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1 Timothy 3:2
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can download our service on iTunes or tune in for “The Good Word” each day on AM 1230 WSAL or on Hoosier Country 103.7 FM just after 8am. As we continue our study through Paul’s 1st letter to Timothy, we come now to the biblical qualifications for church leadership. I like what one expositor says concerning this chapter. He writes, “Paul’s instructions here weren’t not merely a manual for church organization, but they were an effort to guarantee that new leaders in the church would have 1-commitment to Christ, and 2-would encourage godliness and unity.” If a man has not established Christ as the unchallenged sovereign Ruler in his own personal life, he is more committed to himself than the Savior. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul gives us the qualifications for overseers or bishops or elders; for deacons; and for women who help minister in the local church.This list of character traits is not Christianity 101! This is advanced Christian character developed over an extended period of time as a result of concentrated effort to becoming as much like Christ as possible in this life. Let’s consider the individual qualifications. Notice 1st:
I. AN OVERSEER MUST BE! This 1st qualification is almost always overlooked because we don’t normally think of “must be” as a qualification, but as a verb. The word “must” is the qualifier, or how the man is to be. In its simplest form “must” means The character or necessity of compulsion in an event. In the OT the word “must” is often used to indicate the mandatory response to God’s Law as in Lev. 5:17 “If anyone sins…he shall (must) bear his iniquity.” Paul often uses the word in his writings to indicate certain character qualities are mandatory to carry out a particular ministry or event. The whole concept of the word “must” is extraordinary in that it gives us a clear picture of the compelling drive that comes from deep within the heart of the individual to do the will of God. It is that all encompassing desire that becomes the driving force in a man’s life to 1st surrender all his life to God in service; and 2nd to give the Holy Spirit unrestrained freedom to conform the man to the image of Christ. As a man who “must” live his life in complete harmony with all of Scripture, learns and grows in his understanding of what God has called him to do, the drive or the “must”- in him grows more and more powerful throughout his life. Such a drive or “must” cannot be sufficiently explained, it can only be experienced! The best summary statement of the whole concept of “must” is best explained in Scripture when John the Baptist says, “I must decrease, and He must increase.” Now someone might say, “Pastor you are painting an impossible picture here. No sinful man, even a redeemed man, is capable of such a life and lifestyle!” To that I would reply, kindly but firmly, Oh yes a redeemed man is capable of such a life and lifestyle! Because God cannot demand anything of us that is beyond our human capability! To demand of us what we cannot do is contrary to God’s nature and character. God cannot set us up for failure! It is God Himself that tells us we can do all things, how? Through Christ Who strengthens us! An overseer must “be!”
The simplest definition of the word “be” is “I exist, or I am.” Does that ring any bells? God tells Moses, “I AM THAT I AM!” It is one way to put into words that God has no beginning and no end. This same verb form is used by Jesus throughout His earthly ministry to reveal His divinity! The one statement that, I believe, shows Jesus was with The Father from the beginning is found in John 8:58 when He says, I tell you the truth, before Abraham was, I am!” In our text when Paul says of an overseer, he must be, the verb form is present, active, infinitive. God is telling us that any man who is called by Him to the office of overseer must demonstrate these character qualities present – now. Each one must now “be” how the man is! They must also “be” active. “Be” is also infinitive! These traits are so well established in a man’s life there is no evidence that he will ever forsake them, or turn them off in his life. All of these character qualities define the man now, in the present! Listen! They don’t define or suggest what he hopes to become as an overseer; nor do they define what he was in the past! If God kept reminding us of what we were, He would not be a God of forgiveness! God tells us through the prophet Isaiah, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgression for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” 43:25; Beloved, here is a truth to remember: Our salvation delivers us from all our sinful past, and always points us to our sinless future with Christ! We are going to look at each of these mandatory character qualities God has imposed on His overseers. Each one has its purpose, and you “must be” aware of them especially “now” as you prayerfully seek to find the man God has prepared to lead you. Stay tuned for, as Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.”
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