1 Timothy 3:1-16

 

(1 Timothy 3:1-16)This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

 

 

Chapter 3 describes the standards for setting up bishops and deacons. In Acts 20:28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”. We can see that the office of bishop means leaders who lead the church. The word deacon is derived from the word servant, and is an office in charge of church affairs. This is how the Bible explains the standards to be met when setting up someone as a leader in the church and entrusting them with work.

At the time Paul was writing to Timothy, for Jewish leaders, church bishops and deacons had to be dealt with before any other heretic issues. In the church, where people were pushed to the fringes of society just by believing in Jesus, there was also the burden of having to share possessions more than others. They had to go on a long journey with the apostles, if it was God's will, or, conversely, were left in a new place to preach the gospel alone. To them, the office was a crown of thorns of affliction. That is why the position was given to those who were willing to give up control of their lives in order to follow the way of Jesus Christ more than other saints.

Paul said. 『This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.』

He praised the way Jesus came into the world to save sinners. At that time, those who wanted to obtain an office were those who chose the way of humiliation and the cross, considering that they might die first as their only privilege. Two major criteria were requested. 『A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; But patient, not a brawler, not covetous” The husband of a wife symbolizes Jesus.

Just as Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to save Eve, this is the one who knows that he must bear the cross for salvation. Alcohol makes people drunk. A drunken person is a person who says this and then says that. If a believer does not understand God's Word correctly, he or she will become like a drunken person while preaching God's Word. Of course, Paul spoke according to a worldly faithful person, but we have to think spiritually about Paul's words.

Second, the criteria of the bishop must be verified. "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach" (verse 2), One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity (v. 4), above all he must have a good report of them which are without; least he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (v. 7) Not a novice, least being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. (v. 6) Time verification was also required. All this was for fear of falling into the snare of pride, slander, and that condemnation that condemned the devil.

The deacon had to be “careful and respectable,” and it was also necessary to verify that he had the secret of faith with a clean conscience who only had the gospel of grace. 『And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.” Even female deacons did not slander and were to be faithful in everything. So, today, most churches have adopted and are operating the system of deacons serving a one-year term and ordained deacons.

Just like getting a license to wear a crown, those who pursue an office will only reveal their desires in the end, but those who serve and empty themselves in order to wear a crown of thorns will have an office, so they can get one step closer to a beautiful position, that is, Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the office gives the saints great courage that comes from faith to look up to the cross.

Paul said that the church is the house of God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. The church in Ephesus where Timothy was pastoring had a Temple of Artemis. The 127 pillars given to them by the king were adorned with gold and precious stones and were shining. In such a city, the bishops and deacons who walk the path of humiliation and death with the mystery of Christ will be the very foundation for the truth to not fall. They are the pillars of the glory that God, the King of kings, bestowed on the world.

The believer must understand the meaning of the church correctly. Generally, believers go to a specific place for worship and worship, and that place is considered to be the temple. In the Old Testament times, God had the Israelites go to a specific place, the temple, to worship. If the temple was far away, he would bow down and pray toward the temple. Even in today's church age, the equation was created: “You have to go to a certain place to worship.”

At the time of Jesus, it was even worse because the temple was before it was demolished. The Samaritans believed in the Pentateuch and considered Mount Gerizim a holy place. So, they thought, "We should worship on Mount Gerizim." But the Jews thought of the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus said, “You worship what you do not know, and we worship what we know.” This verse points out that it was right at the time to worship in Jerusalem. However, when Jesus said, “Neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem,” it is not the place, but the spiritual saints as the temple. He said, “The time is coming when you will worship.”

The Jews considered the place of worship to be a temple. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Salvation comes from the Jews.” “The worship had to take place in the temple in Jerusalem,” she said. That is to say, Mount Gerizim is wrong. In other words, in the Old Testament times, Jesus explained that the temple, a building, was a place of worship. However, he said, “The time for you to worship is coming.” “You become a temple”. That is the time when Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman.

The building temple is the shadow, and Jesus is the true temple. When Jesus is with us, we can worship God. And when Jesus finished His work on the cross, forgave the sins of all mankind, and ascended to the heavenly throne, those who are in Christ can worship God who is on the heavenly throne. Those who are in Christ can worship on their own. How can they worship? It is worshiping in spirit and in truth.

Many people misunderstand this saying as "worship with a sincere heart and solemnly". In John 4:23, it says, "God is looking for those who worship in spirit and truth." God is looking for those who become sons of God.