The Church | A Mobilized People - 1 Timothy 3:1-15 (Oct 8) Myles Holmes

Hello, and welcome to the Redemption Church Podcast.

We're a church in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada that exists to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the spirit of the Great Commandment.

Thanks for joining us today.

You get to see the contractors build a home or maybe redesign a room, and that's what the New Testament becomes.

And so Jesus, we saw, he dies and he appears to his disciples, and in Matthew 28, he gives them the mission.

This is the mission of our church.

We talk about it all the time.

Tells the church to go and make disciples.

That is what the church is to be.

The church's mission, the reason why the church exists, is so it can make and multiply disciples.

Now, Jesus then, having been resurrected, what we find at the beginning of Acts is that he spends 40 days with the apostles and his disciples.

And he teaches them at that time.

And in Acts 1, we see the mission that Jesus is giving to the church continued.

We see it in Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

I want to read this for you.

It's a massive mission.

It's a mission that still carries on to this day.

It's a mission that should scare us as we read it, and it is the mission of the church.

Jesus says this to his disciples in Acts chapter 1, verse 8.

Acts 1:8

You see, his disciples have asked Jesus, they say in verse 6, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

And really what they're saying is, Jesus, Jesus, is this it?

Are we done?

Like, are we all going to heaven now?

And yet Jesus has a word for them.

He said, It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

But listen to this, church, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in all Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

Well, Jesus is telling the church, and by extension, what he's telling us is that the mission is not over until the whole world has been reached by the gospel.

This is a massive mission that carries on to this day.

It is a mission that has gripped the heart of the leadership of this church.

A mission to reach the world for the sake of the gospel, to see the world come to Christ, to do what we just did to praise him, to exalt him, to give glory to him.

That's our desire.

It's this mission that is so much bigger than us.

It's impossible that we could ever accomplish it on our own.

And so we're encouraged that Jesus says that it'll only happen once you receive the power of the Holy Spirit.

And so then, just you know, surveying a brief history of the church in Acts, what we find in Acts chapter 2 then is that the Holy Spirit falls.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

On Pentecost, Peter preaches a sermon, the Holy Spirit falls, and we read in Acts chapter 2, verse 41, that those who received his word, that is the word of God that Peter was preaching, were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.

Acts 2:41

Now the church is given this massive mission.

Now the church has this massive problem.

You see, the mission given to the church is too great for one person to be accomp to accomplish.

If we're to reach the ends of the earth for the sake of the gospel, there's no way that one person can do it.

So now what you have is the gospel preached, and you have 3,000 souls added to the church, given this mission.

And the question is this: how are these 3,000 people gonna be organized in a way in which they can accomplish a mission that Jesus has given to them?

Let me ask you this question.

Have you ever been with three people and try to decide where you're gonna eat for dinner?

Isn't it immensely challenging to decide just something as easy as like the restaurant to pick?

And so here you have 3,000 people who are now forming what is called the church.

And the question is, what is going to be the organizational structure that mobilizes the people of God that God is saving in order to do the mission that God has sent them on?

See, in Acts 2, thousands and thousands and thousands are saved.

We read in Acts chapter 2, verse 47.

Acts 2:47

It says that these people gathering together were praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to their number day by day.

Well, if you think it's there's a problem in Acts chapter 2, I want you to recognize that this problem of how many people are being saved and how they will be mobilized only becomes bigger and bigger as you go through Acts.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

In Acts chapter 4, verse 4, we read that many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of men came to be about 5,000.

Acts 4:4

In Acts chapter 5, we read that there are more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

In Acts chapter 6, we read that the word of God continued to increase, and the numbers of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

In Acts chapter 9, we read that the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

And Luke says it multiplied.

In Acts chapter 11, again, as the church is continuing to expand, it says the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

In Acts chapter 13, it says the word of God increased and multiplied again in Acts chapter 13.

Acts 13 · chapter mention Acts 13 · chapter mention

The Gentiles heard and began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed, and the word of the Lord was spreading through the whole region.

In chapter 19, we're told the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

See, what we see through the Gospel of Acts, and what we see to this very day is that people are being added to the kingdom of God, that the people of God are being multiplied massively, and this produces a great problem.

If organizational structure is not given to the fastest expanding movement that the history of humanity has ever seen, then there is no way that they can ever stay on task.

How many of you notice that, you know, if you're you've been a Christian for any number of years, the church has an immensely difficult time with this, doesn't it?

The church has an immensely difficult time keeping the main thing the main thing.

And so we've all heard of church splits that have happened because of the color of the carpet, or the type of music that we sing, or things that are really inconsequential to the very mission and heartbeat of the church.

See, if the church is not given this organizational structure, if the church is not given leadership and structure that mobilizes its mission, then the church will fail the very mission for which it was created, to go and make and multiply disciples.

And so this becomes so relevant for us to talk about the organizational structure that is given to the church, to talk about what Jesus has done in building his church in order that we as disciples of the church and ultimately of Jesus might be mobilized to accomplish this mission.

This is so relevant for us.

I mean, you know as the pastor of the church, I also just think about the time of life that we find ourselves in as a church.

You know, this past week, on Monday, we had step two, which is you won't believe this, we say this often, it's a second step of becoming, you know, connected in this church.

And we had a number of people, 12 actually, who are in that room, and and each one of them, um, I think I can speak for each of them, so excited to become a part of this church.

Next week we're gonna have baptism.

A number of people are stepping into the waters of baptism to declare the faith that they have placed in Jesus Christ.

And that's a really exciting thing to celebrate together as a church, and yet the reality is this that there is a great need for discipleship, and there is a great need for us to be disciples.

And so the question for us of of how Jesus built his building his church and structures his church in order that we might be mobilized for the mission of going and making and multiplying disciples is of utmost importance to us, but not only because of what God is doing inside the church in these days, but also because of what God wants to do in the surrounding region.

We think about Newmarket, we think about Uxbridge, about Stowville, about Aurora, about Sharon, about Bradford, about Innisville, about whatever other boonie town I forgot that you live in.

And there are so many lost people yet to be reached.

And unless this church is mobilized for the mission that Jesus has given to it, to see lost people saved, and saved people matured, and mature people multiplied, then it will never be able to accomplish the mission for which it was created.

And so we must be mobilized.

Now it's interesting that as we open up the New Testament, what we're going to find in 1 Timothy 3 and all really throughout the New Testament, is that God has given a structure to his church.

And the structure becomes immensely important.

We see the structure really set out most clearly, I think, in 1 Timothy 3, verses 1 to 15.

1 Timothy 3:1–15

And so let me read this together and then let's talk about being a mobilized people.

Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 3.

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

He says, The saying is trustworthy.

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

He must manage his own household well, with all dignity, keeping his children submissive.

For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into this into a snare of the devil.

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.

They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

And let them also be tested first, then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children in their own households well.

For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves, and also and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

I hope to come to you soon, but I'm writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and a buttress of the truth.

I want you to see that in the New Testament, an organizational structure is given to the church, and we're gonna see really three offices of the church here.

The first is that of the elder, the second is that of the deacon, and the third is that of the member.

This is what makes up the church.

This is the organizational structure that Jesus himself has given to the church.

And so we're gonna look at each of those roles respectively, and within each of those roles, I want to think about the calling, the character, and the competency of those respective roles and offices.

And so, first let's look at the elders.

And the first point I want you to see is this that elders they lead by equipping the saints.

They lead by equipping the saints.

And so let's look at the calling of the elder.

Now look at verse one with me.

Paul writes to Timothy, he says, the saying is trustworthy.

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he decided he desires a noble task.

Now, notice with me that Paul calls this an office.

This is an official position of the church.

Now, I say that because it's really important.

There are uh, I'll put a quotation around this, churches, which I believe to at the very least be functioning in an unbiblical way because they do not have elders, and at the very most cannot be even be considered churches because they have not taken the structure that Jesus has given to the church seriously.

This is an office that is given to the church by Jesus.

That's why in Acts chapter 20, what we read is this.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

Paul says this.

He says, Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

There's this idea that Jesus has bought the church with his own blood, and that the Holy Spirit, in one sense, is empowering overseers, the same word we see here in 1 Timothy chapter 3, he's empowering overseers to care for the flock.

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

And so that's really important.

We saw this last week, didn't we?

We saw last week that Jesus cares about you, and one of the ways that he is proving his care for you is he and he is inviting you into the church, which is the institution for spiritual care.

You know, we're so thankful to live in Canada where it's like every other block, there's a walk-in clinic, and most major cities have hospitals, and and we have so much access to physical health care, so that if something happens, you break a bone, you cut off a limb, you do something else drastic, you know exactly where to go.

Unless you're a real man, then you never go to the doctor, right?

But for the rest of us, you know exactly where to go, and so it is with the church.

Jesus cares about you, and and he created the church to be the institution of spiritual care, and he has given to the church overseers.

And so I want you to notice that this is an official office, so that a church without biblically functioning elders, we could say, is a church that is not functioning biblically.

But we notice really as we think about the calling of the elder, the the title here really shows us what the elder is to do.

Notice that the title here is overseer.

He is an overseer.

The idea here, it's the Greek word episcopos, and it refers to the general responsibility of the elders who are given to the church to guard the church.

Titus is told by Paul that he is to refute false gospels.

It is the role of the elders to oversee the doctrine of the church, to make sure that the truth is proclaimed, which is really the power of the church.

Now, this is not the only title that is used of the elder.

In fact, in 1 Peter, this is going to come up on the screen.

In 1 Peter, we see three titles that are given to the elders, and in one verse we find all three titles that are used in the New Testament for elders.

And so let me read this for us.

It says, So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.

Now, notice first there, the first thing that elders are called, not only are they overseers, they are also called here elders.

Now, this is a title that is given to elders that is separate from that of overseer.

And for an elder to serve in this role means that he has a spiritual maturity.

He has a spiritual age to him.

This isn't talking about a physical age, although some of our elders have that down pat as well.

This is talking about a spiritual maturity.

I just insulted some of the elders there, and they're gonna be unhappy with me, and yet here we are.

This is talking about a spiritual maturity.

See, the elder role is the one who in the church should be able to say these words imitate me as I imitate Christ.

It's incredibly frightening to know that as an elder, the goal is to live in a way in which the people that you are leading and shepherding and overseeing can look at your life, and if they were to copy your life, they would be imitating Jesus Christ.

And so you start to see here how incredibly important this role of elders is.

See, in many ways, the elder can't, or the church cannot rise above the leadership of the elder.

There are exceptions where that happens, but it is very rarely the case.

The elders set the spiritual tone for the church.

The elders model spiritual health within the church.

They are those who are exercising a spiritual maturity as elders.

Now notice also here that Peter goes on, and so he says, Shepherd the flock of God that is among you.

And here we find the second title for elders, and that is the title of shepherd.

Elders are to be shepherds or pastors.

The Greek word here is poimen.

That means that the elders are called to exercise a care over the church that they are leading.

Now, this care especially pertains to the spiritual life as it is given to the church through the feeding of God's word.

When Jesus talks to Peter, and Peter will be the foundation of the church as the apostle, what does he say to Peter?

He says, Peter, feed my sheep.

Feed my sheep.

This is the role of the shepherd, the shepherd, the shepherd elder, to care for the flock of God, to guide the flock of God towards spiritual maturity.

At the end of the day, that role falls on the elder, on the shoulders of the elder.

Now let's continue to read 1 Peter here.

We see again the third role of an elder.

He says, Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight.

Again, as Paul says to Timothy, you are an overseer, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful game, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

See, here elders are called to be overseers.

They're called to be overseers of the ministry.

Now I think that's really important for us to think about that word, overseers.

See, the role of an elder is not to do everything.

See, we live in a day and an age where we're kind of like culturally picking up an ecclesiology and understanding of the church, but I want you to understand that the church, as Jesus designed it, has designed it so that the elders are overseers of the spiritual ministry.

But the expectation is not that elders can do everything that is required in caring for the church.

Think for a moment the way that Jesus modeled ministry.

How many people did Jesus disciple?

Well, the answer is really clear for us in the New Testament.

He discipled twelve.

And even within that twelve, when you when you look at the people who were, he was really closely discipling, there was really three, wasn't there?

There is an inner three in which Jesus discipled.

And so the pastor who stands in front of his church and says, All that you need in order to reach spiritual maturity is to be close to me.

All that you need is my ministry, really overextends himself, really thinks too highly of himself.

See, the pastor cannot care for all of the needs, and yet the role of the pastor-elder is to be the overseer of the spiritual care for the church.

That's why in Ephesians 4, and we're going to turn here later this morning, in Ephesians 4, Paul says that the pastors and elders and shepherds have been given to the church as a gift to the church, and then he says this: to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

That's the role of the elders is to equip the saints for the work of care and discipleship and growth that happens in the church.

Here we see the calling of the elder: to be a shepherd, to be an overseer, to be spiritually mature.

Practically, what does that look like then?

What does an elder do?

Well, one of the ways that we've kind of defined, and as elders of this church, one of the ways that we've kept ourselves on task and on mission is by summarizing it like this: that the elders care for the doctrine, the direction, and discipline within the church.

This is the role of the elder, to preach and protect doctrine, to deal with discipline where needs arise, and to care for the direction and vision of the church.

Now notice that Paul says here in verse 1, he says that anyone who aspires to this office desires a noble task.

Note that that means that the requirement here is for a plurality of elders.

That's why at this church we have three elders, and why we are constantly pouring into other men in order that we might raise up more elders.

Because the idea here is that it's not just one elder who's ruling over the church.

There is a plurality, a board of elders who are governing together.

Now, Paul says this is a noble task.

A noble task.

And there's some Real application for us here, especially for men.

See what Scripture calls us to as men is to aspire to this level of leadership, to desire to be used in this way.

And see, some of you are looking at that and you're saying, Oh man, elder, that's like way too weighty of a role for me.

And yet what the scriptures constantly present is that there are rewards for this.

That's what 1 Peter said.

There are rewards for this.

But also as Jesus cultivates this love in your heart for his people, there should be this overwhelming desire to care for his people.

As you grow in the faith, there should be this overwhelming desire to be used by God in order to influence and mature other believers.

And so I want to encourage the men of our church.

Part of your application this morning should be this: What is separating me from the man that God is calling me to be as an elder?

What is it in my life that maybe would disqualify me from that role?

And what is it that I need to do in order to gain the spiritual maturity and leadership to be in a place where I might have that spiritual influence over someone's life?

See, this is a noble task, Paul says.

It's a task that we as men should aspire to, and yet he also says it's a noble task because I believe that it is a very hard calling.

And we see that as we consider the character of an elder.

Look at verse 2 with me, as we consider the character of an elder.

He says, Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach.

I want you to understand that the greatest concern for the leadership of the church in Jesus' eyes is character.

The elder must be above reproach.

There must be nothing in the elder's life that another person could come and kind of expose them as a fraud.

They must lead with integrity.

They must lead from a position of character first.

Now, this is so important for us because often what we see in the church is that instead of looking for leaders of character, often we look for maybe leaders of charisma.

Oh, you know, we all like this guy, and so let's make him an elder.

And yet, time and time again, the scriptures are reminding us that is not what we look for in an elder.

We don't look for charisma, we look for character.

Other churches might emphasize the business aspect of a man's life, so that if you do well in business, well then you can become an elder, because obviously you're going to be able to, if you can govern well in business, you can govern well in the business of the church.

And yet I want you to understand here that your business has nothing to do with the qualifications of an elder and has everything to do with your character.

That should be very encouraging to us.

See, what God looks at is the heart.

He doesn't care about your earthly accomplishments.

What he cares about is your spiritual maturity.

And so this is a calling to character, not charisma.

I want you to also notice, though, that as we talk about this, that what's being talked about here is not the perfection of life, but the direction of life.

And so I just want to confess for you, I mean, this is very obvious when you look at my life and if you know me well.

I am not perfect in any way.

Some of you guys laughed there, and that was not the time to laugh, okay?

Some of you guys I was hoping for like a shocked face.

Like, I can't believe that.

I thought you were perfect.

I'm not perfect.

None of our elders are.

The calling here is not perfection.

The calling is a direction of life in which you are growing in the character of Christ-likeness.

Now, Paul goes on, he says that the elder must be the husband of one wife.

And what Paul is saying here, really, you could translate this: a one-woman man.

This is not that the elders of the church must be married.

It is very possible to be single in an elder.

Paul, very likely at the time of writing this letter, was single.

Jesus himself obviously was single, and so it's clear that Jesus wasn't disqualified for this position, being really the chief shepherd of the church.

But the call here is to be a one-woman man.

And I think it's really significant here that this is one of the first characteristics that is given to the elders, because I also believe that it is one of the very characteristics that does the most damage to the church.

So it's very likely that you yourself know of pastors and elders who have fallen into sexual sin, and great damage has been done to the church through that.

And so it's of utmost importance that the elders are one woman man, that they have eyes for nobody other than their wife or their future wife.

Paul goes on.

That these elders are to be, look at verse 2, sober-minded, self-controlled and respectable.

To be sober-minded is to have clarity of thought.

It's like your life isn't engaged with other pursuits.

Your pursuit is for Jesus and his glory.

To be self-controlled is to have control over your emotions, to have control over your life.

This is a self-control that is exemplified in the way that the elder uses his money, and the way that the elder uh eats food, and the way that the elder conducts his time.

And because of this clear-headedness, because of this self-control, Paul says that these people are to be respectable.

You are to look at their life and say, That's something, that's a life that I want to live.

That's a life that is compelling to live.

These men are respectable.

Paul goes on that these are men are hospitable.

They invite others into their home.

We're going to come back to Abel to teach in a moment, but look at verse 3.

He says, Not a drunkard.

They have control against self-control over the way that they drink.

Paul says they're not violent, but gentle.

There is a gentleness to them.

There is a willingness for the people that they lead to come up to them and address problems with them.

Not quarrelsome.

They bring peace to the church.

Not a lover of money.

Not that the elder doesn't have money, but that the money is not consuming their life.

Verse 4, Paul goes on, he must manage his household well with all dignity, keeping his children submissive.

There's a great call here to examine anyone who would be an elder, to examine their home life.

How do they lead in the family?

This is why Paul goes on in verse 5 to say, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how is he going to care for God's church?

There must be a model here.

And the elders, in the way that they father their children, in the way that they love their wife, there must be a model that they lead well.

Not that their children are all saved, and especially not that their children are perfect.

If that's some of the case, some of you guys would look at me with my children this morning and be that say that man is disqualified.

In fact, I uh went to seminary at an old Baptist church, the oldest Baptist church in Toronto, and they have a massive stage with a massive organ, okay?

Like think about as traditional Baptists as you can, that's what it is.

And their stage, it has like multiple tiers, if you can imagine that, okay?

And so they have this massive pulpit.

You remember the good old days where the pulpit, it took, it was like a kilometer run.

By the time the pastor got into it, he was out of breath, he had to go up so many stairs, these massive pulpit, and on the lower tier below the pulpit, they have these chairs.

And there are as many chairs as there are members in that pastor's family.

And you know where the pastor's family would sit, no matter how young they were?

In that little front row.

They would face you the whole time.

And I look at that and I say, that is absolutely terrifying to the thought of having my six, four, and two-year-old sitting up here the whole time facing you for you to observe their behavior.

I'm glad.

You know, there are some traditions that are great, but traditionalism, there are some things that have died, and that is a great thing that they have died.

But you get the idea here that there you should be able to observe in the elders' life that there is a presence of leadership in their home.

We get the idea in verse 6 that this these elders they must be mature.

It says he must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into condemnation of the devil.

And again, that verse 7, he must be well thought out by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

The elders' life is to be caught up with the task of evangelism in which they are preaching the gospel, and that the people in their sphere of influence are looking at them and seeing a level of Christ-like character.

Now, this is the character of the people to whom Christ has called to lead his church.

I want to think for a moment, though, about the competency.

Notice that Paul says, in terms of competency, obviously the character is important here, but the elder, he says, must be able to teach.

Again, Titus says that the elder's role is to refute what is wrong.

Now, there are some elders, we discover in Scripture, that are especially tasked with preaching the gospel.

I want you to understand here, though, that this is not primarily talking about just the public preaching ministry of the elder, but of the teaching ministry of the elder.

And so this, of course, can be done publicly, but it's also a teaching ministry in which the elder is able to sit and refute false ideas with the truth of God's word.

The elder must have an understanding of God's word and what God's word says in order that he can lead the church in the direction in which God would lead it.

After all, what we read in 1 Peter, the the elders are shepherds underneath the chief shepherd.

The elders are to do nothing in their own authority, really, all is to be done in the authority of God that he has given to us in his word.

Now you'll notice here that this is really the only difference between what an elder is called to be and do and what generally all Christians are called to be and do.

Do you notice that?

As we went through the character, it's not like because you're not an elder, you're off the hook for any of these things.

All these things are expected of you.

But here we see the role of the elder especially is to protect the church by protecting the role the word of God.

This is why the role of elder is so crucial.

I am sure that some of you guys, if not all of you, most of us, drove by churches this very morning.

And their parking lots in many ways were empty.

Apart from a building, they really have no life.

This is the sad reality of our day that many churches are dying.

And that as we think about the future, there's great danger as it becomes increasingly harder for churches like ourselves to find buildings and places to call home.

Churches that have buildings and facilities are increasingly dying and so far away from the gospel that they no longer care about the kingdom of Christ, giving these buildings away to secular endeavors.

The reality is that many churches are dying, and as you ask yourself this question, why are they dying?

The reality in every single one of them is that they have taken this book and that they have closed it.

As soon as you close the word of God, you lose the power for the mission that Christ sends us on.

And so it's important for us to see here that the elders' role is to be able to teach, it is to protect this book, it is to ensure that everything that happens in the context of church ministry is happening according to God's word.

And so let me, as an application, draw this out again for each of us, especially for the men.

This is the calling, the character, and the competency of the elder.

Let me ask you this: what is separating you from this right now?

What is separating you from this?

Isn't the reality that for so many of us, men and women alike, so many of us, we have our eyes set on other things in this world.

The church has just become kind of like this thing that we attend on Sunday and maybe another time throughout the week, and yet it is not our primary desire.

It is not our primary mission.

And I'm convinced that many of us are gonna stand before the Lord, and we're gonna have a whole list of these earthly accomplishments that we've achieved, all these moves that we've made in business, all these promotions that we got at the office, all these things that we did, all these materials and possessions that we had, we'll have an impressive list that would impress any of our neighbors, and yet as the Lord looks at it, he will look at us and say, But what did you do for my bride?

How did you care for my people?

What influence did you exert in the lives of your brothers and sisters in Christ?

See, there should be no greater desire in our hearts than to be used by the Lord in order to accomplish the mission that He has given to us, the mission for which he is waiting to return, that all the earth might be reached for the sake of the gospel.

This is the call to the elders.

I want you to see also, though, in verse 8, we're introduced to another office.

This is the office of deacons.

I want you to see that deacons here they serve by helping the elders.

This is our second point as we consider the calling and character and competency of deacons.

They serve by helping the elders.

Now, notice here that there is a new section.

It says deacons likewise, and then it's gonna go on, just like he listed character traits for the elders, it's gonna go on to list character traits for the deacons, and what we're gonna find is that much of them are the same, which begs the question, why is this section even here?

And the answer to that is because it's clear in the New Testament that deacons are a separate role given to the church that is separate from the role of elders.

Now, this is really important for us to recognize.

Some of us have grown up in different churches where the church government is maybe operated in a different way, where maybe elders are called deacons.

Maybe there's only one role, maybe there are even no elders, but I want you to understand here that biblically we're given a the church is given a structure, and here deacons are clearly shown as a different role.

And so the question then is what is the calling of deacons?

Well, we find that again as we consider the title here that Jesus has given to this office, and that is the title of deacon.

That means a servant.

In fact, that was used regularly in this day.

This was not a word that was reserved for the church and its ministry, but but to be a deacon was to be a servant.

And so we understand the distinction here.

See, if a if a lead if an elder is to serve the church by leading the church, well then a deacon is to lead the church by serving.

The primary role and calling of a deacon is that of serving.

They are a servant, separate from the elders, and that they care really for the practical needs of the church.

Now, I want you to see this.

We we talked about the history of the church, but I want you to open to Acts chapter six with me.

And we believe in a thing at this church called Bible shaming, where for the first time you come, you are led off the hook here if you don't turn to Acts chapter six.

But if you're sitting beside someone who regularly comes here and they're not turning right now in their phone or their Bible to Acts chapter six, you get to shame them, okay?

You just, is that the symbol for shame?

Say, you gotta turn there.

Open up to God's word.

Acts chapter six.

It's hard, isn't it?

But we're there.

Now this problem arose, you know, as the church is multiplying in thousands and thousands and thousands, all these local churches are being established.

It says, now in these days, in chapter six, verse one, in these days, when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the spirit and of wisdom, who we will appoint to this duty.

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus, and Niconor, and Timon, and Parmenius, and Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch.

They sat before the disciples the apostles.

These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the numbers of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.

What do we see here?

We see that the weight of caring for the number of people that were coming into the church was becoming so burdensome to the elders that they could not do it well anymore, and they were starting to drop the ball on certain responsibilities.

You could not imagine in a church of this size, where there's thousands and thousands of people, the daily needs that would arise in the life of the church, in which the elders here needed to care for.

And so they were so busy caring for the church that it became like plate spinning, and they could not do all the things that were required of them according to their calling, and commit themselves to the most important duties of the church.

That is prayer and the ministry of the word.

And so, in committing themselves to the most important things, some of the less important things, some of the things that were taking up much of their time, started to fall off the wayside.

And so they decided here to pick out men who would be able to come alongside the elders and serve them by taking care of a lot of practical needs that were required in the life of the church and in the operation of the church.

And so here we see practically the elders are given oversight.

The elders care for the direction, the doctrine, and the discipline of the church, and yet here we see that there was a great necessity for men to come alongside these elders and serve the church in its practical needs.

Now, there's great debate about whether or not this is talking about deacons.

Obviously, the word here, a deacon, is not used, and yet we can at least agree that there is a great need in the church for its practical needs to be met, so that when Timothy is then told that he must appoint deacons, well, that makes sense then, because in the life of the church there arise all many practical needs that need to be cared for.

And it makes sense that there are a role given of servants who care for these practical needs.

Now, what might those practical needs look like?

Well, in the New Testament, we're not told exactly what that should look like.

Where elders are given a very specific task.

The role of deacons and what exactly they do is not necessarily prescribed.

And yet I think as we look at the life of the church, we can say this: that there is much need in the administration of the church, in the finances of the church, in the building, if we were to have one, praying, Lord willing, someday that there's going to be a great need for someone to serve in that capacity and helping us in our future building, in benevolence, in the needs that arise in the church that are practical in nature, whether health or finance, and even in hospitality, in the way that we welcome new people.

All of these are important tasks, tasks that take much time, much energy, and even much people who are spiritual gift spiritually gifted in this nature to accomplish.

Tasks where, if they were given to Dave Locke, Dave Grant, and myself, would be an absolute disaster.

I could make a great cup of coffee, but if I were to lead you in worship, you would all this, I mean, it would be the fastest way to kill a church.

And so we're thankful for these people that are given to the church.

Thankful for these people that are gifted and use their gifts, their times, their talents, their treasures to serve the church and its practical needs.

This is the calling of the deacon to serve.

Now, I want to think about the character together, and I want you to notice again in 1 Timothy 3 here that the character very much is similar to that of the elder.

Again, this is not anything that is not relevant for all Christians.

And so we read again that deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, just like the elder, not greedy for dishonest gain.

Paul goes on, they must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

That is, they are saved, they understand gospel doctrine.

Verse 10 it says, Let them also be tested first, then let them serve as deacons, if they prove themselves blameless.

That is, there it is to be a process in establishing deacons in the church in which you come to understand that they can do the task of a deacon, they can serve.

It says their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

Again, just as the elders, let deacons each be the husband of one wife, one woman men, managing their children and their own household well.

Verse 13, he says, For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves, and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

And so, in very many ways, the character of the deacon is to be the same as the elder.

Now I want to ask one really important question.

And the question is this Can women be deacons?

Scripture is clear in reference to the task of the elder, especially as it pertains to teaching, that it is men who are called to lead the church.

Now, I want to just be clear.

We could preach a whole other message on that, and I'm sure at some point we will, but I want to just be clear.

That doesn't mean that men are greater than women.

I don't want you to hear that at all.

What I want you to hear is that women are so significant that their role is different from men.

You understand that.

If you have spent any time as a woman with a man, you understand how differently they think, how different they really are.

You look at them, you scratch your head, you say, I don't understand why you are the way that you are.

Some of the women in this church looking at their husbands saying, Amen.

That's been the mystery of my life.

And men, you look at women and you think the same way.

Who can know the mind of a woman, only woman, only the Lord, right?

We're so different.

And despite what culture says, it's actually our difference that is so beautiful.

And so I just want to affirm for you here that there is an equality of men and women in the scriptures, while there is a difference in the roles that is given to men and women.

And so long as we uphold those differences, women keep their dignity and their beauty.

And so long as we try to make those roles the same, what we lose, both as men and women, is the beauty of the distinction which God created between men and women.

And so scripture is clear that the role of leadership as elders and teaching in the church is reserved for men.

When it comes to deacons, I want you to understand there is great debate on this.

And people that I look up to, that I really respect, they all land on different sides of this debate.

You know, typically as you think about like contentious issues in the church, typically it's like, okay, you know, if there is like a hundred people you trust, it's like 98 of them fall in the same, and there's like a two wackos.

So you're like, okay, probably the 98 are right.

But here in this issue, I want you to understand it's really like 50-50.

There are men that I love that are so serious about reading God's word, so serious about studying it and being faithful to it, that look at deacons and understand that it is a role for both men and women, and there are men that I love that understand that it is a role that is given just to men.

And so my question is, which is it?

And my answer is, I don't know.

That's not what you wanted.

Now let me say this, okay?

As elders, we've been talking about this role, and we're gonna talk about that in a minute, and we've been going back and forth on this, and I would say, I can speak confidently, that all the elders are in the same place, that as we seek to understand the question, can women be deacons?

The elders collectively would say this, we don't know.

Was that helpful?

And yet, let me make an argument.

I'm I'm nine kind of 95% on this, and this is something that we're still talking about, and and we will c in in coming weeks and and months, we're gonna land on a position, and yet I'm 95% sure, I would say, that scripture is telling us that women can be deacons.

Now, let me make an argument for that, and let me maybe try to stand in the other position and also make an argument for that so that you can all be as equally confused about this as I am.

Notice in verse 11, it says, their wives likewise must be dignified.

Now, in the original language, that possessive pronoun there, the word their, which would be referencing the deacon's wives, it's actually not there.

And so what you have there is a footnote.

You see that little number five, it's uh that's a number five in my text.

Yours might be a different one, but you probably have a footnote in which, if you go down to the bottom of your page, you'll notice that there are different words there.

Well, what's going on here?

What's going on is we are given uh in the Greek New Testament, we're given a Greek New Testament, and we have all these copies, thousands and thousands of copies of the letter that Paul wrote to Timothy.

And as we compare all of these copies, we see different things happening in them, so that sometimes we're not so sure exactly what was said in the original.

Now I want you to understand, in 99.9% of cases we are sure.

But there are also cases like this, where as we look at the context of what's being said, and we look at the Greek grammar and the words that are being used, well, it it kind of depends on how you interpret the context, the way that you translate the verse.

And so the word wives here can either be women, but the same word is used for wives.

We have that in the English language, don't we?

We we have one word that can share multiple different meanings.

This is why the English language could be so confusing.

If I were to talk to you about a key, many of you guys will probably think about, you know, the keys that are in your pocket to your car, but we also could be talking about, you know, there's a basketball net in here, so maybe we're talking about the key of the basketball net, but maybe I'm also talking about the key, you know, point of this sermon, but or maybe I'm also talking about an island, which is also a key.

You see, there's all these different meanings for one word, and here the word can either mean wives or it can mean women, and so it's up to us to look at the context and understand what is being talked about here.

Now, I want to make the argument here that it's likely that what Paul is talking to is not the wives of deacons, but women who are deacons.

And that would make sense because look at what he says.

He says, wives likewise.

Wives likewise, just like in verse 8, deacons likewise, in a similar way to the elders, it says women likewise, in the similar way to male deacons, then must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded and faithful in all things.

This is specific instruction, I think, that is given to women deacons.

I want you also to notice here, to add maybe to this argument, that I think it's very significant that the role of elder is the uh role that exercises oversight over the deacon, and yet, and yet, wives aren't really given any instruction.

The character of the wife is not talked about in verses 1 to 7.

It's talked about here.

And I think that kind of points us to the fact that what Paul is talking about here is not about the wives of deacons.

Surely if he had something to say to the wives of deacons, he would have something to say to the wives of elders.

Likely what Paul is talking about here is the women who are deacons.

Now I would add to this in Romans 16, we are told of a woman whose name is Phoebe, and she is called a deacon in Romans chapter 16, verse 1, and then in verse 2, we kind of see that she's fulfilling the role that is given to deacons that we saw here in the calling of deacon.

Romans 16:1

And so all of these things cause me to believe that women can be deacons.

Now, the one thing that maybe keeps me from fully landing on that is that it seems odd then that in verse 12 Paul goes back to the male deacons to say, let each of the deacons be the husband of one wife.

And yet, as I consider all of the arguments, and I had to put if I had to put my foot down, if you were to hold the gun to me, right in this moment, I would put my foot down on the fact that women can be deacons.

And this is what I want you to understand.

Part of the role, what you're seeing here is a window into the role of elders, is to together discern what Scripture says and decide the direction of the church.

And so you can sit on the edge of your seats.

Well, in the coming weeks and months, we discern where the church should go.

And maybe we'll have like an over-under.

You can, you know, cast lots and bets on where you think we're gonna land.

Let's talk about the competency, and I'm gonna wrap up really close soon here.

Competency.

Notice that the only difference between deacons and elders is really in their leadership.

There are a number of things that deacons are not told, that elders are told.

There's no talk in deacons about being able to teach.

That is because they're not expected to teach the ministry of the word.

There's no talk of them managing, they're told to manage their household well, but it's not for the sake of managing the church.

It's just to show that they are uh serving and caring for their family properly.

And so we here we see that the competency has to do in the way that they serve.

They're to be tested.

Do they serve well?

And that's uh really the only role, that they have the character of an elder and that they are gifted in serving.

Now, the question I think that's probably in all of our minds is who are the deacons in this church?

And if you've been at this church for any length of time, you know that formally we actually don't have this role uh formally in our church.

And yet, as I look at the life of this church, I can just point out that there are many people who have stepped up as deacons, who have stepped up as servants.

In many ways, it is the small group leaders who care for so many of these things.

You need to know that on a small group level, the cares of our the needs of our church are cared for so uh practically by our small group leaders as they coordinate our small group efforts around the people who need care.

I also think about the staff, both the staff who have historically worked here and the staff who work here now.

In many ways, they are the servants who are caring for the practical needs of the church.

But there are many other people who have stepped up and cared for the facility or cared for the finances, who have done all these things.

And so, very practically, we've had a number of people step up into the servant role without having the formal position, and yet we don't have the formal position.

And so, again, to leave you on the edge of your seat, this is something that the elders are talking about, we've been talking about for almost a year now, and that we are deciding on, and you'll see in the coming weeks that this will be a position, it's our conviction that needs to be formally uh created in our church, the position of deacons.

Okay.

This is a lot, isn't it?

And I have one more point, but I'm actually gonna scratch it so you can thank me later, okay?

And the last point is this.

I'm actually gonna preach it now.

No, I'm just kidding.

The last point is this it's about members.

Strengthen by ministering to one another.

And I want you to understand that um the church and its success, I think primarily happens here in membership.

And this is something that we're gonna talk about in coming weeks, and so we don't need to spend a lot of time here.

But I want to maybe share with you one quote.

You see, in the New Testament, we see that the members of the church, we talked about this in Ephesians 4, are given a responsibility to practice the one another's.

They're called to serve.

And so Paul says to the leadership of the church in Ephesus that the apostles and shepherds have been given to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

And we read in Ephesians 4 that they're speak to truth speak the truth in love to each other.

And this is the way that the church is built up.

And so I want you to understand that without without you, without you caring for the needs of people in this church, pouring your life into the lives of others in this church, this church cannot grow.

This is a family effort.

That's why Paul says in 1 Timothy 3 that we are the household of God.

Everybody has a responsibility to uphold the truth.

And in closing, I want to share this one quote with you.

It's so practical to the needs of our church.

Kevin DeYoung, he says this the one indispensable requirement for producing godly, mature Christians is godly, mature Christians.

Can I read that again?

This is this is so practical for our church.

I think like if I if I could pin one quote that's like, this is where we are at as a church, this is so practical for us.

The one indispensable requirement for producing godly, mature Christians is godly, mature Christians.

Let me say this to you, church.

You are needed.

You are needed here.

Your ministry, your gifts, your time, your talents, your treasures, they are greatly needed here.

The mission is too great for three men, let alone 12 men, let alone a hundred people to accomplish.

We need your help.

If this mission will be accomplished, it requires that you look at the mission and you say, I'm in.

See, it's only then when this church is mobilized for the mission that Christ has given us that we'll be able to reach the thousands and thousands of people in Newmarket and the surrounding areas that need the Lord.

We need to be mobilized.

God help us.

Let me pray.

Father, Lord, we bow before you.

God, we thank you, Lord, that you have given us such a clear vision of what the church is to be.

And God, I pray for your help.

Lord, we see you working so powerfully in our midst.

Lord, we see you accomplishing so many things.

Lord, we see lost people saved and saved people matured and mature people multiplied, all to your glory.

And so, God, we pray for your help as a church.

Would you help mobilize us?

God, we thank you for the elders that you have given us.

We thank you for the many who have served in the role of deacon that you have given us.

We thank you for the many members who are bought into this ministry, who want to practice the one another's, who want to pour their lives into the lives of brothers and sisters in Christ.

Lord, we thank you for the many who are coming into the church with a desire to do the same.

God, you are doing this work.

And I pray, Lord, that we would submit ourselves to you as you continue to do this work.

And so, God, we give you all the praise.

And we pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.