I Timothy 3:1-7
"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, givetn to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 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." I Timothy 3:1-7. These are God's qualifications for who can be a pastor of the Lord's church. Last week we ended by looking at the biblical fact that a woman cannot be a pastor. There are many roles women have in the church, but being a pastor is forbidden by God.
The next word we want to look at in verse 1 is "desire" which means to reach out after, and desireth which means to fix the desire on, to desire earnestly, to long for. This brings with it the idea of having a strong internal passion. So, we have a strong internal passion which causes a man to reach out after. He is outwardly reaching out after the office of a bishop because of his strong inward passion. This desire is a good work. As a matter of fact, he is not desiring the office, but he desires the work.
He is desiring the work of a bishop which means to look after; visitation, or the act of visiting or being visited or inspected. Here in verse 1, it is spoken of the office of a bishop; overseer, i.e. the care and oversight of a Christian church. Other words for a bishop are: overseer, elder, shepherd and pastor. It doesn't matter which one you use, they have the same qualification and hold the same office and do the same work. The office of a bishop is truly a work.
The bible calls it a good work. "Good" in this verse means valuable; excellent. Work means labour. This man has a desire for the care and oversight of a Christian church. This is a valuable and excellent labour. To truly be in the office of a bishop is not a lazy man's place. Much labour is involved. It is truly a work. The bishop is called on to sometimes do things he doesn't like doing. He may have to go to someone's home to inform them a loved one has died. He will have to preach funerals, and weddings. He may have to help carry out church members who have died at home. He doesn't do these things because he is paid well, no, he does them because he loves the Lord and the Lord's people. The pastor is to know his flock as the flock is to know their pastor. He is not to lord over God's church, but he is to inspect and care for it.
There are multitudes of hirelings in the office of a pastor today. They are in it for the money. A good test to see if the pastor is a hireling or not is to see how he responds to testing with trials. Jesus gives us an excellent example of this in John 10:11-13. A true pastor cares for the sheep. He doesn't want to see the sheep hurt or helpless. He is willing to give his life for the sheep. In his care for the sheep, he makes sure they eat well. This means he labours in studying, and he labours in making sure no one comes in teaching and preaching heresies. This is a labour, and a warfare. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood," Acts 20:28. "To feed" refers to continuous and repeated action. The pastor is to never stop feeding the church. This means he must labour and toil and stay in this spiritual battle which also takes a toll on him physically. This is a good work, but not an easy one. "If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained," I Timothy 4:6.
Notice this word "good" in verse 6. It is the same word in chapter 3:1. A pastor that puts the brethren in remembrance of the Word of God is a valuable minister of Jesus Christ. A pastor that faithfully gives the church the Word of God in context and rightly divided is giving the church wholesome food. This church will mature. When a church matures it will become grounded in the doctrines of the Bible not the teachings of a man. This church will be grounded and will be able to withstand when the storms come. The storms will come. Whether in the storm or out of the storm a mature church will be looking unto Jesus Christ.
Let us turn to I Peter 5:1-4. "Taking the oversight" means the care and oversight of a Christian church. This is the same Greek word used in I Timothy 3:1. This is the office of a bishop. Notice how the pastor is to execute the office of a pastor in verse 2, not by constraint, but willingly. This speaks of that strong desire on the inside which causes the pastor to desire and do the work of a pastor on the outside. The pastor's motivation should never be for money. Surely not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. The pastor isn't to pastor for dirty money, but he is to pastor with a sound mind. We will look more at this as we go through the rest of the verses in I Timothy 3 concerning a pastor.
Look at I Peter 5:3, "neither as being lords over God's heritage." It is a shame when a pastor see's the church as belonging to him. It will be his way or the highway. He will be miserable, and the church will also. He will not preach to feed the flock but rather to fence and fleece them. The bishop's life must be an example to all, but especially to the flock (but being ensamples to the flock). Leading by example. In conduct and conversation. Not for the admiration of men, but in loving obedience to the Lord. The Lord is worth it. God called bishops are leaders who are compelled to serve the Lord, and the Lord's people. The work makes the office, and the Lord makes the worker. The pastor has a great responsibility. We have just begun to scratch the surface. A true God called pastor will have a desire to please the Father and a desire to care for the flock of God. He will be faithful to God and the church, even in dark times.
Pray for more God called pastors to be raised up. Pray for your elders. No matter what, continue to do kingdom work. The Lord is worthy to serve. Did you know there are God given qualifications for pastors? Next week we will look more at I Timothy 3. We have a lot to learn, and we need to learn a lot.
Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
