Mr. D's Notes on I Timothy
Rev. Stanley L. Derickson Ph.D.
Copyright 2000

CHAPTER 18

When I was in high school, I worked summers in construction for a small contractor. He was a Christian and became involved in a small Bible church. Later the church wanted to build a building and asked him to be the contractor.

Their church was designed and the foundation was to be poured. Now, this is back in the days of yore afore they had delivery of wet cement but this contractor had a state of the art cement mixer. It had a big hopper that came down where you tossed in the cement and then shoveled in the sand. When the mixer was empty, you would hit a lever and up the hopper would go and the mixing would begin.

The problem with this machine was that every time that hopper emptied it returned to the ground to be filled. Since I was the low man on the totem pole, I was elected to fill it - and fill it - and fill it - and fill it - and fill it - the entire day I filled it and filled it and filled it again. Got the picture?

Anyway we poured concrete into the ground all day to lay the foundation for the church. The foundation needed to be strong because they were going to build a large timber framework to support a very heavy roof made of four by four roofing.

I might add after filling and filling, I could have used a foundation myself to hold me up!

We want to look at foundations in this study.

3.14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15 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. 16 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.

All right, we see that Paul looked to the future with desires to accomplish things! Now, what can we do with that little piece of information for ourselves? I personally believe that God allows us to look to the future and make possible plans and to seek to bring those plans to pass - as long as we allow for God's intervention to change our minds.

Remember that word that he used - hoping. I again personally believe that this is a hope that can get us through those terrible times of drudgeries that happen onto most of us from time to time. There were many years in which the only hope I had was that God would use me in some way - that hope carried me through those very difficult years.

We don't know if Paul ever made it to Ephesus or not. In Titus he requested that Titus meet him and most agree that Paul would have met with Timothy first while on his way to Titus.

Verse 15 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.

We see in verse fifteen the "if" that I mentioned - being open to God changing our minds for us. He was hoping to do something, but knew that there was an “if” involved.

Verse fourteen and fifteen show Paul's desire for Timothy as he labored in the church.

Paul is writing to tell Timothy how to conduct himself and church business. Behave himself seems to say it all, but many are the church today that are run by men that have no idea how to behave themselves in or out of the church.

I think in our society that we all have the concept of the world when it comes to behaving. The world tells us "IF WE BE - WE SHOULD HAVE!" Or to put it another way "IF I HAVE I BE!" Now tell me that isn't the sum and substance of our society today! Having is equated with being today. If we don't have, we don't behave correctly.

"behave" The term translated behave is used in II Cor. 1. 12 "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward."

Conversation is the term we are looking at. The base of the word is "to turn hither and thither, to turn one's self about, sojourn dwell in a place." It refers to the way you live and act.

This not only applies to Timothy, but applies to the believers at Ephesus, as well as to believers in general. THERE IS A STANDARD OF BEHAVIOR in the house of God!

Today, we are in ANYTHING GOES MODE in our churches. We allow any music, we allow any dress, we allow any activity, we allow any doctrine, we allow any moral value, we allow anything!

The term house is generally the thought of a building, but can and is used of a household in the New Testament. Household would seem the more appropriate here because there were no church buildings in the New Testament time. The believers met in homes.

The term is translated home in Mark 5.19 "Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."

In Acts 16.14-15 we see the term relating to a family. "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. 15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought [us], saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide [there]. And she constrained us."

The exact phrase "house of God" appears in the Old Testament over eighty times, and in the New Testament only six times. In the Old Testament it relates normally to the place of worship where God lived.

We see in three passages in the gospels that it also relates to the Old Testament, and these verses relate to David and his men eating in the house of God. (Matt. 12.4; Mark 2.26; Luke 6.4)

Here in I Timothy we see that the phrase is tied directly to the church and I Pet 4.17 speaks to the fact that the house of God relates to people rather than a building. "For the time [is come] for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if [it begin] first at us, what [shall be] the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (Heb. 10.21 is the other occurrence)

In a very real sense the church - the people - are the house of God as the tabernacle and temple were in the Old Testament. After all, is not God the Holy Spirit living within each of us?

"church of the living god" Church of the living God, as opposed to a temple with a dead idol.

The term translated church is the term ecclessia which simply relates to a group of people that are called out for a purpose.

In Acts 19.29-41 it is used of a secular gathering - nothing to do with believers. It is also used of Israel in the wilderness in Acts 7.38. These usages of the term are what my definition is based on.

Now, if I might, suggest once again that "CHURCH" is not a building, it is a people. I trust you can gain that concept and hang onto it. We have been trained and accustomed to the term church being a building for so many years - now we need to retrain ourselves.

As you read the Word and see the term church use this meaning in your mind and see if you don't find some of those passages taking on a new meaning.

As a pastor of a church I am not pastor of a building, I am a pastor or shepherd of a group of people - a group of sheep!

Ray Stedman mentioned in one of his messages "The Apostle Paul ... calls the church, "the house of God," which suggests intimacy and warmth, a family gathered; and then he calls it, "the church of the living God," which suggests excitement and power. That was what the church was, and is; that is the nature of the church.

"We have largely lost our consciousness of what it means to be "the house of God." We have been so brainwashed by this sub-Christian concept that a building is the house of God that we have forgotten what the real house of God is."

Let us consider the church for a moment. Just consider what is present each and every time a church of Christ meets.

1. The ultimate power of all history is present within each and every one present. The Holy Spirit - ready willing and able to act.
2. The ultimate weapons available to all believers faith, hope, love, prayer, righteousness, and all those great things are present.
3. The ultimate capabilities built into each and every one of us - the spiritual gifts that the Spirit has given for the building of the church are present.
4. The ultimate wisdom of God promised to us for the asking - just waiting to lead the church into His paths is available.

I am sorry to say that I see few churches that even have a hint of a clue of the above possibilities set before them!

It might be that this is a good place to interject a commercial for the "INDEPENDENT AUTONOMOUS CHURCH" since they seem to be a vanishing breed.

There is no indication in the Scriptures that there were any gatherings or groups of churches linked together either financially or organizationally in the New Testament. The local church was a group of people gathering for prayer, fasting, teaching and fellowship. They were not gathering for conventions, for conferences, for seminars, or any other purpose.

The church was a group of people that was organized as the Bible has taught us here in I Timothy for the purpose of worshiping God and extending His work into the world. There were no controls over them from other churches or a remote hierarchy. They were on their own to do the work of the Lord as they felt He was leading them to do it.

Now, comes the question - is it wrong to be part of a group of churches? Is it wrong to be a part of a denomination?

Let us consider some items of interest.

1. Is it productive to have to check with denominational leaders before doing things you feel God is leading you to do?
2. Are not the people of your church capable as believer priests to determine the Lord's will for their lives and their gathering?
3. Do you as a local church have excess money to send off to a denomination to be used for bookkeeping, travel etc. of the hierarchy?
4. Do you believe that anyone other than your own church leadership has any authority to lead or have a hand in your church?

I would not say necessarily that it is wrong, but rather why would you want to?

"the pillar and ground of the truth" It would seem that Paul is trying to say that the church is the foundation of truth.

The house of God is the church and it is the foundation of truth. Now, let us take that one step further based on what we have found thus far. Christian believers, as they gather, are the foundation of truth! Or at least they have it available. They may or may not reflect that fact.

DOES THAT SCARE YOU OR WHAT? To think that the churches around the country today are the TRUTH. The sad fact is, they are not the truth, yet many nonbelieiver when they want answers go looking for them at the house of truth - the church ---- the sad fact is they are not finding the answers they seek.

They find that they are told to just believe and enjoy the fruits of everlasting life.
They find that they are told that divorce and remarriage are the way of life.
They find that they are told that there is no real black and white.
They find that they are told that they can be anything they want to be.
They find that they are told that there are no absolutes.
They find that they are told that anything goes.

There is another application of this thought for the lost of the world. Without the church they have no foundation to know or base truth on. If the church is confused then so will the world be confused. Hummmm sounds somewhat familiar to an old guy that has observed a lot of things in our society.

The world is looking to the isms because they view the church as irrelevant - and I might add - today it is!

They look to alcohol.
They look to "spiritual guides."
They look to "gurus."
They look to things.
They look to everything for truth and comfort.

One of the turn of the century fads was the labyrinth. A pattern on the ground that you walk along while you look for peace, direction, meaning, comfort and all that stuff. THE CHURCH USED TO SUPPLY THOSE TO ALL COMERS!

Indeed, that is the problem of all of missions. The church is the key to getting the truth to lost man, but the church is not doing it.

It has been reported that within the decade (following the turn of the century) that the United States will no longer be the strongest missions minded country in the world. The torch of missions is shifting from America into the third world. Third world nations are sending out more and more missionaries. They will be sending more missionaries than America before 2010.

MacArther suggests a number of areas in which we uphold the truth that is the church. I would like to just list these for your consideration in relation to your own church and how it upholds truth. (THE MACARTHUR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY I TIMOTHY; John MacArthur; Moody Press; Chicago; 1995; p137-138)

1. by believing the Word
2. by memorizing the Word
3. by meditation on the Word
4. by study of the Word
5. by obeying the Word
6. by defending the Word
7. by living the Word
8. by proclaiming the Word

Now we have viewed the fact of the church as well as the fact that it is the foundation of truth. Now, Paul will refocus us on the foundation of the Church - Jesus Christ.

Verse 16. 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.

Some suggest that this may be an early hymn or psalm that was circulated. It is made up of three couplets and has a rhythm in the original suggesting more than just an off the cuff thought from Paul.

Couplet one: manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit

Flesh contrasted with Spirit. Being manifest would indicate that His whole being is in view so to speak. Flesh or manhood would be manifest to those around him. His entire being would be the thought as contrasted with His Spiritual existence following the resurrection.

Couplet two: seen of angels, preached unto the gentiles

Angelic host contrasted to mankind. The term gentiles also can be translated nations. The angelic host contrasted to the lost nations of the world.

As a side-note one might ponder just what is wrapped up in "seen of angels" - just how often were they involved in ministering to and around the Savior while He walked this earth. One might also contemplate their thoughts of seeing ALMIGHTY GOD walking the face of His creation as man.

Couplet three: believed on in the world, received up into glory

The world contrasted to glory.

Lenski suggests that the verbs are positioned as to present these things forcefully as TRUTH. He also says that the items build upon each other.

As the church fathers attempted to iron out the truth of Scripture in the first years of the church, a statement was set that most of Christianity accepted through the ages.

The Nicean Creed from the fourth century.

"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

"And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets. And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

"AMEN."

Most any Christian can agree with this creed - however not all.

Paul makes a statement that cannot be quibbled with.

"without controversy" All in agreement might be a good translation. Wow - what a phrase to use in the context of the church. The following is truth, it is fact, it is unanimously accepted within the church of Jesus Christ - that is the true church.

"mystery of godliness" is explained in the next phrase. God was manifest or revealed in the flesh - in more specific terms - manifested IN Christ. This proves the pre-existence of Christ.

"justified" or vindicated" in the Spirit - the thought that he was vindicated of all He said while here on earth when He was raised from the grave.

He was seen of angels. This is the normal term for angels. Their presence with Him is not something new - they ministered to him in Mk 1:13, they were in attendance after the resurrection, they were present at the ascension and most likely many times between.

He preached unto the nations. This relates to Eph. 4.8-10 "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"

Christ at some time between the resurrection and his ascension went into sheol to minister to the nations. Some view this to mean that He preached or confirmed all that had been taught to all Old Testament peoples. In a nutshell, He confirmed those that had faith in God by taking them to be with Him, and he confirmed those that had no faith to continue on in their place of residence until the Great White Throne judgment and eternal torment.

There is also a real truth that He reached the nations when He was at Jerusalem for passovers. Jewish folks from all over the world gathered for the celebration.

He was believed on in this world. Just a quick look into the Gospels or the book of Acts will show this to be true. A listen to a testimony time in a church will also confirm the validity of this comment.

"received" up into glory" Let's take a moment and read the passage that records this event.

Acts 1:1-11 "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2. Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. "

That is the validity of the one that we serve! He is all that Paul claims and so much more.

Before I close this section, I would like to give a quick recap of chapter three.

Why are so many pastors leaving their churches and missionaries leaving their fields today?

1. They know they miss the mark set here. Often, I fear, not entirely their own fault. Many times they have never been forced to look at the listing and evaluate themselves before the Lord as to their qualification. When they do, they know that they don't.

2. Some cannot live on the salary. This may be due to their expensive taste, or it may be to the small salary. Some churches feel that their pastor is a servant and he should suffer for Jesus, so they help him along in his suffering.

Most churches today are doing quite well for their pastors if not too well. Some do all they can and the pastor works on the side. This is not the best, but it works well if needed.

We have a friend that worked for seven years while pastoring. At one point in time he was the only man in the church that was working. The church did not grow to great numbers, but they grew to great spiritual heights.

3. Many are grossly dejected because of the coldness of Christians to Christ's work and the non-Christians toward the gospel.

I must admit that there were times when I was teaching that I wished college teachers were allowed a Monday morning like pastors, so that they could resign. Some Sundays I wonder why some people get together for church. At times I think it is nothing more than habit.

I was asked to have a meeting in Colo. Springs at a little independent church and the pastor, a friend, asked me to bring a real stirring message. I gave a message on Hell and really preached! There were two people that came to talk to me and one of them was a visitor from Kansas.

My friend said that the message was just what he wanted, but that the church was just not breathing.

That church was judged DEAD by the pastor and the district man of the fellowship of churches that the church was with.

Why are the pastors kids always some of the worst kids? Or are they just viewed as the worst?

1. They are always under a microscope so may be unfairly evaluated.

2. Some pastors neglect their own household. This is why it is good to have a board and pastor that will respond to one another. If the board sees a problem coming, they can advise the pastor.

3. The wife may also be overburdened with church activities to the point that she isn't able to take proper care of the children. The pastor should be watching this and correct it if need be.

With a list like Paul has set forth here in chapter three maybe you should be praying that your pastor have these requirements and equally important that he stay on the straight and narrow.

We see here in I Timothy three that the church is organized and has leaders. Many Bible study groups are springing up around the country. They are okay on a short term basis, but unless they are formed by a church as disciple groups or are forming into a church they are unscriptural.

This list of qualifications is a stiff standard to live up to.

I personally know of only one church that requires their elders and deacons to consider their qualification before accepting office. There are probably more, but I know of only one that has it as an integrated part of their constitution. They take several months to go through a qualifying process which includes:

a. Letters to neighbors and fellow workers as to their spiritual life.

b. Talks with the spouses by the existing board.

c. A time of consideration of each qualification. This is a study of the word, a time of prayer and a talk with the board, then they move onto the next qualification. This usually takes a week or so per qualification.

d. A time for the congregation to respond with negative and positive comments about the person.

e. A time of congregational prayer.

f. A final talk with the board.

If a person does not qualify, they are asked to work on the areas in which they are lacking and try the process the next year. The candidate and congregation are to accept this postponement as a spiritual step not a failing. To see problems and want to correct them takes maturity.

It is easy to say, yes, I qualify for this, but it is another to seriously consider it before the Lord and your fellow man!

Is there a different standard for the pastor and the average Christian? Is this a standard for only the elders and deacons?

I would submit that this is the standard for every born again believer. Each and every one of us should have these qualifications as part of our goal for our spiritual life.

The term goal is the difference. The list is a goal for most believers, however the list is a requirement for the elders and deacons of the church. These things should be in place when they take office.

When you call a pastor consider these biblical qualifications not other qualifications such as good with youth - good preacher (not required of pastor teacher) - good illustrator - good looking - good dresser.

These qualifications should be in the pastor so that he can be an example to the other Christians so that they can be maturing toward this list.

I am going to list the qualifications followed by a reference. The reference will show that all believers are to be seeking this trait. Most of these references use the identical Greek term, others a closely related term. This is not meant to be a complete list - I am sure many other passages could be listed.

blameless = I Tim 5:7
husband of one wife = Rom. 7:22
temperate = Tit 2:2; I Tim 3:11; I Pet. 5:8
sober-minded = Tit 2:2; Tit 2:5; I Tim. 2:9
given to hospitality = I Pet. 4:9
apt to teach - not used of all Christians
not given to wine = This should be obviously one for all believers
no striker = I Pet. 3:11
not greedy of filthy lucre = Heb. 13:5; I Tim. 6:10
patient = Phil. 4:5
not a brawler = Tit. 3:2
not covetous = Heb. 13:5
one that ruleth his own house = Eph. 6:1-4; Proverbs; "rules" husband-wife relationship Eph. 5:23
not a novice = only usage of this term - however all Christians are called to maturity (I Cor. 3:3)
good report to outsiders = II Thess. 1:10; Rom. 12:18

Deacons

grave = Proverbs call us to honesty; Phil. 4:8; Titus 2:2
not double tongued = only usage of the term John 8:44 speaks of devil being father of the lie.
blameless = I Cor. 1:8

Ephesus was one of the leading cities in the Roman Empire. It was full of sin and corruption. One of the prominent buildings in the city was a temple to the goddess Diana.

Barcley mentions of the temple "One of its features was its pillars. It contained one hundred and twenty-seven pillars, every one of them the gift of a king. All were made of marble, and some where studded with jewels and overlaid with gold" (THE LETTERS TO TIMOTHY, TITUS, AND PHILEMON; Westminster; Philadelphia; 1975; p 89)

A city of such prominence and so deeply embedded in sin, yet God prompted Paul to send his representative Timothy to the little church to set some things straight.

Francis Schaeffer once said in a message "The greatest creativity
ever given is the ability of men, by their choices, to change the course of history."

Now apply that to the situation Timothy found himself in. Apply that to the situation you find yourself in.

We all by our choices are bringing an effect to the civilization in which we live.

We can choose to change the world, or we can choose to feel like we can't.

We can choose to serve the Lord to the best of our abilities, or we can choose to feel like He can't use us.

We can choose to leave a mark on this years culture even though we might not have marked last year’s culture!

Personal opinion, this is one of the great failings of the church. We have misused this creativity to build buildings rather than lives, to build reputations rather than affect people, to build followings rather than change history.

I trust you will give some serious thought to these words. "The greatest creativity ever given is the ability of men, by their choices, to change the course of history."

We, the church, have the truth - the world needs the truth. What choices are we going to make to change history for God?