a higher standard.
1TIM 3:4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
1TIM 3:5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
Many people see the man of God up there preaching and they think that is what being a pastor is all about. Some men will see the pastor preaching and how everyone is listening to him and think I want that kind of respect. They then think, that does not look so hard. I can think of many good messages to preach. Some will even think, that looks like fun. I want to do that. They go to bible college get behind a pulpit and it often ends in disaster. You see they have the wrong idea of what the job of a pastor really entails. The preaching that everyone sees is a small amount of the job description.
In verses 4 and 5 we see another part of the job. Verse 4 says that for a man to be qualified to be a pastor he must rule his own house well. Then verse 5 gives us the reason why. He is to rule the church of God. If he can’t rule his own family, then he surely cannot rule the church family. If he can’t keep order in his own house with only a few people, then he can’t keep order in a church family with many people. If he can’t keep order with a few people who all have the same background, then he can’t keep order with people from all different kinds of backgrounds. If he can’t keep order with people that he has constant contact with, he can’t keep order with people he sees only a few hours a week. You get the point.
One of the jobs of the pastor is to keep order in the church. Everyone has an idea. Everyone has an opinion, and they all want to give advice. And Johnnie’s advice does not match Suzy’s advice. And what both of them think does not agree with Bob. The big problems that come up are seldom about doctrine. Trouble can come from differences in personalities. Sometimes it is misunderstandings. Someone simply takes something wrong. Remodeling projects can really bring trouble. And once in a while trouble comes because of someone’s sin. Face it – we are all sinners saved by grace. Everyone still has that old fleshly sin nature. You put a bunch of sinners together week after week and sooner or later there will be a few issues.
Of course God knows this and God has a plan for it. When He listed the qualification for a Pastor one of them is that he must be able to handle people well. He must be able to rule his own house and be able to use those skills as he keeps order in the house of God.
For those who are not pastors there is also an application. Understand that God wants order in His church. And that God has put his man in charge. The pastor is to make the decisions and settle problems. He is responsible to keep order. So 1) don’t cause trouble and 2) let the pastor do his job and support him.
1TIM 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
In this chapter we have many qualification listed of pastors, deacons, and their families. Verse 6 is talking about a pastor. It says that he is not to be a novice. Why? The reason is that a novice has not yet had time to learn something very important. And because of this he can very easily be lifted up in pride. A novice can stand up and give a beautiful message. He can be eloquent, he can preach a message that is true to the Word of God, he can preach with great passion, and the Holy Spirit can move in the hearts of those who hear his preaching. Then after the message the people tell him that he did a wonderful job and how the message spoke to their heart. Some people will even tell him how great he put the message together and how great he is. The danger to the novice is that he might start to believe it. He can be lifted up in pride.
When the novice gets lifted up in pride he falls into the condemnation of the devil. The lesson that the novice has not learned yet is that he is nothing. He has to learn that God is everything. God gives him the message, God empowers the message. Only God can bring conviction and speak to hearts. The novice needs to learn that the talents that he has is only because God gave them to him.
A novice preacher can say that he understands this principle. But there is a big difference between head knowledge understanding and life experience understanding. A young novice preacher should not jump out and take a pastorate. He might think that he is ready and that he will not be lifted up in pride. However, the Bible teaches us that there is a danger in making a novice the pastor. There has been many a young preacher that ran right out and took a pastorate before he was ready. And he was lifted up in pride, he then did great damage to the church or even destroyed it. And his ministry was over. Ruined by impatience. It is always better to do it God’s way. Put young novice preachers in other positions until they get seasoned. And just to be clear older men can be novices and some younger men can be experienced.
1TIM 3:7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
1TIM 3:8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
1TIM 3:9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
1TIM 3:10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
Here are the qualifications for a deacon. He must also be blameless and serious and not two faced. That is what double tongued is talking about. The deacon must not be greedy. And verse 10 says let these also first be proved. So it is wrong to make someone a deacon who has not first proved that he has these qualifications.
The theory of let’s make someone a deacon and you will see that he will rise to the occasion is not biblical. Only make a man a deacon if he is already walking the walk and living up to the qualifications.
And for a man to qualify for a deacon his wife must also meet some standards.
1TIM 3:11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
1TIM 3:12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
1TIM 3:13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Being a good deacon does have a way of strengthening your faith and give you boldness in the faith. The reason is that to be a good deacon you need to be in close fellowship with your Lord and you need to be leaning on Him and praying to Him and seeking His will every day.
And you will see Him answer prayers and give you strength and seeing this increases your faith.
1TIM 3:14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
1TIM 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
1TIM 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
1TIM 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1TIM 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
There has always been those that depart from the faith, and there has always been those who are false teachers who speak lies. There has always been seducing spirits and the doctrines of devils. It was even going on before the ink was dried on the New Testament. Just read the epistles and look for all the times that Paul dealt with false teachings. The fact of false teaching and that some depart from the faith is nothing new. However, the Spirit highlights this problem in the latter times. This seems to indicate that although the problem has always been around that it will be much worse in the last days.
I believe that we live in such a time. The amount of falsehoods and lies abound today. There are a great variety of false teachings today. Some teach against giving, or teach that you have to go to church on Saturday to be saved, or that Jesus was just a man, or that you need to use some sacred name, or that the Bible is some kind of hidden truth test. I hear all kinds of crazy stuff all the time. One of the craziest ones that I have heard lately is that the soul is not eternal. That we don’t go to heaven or hell when we die. You can send people like that a great number of scriptures that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we do indeed have a soul that goes to either heaven or hell when we die. But most of the time they cannot see the plain truth. Why? The next verse tells us.
1TIM 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
They have seared their conscience to the point that it does not speak to them anymore. They have hardened their hearts to the truth. Since we are in the last days, don’t be surprised by the number of or the craziness of false teachers and those that depart from the faith.
Instead of arguing with the false teachers, which is a waste of time, we should pray for the false teachers that God would un-blind their eyes and we should be involved in saving the lost and in edifying the believers.
1TIM 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1TIM 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1TIM 4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
1TIM 4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
False teachers come up with all kinds of strange things. Forbidding to marry and being a vegetarian are two that are listed here. All men benefit from having a help meet; a good wife. And the Bible is teaching us here that both of those were created to be received with thanksgiving.
1TIM 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
1TIM 4:7 But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.
1TIM 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
1TIM 4:9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
1TIM 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1TIM 4:11 These things command and teach.
The preacher needs to not allow himself to be dragged into fables. His focus must be on godliness. All those that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. That is just a guarantee. Therefore a pastor needs to be able to suffer the reproach and trust in his Lord and keep going and keep focusing on what the Lord wants him to do.
1TIM 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Paul was writing to a young preacher. Verse 12 says let no man despise thy youth. He was not to apologize for his young age. This is biblical evidence that some young men are not novices. Then the advice that comes next is not only great advice for young preachers, but it is also great advice for all of us.
He was to be an example of how a believer is supposed to be. Christians are to be an example in word. Our speech should be God honoring at all times. (Eph 4:29). We are to be examples in conversation. Everything about our lives communicates and it all needs to honor Christ. We are also to be an example in charity. We are to be a loving giving people. We are to be an example in spirit. We should never be down in the dumps and depressed. We should not be walking in the flesh. We should not be angry, or spiteful. Christians are not to walk in the old flesh nature. We should be walking in the spirit. And if you are truly doing that, then regardless of the circumstances you will have spirit filled peace. We are to be examples in faith. That is believing in and trusting in our Lord in all areas of our lives. And we are to be examples in purity. Yes, we are to live lives that are separated from the world. We are to live God honoring lives. We all should reflect on this question. How good of an example am I in each of these areas?
See more lessons from 1 Timothy