I Timothy 3:4

First Timothy 3:4

In the first seven verses of First Timothy chapter three we have been looking at the qualifications for a pastor. These qualities are things that all Christians should aspire to, but they are absolute requirements for someone who wants to be a pastor. First Timothy 3:4-5 says that a pastor should be “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?” We know that the believers collectively are the family of God. A local congregation is a family, a spiritual family of brothers and sisters. One of the best training grounds for becoming a pastor is the family. If you are married and have children, then you have one of the best opportunities to develop some of the skills that will be needed by a pastor.

One of the qualifications for a pastor is to be one that “ruleth well his own house.” The word that is translated “ruleth” does not refer to a king who rules a kingdom. Rather it refers to giving the proper care to one’s responsibilities and maintaining that which needs to be maintained. Someone who has neglected his family responsibilities or his household has not met one of the requirements for being a pastor.

In regards to a pastor giving attention to the responsibilities of his own home, an emphasis is made on his relationship with his children. It is the will of God that children live under the authority of the parents. That is why one of the Ten Commandments is addressed to children and God says to children in the Old Testament, “Honor your father and your mother.” And God says to children in the New Testament in Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.” The responsibility is primarily given to the children to make sure that they have an obedient and respectful attitude towards their parents.

But the parents also have a responsibility to lead, to teach, to encourage, and to discipline the children so that the parent-child relationship is properly developed. Ephesians 6:4 says, “And, you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” A father might neglect his responsibilities to nurture and to teach his children. On the other extreme, a father might be took harsh or too strict, and thereby provoke his children to wrath. Children who have been provoked in that way will not live in subjection.

It is important to notice that this qualification of a pastor to have his children in subjection is talking about children while they are still children. There comes a time in the life of each person when they begin to make their own decisions. It varies in each family and in each individual. Sometimes it starts as early as twelve years old: sometimes it is not until sixteen years of age. Every person is accountable for their own sins. A parent is responsible to teach and to nurture and to guide, but once a young person has made a decision, they are responsible themselves for the consequences. When First Timothy 3:4 says that a pastor must have his children in subjection with all gravity, it is referring to little children, not to teenage children or adult children who have started to make their own decisions.

First Timothy 3:6 says that a pastor should not be “a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil.” The word novice literally means a neophyte: that is, newly planted. In other words a pastor should never be chosen from a new convert. One of the challenges of a pastor will be to help babes in Christ to become mature followers of Christ. He will not be able to do so unless he is already a mature follower of Christ himself. There are things about following Jesus in this world of temptation and sorrow that cannot be learned in the curriculum of a seminary. Usually these things regarding following Christ take years to learn and sometimes longer. God put Moses into the desert for forty years to prepare Moses to be a leader of the people of God. Without that preparation he would have never been able to do what he needed to do.

Remember that the Bible says concerning choosing a pastor that he should not be “a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.” It is pretty obvious that a pastor will receive a lot of attention. He will stand up in front of a lot of people. All eyes will be on him. All ears will be listening to him. If he is not experienced at looking to the Lord and giving glory to the Lord, he will easily become lifted up with pride. Pride is not a good thing. Pride is the root of many kinds of sins. Of the things that God hates that are listed in the book of Proverbs, pride is the first one on the list. Pride is the sin that caused the devil to fall from heaven, and pride can cause a pastor to fall also.

The final qualification for a pastor is given in First Timothy 3:7 that says, “Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” This is talking about the reputation of the pastor with the unsaved people of the community. Of course someone who has a bad reputation and who deserves it for dishonesty or immorality or anything else would be a horrible choice for a pastor. Notice that anyone who has such a bad reputation in the community has fallen into the snare of the devil.

The word devil means slanderer. The devil wants to slander the people of God. He wants to bring accusations against us. He tries to accuse us before God, he tries to accuse us before our own conscience, and he tries to accuse us before the world. The devil’s accusations against us before God totally fail because we are forgiven of any failure and our sins are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. The devil’s accusations against our conscience will fail as long as we stay freshly aware of the promises of God that are recorded in the Bible concerning all that God does for us freely because Jesus paid it all.

The devil will try to ruin our reputations in the community, but he will fail as long as the accusations are false accusations. Jesus said to rejoice and be exceeding glad when men shall revile you “and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” One of the reasons that the devil wants us to do wrong is so that he can use our failures against us to bring reproach and reviling against our names from the lost people of the world. It is a sad thing when a pastor or any other Christian has brought reproach against the cause of Christ. The Lord is trying to build up our faith so that our lights will shine brightly in the midst of a world of darkness. The devil is trying to drag us down so that we will have the opposite effect on those around us.

There is a great need in the world for good pastors. There are never enough of them. “If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.” The qualifications are very high, as they should be. If you would like to be a pastor or even if you would like to be a Christian believer of the highest character, make sure that the things listed in First Timothy 3:1-7 are things that you aspire to and strive for. There are high standards for pastors, and there are equally high standards for deacons. First Timothy 3:8 says, “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre.”

The word deacon means servant. A deacon will be assisting a pastor in a congregation of believers. A deacon has responsibilities in the church regarding practical matters and will therefore be a leader and role model for other believers in many ways. Even though the requirements are similar, the responsibilities of a deacon are much different from that of the pastor. The pastor’s responsibilities should center around prayer, Bible study, and sermon preparation. The deacons have more practical responsibilities of taking care of certain affairs of the church that the pastor does not have time to do. Notice that even though many of the qualifications are the same for pastors and deacons, only the pastor has the qualification of being “apt to teach.” That is because the words pastor and teacher go together. If someone does not have the gift to teach then they cannot be a pastor. The pastor feeds the sheep when he teaches them. If the sheep are not strong, then maybe it means that the sheep have not been fed the things that would have built up their faith and made them strong. That is not always the case, but it might be. It might also be that because we are in the last days, some let good teachings go in one ear and out the other.

Even though a deacon is not a teacher, when a deacon does speak he should be serious about spiritual things and he should be a person who has a reputation for telling the truth: “not double-tongued.” One of the responsibilities of a deacon will probably be to help take collections for the work of the Lord and for the distribution to needy believers. Therefore, he must not be “greedy of filthy lucre.” The words “filthy lucre” could also be translated as “base advantage.” The Bible considers someone to be of low character who goes about seeking his own advantage or profit especially in the business of taking care of the congregation. There are many people in the world who seek power and control. But a deacon should not be one of those people because he is called to be a servant.

A deacon is described in First Timothy 3:9 as “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.” In the book of First Timothy Paul wanted to emphasize the importance of having a good conscience. This is the third time in the book that he has referred to having a good conscience or a pure conscience. We cannot live by faith unless we have a good conscience. We cannot live by faith unless we are confident that there is no sin between us and the Savior. Do what is right until the stars fall, and then you will have a good conscience. If you fall, confess your sins immediately and then you will have a good conscience once again. The just shall live by faith, and you cannot live by faith unless you have a good conscience.

Notice in First Timothy 3:9 that the faith is called the “mystery of the faith.” Faith is a mystery to those who do not believe and to those who are outside of the family of God. How sad for the people of the world who do not have faith. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world: faith in God and His promises. According to Jesus, with faith we can remove mountains. True faith can be found in Jesus, and then the mystery is taken away. Through faith in Christ the blind are made to see. For those who become included in understanding the mystery of the faith, it is expected that they will do what needs to be done to keep their faith strong and to stay faithful to the faith that was once revealed to them. Some people over time fall away from the faith and a good conscience towards God, but a deacon should always be one who consistently holds the mystery of the faith in a good conscience. First Timothy 3:10 says, “And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.” Someone should not be chosen hastily to be a deacon. They must be known well before being chosen, and they must be known to be well-established in the faith.

It is important to note that there are requirements for the wife of a deacon also. First Timothy 3:11 says, “Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.” Four things are said about the wives of deacons. They should be “grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.” Three of these things are very similar to what is said to the deacons, but one requirement is made of the wives that is not made of the husband: that the wives should not be slanderers. To slander means to accuse and to speak against. Slander causes great damage to any group of people and it will cause great damage to a congregation of believers. Influential people in a church congregation need to be kind people who say positive things about others.

There is something interesting to note about the word that is translated “slanderer” in this passage. It is the word “devil.” Devil means slanderer because the devil himself is a slanderer. The devil speaks against God to humans, and the devil speaks against humans to God. He is a slanderer. Humans are most like the devil when they slander. God is kind and forgiving. The devil is harsh and accusing. Some people think when they get married that they have married an angel. The way that she speaks about other people will show how much she is like the devil in regards to slander.

The same moral character that is required of a pastor is also required of a deacon. First Timothy 3:12 says, “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” The pastor should desire and seek after the affections of only one woman, his own wife; and a deacon should desire and seek after the affections of only one woman, his own wife. Of course, this is true for all Christians. It says in the Ten Commandments to all human beings, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Adultery is a very negative thing. It will damage the individuals involved. It will damage a marriage. It will also have a tremendous negative effect on the community. There is forgiveness through Christ for this and all sins, but it is critical that pastors and deacons be involved only with their own wives. A person with any other kind of character cannot be a pastor or a deacon. In this regards, be careful whom you marry and be careful whom you choose as a pastor or a deacon.

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