Lesson for October 17, 2021
The Book of I Timothy
Chapter 3:1-7
“It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
The Greek word for overseer is “episkopos” meaning bishop or guardian. The office of overseer (guardian) of the local church is pastor-teacher. This is one of the many words for the pastor-teacher and this also is one of the responsibilities of the pastor-teacher. He is the guardian of the local church: the guardian of what is taught, and the guardian of the congregation. He does this by teaching accurate Bible doctrine. The Greek word for desires is “epithumeo,” which means to desire earnestly or to long for. So, Paul takes Timothy back to when he started to learn doctrine under Paul’s teaching. Timothy was a male believer in the local church who recognized his spiritual gift of pastor-teacher and desired to be trained by Paul. A fine work means a divine good work.
The spiritual gift of pastor-teacher is sovereignly bestowed by God the Holy Spirit to certain male believers at the point of salvation. Recognition of your spiritual gift comes as a result of spiritual growth. However, Timothy’s spiritual gift required some preparation and training before he could function as a pastor-teacher, which is true for anyone desiring to be a pastor. This verse recognizes that those with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher who aspire to the office of a pastor of a local church have prepared themselves before accepting the position. Preparing for the ministry of pastor-teacher takes a tremendous amount of study and dedication.
An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. Now, Paul gives Timothy the qualities of a pastor-teacher. Above reproach means blameless. Blameless means the pastor must be honest, especially when he is teaching the Word of God. It’s referring to the pastor’s spiritual leadership. Leading your church to spiritual maturity as quickly as possible and becoming part of “the pivot” is the pastor’s responsibility.
The husband of one wife means “a man of one woman.” The issue at the time this was written was polygamy, so no one can really be a pastor of a local church and have many wives. If the pastor is married, he is to be married to only one woman. If he is single, this doesn’t apply to him.
Temperate is the Greek word “nephalios,” which means sober. It is used of someone who never drinks too much, and never gets drunk. Prudent means soundness of mind. It means that the pastor must have good spiritual common sense from a mind filled with Bible doctrine. Respectable means self-discipline or orderly. He is to be one who disciplines himself and therefore is regarded as honorable because of his self-discipline. The pastor must be self-disciplined to study and teach. He is honorable when he consistently teaches the Word of God accurately, which is the way he establishes his authority as the pastor.
Hospitable means generosity in dealing with people. It also means concern for the congregation by protecting them from legalism, false doctrine, reversionism, and evil. It also emphasizes the pastor’s responsibility in protecting the privacy and the freedom of the members of his congregation.
Able to teach means skillful in teaching. This is the primary function of a pastor-teacher. As the communicator of Bible doctrine, he must be skillful in teaching. A pastor can be skillful only through proper preparation, which means a lot of time spent in the study of God’s Word.
Not addicted to wine does not forbid the use of wine but it restricts and qualifies its use. Wine was a very common beverage in the ancient world, and it was never forbidden to believers. There were certain restraints which had to be observed because drunkenness is a sin. The Bible does not command total abstinence from wine. It does command temperance and good judgment in its use. The fact is that Jesus drank wine. Jesus Christ turned water into wine in John 2:1-11. The miracle was designed to focus attention on Christ as the Messiah to Israel. (Romans 13:13; I Corinthians 5:11; Ephesians 5:18)
Pugnacious means the pastor is not to be a quarrelsome person or a bully anyone whether they are church members, family or anyone else. He is not to use his position to bully people into a course of action or to do things his way. The pastor must fulfill his ministry without intruding upon the privacy of others. It is the individual believer’s responsibility to live their own life without the pastor trying to coerce them into a certain course of action.
Gentle means to be fair and reasonable. A pastor must be fair and reasonable in all of his dealings with his congregation and those outside of the local church. His leadership authority demands the exclusion of prejudice. He must patiently judge all cases on the basis of facts and doctrinal principles without prejudice.
Peaceable means he must not be contentious. He must be very careful not to use his authority to hurt or offend people, whether or not they are members of the church he pastors. He is not to get into fights or arguments with others or enter into endless debates. A pastor must learn to live in peace with those in the local church.
Free from the love of money means not greedy for money. The pastor of the local church must not be a lover of money or material possessions for his own greed and prestige. He must not be greedy or covetous. Love of money can bring the pastor under the influence of evil. The biblical concept of giving is often distorted when the pastor’s love for money turns him into an extortioner or a con artist, or an embezzler.
He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?). The Greek word for manages is “proistemi,” which means to be the head of something. A pastor who cannot manage his family cannot manage the church. As the head of the household, a pastor must control his children during their period of time when they are minors and living under his roof. A pastor has no control over his children after they become adults. The Greek word for dignity is “semotes,” which means honorable or with all respect from his family. Generally, how a minister handles his family is an indication as to how he will handle his congregation. The pastor who cannot control his family cannot control the congregation.
And not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. A man who has the gift of pastor-teacher and does not have any spiritual growth in his life is never qualified to take the pastorate. The Greek word for new convert is “neophutos,” which means newly planted. This is where we get the English word “neophyte” (a beginner or a novice). This refers not only to new believers but to spiritually immature believers. The pastor of the local church cannot be spiritually immature.
And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.This refers to how the pastor relates to the community in which the local church is located. It doesn’t mean that he has to get involved in community activities. A good reputation means the pastor must be well thought of by those in the community. He must have an honorable reputation and testimony to those outside his congregation.
So that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil means to come under the influence of evil which is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world system. Many pastors fall into disgrace by getting involved in social activism or Christian activism by trying to change the devil’s world system. Getting involved in organizations that distract a pastor from his primary responsibility of studying and teaching are wrong. Satan is devious and will do anything he can to prevent a man from fulfilling his role as pastor-teacher.
Hebrews 13:17, “Obey your [spiritual] leaders and submit to them [recognizing their spiritual authority over you], for they are keeping watch over your souls and continually guarding your spiritual welfare as those who will give an account [of their stewardship of you]. Let them do this with joy and not with grief and groans, for this would be of no benefit to you.”