and die a death He did not deserve to accomplish our salvation. Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried, and on the third day He rose again, triumphant over sin, Satan, and death, having satisfied the wrath of God for our sins, accomplishing the work of salvation fully and finally for any man who will come to faith in Him. 

This is how far God was willing to go, to reach out and seek after the salvation of men. And He's even gone further for the purpose of accomplishing His will. He's called out a people, a body of men and women and children who form the church. And He has set up the local body of believers with structure and means and purpose in order to equip each individual believer to go out and do the work of ministry, to preach the gospel to every creature, to bring this good news message of salvation and the work of Christ, the desire and love of God to every man so that he might believe and be saved. 

Think of how patient and long-suffering God is through Christ, through the church, in this world, so desirous of accomplishing His will. This is very instructive for us, and it's the heart of this letter to Timothy. Again, the key verse is chapter 3 at verse 15 where he says, "I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth." 

God has designed and called out the local church for a very specific purpose. It is a fellowship, it's an encouragement, it's a training center, it's a place for teaching and worship. It is the pillar and the ground of the truth, and only here does the truth exist in our world, and only found in the Word of God and in the local church, the place of teaching and exhortation of the Word of God is where a man can grow to maturity and exercise his gifts by the grace of God to build up the believers, to glorify God, to prepare to go out into this world as His ambassadors with the saving message of Jesus Christ. 

This is the purpose of the church. Paul is teaching us how we ought to conduct ourselves here within this body in the context of the worship service and throughout the meetings, the studies, the organization of the local church to be effective in accomplishing His great desire and purpose to bring salvation to men. 

Our text today hones right in on a central part of this: qualifications for those who oversee, those who serve as leaders in the church. And this is an important section, very straightforward, but very important for us to understand because the church is really only as good as its leadership. And we see so often what can happen in situations where the leadership is not grounded in or focused on the Word of God and the purpose of the church. 

Let's begin our study in 1 Timothy 3. We're going to be looking at verses 1 to 13. 

"This is a faithful saying. Likewise, deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children in their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Well, I have three points for you on the outline this morning: First, God-given desire. Second, quality of character. Third, a good testimony. As I studied and pondered this text before us this morning, it's really been a bit of a self-introspection. One of the foremost thoughts that kept coming back to my mind is the importance of leadership and character in any organization. The leaders of an organization really set the tone for the entire association. 

Even a massive body of people belonging to a single organization is really defined by its leadership. I was thinking about Facebook as an example. A huge organization, massive influence, power, money in this time in our world. The leader, the face of that organization, is Mark Zuckerberg. Think about how this man sets the tone for that whole organization. The company employs nearly 50,000 people, and yet the entire direction and tone of the organization is the face of that one man. 

Leadership of any organization is really important, and sometimes the people who make things work, who do the production or design or service or whatever a company does can somewhat overcome or work around a bad leader, but not often, and it's very difficult, and it's not sustainable. A really good leader will direct a company and cause growth and inspiration and productivity as to their purpose. 

It's a little different in the church than it is in the world of business because we are all believers here in the body, working together with a true motive of love for God and for each other with a higher calling than any organization in the world to glorify God and bring the gospel to the world. But the necessity of good leadership is still vital in accomplishing God's will and purpose in the church, and that is why Ephesians 4 tells us that Jesus has given to the church pastor, teachers, elders, that God has gifted men with teaching and preaching gifts empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the chief shepherd. He is the overseer of our souls, of this body, of all things. 

This is His church, and the Holy Spirit is at work to accomplish His will and empower believers in the local body to exercise their gifts and roles and responsibilities to cause growth and unity and purpose. And yet God has appointed undershepherds, bishops, overseers, pastors, teachers, elders to guide and direct, to oversee the affairs of the church, to serve, to set the tone, to facilitate, primarily through teaching and example, the focus and the purpose of the body. 

And this is why it is vital to have mature, godly leadership in the church, and this is why Paul spends the time in the context of teaching us how we should conduct ourselves in the house of God to lay out these high requirements, qualifications, and character of an elder. I want to talk just a little bit about church structure. This is always an interesting question. There have been many different ways that churches have organized themselves through the years. 

Some have no pastors at all; they have several men that bring a word of teaching or a psalm or hymn to a gathering. Some have congregational organization where it is a pure democracy and the individuals in the church make decisions by voting. Some have a pastor and a deacon board where the deacons serve as leaders and overseers. There have been many different systems of church polity. But what does the Bible say? Does God give us direction on how a church should organize itself? Because this seems to be a very important detail. 

Well, if you turn over to Titus 1, just a few pages from Timothy where we are, go to Titus 1, we're going to see a very clear direction concerning this in Titus 1:5. Timothy was left in Ephesus to pastor that church, to set things in order, and Titus was left in Crete. Verse 5 says, "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you." 

And we see that Paul then continues with the same set of qualifications in this text that we have before us in 1 Timothy 3 this morning. The clear instruction in setting things in order in the local body of believers for the organization of the church is to appoint elders to oversee. And the qualifications laid out so explicitly for these men who are appointed make this form of organization the clear plan of God for the local church. 

So I believe that the only biblical model for church organization is to have a plurality of elders, men who meet these qualifications as laid out in Timothy and Titus, and these men are to oversee, to direct, guide the church, make decisions, teach, lead by example in the character and quality of their lives, and they are to be servants in the church in this role. 

With all that said, we come to 1 Timothy 3:1 and the first requirement for the position of an elder: a God-given desire. 1 Timothy 3:1 says, "This is a faithful or trustworthy saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work." And the word bishop there just means overseer. We would use the term elder today. Paul wants Timothy and all of the church to know that the work, the position of the overseer is a good work. It's an important work, and it's also a weighty work. 

This verse, I think, is in balance with many others we see concerning leadership in the Bible. One of the most pointed is 2 Timothy 2:4. If you turn over to 2 Timothy 2:4, Paul writing to Timothy in the second epistle says, "But you be watchful in all things. Endure afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry." Timothy, as all leaders in the church, face a formidable task, many challenges, and sometimes false teachers, false teachings, sometimes rebellious people who don't want to submit themselves to the Word of God. 

But the key words in this passage are in the first verse. The preacher-teacher will ultimately stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to be judged. And this must be the foremost consideration in his mind as to the focus and the purpose of his ministry. And that's why Paul says so forcefully, "Preach the Word." That is what God wants the man of God to do, to preach, to teach, to exhort, because this is his role within the body, and he will give account concerning this. 

Also in James, we see a sobering statement concerning leaders. James says, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment." These texts tell us that a man who is called to the role of overseer, of teacher, pastor, elder, accepts a very weighty role for which he will give an account directly to the Lord. 

But here Paul wants us to know that the man who has this desire, not only desires a good, profitable, important work, but that he truly receives this desire from God. Oftentimes I hear preachers talk about a call from God, how they were called to the ministry, how they perhaps had some great experience or event in their life where they knew that God was calling them. I don't discount these experiences of men in the ministry, but I really appreciate the words of Paul here, because I believe the greatest evidence of being called is this: the desire that is given by God. 

I didn't have any specific call, no emotion or experience or monumental event in my life, but I had a great and growing desire to know the Word of God, to study, a voracious appetite for study, for discerning the truth of the Word, cutting the pieces straight and putting them together and articulating them in a way that people can understand. God gave me a desire, a passionate longing that caused me to strive, to stretch myself out, to lay hold of more accurately, to fulfill the purpose through studying, preaching, teaching the Word. 

This is a trustworthy saying, Paul says. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. So we see a God-given desire, and next we see the quality of character. The qualifications for the position of elder in the local church are more than just having a desire. Paul gives us specific guidelines here for what qualifies and disqualifies a man for this role. 

Verse 2 of our text, "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." 

Well, this list is quite lofty and I think humbling when applied to any man. But it is important to apply these things to a man seeking the role of overseer. And what we see is that all of these things are manifestations of the character of a man and how he conducts his life. We'll take them one by one and just sort of run through them for our understanding. 

First, Paul says he must be blameless. Well, the word has the meaning of no real legitimate accusation. Men may accuse him, they may cast dispersions at him, but the idea here is that nothing can stick, nothing can lay hold of him. No accusation will have any ground, no way to lay hold of the man because his character is evident to all. 

The term the husband of one wife is very interesting and the application of it is diverse in opinion among commentators ranging from faithfulness to one woman at a time to the prohibition of remarriage even in the event of the death of a spouse. I read three commentators this week that hold that view. I don't think that's correct. I think we let the rest of the scriptures on those issues guide us in that. 

I think the best way to understand it is that it again applies to the character of the man and is really related to the other qualifications of ruling one's house well, of being above reproach. The main thrust of the meaning is a one-woman man, one who is known to be dedicated and faithful to his wife and his wife only, but we must understand that there is a high standard laid out here for those in this position and much of this language has to do with his testimony before the church and before the world and the lack of any accusation that can bring reproach on Christ through legitimacy. 

So I think it is within this intent and context that Paul says a bishop must be the husband of one wife and that divorce and remarriage and some of these issues open a man up to reproach that may stick. Again, I think the cause of Christ here is the first thing, and it's more important than any one man or his desire. 

So Paul says a bishop must be the husband of one wife. The next three words speak of demeanor. He must be sober, vigilant, self-controlled, a man of orderly and good behavior. These words go well with the qualifications in the next verse speaking of the temper of a man. He's not given to wine. That means that he doesn't sit long at the wine in this context. 

In Paul's time, wine was a common drink, not like wine we have today. We've been over that in many of our teachings. But he's not to sit long at the wine, to become intoxicated or drunk. I think in our time, especially with the alcoholic beverages that are being drunk today, it's much better for a man to abstain. I can't tell you how many times I've had Christians say to me, "Well, our pastor drinks, so it's okay for us to drink." 

But we have clear teaching in 1 Corinthians 8 and maybe Romans 14, some of those passages that the benefit of our brother is much more important than our liberty in Christ. So I think those principles guide us as a leader in those areas. He's not given to wine. He's not a brawler, a contentious man, quick-tempered, ready to fight. He should be slow to anger. His motive must be right. He must not be in it for the money or his own self-exaltation but a servant to the church and to his Lord. 

Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9 come to mind. If you'd turn over to 1 Corinthians 9 with me, we'll look at that passage. I think it's a great example from the Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:19, "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all that I might win the more." 

And Paul clearly says that he makes himself a servant, he sacrifices himself for the express purpose of winning the more. "To the Jews, I became as a Jew that I might win Jews. To those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law. To those who are without law, as without law, not being without law toward God but under law toward Christ, that I might win those who are without law, speaking of the Gentiles. To the weak, I became as weak that I might win the weak. 

I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel's sake that I may be partaker of it with you. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty, thus I fight not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified." 

And that's just what we're seeing in the context of 1 Timothy 3 is the qualifications of elders and if a man is not disciplined, if he's not focused, if he's not self-controlled, temperate in all things, then he can become shipwrecked in his faith and be disqualified from preaching. This was Paul's heart, this passage was Paul's heart and his example to the church and to young pastors like Timothy. He saw himself as a servant. He was willing to lay down his own desires, his own life for the sake of others, particularly for the cause of Christ, for the furtherance of the gospel. 

So it did not matter to him whether he drank or ate meat or exercised his liberty in Christ, that wasn't the matter, but rather what was best for others, what furthered the cause of Christ. And he disciplined his body to bring it into subjection. He fought with purpose, exercising self-control and a willingness to lay aside himself to sacrifice himself for the good of others, to give his money, his time, himself to others. This is the real servant leadership that we saw first in Jesus and we also saw in the life of Paul as an example to every man of God. 

Now the next set of qualifications really raised the standard and hit home, quite literally, for the man in this position. Verse 4 of our text, "One who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence, for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?" 

I'm not sure what to say about these words other than I think every man of God feels as though he often fails in this area. But the qualification remains and he should be known as a loving, dedicated husband and father, one who teaches his children and leads by example. It is how he rules his house. But I do not necessarily think he is fully responsible either for the actions of his children, especially after they are out of the home. Each child has his own will and can choose to obey and trust his father and trust God or he can go his own way. 

The qualification here is not so much on the result or the choices of the individual, as I say, especially after they've left the home, but on how the father ruled his house, taught his children, loved his wife, and led by example. I've known men who, although far from perfect like all of us, have loved the Lord, have been dedicated to their families, taught and guided, oversaw faithfully and led by example in their own lives, and have had children go down the wrong path, adult children who have fallen into sin and even rejected the Lord. 

I'm not sure the emphasis in these verses is on the result as much as on how the man has ruled his house and lived his life and related to his wife and children. The words speak specifically of how the man orders his home and how his children respect and revere him. 

So I believe much like we as individual believers in relation to our perfect Father in heaven can revere and respect and love our Father, and yet we can sometimes choose in our own will to go our own way and grieve our Father. This is a difficult qualification to apply, but certainly the actions of a child can bring reproach on a man and his household, and the bishop must be known as a man who rules his house well and has his children in reverent submission. 

Verse 6 brings us a very important requirement and one that I think is neglected often today. In verse 6 he says he cannot be a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. A practice that was popularized in the church growth movement in the last couple decades in the evangelical church is to put a young man into leadership in order to facilitate his growth. This is not a biblical nor a wise practice. Paul says that an overseer must not be a novice. 

The word literally means new or to spring up. So it speaks of a young believer who has perhaps risen up, sprung up quickly in the church and become noticed as having potential as a leader by those in authority. You can understand the meaning here. The word translated puffed up with pride is graphic here. It means to be enveloped with smoke. You may have experienced that in a camping situation. You have a campfire and I know a couple weeks ago we were out at the mouth of the Montreal and Lake Superior smelting and there were big campfires burning on the beach with driftwood. 

The wind seems to blow that smoke in your face no matter which direction you move. It envelops you and makes it hard to see and makes your eyes burn. This is the picture here, putting a young believer, a novice into the ministry into a position of overseeing because pride becomes a blinding force. It envelops the man who is not mature and causes him not to think and see clearly as if he were enveloped from the smoke of a fire. This situation can cause a fall that Paul likens to the fall of the devil. And it can cause a massive amount of damage in a local body. So the overseer must not be a novice. 

This is an important qualification. We've seen the God-given desire in this text. We've seen the quality of character for the man who would be an overseer. And last in our text, we see a good testimony. 

I've been thinking about this in relation. You know, we're kind of, I am personally at least struggling to know what to do with this present situation because we have this great desire to have fellowship, to start church again. And we don't seem to have much of a threat in our community, and yet we have a governor in Michigan and Wisconsin as well who continually brings more restriction and extends deadlines. And it's difficult to know how to handle this. 

But as I studied this section this week, it made me think a little bit. Because I think if we were to begin right now and had the police come here and it was in the paper and that kind of thing, it may not be a good testimony toward the outside. I want you to look at these words and see what Paul is saying. 

Verse 7, "Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." It's really an interesting verse because there's a bit of a tension here and this is a tension we're sensing now in this situation. In one respect, there's always going to be an offense. There's always going to be a conflict between the man of God and the world, those who are outside because, not only because of the gospel, but because of standing for the truth in this world. 

Paul says in his writings of Timothy that everyone who desires to live godly in this ungodly age will suffer persecution. The gospel is an offense to the carnal man. It's a stumbling block. But the clear message of the Scriptures is that we should offend at this point. We should contend for the faith. We should stand for the truth. We should speak the truth, the truth of the Word of God. We should agonize over it. We should give ourselves wholly to it, but we should not be contentious, rebellious people. 

And the man of God, the overseer, should not be a quarrelsome brawler as we have seen. He should not be an unloving, abrasive man, especially toward those who are outside. It is key for every Christian to understand that the problem of the lost man in Adam, the sinner, is not that he's a drunkard or a thief or even a self-righteous religious man. The cure is not in getting him to reform his immoral behavior. The key is to give him the gospel and call him to faith in Jesus. Only in this way can the sin that lives in him be dealt with and this will result in an outward change in his life. 

So the man of God, especially in preaching the Word of God, will come into confrontation with the world, surely. But at the same time, he must also have a good testimony toward those who are outside. And I think this comes through his character and demeanor. Pastor Krenz and I have talked many, many times over the years about tone in preaching. And motive. If we're speaking the truth in love, as Paul says in Ephesians 4, if our motive is right, we can say many hard things. Things that need to be said. But we shouldn't be contentious people. There's no cause in his person or personal life or character for legitimacy accusation, Paul says. 

He's not a contentious man, but a loving man, and I think Pastor Krenz has been that example for us for all these years. One thing that people always say when they come to Living Hope Church, one thing they always comment on is the love that's exhibited, and Pastor's been our example in that for so long. A man of God must exhibit the love of Christ toward all men because that man believes that God desires all men to be saved. 

He does not entangle himself in the affairs of the world nor put his hope in the men or systems of this world. This man knows why he is here, he knows what he is to be doing, and that is speaking the truth in love. And if a man's heart and motive is right, if his purpose is God's purpose, and if he trusts in the means that God has given to accomplish this task, preaching and teaching the Word, then he will be fruitful in leading and overseeing the church. 

These qualifications set a very high standard for the elder in the church, but the real key to servant leadership is this: an understanding of our great need for and dependence on Jesus, on the grace and mercy of God. Without Him, we can do nothing. And I think this is especially true for the elder, the pastor, teacher in the church. He is wholly dependent on God to accomplish His will through the elder, the teacher. 

What the man of God needs is a continual, day-by-day, abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. I constantly find myself praying, "Lord, I can't do this. Lord, You have to do this, You have to make it work." And my brothers and sisters, He is faithful. He makes it work for His glory, for His purpose. 

If a man desires the position of overseer, he desires a good work, Paul says. It is a necessary work, it's an important work within the body, in the church. And as Paul says several times in the epistles, pray for us. We need your prayers, we need the grace and mercy of God continually in order to fulfill the role that God has called us to. 

We're not going to have time this morning to get to the section on deacons, I want to take that up next week, but I think it's appropriate to turn to 2nd Timothy 3 and close with Paul's words to Timothy. 2nd Timothy 3 at verse 10, and listen to what Paul says about Timothy here. 

2nd Timothy 3:10, "But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, but evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. I charge you, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing in His kingdom, preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and teaching, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. 

But according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. This is the time in which we live. Look at what Paul says in verse 5, "But you, Timothy, you, Timothy, pastor of the church in Ephesus, be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 

These pointed words of Paul to Timothy make clear the purpose, what he should be doing, what he should be focusing on, and that's our desire here at Living Hope Church, to preach the Word verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, and go through the Word, believing God, believing what He says, and encouraging and exhorting one another to obey what He says, and to trust Him and believe Him, and know that in the house of God, He will accomplish His will through the believers. 

But we'll look at the deacons next week. Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank You for Your Word, Your truth. We thank You for these specific, clear instructions on how we should conduct ourselves in Your house, in Your church, and how You intend to accomplish Your will through the body, gifting each one, and each one doing its part in their role, and doing their share for the edification of the body, till we all come to maturity. 

We're no longer tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine but have discernment and can be clear in going out and preaching the gospel message in this world. We pray that You'd give us opportunity, that You'd give us boldness and clarity to tell men the good news, and to keep us focused on Jesus, looking unto Him, being in His Word, believing what He says. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.