Archives for July 2026

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Accessing the Enablement | Part 3: The Offices | Part 4: The Qualities | Part 5: Case Studies

Paul finishes his first epistle to Timothy by focusing on another characteristic of servants, or ministers: contentment. He begins the final chapter by speaking to actual physical servants, those who are owned by their masters.

The intervening years have left us with a deep distaste for slavery, and for good reason; the American institution of slavery violated at least three direct biblical commands in that it was commercial (buying and selling the image of God, 1Ti 1.10), permanent (Lev 25.10), and violently abusive (Ep 6.9)–if not 100% of the time, certainly enough to merit the wrath of God. No excuses; no justification.

These characteristics existed in biblical times as well. But slavery in those days was most likely either the result of war or a mechanism for the payment of debt, and in the latter case the institution need not have been violating biblical principles of love for one’s neighbor.

And so Paul addresses servants. They are to cooperate with and even honor their masters, contributing to a healthy and peaceable relationship (1Ti 6.1-2). Those who teach otherwise, Paul says, are in fact violating the teachings of Christ (1Ti 6.3) and causing friction (1Ti 6.4-5).

People who teach such things are making an invalid assumption: their priorities are economic. They assume that wealth will solve interpersonal problems (1Ti 6.5-10).

The solution to such turmoil, Paul says, is contentment (1Ti 6.6, 8). Some would see this as weakness or passivity, but it is nothing of the sort. Contentment is based on the fundamental premise that God is great, he is good, and he is in charge. There’s nothing weak or passive about that.

It makes perfect sense that the servant of God should be placed in the life position that God has planned for him–and that this position is the perfect fit for his character, his skills, and his inclinations.

For most people that life position will change and grow over the years. Your first calling might take advantage of the strength and idealism of the young adult, while with the experience of aging you might gain greater responsibilities and commensurate authority. God knows these things about us, and he prepares us providentially through our life experiences, and he plans for our good in all these things.

The only sensible response to all this is contentment.

Such an outlook, Paul says, yields “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1Ti 6.11). And, I might add, fulfillment and the resultant peace and joy.

That is exponentially better than a life of frustration and discontent. The comparison is not difficult.

And to demonstrate that this kind of life is not weak or passive. Paul writes,

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life” (1Ti 6.12).

This is a battle, but one for which we are equipped, armed, and thereby prepared to win.

To do this is to emulate the example of Christ himself (1Ti 6.13) until he returns for his people (1Ti 6.14), at which time the victory will be complete, final, and joyous (1Ti 6.15-16).

So what about those who are rich, in the good providence of God?

That happens. Wealth is not necessarily evidence of greed, theft, or abuse. But again, in the providence of God, wealth is designed not to be flaunted, but to be used for good (1Ti 6.17-18), invested in eternal values (1Ti 6.19).

Service, it turns out, goes hand in hand with contentment, which is the empowerment for effective ministry.

Photo by Mélyna Côté on Unsplash

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Accessing the Enablement | Part 3: The Offices | Part 4: The Qualities

In chapter 5 Paul applies what he’s taught so far by laying out a couple of case studies; and here, as I’ve noted, we need to apply some discernment as to how much of his instruction should be considered as authoritative over all Christians, or intended specifically for pastors. We’ll try to do that sensibly as we proceed.

Paul’s first case study is widows in the church (1Ti 5.1-16). He begins (1Ti 5.1-2) by noting that every church body includes different “demographics,” if you will; at a minimum, a healthy church will have both males and females, and both older and younger. These groups have different needs, which we should recognize as we serve one another. The pastor, as overseer, will need to adapt church structure and ministries to maximize the benefit to all, but we as regular ol’ members should be thinking in that way as well, watching for and discerning even individual needs and seeking to serve in appropriate ways.

Paul chooses to focus here specifically on widows. You’ll recall that the first deacons (if that’s what they were) were appointed for the specific purpose of seeing to it that the widows were fed (Ac 6.1-7). In different cultures the needs of widows will vary. Some years ago I was an elder in a church that begn a focused ministry to widows. Our first step was to interview each of them and ask them frankly what their needs were. We were surprised to find that there were very few financial needs; in most cases their husbands had appropriate life insurance. Their greatest need, in most cases, was for a sense of belonging: opportunities for fellowship, inclusion in broader church activities, a general sensitivity to their new station in life. One widow suggested we have them take care of new moms: relationship, advice, even helping clean their houses and prepare meals. That worked well.

Now, if there are widows who do have financial difficulty, we need to serve them. Perhaps that’s by giving them financial assistance; or perhaps it’s by meeting with extended family and challenging them to fulfill their responsibility to their loved one (1Ti 5.8)–even if they’re not part of the church. I had to do that once; and while it was initially awkward, they did step up.

I suppose that these cultural differences might call for sensibly adapting Paul’s specific instructions to Timothy to ensure that we’re taking care of legitimate present-day needs and not merely first-century ones. As always, it comes down to attentiveness, love, and good sense.

Paul then turns to the issue of caring for elders. Again, Timothy, as an apostolic legate, is in a different position from us; but in practice the specifics are not that different–especially for baptists. :-) As an overseer, Timothy was responsible for seeing that the pastors under his care were appropriately cared for financially, as well as in other ways.

What about us? Well, if you’re baptist, your church governance puts you in charge; you hire and fire pastors as a congregation, and you participate in salary decisions through the budgeting process. And if you’re not baptist, you are certainly free to speak up if you see financial abuse going on.

So Paul says the elders who “rule well be counted worthy of double honor” (1Ti 5.17). The word translated “honor” in the KJV is financial; literally it means “pay ’em twice as much.” Certainly it means at least that pastors should be paid appropriately, based on their overall responsibilities and performance. In the US it’s common to pay pastors of large churches more than pastors of small ones, under the assumption that they have more work to do; I see no conflict with Paul’s teaching here.

Of course, pastors have needs beyond the financial ones. How often do you ask your pastor, in private, how he’s doing–if there’s anything you can do to help carry his burdens? Years ago I asked my pastor at the time how he was doing, and he said, “Oh, you know, the typical things–life and death, heaven and hell …” That spoke to me of the weighty load he was carrying, and it prompted me to pray for him more earnestly. And to tell him so.

There’s an ongoing theme here, is there? We serve by persistence in the non-glamorous things: paying attention, watching intentionally, asking questions, discerning needs, and acting lovingly in the ways we can. And, I would suggest, acting to encourage others to serve in the ways we can’t.

Photo by Mélyna Côté on Unsplash

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Accessing the Enablement | Part 3: The Offices

Having laid out the qualifications for the church ministry offices, Paul now turns to Timothy himself, the overseer of the whole process, to specify to him what qualities he must have as he carries his responsibilities.

Now, we readers can’t assume that everything Paul requires of Timothy should be required of all believers two millennia later–I don’t “use a little wine for [my] stomach’s sake” (1Ti 5.23)–but as we’ve noted before, the characteristics of effective ministers (servants) in the church in the first century can legitimately be extrapolated to all of us who believe. We’ll need to maintain a careful interpretive balance as we proceed.

As I read chapter 4, the first thing that strikes me is Paul’s heavy emphasis on doctrine; it appears in verses 1, 6, 13, and 16. One might expect the focus of someone who is “serving” others in the church to be on interpersonal skills such as empathy, listening, compassion, and so forth. I’m not suggesting that those things aren’t important; they are inherent elements in love, which is the second great commandment.

But the greatest commandment is to love God, and thus listening to him, and obeying him, are at least as important as being moved by the pleas of others. Of course the two are not in opposition; we can love God well and love others well too. But disregarding love for God, which is manifested by obedience, will render us unable to “serve” others well.

Hence, doctrine. Effective ministers, all of us, must know, understand, and apply the Word with skill. If your pastor exposits the Scripture well, your attentiveness, review, and later interaction will get you well on the way, and eventually you’ll be in a position to feed yourself from the Word at some reasonable level.

And if your pastor doesn’t exposit the Scripture, get a new pastor.

Against that doctrinal background, Paul expects other qualities.

A solid doctrinal foundation should enable us to recognize, refute, and reject false teachers (1Ti 4.1-6). That matters.

As our pastors exemplify godliness, we can reinforce their examples by our own (1Ti 4.12):

in our words
in our lifestyles
in our love
in our spirits, genuinely from the inside out
in our faith–and our faithfulness
and in our purity, rejecting all the defilements of the culture around us.

That way we won’t be a defiling influence on those we serve.

Paul closes the chapter, and his focus on our personal qualities, by reminding us of our spiritual gifts (1Ti 4.14). As he’s emphasized repeatedly elsewhere, these gifts are not for us; they’re for everybody except us. Our task is to serve those alongside us by doing well what we can do in order to strengthen them in their faith and in their walk.

We’re here for them.

Now, none of this happens accidentally or routinely. It happens on purpose. When we gather with the body, or when we fellowship with another believer over a beverage of choice (that’s a decaf breve for me), we’re focused on how we can serve one another. That might involve an encouraging word–or a challenging one. It might involve an intentional, if silent, example. It might involve a personal sacrifice for someone else’s benefit, or keeping a promise, or turning the conversation in a healthier direction, or teaching a Sunday school class.

The possibilities are literally endless.

Brainstorm, evaluate, plan, execute. On purpose.

Photo by Mélyna Côté on Unsplash

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Accessing the Enablement

Paul now turns to a discussion of ministry as it is evidenced in church offices. Because we’re pursuing the way “ministry” works for all believers, this is not our primary point, but before delving into that more deeply, we can benefit by seeing how it works for those in ministry offices in the church.

We’ve noted earlier that in Acts 6 both the apostles and the presumed first deacons were described as “ministering,” or serving. It’s certainly no stretch, then, to expect that pastors, who initially served under apostolic authority, should be ministers, or servants, as well.

The New Testament uses three different terms for the pastoral office, reflecting their key spheres of service. They are called “pastors,” or shepherds, because they feed and protect the sheep, the members of the body, primarily through their preaching from the Scripture. They’re also called “elders” because they offer wisdom to their flock through their counsel. And finally they’re called “overseers” (KJV sometimes “bishops”) because they administer the church’s affairs and see that everything gets done, primarily through the Spirit’s gifting of the members of the body.

Here Paul uses the third term, “overseer,” to list the requirements for one serving in the office (1Ti 3.1-7). We note immediately the emphasis we’ve already seen on selflessness; the overseer is focused not on his own benefit, but on others. He must control his own behavior and be able to host and teach others (1Ti 3.2); he must not be focused on his own profit (1Ti 3.3); he must care appropriately for his family (1Ti 3.4-5); he must exhibit the wisdom of experience (1Ti 3.5); he must have a good reputation (1Ti 3.7). All of this focuses not on his own worth, but on his ability to interact effectively with others–those he is serving.

Next Paul turns to the other church office, the one labeled by our word, diakonos (servant). Not surprisingly, the deacons are held to the same standards as the pastors, all of which focus on his ability to serve others (1Ti 3.7-13). The key difference in these two lists of qualifications is that the pastor must be “apt to teach” (1Ti 3.2); the deacon’s responsibilities do not necessarily call for that.

A quick consideration of an oddity here. One verse lists requirements for deacons’ “wives” (1Ti 3.11). I say it’s odd because there are no such requirements listed for elders’ wives: wouldn’t their character be important too?

I note that Greek has no distinct word for “wife” or “husband”; they just say “woman” or “man,” and the reader is expected to understand from context which of the two possible translations to use. So is Paul talking here about the deacons’ “wives” or about the “women [deacons]”? Given the fact the he doesn’t speak of elders’ “wives,” I think the latter is more likely. I’m a complementarian, but I see no reason why Paul would restrict deacons to men as he does elders.

As I noted earlier in the series, a great many Baptist churches in the US have a deacon board that is actually an elder board; they have governing authority over the church. If the Scripture teaches that women are not to hold the pastoral office, then no, women shouldn’t be “deacons” in such churches, in my opinion. But I think a better approach is to call offices by their appropriate names and open them to as broad a range as is biblically appropriate.

Paul closes this chapter by reasserting the importance of proper behavior in the church because of the importance of the church itself. The church is “the house of God,” “the church of the living God,” “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1Ti 3.15). It is the body of God himself, incarnate and now forever glorified (1Ti 3.16).

This is serious, serious business. And ministry in and to this body is so centrally important that both of church’s offices are focused on it, and it is the primary task of every single one of its members.

So let’s dig as deeply as we can into what ministry looks like.

Photo by Mélyna Côté on Unsplash