The book of 1st Timothy was written to
charge Timothy to confront false teachers 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 a crucial matter, because if the church is going to be shaped by
the gospel, then she must be led by leaders whose lives are being shaped by the
gospel. Godly leadership in the church makes the church a pillar and buttress
of the truth.
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. These character
qualities called for among the church’s leaders are the same character
qualities called for among all believers throughout the New Testament. As D.A. Carson said, this list of
qualifications is most notable for not being very notable at all! We are all to live “above reproach” for the sake of the gospel. And furthermore, most all of us are leaders
in some capacity with respect to others.
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 we see two distinct
servant-leadership offices in the church: the office of “overseer” and the office of “deacon.”
The word, “overseer” is one of three words (elder, pastor, overseer) that are used interchangeably in the New
Testament to describe this first office (see Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:1-2), and is probably used to stress their
role in watching over the
congregation (Hebrews 13:17). 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)
b.
Their Character (2-3)
In verses 2-3, Paul lists 11 character qualities
that an overseer must possess. A leader’s
character matters more to God than their skill set, ability, or popularity. This is why the first requirement is that an
overseer be above reproach. This means that there should be no legitimate accusation upon their lives
that would bring disrepute upon the
gospel or the church. This quality
serves as title for the present list, setting the benchmark for how we are to
interpret each item on the list.
An overseer must also be the husband of one wife. Last
week, we said that this means an overseer must be above reproach in the area of
marriage if he is married; that he must be a one-woman man. Again, I do not take this to mean that an
overseer (or deacon) can never have been divorced and remarried. That may or may not cause a person to be no
longer above reproach. Reading it that
narrowly ignores the reality that there are many married men who have never
been divorced and yet are not one-woman men.
Most commentators group the next three qualities together
under the idea of self-mastery. An overseer must be “sober-minded,” which
means to be clear minded, or clear headed.
He needs a clear head in order to make sober judgments. “Self-controlled”
does not mean self in control, but rather self under control of God’s Holy Spirit.
The result is a man who is disciplined and has his priorities, passions,
and fleshly appetites in check. The
reason that “respectable” would fall
under self-mastery is that it implies an orderliness of outward behavior that is a reflection of inner stability. An overseer
must have character that earns the respect of God’s people and the outside
world.
An overseer must also be hospitable. This word
literally means “lover of strangers”. In
Paul’s day this actually meant being willing to open your home to strangers,
especially itinerant ministers for lodging.
A pastor’s home should always be open and they should gladly welcome
people into their homes.
An overseer must also be able to teach. This is the one
and only aptitude required. This
qualifications is elaborated upon in Titus
1:9: He must hold firm to the
trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound
doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it. This quality requires competence and skill in
communicating Scripture and Christian truth in order to build up believers and
refute error in the church.
Furthermore, an overseer must not be a drunkard. This requirement is not arguing for or against a
position on drinking. It simply means
that an overseer’s judgment must never be clouded by alcohol or any other
addiction. A pastor who ministers under
the influence of an addiction is just as dangerous as a school bus driver who
drives under the influence.
An overseer must also not be violent but gentle and must not be quarrelsome. This
means that an overseer must be gentle in both speech and action, not resulting
to violence in shepherding God’s people.
Together, these two qualities require that an overseer must not be a contentious person. He must not be looking to pick a fight with
his hands or his words.
The last character quality in the list is that an
overseer must not be a lover of money. Simply put, an overseer cannot be a greedy man. That might seem strange due to what most
pastors get paid, but remember someone doesn’t have to be rich to love
money.
c.
Their Home Life (4-5)
An overseer must manage their own household well
if they are going oversee the church, which is God’s “household.” The obvious
implication here is that a man will lead the church the way he leads his
home. And the posture of one’s children
is an indicator of the quality of one’s leadership. This requirement reveals the home to be a
rich training ground for ministry, where a person proves that they can set a
godly example day in and day out, serve others, discipline others, resolve
conflict, be loving, etc.
d.
Their Spiritual Maturity (6)
A pastor must not be a new convert because there
is a danger for a new convert to become puffed up and fall into the same
condemnation that the devil did (pride). We’re not told how long we are to wait because
different people grow in different ways, but I do think that this shows why it
is imperative for a church to have a systematic
process of making mature disciples of people. This allows for someone to come up through
the ranks and learn while applying truth in the church so that once they have
made it through such a process, they obviously meet this qualification. No matter a person’s level of giftedness, time is needed for every believer to
develop.
e.
Their Reputation (7)
A pastor must also be well thought of among the
outside world. There is a way that a man
can live by his convictions and earn the respect of people who completely disagree
with him. This is important because even
a rumor can destroy a person’s ministry.
Satan is called “the accuser” (Revelation 12:10) for a reason: he
will use anything, even a rumor, to damage and destroy the ministry of a
healthy church.
Mark Dever says “the point of leadership in the church is to bring glory to God by
commending the truth to outsiders.”[1] And since we are all leaders in some
capacity, all of us should, by God’s grace and empowering, cultivate character
that commends the gospel to a watching world.
It is interesting that Paul doesn’t give a detailed job description for
either of these offices in the church. I
think that is because he wants to communicate that to God, a person’s character
matters most. And that is why we cannot
approach filling leadership positions in the church the way we do in the
secular world.
II.
Gospel Shaped Servants (3:8-13)
The next office of leadership that Paul gives here
is that of deacons. The word “Deacons” comes from the Greek, “Diakonos,”
which means “servant” (see
3:10,13). This office is recognized by
the church to be someone who “serves”
the church in various ways, particularly so that overseers can devote
themselves to prayer, teaching the Word, and exercising oversight in the church. The first deacons in the early church were
selected in Acts 6:1-7, and there we
see four clear purposes of deacon ministry in the church. They are: (1) to put the power of the gospel
on display, (2) to preserve the unity of the church, (3) to support the
ministry of the Word in the church, and (4) to meet the physical needs of the
church.
a.
Their Character (8):
Once again, Paul begins with their character. Four qualities are listed here, but notice
the word, “likewise,” which lets us
know that the same basic character qualifications are expected for both of
these offices. A deacon must be dignified. This means that he is a man who is worthy of
respect and is synonymous with the word, “respectable,”
that we saw in the overseer’s list. A
deacon must also be a person who has learned self-mastery, because the next three qualifications call for
self-control in the area of speech, drink, and the desire to be rich. To not be “double-tongued”
means to be honest, careful, and consistent in one’s speech. A deacon is not a church politician that says
one thing to please one crowd and another thing to please another crowd. A deacon must also not be “addicted to much wine” or be “greedy for dishonest gain,” as we saw
earlier.
b.
Their Doctrine (9)
Deacons must also hold “the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.” The “mystery
of the faith” refers to the overall body of Christian doctrine. So while deacons are not required to be able
to teach, they are required to have a good grasp of the gospel and the important
doctrines of the faith and also live out of that teaching.
c.
Their Testing (10)
Deacons must also be tested in order to occupy
this office. While we are not told how
long a deacon is to be tested, we are told what to look for in their
testing. Their test is meant to discover
if they are “blameless,” or above
reproach.
d.
Their Home Life (11-12)
Some people take verse 11 as qualifications for
women deacons. While a strong case can
be made for women deacons, I take this verse as part a larger unit made up of
verses 11-12 and see this as simply qualifications for deacon’s wives in the
larger scope of his home life. My reasons for reading it this way is that it
seems to fit the flow of the context well.
Paul has just restricted women from teaching or exercising authority
over men and then gives two offices of church leadership. Also, it problematic to see explain how a
woman could be the “husband of one wife,”
which is a qualification as this passage unfolds. Even with a valid case for women deacons, it
would not be wise to allow women to fill such roles if the position was authoritative
over the church in any way because that would violate 1 Timothy 2:8-15.
What is certain from verses 11-12 is that deacons
are also called to manage their households well. This includes cultivating Christian character
in their wives (dignified, not slanderers, sober-minded, faithful) and
children. They too will serve the church
in the way that they serve their families.
e.
Their Reward (13)
Deacons who serve well will gain “a good standing and great confidence in the
faith.” This means that they will
earn the respect of God’s people and develop boldness and confidence as a
believer. Godly leadership does not go
unrewarded. May all who serve the church
remember just how privileged a title it is to be called a servant. Mark
10:42-45: [42] And Jesus called
them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over
them. [43] But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great
among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever would be first among you
must be slave of all. [45] For even the Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Just as we are all to be leaders in some capacity,
we are also called to serve in some capacity.
And according to the passage in Mark, we are really saying the same
thing. Servant-leadership is how the
Bible defines leadership. Jesus Christ, who stands as THE example of
Christian leadership, was the greatest servant leader of all.
In C.J. Mahaney’s book, Humility, he makes a profound statement about this passage in
Mark. He points out that while this
passage is pointing us to Jesus’ example
and definition of greatness, it is
mainly pointing us to Jesus’ ransom
so that we can be great. We need more
than Jesus’ example of leadership. We
need more than Jesus’ definition of leadership.
We need Jesus’ death to pay our ransom for all the ways in which we fail
to be godly, servant leaders. This reminds
us that gospel shaped leaders are simply gospel shaped people whom God wants to
use to light up a dark world with the truth of the gospel, themselves being the
proof of the gospel’s power. I hope you
see that in Mark 10 and in 1st Timothy 3 the desire to
lead and be great is nowhere condemned.
God wants you to become a great leader in His kingdom. The issue is simply whether or not we will
trust God’s wisdom on what true greatness is and how to get there. One becomes a great leader in God’s kingdom
by trusting Jesus as their ransom and then passionately pursuing the One who
ransomed them. Over time, we are shaped
by this pursuit into living proof of the gospel’s power to change lives and it
is at that point that we recognize a person.
And we recognize them, not to point to them, but to the God who has
ransomed and changed them. Will you come
to Him today and be changed?
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