| Introduction This morning, as we prepare for a time of supreme importance in the life of our church, I want to meddle. I want to meddle with my own life. As I prepared for this sermon, the Spirit gave me great conviction of how short I've fallen of the mark that God has set for his under-shepherds. It was a bipolar week for me, going from the pit of despair of failure to the heights of joy of forgiveness in Jesus Christ. I also want to meddle with your life. Men, I want to meddle with your life. I want you to hear the call Paul issues here for every man. Women, I want to meddle with your life. I want you to hear what God calls men to do and I want you to rejoice in that call, instead of feeling like life is not fair. I pray that my meddling this morning would be the Holy Spirit's meddling in your life. I. What Is a Faithful Saying? A. By the time Paul wrote the Pastoral Epistles, the Church had formulated some summary oral teachings that were true but had not been preserved in writing. B. These sayings were used in catechizing the church and there is some evidence that the longer ones were also sung in the church. C. Paul records at least five of these sayings and flags them with this expression – faithful word or saying. D. One of the sayings that was drilled into the church was, "If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work." 1. This applies to the office of the elder. 2. This also applies to the office of the deacon – likewise in v. 8. A. Let's first look at three words to help us understand the saying as a whole: bishop, desire, and good. 1. We tend to think of a bishop as a guy in a white robe with a pointy hat on that is in charge of a diocese (a geographical region with other priests under him), but that is not what the Bible meant by bishop. a. The word bishop itself means one who looks upon, thus overseer. b. The Bible teaches that the position or office of the bishop is the very same office of the elder and of the shepherd (pastor) – two helpful passages. Acts 20:17, 28 – From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church…. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 1 Pt. 5:1-4 – The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. c. So the term bishop is another term for elder, or pastor that emphasize the function of the office. 2. There are two different words used for desire in this passage. a. The first one carries the meaning of aspiring to or striving for. b. The second word is often translated as lust in the NT. c. We learn from these words that this desire is an earnest yearning. d. Now does it bother you that Paul says that this is good thing? It did me at first. 1) Shouldn't we encourage humility instead of a desire for preeminence? 2) That's when I realized that I was letting my culture determine my understanding of this passage. a) This is not a desire for ranking but for work – desires a good work. b) This is not a desire for preeminence but to serve. Mt. 20:25-28 – You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. c) This is a noble desire to serve Jesus Christ by serving his church. e. How do we know that this is humble desire in our hearts, rather than a desire for rank and preeminence? 1) When the desire is the spilling out of a burning desire to serve. 2) When it is accompanied by fear and trembling. 3) When you don't get upset if somebody is chosen to do the work instead of you. 3. The third word is the word good. a. It means beautiful, excellent, noble. b. The work of the overseer is a beautiful work, it is excellent. c. It is not to be marred by men who do not understand the beauty of it. d. It needs to be understood by you all as being a noble work on your behalf. B. Why this saying? This is not a major gospel doctrine after all. 1. Because God appointed the church to be led by men under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 2. Because the work of an elder is hard and discouraging and full of attacks from Satan, and Paul wanted to encourage men to pursue it. 3. Because the church needs godly man who are willing to count all things loss for the sake of Jesus Christ to shepherd, oversee, and lead it. 4. Because wolves are always trying to come in through this office to destroy the sheep of God. Acts 20:28-30 – Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. C. A better translation of this verse would be: The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. (ESV) III. The Nobility of the Saying in the Qualifications. "Those things which are excellent, are also arduous and difficult." Calvin quoting Plato A. Let me start meddling by saying that every man in the church should be ready to be an elder because these qualities presented here are qualities of godly manhood. 1. So, if these characteristics don't describe you, repent from not being a real man, turn to God for the grace to be a real man, and start being a real man. 2. The church needs us to be man so that it can be led into green pastures where the wolves will not succeed in attack it. 3. Our wives need man to be man so that there is no confusion for them and they can flourish in there womanhood. 4. Our sons need us to be man so that they know what real, biblical, godly masculinity looks like. 5. Our daughters us to be man so that they know what a godly husband should look like when is their turn to get married. B. Meddling # 2: the position of an overseer is only for men – women are not to occupy that position. 1. There is a general desire today to make this part of the Bible tied to the culture of Paul's time in order to eliminate role differences between man and woman – mainly verses 2 and 4. 2. The problem with that is that Paul did not see this teaching as being limited to a particular culture – he grounds this teaching in the doctrine of creation and the fall, 2:12-14, 3. If this idea rubs you wrong, hear me out. a. God did not organize things this way because he is a cosmic male chauvinist. b. He organized things this way with your good in mind. c. God created two equally glorious being: man and woman. 1) They have the same standing before God. 2) They share the same glory. 3) They are equally the crown jewel of God's creation. d. God also created them with differences so that they could complement each other. 1) The man has his role in family, church, and society. 2) The woman has her role in family, church, and society. 3) And they are both equally glorious and necessary and either one abandons his role, what is left is less than a whole unit – two complementary angles form a right angle. e. So God meant it for your good, not for your oppression. 1) Sinful men and women at times turn what God created for good into a bad situation. 2) Throughout history, however, the gospel has elevated the place of women everywhere it has gone. C. The excellent work demands qualifications "…a selection ought to be made in admitting bishops, because it is a laborious and difficult charge; and … they who aim at it should carefully consider with themselves, whether or not they were able to bear so heavy a burden. Ignorance is always rash; and a mature knowledge of things makes a man modest. How comes it that they who have neither ability nor wisdom often aspire so confidently to hold the reins of government, but because they rush forward with their eyes shut? On this subject Quintilian remarked, that the ignorant speak boldly, while the greatest orators tremble." Calvin 1. Paul lists 16 characteristic of the one who desires the position of overseer. 2. We are not going to cover them all in details, just highlight some of them. 3. Blameless and having a good testimony in the outside. a. This does not mean perfection at all since that is an impossibility. b. It does, however, mean that if charges are brought against you, especially regarding this list, a reasonable jury will not convict you of being characterized by those charges. c. The word in verse 2 literally means not to be laid hold of. d. It also means that those who are outside the church, though they may not like you, they are not surprised that you are a Christian. 4. Wise and of good judgment a. Temperate, sober-minded, not a new convert. b. He must walk in the Spirit and in the Word so that he can think and act accordingly. 5. The husband of one wife. a. Literally a one-woman man. b. Not a polygamist, but more than that. 1) Not just married to one woman, but also his heart, his mind, his desire are that one woman. 2) He deals with lust in his life radically like Jesus says in Mt. 5:27-30. c. It does not mean that an elder must be married, but it does assume he will be. 6. He must be self-controlled – Of good behavior, not given to much wine, not violent. 7. He must be humble – hospitable, not greedy for money, gentle, not quarrelsome (bully), not puffed up, 7 – the devil will have a field day with him. 1 Pt. 5:3 – …nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock… 8. He must be a godly father, 4-5. a. He is to manage his house, that is, his family well. 2) He is to be aware of what is going on in the family. 3) He is to be active in the direction of the family. 4) He is to serve the family. b. This is demonstrated in his children. 1) They have a reverence for their father. 2) The whole submission thing is done with dignity, not through threatenings and yellings "It must be done in such a way that the father's firmness makes it advisable for a child to obey, that his wisdom makes it natural for a child to obey, and that his love makes it a pleasure for a child to obey." Hendriksen c. If he can't manage his family well, he can't manage the church – argument from lesser to greater. d. Kids, do you realize that when you rebel against your parents despite their godly efforts to raise you, you may be robbing the church from its leadership all because of your selfishness? 9. He must be able to teach a. Not all teaching takes the form of a sermon or a lesson in front of a large group. b. But the overseer must be able to communicate truth in a helpful way. c. People must understand God better by having that man in their lives. "…here he does not demand volubility [ease of speech] of tongue, for we see many persons whose fluent talk is not fitted for edification; but he rather commends wisdom in applying the word of God judiciously to the advantage of the people." Calvin IV. So Are the Deacons, 8-13. A. Notice that virtually all the qualifications listed for the elders also apply to the deacons as well. B. Four major differences: 1. No requirement to teach (though they can like Stephen and Philip). 2. There must be a period of proving himself, 10. 3. There are qualifications for the deacon's wife, 11. a. Some think that this verse is talking about deaconesses, but the context doesn't lend itself to this interpretation. 1) Paul uses a technical term in v. 1 (bishop) and in v. 8 (deacon) and he could have used one here as well (deaconess), but he uses the generic term for woman or wife. 2) Paul returns to using a technical term in v. 12. b. She must be a trustworthy person who can help her husband in his office. 4. There is an explicit reward associated with faithfulness in the deaconate, 13. C. This office is essential for the health of the church. Acts 6:3-4,7 – Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of goodreputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word…. Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. "It is no light matter to be a representative of the Son of God, in discharging an office of such magnitude, the object of which is to erect and extend the kingdom of God, to procure the salvation of souls which the Lord himself hath purchased with his own blood, and to govern the Church, which is God's inheritance." John Calvin So how do we do it? By God's grace, trusting that he knows what is best for his church.
2 Cor. 2:16; 3:5 – To the one we are the aroma of death leadingto death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who issufficient for these things? Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God….
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