Good day and happy Wednesday, January 2nd. I guess today officially brings the holiday season to a close. Back to normal. Marge & I were joking last night about just how long you could ‘officially’ leave your Christmas lights on. We agreed that you could leave them on until midnight on the 1st but should not run them on the 2nd. (yes, I know the things we talk about, right?) I hope that you had great Christmas and New Years and that it was full of family, fun and free time.
Today we’ll be continuing on in 1 Timothy and we have quite the practical, informational chapter today, that involves each one of us that is a member of a local church. In this chapter Paul deals almost exclusively with the two offices within the church, Elders and Deacons.
For those of us that are members of a local church we have seen, met, talked to, or even have friends that are Elders or Deacons in our church. But did you know that God’s Word addresses both of these offices in great detail? If you think about any organization, it is only as good as its leaders and the local body of Christ is no different. If the body of Christ is to perform and please Christ, the leaders should be able to adhere to the qualifications that God puts forth in His Word. Today we’ll look at both the positive qualifications as well as the negators for both of these offices as well as their specific duties within the church.
Let’s start with a look at what God’s Word says about elders.
“The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.” 1 Tim 3:1-7
First things first, what is the difference between elder/overseer/leader? The King James version uses the word Bishop and all of these words flow from it. Bishop means overseer or superintendent. Someone that ‘oversees’ God’s Work. In the early church the pastor was called by many names. Elder, presbyter, pastor, shepherd, bishop or overseer. Today your more likely to hear the term elder, as most churches have both a pastoral staff and a team of elders.
So what does your local elder do? The elders of the church oversee God’s Work and are the spiritual leaders of the church. In most churches, even the Senior Pastor is considered an elder. They are the shepherds and are responsible for the flock. They give out God’s Word and are responsible for the execution of the doctrine of God’s church. As verse one states, “this is a lofty task” and one that God takes very seriously. Accordingly, He has set up some additional qualifications for this leadership role within the church that is above and beyond a normal church member. Let’s take a look at the list of qualifications and negators for the office of elder.
Must be above reproach – read this as ‘blameless.’ They must walk in a way that they not be found guilty of whatever they are accused of.
Husband of one wife – This has two meanings. One is that he must be married. The other deals with the customs of the day. Polygamy and bigamy were common in the day, so it’s clear that the man should have only one wife, not several.
Sober-minded – He should be serious about the office. He can of course have a sense of humor, but will give the office utmost priority and importance.
Self-controlled – means temperate. He should know how to keep his cool and be calm and credulous.
Respectable – of good behavior. He should be orderly in his conduct and not do questionable things.
Hospitable – He must be friendly and show hospitality to all.
Able to teach – He must have the gift of being able to teach the Word of God.
Not a drunkard – He approaches alcohol with extreme temperance, not getting drunk or treating alcohol loosely.
Not violent but gentle – calm, passive and not easily brought to violence
Not quarrelsome – should not be contentious or quick to argue
Not a lover of money – He should not covet money and what it can buy. He should treat the money of the church with the utmost in honesty.
Must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive – If he cannot operate his own family in harmony how can he perform the office of elder and expect harmony?
Must not be a recent convert – He must be one with a mature walk with Christ. The term elder can also mean one that is older. It’s not a requirement to be older, but usually is true of one that is mature, and has a long history of walking with Christ, thereby resulting in greater wisdom.
Must be well thought of by outsiders – He must be well thought of by the community in which he lives and resides. You would not want a crooked businessman or horrible neighbor to be leading the local church, what a black eye for the church.
Well, what a list to strive for. I pray for that all of your elders continue to strive for these qualifications in order to serve God the way that He has commanded.
Let’s move on and look at the office of Deacon and the qualifications God puts forth for them.
“Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” 1 Tim 3:8-13
Deacon is closely related to the word minister and they are interchanged throughout parts of God’s Word. They can both be seen as a general term for servant or worker. So therefore, the Deacons are the servants of the body of Christ. The deacons not only serve the body, but the local community as well. There is usually a larger team of deacons than elders and the Deacons will focus on servanthood leadership versus the elder’s spiritual leadership. Let’s look at the qualifications God outlines for Deacons.
Dignified – being worthy of honor or respect. You don’t just ‘get’ honor or respect, you earn them through your behavior, treatment and love of others.
Not double-tongued – should not be two-faced. He should stand firm in his word, not trying to please too many people, thereby losing the validity of his words.
Not addicted to too much wine – In Paul’s day, wine was used as remedy for some ailments not a recreational drink like it is today. (In fact Paul recommends Timothy take a little wine for his stomach in 1 Tim 5:23) He is saying "in his day", you can use it as a medicine but not all the time as a beverage or you will become addicted. Alcohol should be used cautiously today, not just because of the dangers to yourself but as a leader of the church, for the dangerous image it can portray to others.
Not greedy for dishonest gain – Should not have an insatiable love of money that moves you to corrupt practices. He should treat the money of the church with utmost honesty.
Must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience – if the officers of the church are representing and serving the local church of which Jesus Christ is the head, they must hold Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Let them also be tested first, then let them serve as deacons – He should not just be shoved into the office. He should be ‘tested’ to make sure he adheres to these qualifications before he is allowed to occupy the office.
Their wives must be dignified – God says it’s not good enough for the man to be dignified, but his wife must also be worthy of honor and respect. It does no good if the husband is dignified but the wife is a trouble-maker and a gossip.
Wives must not be slanderers – wives of deacons should not be gossips. Gossip causes more trouble in churches than just about anything.
Wives should be sober-minded – Serious about God and His work.
Wives should be faithful in all things – She should be faithful to Christ, her husband, God’s church and His work.
Be the husband of one wife – this is the same as for Elders. They should be married to one woman, not be involved in polygamy or bigamy, ie, having many wives.
Managing their household and their children well – again, same as for an elder. He must be able to first manage his own family in harmony before he attempts to serve God’s family in harmony.
What a great practical study we have from God today. Hopefully this will allow you a better and deeper understanding of these offices and how you view them in the future. It says in verse one that “if you aspire to these offices you seek a noble task.” The people that hold these offices within your local church have aspired to adhere to these qualifications and serve the body of Christ. They need your prayers just like your senior pastor and church staff do. I encourage you to seek out the elders and deacons of your church and express your love and support for what they do for you and the Kingdom of God.
I pray that today your personal time in God’s Word spoke to exactly what you are dealing with in your life today. God’s Word has a way of doing that.
God bless and Happy 2019.
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