1 Timothy 3:1 - Homilies By T. Croskery

The apostle, having in the previous chapter regulated the worship of the congregation and placed it in the hands of men, not women, now proceeds to describe the qualifications of the pastors of congregations, as if to imply that the pastorate did not belong to all men.

I. THE OFFICE OF PASTOR IS A GOOD WORK . "Faithful is the saying, If any one seeketh the office of pastor [or, 'bishop'], he desireth a good work."

1. The office in question was held by persons called by the two names of bishop and elder .

2. The office in question is a good work . This was one of the faithful sayings of the apostle. It was

II. THE PASTORATE IS A WORTHY OBJECT OF AMBITION . "He desireth a good work." It may be laudably desired, not as an office of profit or honor, but with a supreme regard to the glory of God and the welfare of man, and ought not to be undertaken except by those who have a real delight and pleasure in acting upon these great principles.—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:2 . — The positive qualifications of the Christian pastor.

The apostle first sets forth those qualifications which respect the personal life of the pastor, and afterwards those which affect his family life. His personal qualifications are those of a spiritual and moral order presented positively.

I. HE OUGHT TO BE BLAMELESS . It may be hard for a faithful man to avoid the censure of a critical society, but he must be irreproachable as being guilty of no scandal, and, above all, free from the vices enumerated under the negative aspect of his qualifications. He must be held in high moral repute by the community around him.

II. HE IS TO BE THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE .

1. This condemns the rule of celibacy in the Church of Rome . It is quite absurd to say that the "one wife' is the Church; for the context regards the minister as having relation both to a Church and to a wife ( 1 Timothy 3:5 ). Besides, this Roman ides would make the Church the wife of many husbands. Where the apostle, in the seventh chapter of 1 Corinthians, seems to favor a celibate condition "on account of the present distress," it is not on account of any superior holiness belonging to the unmarried state, but because it sometimes affords a better opportunity for pursuing Christian work under trying conditions.

2. It does not necessarily compel pastors to marry , like the Greek Church, which yet inconsistently reserves its bishoprics for unmarried monks. But it clearly gives the preference to a married ministry.

3. It does not mean that a pastor is to avoid a second marriage—as the Greek Fathers generally understood it under the growing influence of Eastern asceticism—because the apostle sanctions such marriages ( 1 Corinthians 7:1 ); and, secondly, because a remarrying does not make a pastor more than the husband of one wife.

4. It seems, then, to mean that the pastor was to be "the husband of one wife ," avoiding the polygamy that was then so common among the Jews , and the system of divorce still so common in that age, and remaining faithful to the wife of his choice.

III. SOBER . He must be not only so in eating and drinking, but watchful over himself, his work, and his actions.

IV. DISCREET . With a sound judgment and good understanding, capable of directing himself wisely in the midst of difficult situations.

V. ORDERLY . With a due proportion in his life, modest in deportment, courteous to all, of a calm temper and grave demeanor.

VI. GIVEN TO HOSPITALITY . In an age when Christians traveled from place to place, and were exposed to the risks of evil companionship in public inns, it was important that pastors should be able to show hospitality, and assist with their counsel as well as with the necessaries of life.

VII. APT TO TEACH . The pastor must have the capacity to impart Christian knowledge, the ability to interpret Scripture, to explain its doctrines, to enforce its precepts, and to defend it against errorists of every class. He must possess the gifts of utterance and knowledge. He must have both "skill and will, ability and dexterity, being neither ignorant of his duty nor negligent in the performance of it."—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:3 . — The negative qualifications of the Christian pastor.

I. NOT VIOLENT OVER WINE . In allusion not so much to drunkenness as to the noisy and quarrelsome temper which is generated by wine bibbing. The word impliedly condemns both cause and effect.

II. NO STRIKER . In evident allusion to the previous temper. The pastor must never lift his hand in anger or violence.

III. FORBEARING . Reasonable and gentle, rather disposed to take wrong than avenge it.

IV. NOT CONTENTIOUS . Neither litigious nor quarrelsome, seeking peace with all men.

V. NO LOVER OF MONEY . He must appear to be perfectly disinterested, not mercenary in his aims, not seeking his own things rather than the things of Jesus Christ; but, on the contrary, he must himself be generous and hospitable and kind, with a heart and a hand ever ready to relieve distress.—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:4 , 1 Timothy 3:5 . — The Christian pastor in his home life.

The apostle here turns to the family life of the pastor as an important element affecting the public examination of his character.

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF A WELL - ORDERED HOUSEHOLD . "One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity."

1. The pastor is no ascetic recluse , but shares in the everyday life of the world .

2. He must have firmness and authority to rule his family— wife, children, and servants; not slack in his rule like old Eli, but faithful as Abraham, who not only taught but commanded his children and household to keep the way of the Lord.

3. He is to rule gently yet firmly , so as, while securing subjection in his household, he creates that gravity of deportment which is the accompanying grace of obedience in children reared under wise and loving mastery.

II. THE WELL - ORDERED HOUSEHOLD THE TEST OF FITNESS FOR THE RULE OF THE HOUSE OF GOD . "For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God?"

1. The argument is from the less to the greater . The family is the lesser sphere, the Church the larger family. The family needs much prudence, care, forethought, affection. But while it is the narrowest sphere, it is governed with peculiar advantages, arising from the feelings of love and dependence on the part of the children. If there is failure here, there is a self-evident unfitness for the wider and more complex administration of the Church.

2. The Church of God is to be a subject of anxious care to the pastor . The Greek word implies this thought. The apostle himself had the care of all the Churches upon him. But the pastor has a care for the individual members of his flock, to seek the conversion of sinners, to instruct the ignorant, to guide the perplexed, to comfort the doubting, to check the wayward, and to defend the flock against errorists. "Who is sufficient for these things?"—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:6 . — The pastor must not be a novice.

"Not a novice."

I. THE ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE IN A PASTOR . The apostle does not refer to youth, but to inexperience. Yet the qualification must be regarded relatively; for a longer or a shorter probation might be required, according to circumstances. The Church at Ephesus had been long enough established to admit of a selection being made out of men of Christian experience and wisdom. It is significant to remark that no definite age is assigned for candidates for the ministry. In a Church like that of Ephesus, threatened with heresy within and violence without, it was necessary that the elders should be men with a rare understanding of the mysteries of the faith, and with a large fund of sanctified experience.

II. THE REASON OR GROUND OF THE APOSTLE 'S COUNSEL . "Lest, being besotted with pride, he should fall into the condemnation of the devil."

1. The risk of the novice is an undue self-elation , arising from the thought of the dignity of his office and of the estimation in which he is held on account of his gifts. His judgment would thus become clouded, and he would fail to see the true relation of things.

2. The consequence would be his falling under the very condemnation pronounced upon the devil . Thus a blinding pride would receive its just retribution.

3. It is evident that the apostle believed in the existence of a personal evil spirit , the adversary of God and man. It is equally evident that he regarded the fall of the devil as clue to pride, and that he regarded him as the tempter of man.—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:7 .—The pastor must have an honest preparation before the world.

He must stand well both without and within the Church.

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF AN UNBLEMISHED REPUTATION . "But he must also have a good testimony from them that are without."

1. It is a mistake to ignore or defy the opinion of the world in matters falling fairly within its judgment . What we do ought not only to be "acceptable to God, but approved of men" ( Romans 14:18 ). "Let not your good be evil spoken of" ( Romans 14:16 ). The world understands the principles of natural justice. The minister cannot violate these without loss of reputation and influence.

2. A blameless life is calculated to make a deep impression on the world . "Let your light so shine before men, that they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven" ( Matthew 5:16 ). Your holy walk ought to attract "those that are without" into the happy communion of the Church.

3. It is a great evil to blast the reputation if Christian ministers , for it undermines their influence for good.

II. THE DANGERS OF A DOUBTFUL REPUTATION BEFORE THE WORLD . "Lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." It would be a great risk to introduce into the ministry one who had once followed a loose life, because those who were familiar with his history would be ready to suspect the purity of his congregation from the blemished reputation of its pastor. The effect in the minister might be diverse.

1. He might be excited to an angry resentment of such disagreeable attacks .

2. He might fall into despair , and thus become reckless , and ultimately justly the worst imputations of the world .

3. He might cease to reprove transgressors because he had not the courage to condemn faults which were only too observable in himself. Thus the devil would set its snares around him for his undoing. When George III . was asked to give a bishopric to a clergyman who had made a serious lapse from virtue, and was told that the clergyman had long ago repented of it, his appropriate answer was, "I would rather appoint bishops who had not that particular sin to repent of."—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:8 , 1 Timothy 3:9 .—The qualifications of deacons.

The apostle next proceeds to direct Timothy respecting the character and appointment of another class of office-bearers.

I. THE ORDER OF DEACONS .

1. Their origin . We find the first trace of the order about two years after the Ascension ( Acts 6:1-4 ). It owed its origin to a necessity that arose from the extension of the Church. Seven deacons were appointed as almoners. They are not so called, but their name is traceable in the two terms which indicate the sphere of their office, "serving tables" and "ministry" ( διακονία διακονεῖν τραπέζαις ).

2. Their sphere of duty . It is expressly distinguished from " the ministry of the Word" and "prayer" ( 1 Timothy 3:4 ), and was therefore, as the "serving of tables" signifies, an office for the care of the poor and strangers who might be connected with the Church. The deaconship was, therefore, a purely secular office.

3. Historic notices of deacons . The earliest notices of the order are apparently in Romans 12:7 , "Or ministry (deaconship), let us wait on our ministering" (deaconship); in 1 Corinthians 12:28 ," helps" ( ἀντιλήψεις ); and at a later time in 1 Peter 4:11 , "If any man minister" ( διακονεῖ ). We read in Philippians 1:1 of "the bishops and deacons," and in Romans 16:1 of Phoebe as "a deaconess" of the Church at Cenchrea.

II. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF DEACONS .

1. "Grave." Of a serious demeanor, befitting the position of responsibility held by them.

2. "Not double-tongued." Not saying one thing to one person and another to another, under the pressure, perhaps, of applications for assistance; or, not promising aid which is afterwards withheld. Misunderstandings would necessarily arise from any kind of prevarication.

3. "Not addicted to much wine." The deacons must not be given to pleasures of the table, which render people unfit for disagreeable duty, and tempt to the consumption of the wealth committed to their keeping.

4. "Not lovers of base gain." There might otherwise arise a Judas among the deacons to embezzle the Church funds.

5. "Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience."

III. THE METHOD OF THEIR APPOINTMENT . "And these also let them first be proved; then let them serve as deacons, if they are without blame."

1. The election of the seven deacons was left in the hands of the Christian people themselves . ( Acts 6:3 .)

2. There is no formal method prescribed for testing their qualifications . Their fitness could be easily judged of without any regular investigation. The moral element, however, was to be supreme in such appointments; for they were not chosen unless they were "without blame."

3. Their formal appointment to service . Let them serve in the various branches of their office as deacons.—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:11 .—The qualifications of deaconesses.

"Women in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things." The allusion is evidently not to the wives of deacons, but to deaconesses. Why should the duties of deacons' wives be set forth when there is no allusion to the duties of ministers' wives? The omission of all mention of domestic duties in this case is significant.

I. THE ORDER OF DEACONESSES . There was evidently such an order in the primitive Church. Phoebe of Cenchrea ( Romans 16:1 ), Euodias and Syntyche ( Philippians 4:2 ), and probably the association with which Dorcas was connected at Joppa ( Acts 9:36-41 ), seem to have belonged to the order. The order did not cease to exist till the fifth century in the Latin Church, and till the twelfth in the Greek Church. It had its origin, probably, in the extreme jealousy which guarded the relations of the sexes in early times, for women were comparatively secluded from the society of men. Deaconesses were, therefore, appointed to maintain the religious intercourse of Christian women with a Church whose ministrations were in the hands of men.

II. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF DEACONESSES .

1. "Grave." Not given to levity or gay manners, but sober in speech, gesture, and dress.

2. "Not slanderers." Not too ready to take up an accusation against the poor, or too ready to use the tongue in the way of false insinuation.

3. "Sober." Not to be given to pleasures of the table, but showing a seemly abstemiousness.

4. "Faithful in all things." Faithful in all ecclesiastical duties.

1 Timothy 3:12 , 1 Timothy 3:13 .—The domestic duty of deacons.

The apostle here returns to add some further injunctions about deacons, as well as to suggest a reason for exacting the qualifications already described.

I. THE DEACONS ' DOMESTIC RELATIONS .

1. "Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife." The same qualification is needed for deacons as for bishops, for their houses were to be examples of purity, peace, and orderliness.

2. "Ruling their children and their own houses well." The father of a loving household would be best fitted for the sympathetic administration of funds allocated to the poor, while the pious order of his family would enhance the public confidence in the reality of his religious character.

II. REASON FOR THE VARIOUS QUALIFICATIONS DESCRIBED . "For those who have done the work of a deacon well obtain for themselves a good degree, and much boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus."

1. The good degree does not refer to promotion to higher ecclesiastical office . The idea, indeed, would be quite an anachronism.

2. It refers to the place of honor and distinction that will be given to the faithful deacon in the day of final recompense. The doctrine of rewards is that of Scripture, and especially of our Lord's parables ( Matthew 25:45 ; Luke 19:11-27 ).

3. There is the further idea of the joyful confidence toward God which would characterize him in view of a faithful discharge of his duties—a confidence springing out of faith resting in Jesus Christ.—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:14 , 1 Timothy 3:15 . — The importance of a due regulation of Church order.

The apostle expected to visit Ephesus shortly, but in case of his visit being delayed by necessary causes, he deemed it right to give Timothy these instructions in writing respecting the appointment of bishops and deacons, and other details of Church order. "These things I write to thee, hoping to come shortly; but if I should tarry, [I write them] that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to conduct thyself in God's house."

I. THE NECESSITY OF A DUE ORDER IN THE CHURCH .

1. Darbyites suppose that it is wrong for man to make arrangements in God ' s Church—that it is the Holy Ghost who should regulate the order of worship and service, and that his presidency should be recognized in everything. In that case why should the apostle have been at such pains to regulate even the ministrations of prophets and speakers with tongues at Corinth? God is a God of peace, not of confusion ( 1 Corinthians 14:33 ).

2. It was not enough for Timothy to stir up his own persona! gifts and do the work of an evangelist , but he must execute the special commission he had received from the apostle, to regulate the appointment of the office-bearers of the Church, and the details of Church worship. The Church was to be guided in choice of ministers by the considerations suggested by the apostle.

3. There was special reason for these instructions in the rise of heresies at Ephesus and elsewhere . ( 1 Timothy 4:1-3 .)

II. THE DIGNITY AND OFFICE OF THE CHURCH . It is "God's house, which indeed is the Church of the living God, the pillar and basement of the truth."

1. It is the Church of the living God .

2. It is the house of God .

(a) a spiritual building resting on Christ as chief Corner-stone ( Ephesians 2:20 );

(b) as the true temple in which God dwells ( 1 Corinthians 6:16 );

(c) as the household or "house of God," over which is Christ as Son ( Hebrews 3:6 )—"whose house are we ." Moses was servant in this house, Jesus a Son over it; it was, therefore, the same house in the two dispensations. A proof, in opposition to Darbyism, that the Church existed in Old Testament times, and did not first come into existence at Pentecost.

3. It is the pillar and basement of the truth .

(a) the presentative manifestation of the truth; for "the Church is the pillar of the truth." The Church is to hold up the saving truths of the gospel before the eyes of men. It is a pillar inscribed all over with the truth. Without the Church "there would be no witness, no guardian of archives, no basis, nothing whereon acknowledged truth would rest." It is the Church which holds the deposit of truth, and perpetuates it from generation to generation.

(b) The passage sets forth the stability of the truth. "The Church is the basis of truth." The truth finds its true basis in the hearts of believing men, who hold forth the glories of redemption amidst all the fluctuations of the world. There is nothing in this exposition to sanction the assumptions of the Church of Rome, because she must first substantiate her claims to be a teacher of the truth before she can be regarded as "a pillar and ground of the truth."—T.C.

1 Timothy 3:10 .—The treasure of truth committed to the Church's guardianship.

I. IT IS CHRIST IN ALL HIS RELATIONS AS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS . This implies that he is the Revelation of God to man; for God "has made known what is the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the Hope of glory" ( Colossians 1:27 ). Thus Christianity is Christ. He is the Center of Christian theology, as he is the Object of Christian faith and love.

II. THE MANIFESTATION OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST . He is set forth as the Life of the Church, and if he were not God as well as man, the mystery would not be so obvious to our understanding.

1. He was " manifested in the flesh ." This very expression implies the divinity of Christ; for it would be superfluous, if not absurd, to say these words of any mere man. The words imply

2. He was " justified in the spirit ." He was approved to be righteous in the higher principle of spiritual life within him. There is no allusion to the Holy Spirit. The spirit here is the counterpart of the flesh. Christ fulfilled all righteousness. If his manifestation in the flesh exhibited his true and real humanity, his justification in the spirit exhibited his holiness and perfection. The passage consists of a series of parallel clauses, of which every two form a connected pair.

3. He was " seen of angels ." In the sense of showing himself to them in his incarnation. They announced his advent, they ministered to his wants, they heralded his resurrection, they attended him in his triumphant return to heaven, and they now see him in his glorified humanity.

4. He was " preached among the Gentiles ." Here, again, is another pair of opposites; the angels inhabitants of a holy heaven, the Gentiles inhabitants of a sinful earth. It was one of the six glories of our Redeemer that he was to be a "Light to the Gentiles" ( Isaiah 49:6 ).

5. He was " believed on in the world ." Christianity is a world-wide religion, embraced by men of all nationalities; unlike Mohammedanism and Buddhism, which are restricted to the East. The gospel finds acceptance alike in East and West.

6. He was " received up in glory ." In reference to Christ's historical ascent to heaven amidst circumstances of marvelous glory. The last pair of opposites is the world and glory. How far they are apart! Yet they are brought nigh by the blood of Christ. This passage, from its antithetical structure, would seem to have been an ancient hymn of the Church, setting forth the leading facts of the Messianic story.—T.C.