Monthly Archives: June 2024

1 Timothy 3- Qualifications for Leaders in the Church Part 2

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One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 1 Timothy 3:4-7

As we continue to look at the qualifications for an “overseer” , which is a common term shared among leaders in the Church such as Pastors, Elders, Bishops, these rules apply to all these leadership positions. The first thing we notice the correlation between family and the Church. As we talked about the structure of the family, (husband, wife, children) is the same in the Church. There is a structure and order to the family as well as the Church. 

One of the qualifications is for the man to be able to manage his own household. If you want to get a good idea of what kind of leader your Pastor/Bishop/Elder would be, ask their spouse and children. You will get a real and honest depiction of this persons character. If this man’s homelife is a disaster, why would you think he would be able to manage a Church family? Now of course there are exceptions and alot of variables that apply to this, however we can generally get a good indication of someone based on their homelife

Another qualification is this leader should not be a new convert. We know often when people get saved or “come to Christ”, many new believers are on fire for The Lord. However a new convert can easily be confused and deceived by false doctrine. I’m sure most of us have experienced this during our walk with Christ. Your faith should have been tested and tried in the fire, when you become a leader of the Church, you will face heavy opposition from Satan and demons everywhere. You need someone who is prepared for the spiritual warfare they will endure, and be able to lead a community in their walk with Christ

The Apostle Paul mentions, they shouldn’t be a recent convert because “lifted up with pride , become conceited, and fall into condemnation of the devil” A new convert might like the idea or title or a leadership role in the Church, however these reasons are carnally driven and not led by the Holy Spirit. Satan likes to tempt us with pride, and eventually we will fall in sin. We need to make sure the leader is rooted in Christ, actually called by God to fill this position, not answering the call for financial gain or feeding their egos.

Finally, what kind of reputation does your Pastor/Elder/Bishop have with the outside community? What are people saying or what experiences have they had with them? We understand some people have good testimonies, but those testimonies should be old news, we shouldn’t be seeing the local Pastor as the local bar every Friday night. It loses all credibility to the Church and Christ, this person must have the mentality as a servant of Christ, to bring all glory to God in everything they do, especially their family, Church, and ministry, Amen!

1 Timothy 2- Qualifications of Leaders in the Church Part 1

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This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 1 Timothy 3:1-3

As we continue to work through the Epistles of Timothy, we see these are instructions on how we should run the Church. In the previous Chapter we looked over the order of the Church, now we are going to take a look at the qualifications for the leaders of the Church. The first thing we want to point out is the original Greek word “episkope” this word is translated as Bishop in the KJV, also translate as “overseer” “leader” This word basically covers any leadership role within the Church, such as Bishop, Pastor, Elder (Acts 20:17, Acts 20:28, Titus 1:5-9, 1 Peter 5)

So the qualifications that the Apostle Paul is going to mention, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, applies to all Pastors, Bishops, Elders, any leaders within the Church. The first qualification we see is the “husband of one wife”. We went over Pauls teaching in 1 Timothy Chapter 2, woman are not to have spiritual authority over men, also here the overseer is to be the husband of one wife. With these scriptures, I think its a clear case God’s design for the Church was to have male Pastors, Bishops, Elders, ect. Again this does not mean woman are not as qualified, its just Gods design for the Church as it is Gods design for the family and society.

The qualifications are also for the overseer to be “blameless”, “sober minded”, “of good behavior”, “hospitable”, “able to teach” “not give to wine (alcoholic), “not violent”, “not greedy” and be “gentle”  Now as we look through this list, we wonder how can anyone meet all these qualifications? I’m sure we as leaders of the Church fall short somewhere, however the Apostle Paul is emphasizing the standard God has put on the leaders of the Church. This is not a role or position that should be taken lightly, this is not a calling you just dabble in, when you step into the pulpit, there should be a “Fear of God” upon you, that you are trying to be a servant of Christ to the best of your abilities.

We see all around Christianity today, fallen leaders, not only have the disgraced their families, they have disgraced their Church community, they have also disgraced Christ. Everything we do is a representation of Christ. As the Apostle James said “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. (James 3:1) Yes the Pastor, Bishop, Elder, and leaders of the Church will be held under stricter judgement for their life

Many people feel they are “called to ministry” but is that truly the will of God? Feelings are not truth, if the Word of God written by the Holy Spirit disqualifies you, you really need to pray and ask God is this really the calling place upon my life?

We will continue working through this text on our next post…God bless

1 Timothy 2- Women Role in the Church

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Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 1 Timothy 2:11-15

Today we are going to take a look at, probably the most controversial teaching by the Apostle Paul, or maybe even the most controversial teaching in the entire Bible, the role of women in the Church. The first thing to establish is the authority of this teaching, Paul was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, if you reject Paul’s teachings, you are rejecting the Word of God. If you reject Paul as an Apostle, you reject over half of the New Testament, its a downward spiral. This teaching by Paul is the Word of God and authoritative.

The Apostle Paul also taught on this subject in his Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 14) I also did a response video to our Brother Damons writings on this topic also, as he disagrees with my position, however we still have great love and respect for one another as brothers in Christ. The more I have chewed on this topic and scriptures over the years, I really believe this issue is greatly misunderstood primarily by the influence of liberalism and feminism that have crept into the Church over the decades.

As you walk through these scriptures , its very plain and clear, this teaching is about roles and authorities within the structure of the Church and not about someones personal talent or ability. The Bible is clear woman are filled with the Holy Spirit just like men, (Acts 2:17) and have the capabilities that men do, the question is about role and authority. Just as the structure of the family, the man is the father and the spiritual head of the family, (1 Corinthians 11:3) While some woman in todays culture, try to replace the man as the “father” it doesn’t work , and naturally it can’t happen. This is the same in the Church family, the man has spiritual authority as being leader of the Church under Christ

The Apostle Paul begins “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection” Remaining silent is a sign of respect and authority. When a teacher is teaching class, students remain silent out of respect for their teacher. This doesn’t necessarily mean the teacher knows more than the student, however the Teacher is in a position or role of authority over their students. I think its this basic and simple, however we try to overcomplicate this topic

“For Adam was formed first, then Eve” anyone who argues this is a cultural issue is rebuked by this teaching. The Apostle Paul interjects Creation into the role and order of the Church. Everyone and every culture is impacted and influenced by creation, its as simple as Adam (man) was created directly from God. Eve the woman was created from Adam not God. There is a role and structure in creation and the Church. To imply the woman is in authoritative equality with men, would to disregard the Word of God and Creation.