Characteristics of Leaders in the Church (3:1-7)
v1 Anyone who aims to be a leader in the church desires a good task. That is true. v2 But a church leader must be without fault. He must not have more than one wife. He must not drink too much but he should be sensible and well organized. He should be ready to give a welcome to strangers and he must be able to teach. v3 A leader must not drink to excess and should not quarrel or fight. Instead, he must be kind and gentle and he must not love money. v4 He must lead his own family well. And his children must obey him and respect him. v5 If a man does not know how to lead his own family, he is not able to take care of the church of God. v6 A new Christian should not be a leader. If he is, he might be proud. And then he could fall into the punishment of the devil. v7 A leader must have earned the respect of those who are not Christians. Then the devil will not be able to trap him and cause him shame.
Commentary
Verse 1 The task of the leaders is to look after the affairs of the church. It is their job to take care of all the members, to teach them and to lead them. It is not an easy task but it is a noble one. The desire must be for the good of the church and not for selfish reasons.
Most versions of the Bible name the leader in Verse 1 as bishop. Other versions say overseer, shepherd, or pastor.
Verse 2 In verses 2 to 7, Paul lists the qualities that a man must have to be a church leader. Paul taught here that the work of a leader in the church was for men rather than women. When Paul was writing, the leaders were always men.
The local churches each had a group of men who were the leaders. These were the elders or bishops. The word elder did not mean that they were old. It was a title for a leader. The word bishop here is not the same function as bishops have now in some churches. It just meant one of the leaders.
A leader must be a good man. No one should be able to accuse him of doing wrong things. His life must be a good model for the church members to follow.
If he is a married man, he must have only one wife. He must be a loyal husband to his wife.
He needs to be able to think clearly so that he can make wise decisions. He must always be in control of himself. Those who drink too much tend to lose that control. He should earn the respect of both Christians and those who are not Christians.
When strangers come to the church or to his home, he should greet them. He will make sure that they are looked after and helped. If they need it, he will invite them to stay with him or with one of the Christians.
The leaders should be ready and able to teach. What they and other teachers teach to the Christians must be true. The leaders must make sure that it is. They must be able to argue for the truth against all that is false.
Verse 3 A leader must not be a man who drinks a lot. He must never suffer the effects of too much strong drink. Some of these effects can be to argue and to fight. An elder must never get to that state. He must not quarrel or fight.
He must try to understand people and be kind to them. He should not be too severe with them. His task is to encourage the Christians to be at peace and to love each other.
He should not be a leader for what he can get from it. His desire should be to serve and give himself to the church members. His aim must not be to gain money or goods for himself. The love of money is the cause of much evil.
Verses 4-5 To be a leader of the church a man must lead his own family well. This means that his children must have a good attitude. Their parents will have taught them how to behave. So, they respect and obey those who look after them.
It is easier for a man to control his own family than to lead the church. So, if he does not control his family, he will not be able to take care of the church. It is the church of God. And those who lead it should be qualified to do so.
Verse 6 A person who has just become a Christian should not be a leader in the church. He should first prove that he has the right qualities for the task. It would take some time and experience to show that he is ready for this work.
There is a danger that a new Christian in this job would be proud. Those who are proud will fall as the devil did. The devil was once good but because of his pride, he became evil. God opposes the devil and all who are proud. One day God will destroy the devil (Revelation 20:10). The proud will share the same punishment as the devil.
Verse 7 A leader must have a very good character. Then those who do not come to the church will respect him. He will not have success if the people do not trust him. Where the people do not respect the church leaders, it will spoil the work of the church. It may stop people from believing the *gospel of the *Lord Jesus Christ. It could be a cause and a reason for them to oppose the church.
The devil is always trying to stop the spread of the *gospel. He will use anything that he can to do this. If there is anything in a leader of the church that he can attack, he will. As a hunter makes a trap to catch an animal, so he tries to catch the church leaders. He tempts them to do what he wants. If they do this, it will have a bad effect on the church.
What a Deacon Must Be Like (3:8-13)
v8 Deacons also must live good lives and be sincere. They must not drink too much wine or be greedy for money. v9 They must hold to the truth that God has made known of the faith with a clean conscience. v10 They must first prove themselves. Then if there is nothing against them, they can serve as deacons. v11 The women must also live good lives. They should not find fault with people. They should be sensible and honest in all that they do. v12 A deacon must have only one wife. He must manage his children and all who live in his house well. v13 People will respect those who have served well. They can be bold as they speak about their faith in Christ Jesus.
Commentary
Verse 8 The word deacon means a servant. But it became a job in the church. While the elders led, the deacons did much of the practical work in the church. There would be a group of deacons in each local church. In the time of Paul, these would usually be men. Like the elders, they had to have the right qualities for this work. These were similar to but a little less than those of the elders.
Deacons must live good lives so that people can respect them. They must always speak the truth. They will not vary what they say. And people will be able to depend on their word. They must be careful how they live. And they must not drink too much strong drink. They must be honest in all that they do. The desire for gain for themselves must not be their aim or the reason for what they do. Their purpose in this work must be to serve God and the church members.
Verse 9 The deacons must be firm in their belief in this gospel. As they maintain this truth, they must have clean consciences. They must not allow any sin to spoil their life with God. If they do sin, they must repent. And they must ask God to forgive them. What they believe must show in how they live.
Verse 10 Those who want to be deacons must show that they possess these qualities. There must be no reason why they may not be deacons. The other people need to be sure about that. Then the church members or the leaders can appoint them to do this work.
Verse 11 In the church at that time, deacons were usually men. There were women in the church who did the work of a deacon. For example, there was Phoebe who was a deacon in the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1). So the women here are those who take part in the work of the deacons. Some of them may have been the wives of deacons. Some of them could have been women that the church members had appointed to do this work.
Just as the deacons had to live good lives, so must these women. They must not gossip or find fault with other people. They will know about things that should be kept private. They must not talk about these things. People must be able to trust them. They must not drink too much strong drink. They must be steady and honest in all their work.
Verse 12 If a deacon is married, he must be the husband of one wife. This is the same as for the elders. He must be in control of his own family. It is not that he manages the church. But it shows the character that any who works in the church must have. Poor control at home would show a weakness that is not good in a deacon.
Verse 13 Those who serve well in their duties in the church gain honor for themselves. Such good service pleases the Lord. The members of the church will also respect the deacons who do their job well. These good deacons can grow in confidence and in their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. They can be bolder as they speak about what they believe to other people.
The Church of the God Who Lives (3:14-16)
v14 As I write this letter to you, I hope to come and see you soon. v15 But if there is a delay, you know how to behave in the house of God. This house is the church of the living God. And it supports and defends the truth. v16 We must agree. And we must say that what God has shown us of our religion is very great.
Commentary
Verses 14-15 Paul was hoping to visit Timothy soon. But he wrote this letter just in case there was a delay in his plans. He wanted the church members to know how they should live. So, he gave these rules for the leaders and for the members. He wanted them to behave well when they came together as the church.
God has trusted Christians with his truth. Each local church of Christians has a duty to protect that truth from all that is false. There were some people in Ephesus who opposed the truth. And those people taught wrong things. Timothy had to tell them to stop doing so.
Verse 16 The secret of true religion that God has shown to us is great. The secret that he has shown to us is about the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is about what he has done. It was a secret because people did not know God’s plan. He had promised that the Christ would come to save us from our sins.
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