The book of 1st Timothy was written to
charge Timothy to confront false teachrs and teaching by allowing the truth of
the gospel to shape the life of the church and her members. In 1
Timothy 3:1-13, Paul instructed Timothy how the gospel is to shape the
leadership of the church in particular. This is of utmost importance, because if the
church is going to be shaped by the gospel, leaders whose lives are being
shaped by the gospel must lead her. Godly leadership in the church makes the
church a pillar and buttress of the truth.
This is particularly important for our church as we approach a time
where we select new deacons.
This is a passage that is directed at pastors and
deacons, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that this passage is only speaks to pastors and deacons. The character qualities that we see called
for among the church’s leaders are the same character qualities called for
among all believers throughout the New Testament. As one commentator said, the most unique
thing about these qualifications is that they are not very unique! We are all called to live lives that are “above reproach” for the sake of the
gospel. Also, though many of us will
never be a pastor or a deacon, most all of us are leaders in some capacity with
respect to others. Therefore, these
qualifications speak to all of us in some way.
So what does gospel shaped leadership in the church look like?
[3:1] 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.
[8] 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 Timothy 3:1-13 ESV)
I.
Gospel Shaped Overseers (3:1-7
In this passage and in the rest of the New
Testament, we see two distinct servant-leadership offices in the church: the
office of “overseer” and the office
of “deacon” (see also Philippians 1:1). The word, “overseer”
is on of three words (elder, pastor, overseer)
that are used interchangeably (see Acts
20:28, 1 Peter 5:1-2) in the New Testament to describe this first office,
and “overseer” is probably used to
stress a pastor/elder’s role in watching
over the congregation. Hebrews 13:17 describes this aspect of
pastoring: Obey your leaders and submit
to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to
give an account. Let them do this with
joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. One helpful way to think through these two
offices is that elders/pastors/overseers are men who serve and lead the church
with their words and deacons are
those who serve and lead the church with their works.
a.
Their Noble Task (1)
The first thing Paul does before describing what
kind of people can lead the church is commend both leadership and the desire to
lead in the church. Leadership in the church
is a noble aspiration (1). The office is
said to be a “noble task” here and so
is aspiring/desiring to serve in such a capacity. Ministry is not a disease; it is the most
important business in the world.
b.
Their Character (2-3)
In verses 2-3, Paul lists 11 character qualities
that an overseer must possess. Because
this is such a noble and vital task, an overseer must first and foremost be “above reproach.” This quality is the most important quality in
the list and probably serves as a title, with the other qualities unpacking
what it means to be “above
reproach.” In other words, being “above reproach” is a description of how one should interpret each of the
other qualities. The reason I read this
passage in this way is because (1) this quality is the first item in the list; (2)
this quality is the first item in Paul’s list to Titus also (Titus 1:5-9) and seems to be a summary
statement there in Titus 1:7; (3) this
quality is the measure of whether a
deacon passes their time of testing or not (3:10); and finally, (4) this
quality is one of the major concerns in light of the false teachers at work
(they are bringing reproach upon the gospel and the church). As a matter of fact, many of these qualities
find their negative counterpart in the descriptions of the false teachers that
we have. This will be important to
remember when it comes to interpreting each of these qualities.
So what does is mean for a person to be above
reproach? It basically means that there
should not be any legitimate accusation
upon their lives that would bring
disrepute upon the gospel or the church.
Think of being above reproach like wearing a garment that is not
currently stained. It doesn’t mean that
it has never been stained; it just means that the garment has now been cleaned
and there is no current stain.
The first way that an overseer must be above
reproach is that he must be the “husband
of one wife.” What does this mean? Does it mean that a pastor should not be a
polygamist? It certainly means that
much! Does it mean that a pastor has to
be married? That seems to be a strange
requirement in light of Paul’s commendation of singleness in 1 Corinthians 7. Does it mean that a pastor is has to be
someone who has never been divorced? This
was the predominant view of this verse in the churches I attended as a young
Christian. I remember preachers always
taking the time to assert that it says, “one wife, not one at a time!”
Let me take a second here and tell you what I
think this means and why and then why that it is important for any church to
think through. I take this to mean that an overseer must be above reproach in the
area of marriage if he is married; that he must be a one-woman man. In other words, is he someone who has
established a blameless testimony of faithfulness to the wife he currently
has. It is true that it does not say
“one at a time,” but it also does not say, “never been divorced.” The Greek here literally reads, “of one woman
man.” The most we can say with certainty
is that it means that he must be a “one-woman man.”
I don’t believe this qualification means, “never
been divorced” for the following reasons: (1) it is not what the text
says. The way that you would have to get
to “never been divorced” with the text is to take “one-woman man” only one
woman ever. The problem with that
interpretation is that it rules out single people and widowers who get
remarried. (2) Also, it doesn’t take
into account that the standard for every quality is being “above reproach.” A person
who has been divorced before may or may not be above reproach. Likewise, a person who has never been
divorced may or may not be above reproach in their marriage. A lot of men who have never been divorced are
NOT one-woman men. (3) Thirdly, it is an
inconsistent way to interpret this quality in light of the others. We do not take the qualification, “not a drunkard” to mean that a person
has never been drunk before. We do not
take “not a lover of money” to mean
that a person has never been greedy before at any point in their lives. (4) Fourth, it doesn’t take into account that
Paul uses a similar phrase in 1 Timothy
5:9, that faithful widows have to have been the “wife of one husband,” and in the same passage tells younger widows
to remarry (5:14) before being considered by the church. His assumption seems to be that if they are
widowed at a later age, the fact that they have been remarried will not violate
the requirement to be the “wife of one
husband.” (5) And finally, it
doesn’t take into account the truth of 2
Corinthians 5:17, which says, “if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
So again, I take “husband of one wife” to mean that a man must be above reproach
when it comes to the area of marriage if he is married; that he must be a one
woman man. The reason talking through
this is so important is because we are about to select new deacons as a church,
and how you interpret this phrase will affect whom you may or may not list as
candidates. What happens if you hold
this view that it means that a person must have never been divorced and the
church puts forth someone who has? My
encouragement to you as a church is that you would at least see that this is
not a clear matter and therefore
should not be a divisive matter. It should be at the discretion of the church
as a whole (the majority) to decide whether or not a man who has been divorced
and remarried meets this qualification or not and we should not be divisive if
someone is selected or not selected based upon this qualification. We should put forth the names and trust the
Lord to work through the church as a whole to determine whether these men are “above reproach” or not in these
areas. As I said earlier, many men who
have never been divorced are not “one-woman” men. And in my humble opinion, far too many men
who have been saved and changed by the gospel have been blacklisted from
leading in the church. In Christ we all
find life and hope after failure, because He is the only person who truly lived
“above reproach” in all of history
and we only move in that direction through faith in Him.
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