1 Timothy 3
1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires {to do.}
The church must preserve the truth. In the first chapter, Paul tells Timothy that, as a leader, he needs to stop people from teaching false doctrines. In the second chapter, Paul points out that rather than men using brute force to convince people of the truth they should pray, and that rather than women using beauty or charm or words to convince men of the truth they should focus on being good examples. Paul recognizes that an effective way to teach and preserve the truth is to become a leader, or overseer. This makes it easier for the members of the church to accept the truth that you teach. Therefore, in this chapter, he outlines the qualifications for church leadership.
However, as James mentions in Jas 3:1, teachers will be judged more strictly, and therefore, not everyone should aspire to become church leaders.
2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.
To be above reproach is to have done nothing that might be disapproved. For example, if there are people in the church who have reason to think that you have cheated them in business then you don’t meet this requirement.
You can’t be the husband of one wife if you’ve not been married or if you’ve been unfaithful to the person you married.
To be temperate is to show moderation and exercise self-restraint. For example, if you are given to partying and drinking then you don’t meet this requirement.
To be prudent is to avoid questionable situations. For example, if you stick around and join in the conversation when people around the dinner table start gossiping then you don’t meet this requirement.
A respectable person is one who people look up to. If you are the butt of jokes at get togethers because of things you’ve done in the past then you are not respectable.
A hospitable person is one who is generally available when you want to meet him.
A person who is able to teach is one who can explain the Bible in a way that people can understand.
A pugnacious person is one who takes offense very easily and becomes confrontational about almost anything.
A gentle person is one who doesn’t try to force you to believe or do what he wants you to.
A peaceable person is one who would rather back off from a fight or an argument when it is concerning his rights.
To be free from the love of money is to be willing to lose money for the greater good.
4 {He must be} one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity
5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),
6 {and} not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.
7 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.
A church leader must demonstrate that he can manage his own household. If his children are unruly in public, and he doesn't fix that then he cannot be a leader; this is because, if he cannot control his children, who are dependent on him, how will he control those who are not dependent on him?
A new convert, if appointed as a leader, will think too highly of himself and become proud. He must have demonstrated that he can handle pride before he is made a leader because people will make him feel important once he becomes a leader.
If a church leader doesn’t have a good reputation outside the church then the outsiders will malign the church because of their lack of respect of its leader.
8 Deacons likewise {must be} men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,
9 {but} holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
10 These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.
Deacons are people who minister in the church. In addition to not being drunkards or lovers of money, deacons must not be double-tongued (i.e. say one thing and then do another).
To hold on to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience means to believe and obey the truth of the Bible even if you don’t fully understand it (i.e. it is a mystery to you). If one believes the truth, but doesn’t live according to the truth then his conscience is not clear.
Before a person is allowed to serve in the church on a regular basis, he must first be on probation; once it is confirmed that he can do the job well, then he can be allowed to serve on a more permanent basis.
11 Women {must} likewise {be} dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.
Women can oversee other women.
To be faithful in all things means that if you agree to do something you get it done well and in a timely manner.
A person is dignified if she is able to discuss serious topics intelligently, and is not always frivolous and speaking nonsense.
A malicious gossip is one who tells people the weaknesses of the people she knows.
12 Deacons must be husbands of {only} one wife, {and} good managers of {their} children and their own households.
Like overseers, deacons must also meet the ‘one wife’ requirement and the ‘good manager of their children’ requirement.
13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
People look up to those who serve as deacons and consider them as examples to follow. That is why they must be excellent Christians.
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long;
15 but in case I am delayed, {I write} so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
1 Tm 3:14-16 tells us that the church is the pillar and support of the truth that Christ was revealed in the flesh and did not sin.
Even though the church is supposed to be the pillar and support of this truth, you hardly ever find pastors preaching on this topic in the church!
What Paul is saying is that everybody should realize and agree (i.e. by common confession) that the most amazing thing ever, is to live a life without even sinning once (i.e. great is the mystery of godliness) while being a man just like you and me – and this was accomplished by Jesus (i.e. He who was revealed in the flesh). The Holy Spirit examined every aspect of Jesus’ life and testified that Jesus indeed didn’t sin even once (i.e. was vindicated in the Spirit). Even the angels saw it and agreed (i.e. seen by angels). This amazing fact is now being proclaimed everywhere (i.e. proclaimed among the nations), and people all over the world are believing this truth (i.e. believed on in the world). Because of this amazing feat, Jesus has been given the greatest glory (i.e. taken up in glory).
Satan cannot believe that God could come in human flesh and not sin. Satan was totally unsuccessful in getting Jesus to sin. In all the generations of man, Satan has found it very easy to lead man into sin. Jesus was the only exception. As a result, he refuses to believe that Jesus had the same flesh as man. He refuses to acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in the flesh of man.
That is why 1 Tm 3:16 says that He was revealed in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, and that angels beheld it. The angels were watching to see if God could stay without sin even when in sinful flesh. That is why God sent Him in sinful flesh – to condemn sin in the flesh. That is, God wanted to show that the purity of the divine spirit is such that even when tempted exactly as man, the Divine Spirit would not sin. That is holiness. That is what is worthy of praise. That is the mystery of godliness. That is why the 24 elders never cease to say, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.”
By refusing to acknowledge that Jesus came in the same flesh as man Satan is saying that God’s payment for the sin of mankind is invalid. He thus attempts to undermine the whole plan of God to save man.
Satan has therefore gone about inspiring false teachers to teach that Jesus did not come in the flesh. He gets these false teachers to convince everyone that Christ did not come in the flesh, or that He came in the flesh but not the weak human flesh that could sin but something slightly different (the doctrine of impeccability), or that He was tempted apart from sin, or that He faced external temptation and not internal temptation, and so on. That is why John says in 1 Jn 4:2-3 and 2 Jn 1:7 that those who say that Christ didn’t come in the flesh are of the antichrist.
1 Jn 4:2-3 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the {spirit} of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
2 Jn 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ {as} coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.
The above verses teach that those who do not confess that Jesus came in the flesh are of the antichrist, and not of God.
When the Bible talks about the antichrist, and the teachings of the antichrist, it amazingly tells us only one thing – that the antichrist is out deceive people about the nature of Christ, and specifically, that the antichrist is out to convince people that God did not come in the flesh.
I hope you see the importance of acknowledging that Christ came in the flesh. To teach that Christ was not tempted exactly like us is to partake of the spirit of the antichrist. To say that there was no possibility that Christ could sin when tempted is to say that the temptation was not genuine; it is to partake of the spirit of the antichrist. To say that Christ’s urge to sin did not come from within (but only from without) is to partake of the spirit of the antichrist.
We can now understand the reason why the church must be the pillar and support of the truth that Christ came in the flesh – it is precisely because the antichrist wants to suppress this truth with a lie.
Paul understood this. That is why, when he described the gospel in Rom 1:1-4 He said it was concerning Jesus coming in the flesh and not sinning. He didn’t even mention our salvation there.
Rom 1:1-4 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
The part where Paul mentions that Jesus was ‘born of a descendant of David according to the flesh’ refers to Jesus coming in the flesh. The part where Paul mentions that Jesus was ‘declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness’ refers to Jesus not sinning.
Paul knew that this doctrine was at high risk to be compromised. That is why, in his last letter, the second letter to Timothy, he reminds Timothy to guard it.
2 Tm 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
Then in the next chapter Paul reveals what treasure he is talking about. The treasure is the doctrine of Christ coming in the flesh and not sinning, the mystery of godliness, the doctrine that the church must be the pillar and support of – this is what he had mentioned to Timothy in his earlier letter (1 Tm 3:14-16).
2 Tm 2:7-8 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel,
As you can see, it is the doctrine of Jesus coming in the flesh and not sinning. Jesus was raised from the dead because the Holy Spirit (the expert in holy living) examined His life and declared that Jesus didn’t sin, which is what ‘declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness’ in Rom 1:4 refers to.
This doctrine of Christ coming in the flesh is a doctrine that has been perverted by many, not just in the times of the early apostles, but today as well. Make sure that you are not led astray like many others by the antichrists that have gone out in this world.
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