Category: 1 Timothy

“Women should learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.”

I remember a worksheet that I had to do in third grade science class.  It had 8 different circles, and in each circle there was a photo of something with a pattern.  One had a pattern of blue and teal. Another had a cross-hatched pattern of tan and yellow. The assignment was to figure out what was in each circle.  What the worksheet did not explain is that each image was zoomed in very close so it looked different than expected. Zoomed out, the blue and teal picture was easily recognized as a fish.  Zoomed out, the tan and yellow picture was easily recognized as a giraffe.

This current passage is somewhat like that worksheet.  It can only be understood if we zoom out and look at the broader context of the Bible.  If we were to read the Bible from cover to cover, we would find a long line of women who lead and teach: Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14-20), Philip’s daughters (Acts 21:8,9), Priscilla (Philippians 4:2,3), as well as many others like the handful of  women mentioned in Romans 16. Several of these examples are of Paul commending women as leaders and teachers. What, then, is going on in this passage? Is Paul contradicting himself? That seems unlikely. Some experts suggest that Paul is addressing a specific situation in which the women of the church needed to be removed from leading because they were abusing the leadership role.  Is that correct? Perhaps. It is more important, however, to always let the big-picture view of the Bible set the limits for how we understand specific passages like this one.

Here’s your freedom for today: you CAN understand the Bible.  Sometimes the Bible seems overwhelming. Who can possibly understand it? The exciting answer is: anyone. It doesn’t take a special level of education.  It doesn’t take special training. It just takes time, which is a resource everyone has.  Regular, daily reading will eventually help you build up an understanding of what the Bible is saying – of it’s larger themes and storyline. The goal is not to understand the Bible perfectly today. The goal is to understand the Bible a little bit better every, single day.  

 

“This is a trustworthy saying: ‘If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.’ So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?”

Leading the church is hard work, but it is also a position of great honor. Spiritually speaking, when God appoints leaders to the church, he is entrusting the care of his people into their hands. It’s no surprise that there are some pretty important qualifications. You’ve got to have integrity inside and out, be faithful to your spouse, live wisely, be a skilled teacher, and enjoy having guests. Most of us are probably checking out already. But wait, there’s more! No heavy drinking, no violence, no major family drama, and no desire for big money. That certainly doesn’t sound like most people, and it’s not even what most leaders are like in our society.

Why is church leadership so important? Why are leaders required to go beyond the norm? Turn on the news and you’ll get your answer: people get hurt when leaders mess up. And when those leaders are in the church, people walk away from God. Since relationship with his people is what God wants most, he is beyond angry when spiritual leaders get in the way.

Here’s your freedom for today: God wants to protect you. Leaders may have failed you, and perhaps you’ve walked away from church as a result. As we can see from these verses, God is angry too. He set up standards to protect you, and there are serious consequences for those who take on leadership positions without meeting the qualifications. On the other hand, those who do lead well will be greatly honored and rewarded. If you are an aspiring leader, take a look at this description and identify the areas in which you need to grow to become ready. Pray and ask how God might use you to build up his church.

“A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.”

“Why?”  There is no question more infamous in parenting. “Why do I have to study my spelling words?  Why do I have to clean my room? Why do I need to turn the music down? Why do I have to stop watching TV?”  As a parent, I try to answer the “why” questions as honestly as possible. Unfortunately, however, some of the directions I give my kids are hard to explain.  Sometimes I have to simply say “I don’t know how to help you understand this one, so I need you to trust me, ok?”

Many of God’s rules and standards seem to be like that.  We have to trust Him because His reasoning may be beyond us.  It may address blindspots we don’t even know that we have. Therefore, it can be refreshing when a rule or standard is explained.  Such is the case as Paul’s first  list of standards for church leaders comes to a close. He finishes it with two important character traits. First, leaders must have been following Jesus for a while.  Why? Because otherwise Satan might use their position of influence to tempt them to pride. Second, they must have a positive reputation outside the church. Why? Because people who “fall into disgrace” with outsiders are easily tempted to fall into Satan’s traps.  What do all these leadership standards have in common?  They are all attainable by anyone who is willing to let Jesus lead their life.  

Here’s your freedom for today:  God’s leadership standards are attainable.  God’s leadership standards is that can be met by anyone who is willing to grow and mature under Jesus’ training and leadership.  God doesn’t limit leadership to people with brown hair or people who are six feet tall. He limits leadership to those who are wholeheartedly and passionately growing through their relationship with him.  Hopefully, that means you.

 

“In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons. In the same way, their wives must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do. A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and household well.  Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.“

“Excuse me!” I called. “Waiter!”  My wife and I had taken our kids out to dinner.  We’d had good food, lots of fun, and it all ended with ice cream.  Now it was time for the bill. Except that I hadn’t seen our waiter in what seemed like forever.  My kids (who were three and five), now with nothing to keep them occupied and just past their usual bedtime, were literally bouncing in the booths with boredom.  “Waiter, can we please have the check?” I asked. The check soon came, and another fun family night drew to an end.

The word “deacon” in the Bible is very similar to the modern word “waiter.”  The first deacons in the Bible were chosen in Acts 6. Their assignment was to make sure that all the donations of food that came into the church were given out fairly.  Basically they ran the church’s food pantry. It was a basic role of service. They collected food and passed it out, then collected food and passed it out again. But through their faithful service the influence of those first deacons grew.  They became a living example of what Jesus had taught when he said “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26).

Here’s your freedom for today: if you want to be great, learn to serve faithfully.  Deacons became such an integral element of the leadership structure of local churches that Paul had to give directions for how to choose them.  How can you serve faithfully in the local church? Will you serve in the nursery? Or be a greeter? Or volunteer in the food pantry? Finally, are you open to God increasing your influence as you serve faithfully?  In some ways that might be the most important question you can ask.

 

“I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth. Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.”

I grew up loving mysteries.  I would anxiously save up money five dollars at a time so that I could buy the next Hardy Boys book.  I watched reruns of Scooby-Do on TV. The first adult book I ever read was a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories.  There was always something exciting about trying to solve the mystery along with the characters. So when I think of a mystery, that is what I think of: Sherlock Holmes and the Hardy Boys.  I think of an unsolved crime that will not be solved until the last few pages of the story.

Paul, however, thinks of something quite different.  In a mystery story, the criminal is normally hidden until just the right moment – the moment when the tension is at its height.  It’s often a moment when things seem to have gotten impossibly off track. In Paul’s thinking a mystery was quite different. It wasn’t the criminal that was hidden – it was the hero, specifically the divine hero.  The idea is that God was actively at work in the world, but his work was always behind the scenes, hidden. But every mystery builds up to the big reveal. God’s big reveal of his plan was Jesus. It was in Jesus that we discovered who God is.  It was in Jesus that we discovered how God plans to heal and restore the world. It was in Jesus that we found out how God will finally solve the greatest mystery in the universe: how a rebellious creation could possibly be restored to its loving God.  

Here’s your freedom for today: less depends on you than you think.  God has been at work for centuries unfolding a plan to restore the world.  That plan began long before you were born. It will likely continue long after you die.  In the midst of this grand cosmic plan, however, you are deeply loved. The very goal of God’s cosmic, mysterious plan has been to bring men and women like us back into relationship with Himself.  The key, however, is this: in God’s plan, you are not the savior. Jesus is.