Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...
Timothy was responsible to set up the oversight of the Ephesian church. Out of those brothers who wished to be an elder or deacon, certain criteria had to be met. Oh, and yes, I said 'brothers' but more on that later....
The criteria is quite a list and there appears to be nothing much 'spiritual' about it which may be a bit surprising. However, we have covered that part in the previous post entitled "Morning Musings-Holy Hands in Prayer" which talks about the need to be blameless as seen in 1 Timothy 2:1-15. Here in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 is another side of the character of the 'would-be' elder (overseer) and deacon. The one who "sets his heart" on being in such positions desires a "noble task". He is to be "above reproach"; no closet secrets. He is to be the husband of "one wife", 'temperate'- not going off in easy fits of anger nor "given to drunkenness" nor violence; he needs to be gentle and self-controlled; respectable; able to teach which would entail that gentleness and patience; not quarrelsome; not a lover of $$; and the home front needs to be in order: "manage his own family well and see that his children obey him and that with proper respect" (not just obey but to give proper respect!).
That is the personal and the home arenas. How about out and about in the community and the church life? Well, he should not be a recent convert. He does need to have a "good reputation with outsiders". These two so that he won't fall into disgrace nor into the devil's trap.
There are two excellent examples of two different brothers who were well known Christian figures in public. One was Jim Bakker and the other Billy Graham. Both were TV evangelists. The former damaged his reputation and this appeared to have been greatly due to the love of money. He spent jail time because of it and he is rarely spoken of in or out of Christian circles although post jail he still hosts a religious TV show. God in His grace and mercy forgives us and can make us more useful in His service. What was meant for harm by God's enemy Satan, God can turn into something good.
However, with Billy Graham, even the media, which loves to dig out the bad and smear it all over the news, has not been able to find anything with which to slander this dear brother and servant of God. He is respected world-wide! (I believe Singapore has a recent case of someone who grossly mismanaged funds from his roaring big church and is currently serving a prison sentence).
These things leave a very 'bad taste' in people's minds and give Christians a bad reputation, a great shame and blot upon God's children and what's worse is that it causes many to turn away from following after God and His Son Jesus Christ. So one can see the great value and reason why Paul was so thorough in stating the type of person to oversee the assembly of God's people.
This is a very serious matter and the people of God need to be given to much prayer and ask God to search the hearts and minds of the individuals willing to fulfill such positions, but also those in the individual churches to be much in prayer as well as they sanction those to be in the leadership of any one given assembly. We all need to join King David in his prayer in Psalm 139:23, 24 where he asks God to "search him and know his heart, to test it to see if there be any wicked way in him'. He wanted God to even look into his "innermost being", and to search his heart and mind!
Are we open to letting and inviting God to do that for us? Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked, who can know it?! (Jeremiah 17:9). Thus, we need the Holy Spirits' help to search and convict us when and where we are going wrong. We need to repent and confess to God and seek His forgiveness and purification (1 John 1:9). Having done so, then we can "lift up our holy hands in prayer" and find out God's choice in the matter of choosing the oversight of the individual gatherings of God's people.
All of us Christians are ambassadors for Christ thus the need to live that blameless and holy life so we don't bring shame to the Name of Jesus and His family. Let us all walk circumspectly in God's sight and give Him glory and honor with our life whether we happen to be a member of the oversight or not.
Before closing here, just an addendum as I alluded to it earlier. Why should it be "brother" and stating "he" in these verses? Aren't woman, sisters-in-Christ, capable of fulfilling such roles? I believe that it is not the matter of capability, rather of God's chain of command of authority. When a sister submits to God in this matter, she shows the meekness (NOT weakness) of Christ. This is to be coveted.
We have seen this in verses 9 to 15 of the previous chapter (1 Tim 2). There is a principle at work here that can be seen even throughout the Old Testament that it is almost always the male in the leadership position. I encourage you to search the Scriptures daily to see if this be so. Also the above mentioned blog has a bit to say about the matter. Feel free to read that too.
~ERC 2016~
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