Who is fit to lead in the church? and this decision falls to other church leaders, then the place to begin is with the kind of concerns raised in 1 Timothy 3:1-13. At this point in the letter, the tone changes. What had been a discussion of what the church and certain groups in the church ought to do becomes a discussion of what leaders in the church ought to be. The moral lapse and defection of some of this churchs leaders undoubtedly had left the fellowship in a state of instability. And the internal disruption was likely to be met by severe criticism from unbelievers. For these reasons the two lists included at this point describe the necessary qualifications for the offices of the overseer and deacon. In each case the focal point is the candidates reputation among believers and unbelievers, which is to be computed on the basis of proven moral character and maturity. Duties are hardly mentioned. The standard, above reproach (3:2) or blameless (3:10), is extremely high, but not out of proportion to the importance of the churchs mission in the world (3:15-16), which always hangs in the balance. Who were the overseers and deacons? The term translated overseer in the NIV was first used outside the church to refer to supervisors of various sorts. As a description of one level of church leadership, it appears in Acts 20:28 and, again alongside deacons, in Philippians 1:1. To judge from the account of Pauls farewell meeting with the elders (presbyters; compare 1 Tim 5:17) of Ephesus (Acts 20:17-38) and the instructions in Titus 1:6-7, the terms overseer and elder referred to the same office. Moreover, church leaders alluded to in Romans 12:8 (leadership, govern) and 1 Corinthians 12:28 (those with gifts of administration) as well as in Ephesians 4:11, pastors and teachers, would probably hold this office. Among the duties assigned to this office (though perhaps not exclusively) were preaching and teaching and generally leading or managing the church. The office of deacons (which may have included women; see below on 3:11) probably emerged as the church grew in size and the demands on the leadership required that certain functions be delegated. The table-waiting deacons of Acts 6:1-6 may have been prototypical of the office referred to here and in Philippians 1:1. Teaching and ruling are not specifically mentioned in connection with deacons; they were apparently subordinate to the overseers and generally charged with seeing to the fellowships practical needs. Nevertheless, some deacons would have been active in preaching the gospel (Stephen and Philip show how widely the preaching ministry extended).Overseers: A Reputation Above Reproach (3:1-7) The second of Pauls trustworthy sayings (see 1:15) promotes the office of the overseer as a noble task. Perhaps the problems in Ephesus had led some to regard the offices with suspicion and disrespect. If so, a reminder of the honor and importance traditionally attached to the position might restore some of that respect and instill confidence in carefully chosen leaders. But as the following guidelines imply, the viability of the office is closely linked to the one seeking to hold it. For us today, whose too-full schedules lead us rather to disregard offices in the church, the same reminder could well be taken as an exhortation to availability. The code that follows in verses 2-7 gives guidelines for measuring a candidates reputation, which must be above reproach. This requirement, one word in the original Greek, is the only one in the code that requires further definition. The items that follow give an idea of the directions that irreproachability should move in. Generally, the focus is on observable conduct. Most of the items of behavior that follow require little explanation. The reference to the overseers marriage, however, is an exception. FROM THE DESK OF ABP. DR.NNAMS GAICM & UNCOCMF
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 13:19:25 +0000
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