Trickle Down Character
June 6, 2024 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
This is part three of a six-part study series on Paul’s first letter to Timothy. This personal letter gives us clear teaching on how the gospel transforms our lives and the church. I encourage you to read through 1 Timothy with this series. Today we are looking at chapter 3.
As Paul encourages Timothy’s ministry at Ephesus, he emphasizes how essential it is to keep the gospel central. In chapter 1, Paul focused on the teaching of the church. In chapter 2 he addressed worship and prayer, with a view to the outward face of the church. The gospel ought to permeate everything in the life of the church.
In chapter 3, Paul turns his attention to the leadership of the church. In the New Testament we find two offices described for the church. Paul opens his letter to the Philippians by addressing the “overseers and deacons” (Phil. 1:1). In Acts 20 the words “elders” (v. 17) and “overseers” (v. 28) are used to address the same group of leaders. Many Bible scholars believe this two office system is first established in Acts 6 when seven men are chosen to serve the needs of the widows so the ministry of the word would not be hindered. So, it is not surprising that Paul addresses these two offices in 1 Timothy 3, written after Acts when the church was more established.
Paul’s primary concern in addressing the overseers (or elders) and deacons is the required character qualifications for each office. Consider each list provided. Above reproach. Faithful in marriage. Sober-minded. Self-controlled. Respectable. Hospitable. Able to teach. Not a drunkard. Not violent but gentle. Not quarrelsome. Not a lover of money. Faithful in household management. Dignified. Not double-tongued. Not addicted to much wine. Not greedy for dishonest gain. Tested and mature. Nearly every single qualification has to do with one’s character. Giftedness, talents, and charisma, all valued in our television saturated culture, are not even mentioned.
Character qualifications are so important for the leaders of the church because character reveals just how deeply the gospel has impacted a person. Paul writes in Titus 2:11-12, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” The gospel of grace not only brings salvation, but it also trains those who receive Christ by faith in godliness. For a church to remain faithful to the gospel, her leaders must be shaped and impacted by the gospel., as revealed by their character.
If you want to faithfully serve God’s church, either as an officer or in some other capacity (for this principle applies to all volunteers, leaders, and servants in the church), tether your heart and mind to the gospel of Jesus. Meditate on it. Study it in Scripture. Pray that your heart and life would be further conformed to it. Be regular in worship where the gospel is central. As you commit to the gospel of grace, it will train you in godliness. Your life will be transformed and you will be faithful in your service to the church.
Paul concludes chapter 3 of his letter to Timothy by mentioning the reason for his writing. He wants to help Timothy and the church “know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (v. 15). Paul’s descriptions of the church are instructive. First, he calls the church a household. This implies that we live and serve together like a family. Second, he ties the church to the “living God.” The Greek word for church literally means “assembly.” As the church assembles, the living God is present with them. The church is the means of God’s presence in the world. Lastly, Paul describes the church as a “pillar and buttress of the truth.” This reiterates what he taught in chapter 1. The church must faithfully proclaim and hold to the truth of the gospel. Verse 16 is a summary of the truth of Christ in hymn form. May our church remain faithful as a buttress for the truth of Christ.
