It is a faithful (pistos)
saying (logos), if ANY man stretches
himself as in pressing toward the mark like our Lord pressed in prayer until
sweat came as drops of blood, and presses in this manner to become a bishop,
then the one who has been examined and found worthy of this honor, that
coveting is a good and honest and fitting enterprise.
It does you no good to say, “I wish I was a bishop. Look how everyone respects him and treats him
with deference.” First, that’s
ridiculous. I’ve been a bishop for
several years now and cannot say I have sycophants mooning over me at all hours
of the day. Second, the road to this
title is a rugged and regularly painful one full of sacrifices and endless
surrenders to the needs of the flock.
The integrity alone to walk in this call will have you on your knees
repenting for any manner of flaws that scarcely are noticed in someone else.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior given to hospitality, apt to teach;
Blameless may be the wrong word here. Blame free might be more accurate. Since no one, certainly not me, is blame free
I suppose blameless is a good translation but the Greek draws a picture of
someone who cannot be caught by the coattails of sin trailing along behind
them. Have you ever played flag
football? You run after the one with the
ball and try to catch a streamer they have attached to their waist. If you catch it you have effectively tackled
them and they can no longer run. A
bishop who has streamers of sin, willfulness and pride trailing along behind
them is easily caught in their sin and not worthy of the title.
I know many say they are not interested in titles but God is. Why?
Because a title is a name and a name defines someone. If someone calls me Bishop Jay, they are
actually saying, “The Bishop Jay.” My
title goes ahead of me and follows along behind. It will open a door and later, if I have
behaved badly, will seal it forever.
That door might open again for one called newborn or babe in Christ if
they fall short, but not for me if I have badly used this particular
title. God expects me to do more than
merely walk in it; I had better
exemplify it.
This goes for other titles as well though. Apostles and Prophets and Pastors are looked
up to and honored so if they fall their fall is as great as the honor bestowed
upon them and the road to redemption is that much more difficult to
obtain. It’s not that God doesn’t care
what babe’s and newborn’s do, but if I fall, people will probably fall with
me. If the Apostle falls, isn’t it
likely that the pastors and others under his covering will be more likely to fall
as well?
Don’t be like Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9) who asked for
the baptism of the Holy Spirit so he could be recognized as a great power. All he got for his greed was a
chastening. Bishops, deacons and others are
to be a blessing for the church. We are
not pressing to become the spiritual CEO’s of Churchworld United.
A bishop must be the husband of only one wife. This isn’t much of a challenge in this
country because you are only allowed one but in other parts of the world,
especially the African and Arab nations this is a major biblical law. The point that needs to be seen here,
especially following the previous chapter is that God expects His people to
function smoothly as one voice and one body and that goes especially for
married ‘couples.’ A husband who does
not accept his wife’s loving and valuable assistance in ministry is not
wise. She can be far more than the
warmer of your bed, mother of your children and the keeper of the home.
The two words translated sober and vigilant are actually
(sober and vigilant) and (sober and temperate).
Sober means not to be out of control, vigilant means to be watchful and
temperate means of steady and even temperament.
A bishop ought not be a person out of control. In all areas he is controlled by the Spirit
of God. He should be a gracious host, willing to entertain guests and he should be both willing to teach and good
at it.
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy
lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
I’ve never been much of a drinker so this one is easy and
I’m not a fighter either. I love that
the word for striker is pugnacious. That Greek word made it into English
intact. We’re not to be strikers OR
quarrelsome. Not greedy of money. It’s good to have and there isn’t anything
wrong with earning money, but we aren’t supposed to be living to make
money. We live to serve and God provides
opportunities to make a living.
Patient. Sigh. Patient.
Sigh. Oh shut up! Patient.
Willing to wait on God. Willing
to wait on babes in Christ. Willing to
wait on situations. This word also means
mild and gracious while doing it. Are we
having fun yet? Does the position of Bishop seem
to be worth all the trouble? We’ve already
established you aren’t to hit, but you can’t let your temper get the better of
you and destroy or damage your witness.
Not a brawler. A bishop should be
apt to teach and just as disinclined to be a brawler. A brawler does not have his or her emotions
under control. You shouldn’t even be
inclined to brawl in the privacy of your own mind because you aren’t praying
for and loving them in that case.
This next area is important.
We’re not talking about a new Christian here. We are speaking of someone who is expected to
be mature in the faith and one of the most important parts of maturity is
rejoicing with those who rejoice and being happy for them in their blessings,
whether spiritual or natural. You can’t
be mature if God is promoting someone in their position of the Body of Christ
and you wish that was your spot. You
can’t be mature if you wish you had their money or cars or whatever. Paul was mature when he said, “I have learned
in whatsoever state I am in to be content (Philippians 4:11).”
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children
in subjection with all gravity;
Seems simple right?
All you have to do is raise your children to be obedient, respectful,
pure, honest and dedicated to God.
Easy. It does denote a man of God
who has dedicated his life to his family as well as the Lord. Too many forsake their families in favor of
the church and that is not right. The
higher in ministry you go, the more you need to spend time with your family and
spouse because you are being followed by others everywhere you go who watch
everything you do. If you stumble,
others will likely stumble as well.
5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how
shall he take care of the church of God?)
A mature man of God is not a manager of a corporation but he
ought to know how to manage a corporation.
He is not the spiritual head of the body of Christ but he better know
how to lead his portion. Above all a man
of God is a servant and a father who learned to lead by Christ’s example and
knows how to father by his exceptional work with his own children. A man of God who leaves familial wreckage in
the form of damaged and unsaved children is someone who has not learned the
first works. As always, first natural
and then spiritual. If your spiritual
children are in better shape than your natural children, go back and try to
repair the damage. They deserve it and
God may well expect it. If the bridge to
that relationship has burned to the ground, never let a day go by that you do
not lift those children up before the Lord.
6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall
into the condemnation of the devil.
Does God promote you or do you promote yourself? Did Abram stand on a mountain and shout, “I
call myself Abraham!” No. God did.
Did Jacob call himself Israel?
No. God did. God renamed Saul to Paul. He alone is the one to bring promotion when
you are ready to receive it. When I was
made a deacon, it was a near thing. I
was proud but had just learned this scripture as well as 1 Timothy 5:22. It caused me to reign in my pride and remain
humble. When I became a minister and
later an elder I had a similar thought, but God’s words stayed me. When I was ordained a bishop I knew it was
the Lord and prayed that I would one day be worthy of the calling.
Satan is the father of pride. He fell because of it and does his best to
teach others this poisonous passion. One
thing is certain, if you stumble and allow pride to overcome you, your master
the devil will condemn you before God and His angels. Pride
goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are
without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
There are any number of people who remember me as a deacon
or possibly even as a minister. I didn’t
always have that good report of the people.
Notice that Satan will lay snares for you. He knows your weaknesses and avoids your
strengths. He will even seek to keep
those you might help away from you and allow you to be surrounded by those you
struggle with. If he can make you
stumble then he has won his reward of satisfaction. If you desire great ministry beware. Every word and deed will be watched by the
enemy who will jump on every mistake you make.
Facebook, Youtube and other online sites are wonderful tools to keep in
touch with ministry, family and friends, but always walk in your anointing, your name and
your position. Never think you are just
an ordinary person. Your every word will
be judged. Beware who you make friends
with. They may be safe for you but not
another that knows you. Satan will use
every tool you give him. He knows your
weaknesses and will do all to use them against you. Once you stumble, he will condemn you before the
Father.
8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued,
not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9 Holding the mystery of
the faith in a pure conscience.
I didn’t do badly as a deacon. I didn’t lie or drink. I wasn’t after the offerings or church
money. My heart was toward God and
though I wasn’t perfect, I did all I could to serve Him faithfully. Um, the … ah … grave thing. Well, three out of four anyway. Grave means you have a character someone
venerates. You are an AUGUST PERSONAGE. Well, amen.
That just didn’t happen to be me much of the time. I believe I’m getting much better now, but
then…not so much. Occasionally the Lord
will raise you up before you are quite ready and you will have to grow into
your calling.
10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use
the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
Let these also first be tested. How did they do around money, women and
honor? Did they steal the money, chase
the women or act like Absalom (2 Samuel 15:1-6) with the honor? A deacon must be blameless because they are
going to be serving the widows and ministering to their needs. There is something seriously wrong when we
can’t trust our deacons and five-fold ministers in all areas. I hate to think that we have fallen so far in
the church that people expect to find the pimps, perverts and drunkards there.
11 Even so must their wives (gyne) be grave, not
slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
There were originally seven men chosen as deacons. The word deacon denotes a servant, one who
serves another. The word above
translated wife is translated women in some manuscripts. There is a good reason why the wives of
deacons must be held to the same standards as their husbands and a good reason
why a holy woman in the church ought to be held to the same standard. Many churches have deaconness’ and
deacons. In ours we simply call both
deacons since the word diakonos is
neither male nor female and we make no distinction.
It does touch on something we saw earlier in the letter and
that is Paul’s admonition to women to take care of their tongue. Men must watch their actions carefully but
women must watch their words. They must
avoid strong drink and be full of faith in all things that pertain to life in
God. Men and women’s brains work differently. This is clear for anyone not having a
political agenda to see. Women talk more
and communicate better than men while men are more likely to take physical
action in stressful situations. We must
all know our weaknesses and strive to overcome them.
12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling
their children and their own houses well.
Again the word gyne which can mean either woman or
wife. In this case it still means,
“Husband of one woman.” While it is
obvious in scripture that God condemns the homosexual lifestyle, this verse
makes it clear that a deacon must be heterosexual, have only one wife, raise
their children and rule their households to the same standards as bishops. In the United States we tend to say, “Well of
course.” This scripture is not so clear
cut in other countries. I met someone
two years ago who had eight wives. He
was a really nice guy and his family seemed happy. He cannot be a deacon however. Can he serve in the church in other capacities? Of course, just not as a bishop or deacon.
A deacon must be absolutely blameless toward women since their care is a major
part of his ministry.
13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well
purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is
in Christ Jesus.
This is one verse where the King James version is longer
than the amplified. The first Greek word
is in the place of ‘for’ and the second is deacon. That entire first part of the phrase is only
two words. The verse could say, “Verily
deacons who rule well present themselves faithful and worthy of ministry. They receive great boldness in the faith of
Jesus Christ." Consider the story of
Philip the deacon who became Philip the evangelist (Acts 8).
14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto
thee shortly: 15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest
to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth.
Paul’s heart was always to come and visit the churches
personally. He still had hope that
things might go his way. I love verse
15. If you never see me again and if I
am together with Jesus at the end of the day, I expect you to teach these
things and obey them in the church. It
is the living house of God Himself. The
church is to be the visible pillar of community and foundation of all God’s
truth. In other words, there is no other
way to God but as the church.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into
glory.
Everyone must agree that godliness is a great mystery. Why?
Because He, the mystery one, came in the flesh and was justified in the
Holy Spirit. He was seen by God’s angels
and preached to Gentiles. He is believed
in all the world and finally was received up to the glory of God’s
kingdom. Jesus is the alpha and the
omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last. He is all and in all.
What an awesome mystery to behold beloved.
Bishop J
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