Meditation No. 17

Meditation Title:  The Role of Overseers

1 Tim 3:1  Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.

Paul now moves on in his instructions to Timothy to cover spiritual leadership. He will speak about overseers (v.1) and about deacons (v.8). He starts this section about overseers using one of those sayings of the early church : “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” In other words, it is a good thing to aspire to spiritual leadership but be warned, there are requirements and he is going to spell those out in the verses that follow. In this meditation we will focus on the role of the overseer and in the next one the requirements for an overseer.

Perhaps before moving on we should focus on the meaning of the word ‘overseer' and others words with which it is usually associated in Scripture. In the simplest of descriptions, an overseer is one who ‘sees over' others. If you stand on a hillside you may look down on a village and you are seeing over it, but in our case it is not a passive viewing but a God-called doing. In the midst of the personal characteristics that are required of an overseer according to Paul, there are two ‘doing' descriptions: “apt to teach” (v.2c) and “care for God's church” (v.5) and we'll observe these more fully as we consider the other terms used for leadership in the church.

The apostle Peter links three terms: “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers .” (1 Pet 5:1,2) The word, ‘elders' suggests something of maturity and wisdom, while the word, ‘shepherd' implies providing for, caring for and protecting roles, and ‘overseer' , as we've already noted, implies the ability to see over the flock, seeing its needs and seeing the attacks that are coming from the enemy.

Writing to Titus, Paul links elder and overseer together: “An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless.” (Titus 2:6,7)

In the account in Acts 20 we find overseers and shepherd linked together: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers . Be shepherds of the church of God , which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28). Now particularly in respect of being a shepherd, we have mentioned the role of protecting the flock and Paul's description in Acts 20 of what is likely happen when he leaves, reveals this clearly: “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:29-31) The activities of the enemy are spelled out there as distorting the truth and then through that of leading people away.

Thus we see the reality of what we noted earlier as two ‘doing' descriptions: “apt to teach” (v.2c) and “care for God's church” (v.5) The leader of God's people therefore needs to be a man who knows and understands God's word and can defend it against those who would seek to distort it. The people not only need to be taught the truth of God's word, but the leader needs to be available to them, to answer questions as to why we reject the teaching of those who have distorted God's word. The leader thus needs to be a learner, a man with a teachable heart, a man who yearns to know the truth, impart the truth and uphold the truth.

Now although Paul speaks of anyone who “sets his heart on being an overseer”, we would wish to add a few helpful riders. Only become a spiritual leader if God is drawing you into it and if you are obedient to His Word, His Will and His Spirit and yearning to go on with Him. Although in the next meditation we will see that leaders need to be an example, we also have to add that leaders go ahead. Also being ‘out front' leaders often take the brunt of enemy attacks and therefore they must know their calling and their must know the grace of God upholding them. That grace of God is needed in the form of wisdom to know how to deal with difficult people and difficult circumstances. It is also needed in the form of patience while waiting for changes to take place in people, or perseverance to press on despite obstacles being put in the way by the enemy. The way of leadership is not easy and the fallout and casualties that can be seen around the Christian world testify to this. Yet if God calls and His grace is there for it, then it is indeed a ‘noble task'.

Meditation No. 18

Meditation Title:   The Requirements for Overseers

1 Tim 3:2,3   Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

So, in the previous meditation we saw the role of the overseer – shepherd – elder, and so now we go on to consider the following verses that speak of the requirements, the character requirements, for elders or overseers.

Paul starts out, “Now the overseer must be above reproach.” (v.2a) Holiness and righteousness are values of the kingdom and so those who lead God's people must not give even a hint of unrighteousness in their lives. We might say that their lives should be an ‘open book' so that all can see their purity and holiness of life. Indeed we might say that most of the things that follow are things that are expressions of this first point, they will enable the elder to live a life that is beyond reproach. So the list carries on.

“the husband of but one wife.” (v.2b) There should be no polygamy and the implication is that the elder should not be divorced. The stricture would not exclude an elder whose wife died so he remarried. Neither does it bar a single man. Simply it ensures the elder has not abused the Ten Commandments – “You shall not commit adultery.” (Ex 20:14); it is a call for righteous relationships in accordance with God's word.

Next come a clutch of single word requirements, the first two being “temperate, self-controlled.” ‘Temperate' means, not given to excesses. We tend to think of drunkenness but that could also include gluttony. To be temperate you also need to be ‘self-controlled' for by definition excess means absence of control.

“respectable,” appears in the dictionary as ‘worthy of respect or esteem, conforming to socially acceptable behavior.' Remember these are the requirements of a church leader so, yes, he is to be someone who is worthy of respect or esteem, he is to be someone whose behaviour is socially acceptable because he is an ambassador for Christ.

“hospitable,” is about being caring for the needs of those who come to him, perhaps to his home. It is about being a caring and sensitive person, one who produces a ‘feel-good' feeling in those who come or stay with him.

Then he moves from one the one-word descriptions to a group of brief descriptions. First there is “able to teach.” (v.2c) We saw this in the previous meditation; the elder is to be an upholder, conveyer and protector of the word of God. Then, as we move into the next verse, these brief requirements are all negatives – he must not be!

First, he must be “not given to drunkenness.” We saw this above when we considered temperate and self-controlled. Remember, there should not even be a glimmer of this in his life that he remains “above reproach.” There has been a trend in some Christian circles over the past two decades where alcohol usage has almost become a measure of a man's social maturity. I would prefer the absence rather than the excess, and sometimes the line of what is excess is difficult to draw.

Similarly he must be “not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome.” I put these two together for they so often go together. They link with what has gone earlier. Violence and being quarrelsome indicate a bad temper and a bad temper is an indication of a man who is not in control of himself.

The last of these short exhortations is that he must be “not a lover of money.” Money is not the problem, but loving it is. When you love money, you want more of it and when you want more of it, you become vulnerable to wrong behaviour – serving the people for money, looking for fame to get more money. It is a slippery path.

Then he moves into areas requiring greater description: “He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)” (v.4,5) An orderly and blessed family life is an indication of wisdom and grace – and is difficult to achieve sometimes. Yet, says Paul, if you haven't the wisdom and grace for your own family, how will you have it for the church? A challenging area!

Then he speaks of maturity: “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.” (v.6) Pride is always lurking there, especially in those who are young in the faith and who have not yet come to that conclusion that comes with maturity, that without Christ you are a mess! Pride is blindness to reality and blindness leads to bad or wrong dealing with God's people. The role of leader is not for the novice.

Finally, rather like a bookend, holding all the other things together – the first bookend was the fist point, “must be above reproach.” - comes another guidance pointer that speaks about how outsiders view him: “He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.” (v.7) A good reputation implies he is known by his community and he will be known by his community if he communicates and interacts with his community. In Anglican and Catholic local churches I have seen this often works well, but with so called ‘free' or ‘new' churches, leaders often are so busy building the new church that they get little known by the community at large. It is a real difficulty but one to be overcome. All these criteria are vital in the kingdom of God , for God's leaders.

Meditation No. 19

Meditation Title:  And Deacons

1 Tim 3:8-10    Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

Intriguingly Paul assumes that we his readers know what overseers and deacons do and what are their differences. What needed clarifying was the quality of the men (for they were mostly only men) serving in these roles. For us, however, we should perhaps just check what the New Testament says about ‘deacons'.

In Roman 12 when Paul is speaking of gifts of grace he states, “If it is serving, let him serve.” (Rom 12;7a) The word used is ‘diakonia' meaning a practical service ministry. It is the word used to describe Martha's serving Jesus (Lk 10:40). In Acts 6:4 it is used in the phrase “the ministry of the word,” simply meaning serving in the ministry of the word. In 2 Cor 5:18 it is the word used in the phrase, “the ministry of reconciliation,” again simply meaning serving in the work of reconciliation. The word used there for ‘serving' or ‘ministry' is the word from which we get our word ‘deacon'.

In Acts 6:1-6 we see the first instance of deacons being appointed (although the word is not used there). Yet assuming that that is what those men were, we see that they were chosen by the people at the apostles' encouraging to meet a practical need so that the spiritual leaders (apostles) were not taken away from their role before God. They were brought into service by the apostles laying hands on them and praying over them. They were clearly distinguished from the elders (here and Phil 1:1) and clearly have a different function (this needs saying in the light of some places in the modern church where ‘deacons' appear to play the role of ‘elders' yet without the anointing!)

This is the only place in the New Testament (apart from Phil 1:1). Qualifications for elders/overseers are given in Titus 1 but there is no mention of deacons there. This thus makes this passage of particular importance.

In respect of their qualifications, which is what the following verses are about, first of all they must be men of good repute: “Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.” (v.8) Each of the things in this verse reflect on that.

“Worthy of respect” – again, like elders, are to be men who stand out as examples of goodness and righteousness.

“sincere” – the word here means not double tongued, saying different things to different people. He must be ‘one-minded', if you like, in respect of all he believes, says and does.

“not indulging in much wine” – similar to elders who were exhorted to be “not given to drunkenness” for, we suggest, drunkenness leads to loss of self control and poor behaviour and speech.

“not pursuing dishonest gain” – he is to have integrity and honesty and be above reproach when it comes to business (deacons are often those who have shown themselves capable in other areas of administration or business)

Second, they must be mature and blameless in respect of the faith: “They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.” (v.9,10) Holding the ‘deep truths' of the faith implies spiritual maturity and a ‘clear conscience' implies being blameless. This keeps on going back to the similar remarks about elders being “above reproach” and also having “a good reputation”. They must be checked out to ensure this is true and if all other issues are right, they may serve. It is not a casual appointing.

Third, as examples to the flock (implied) their family life is likewise to be above reproach: “In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.” (v.11) You may observe the note in your Bible next to ‘wives' which suggest this wording could be just ‘the women' which speculation then wonders could mean ‘deaconesses' but as the next verse carries straight on with deacons it is unlikely. Like the elders, as examples to the flock, “A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.” (v.12) The same applies here as we said of elders.

Finally, there is an encouragement to those serving the flock in this way: “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.” (v.13) This is right, says Paul, because those who serve well in this capacity are well thought of in the flock and gain a good reputation and become stronger in their faith.

We should, in closing, observe the apostles injunction to the church in Acts 6 when instructing them on choosing deacons: “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.” (Acts 6:3) Paul hinted at their spiritual maturity and their righteousness, but the apostles were clear: these servers were to be men who were filled with the Holy Spirit. There was first and foremost, to be a spiritual dimension about these men and also a spiritual maturity – they were to be full of wisdom. Their role is to release the spiritual function of the church and as such they are to operate in complete harmony with it so that, as we see in Acts 6, blessing follows: “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly.” (Acts 6:7) May that be how it operates in the local church!

Meditation No. 20

Meditation Title:   Conduct of God's Household

1 Tim 3:14,15   Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

The general purpose of this letter is noted by Paul here – to convey instructions to Timothy, in case Paul is delayed coming to him, to enable Timothy to know what he ought to be working to bring about in the church there in Ephesus (1:3). So far he has instructed about correcting false teachers, about establishing proper prayer in the church, the place of women, then qualifications for elders and for deacons. Having gone thus far, he summarises the purpose as really being all about how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household.

Now several things come to mind. First, we assume Timothy has been around with Paul for a while and we might have expected him to understand these various things but Paul is not leaving anything to chance. He obviously thinks Timothy will need these instructions.

The second thing is that church is not just about a bunch of nice people meeting together like a club and each club establishing a few rules of conduct. No, the instructions Paul is giving Timothy are all to do with the truth, the Gospel, and the lives we may expect Christians indwelt by the Spirit to live. There are qualities such as goodness, love, righteousness, purity, and so on that flow out of the character of God and which we therefore expect to flow through the Holy Spirit in the lives of those in whom He dwells. Behaviour flows from relationship because this relationship involves God sharing His very being with His children. There are, therefore, very clear expectations of the live of the believer, and things we might expect when believers come together as ‘church'.

The third thing is the nature of the church that is seen in the descriptions of it that Paul gives in these verses. First of all he speaks of it as “God's household .” The idea of God's ‘house' is familiar in Scripture. Jacob awoke from a dream and declared, “This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” (Gen 28:17). In the Law the Tabernacle was so designated: “Bring the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.” (Ex 23:19) and thus it became known so later we find of the Tabernacle, “Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD ….” (1 Sam 1:7) The Tabernacle was eventually replaced by the Temple , similarly known (e.g. 2 Sam 7:13)

Paul spells out the concept of us being the dwelling place of God by the Spirit (see 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19, 2 Cor 6:16, Eph 2:21) but it is always with the idea of us being a temple, a place where God habits and is worshipped. The idea of a ‘household' focuses more on the people who live with God, which is appropriate in the present context because it is all about behaviour. To the Ephesians Paul said, “you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household.” (Eph 2:19) and “God's household” is paralleled with “fellow citizens” and “God's people” so again the focus is on a group of people. Thus in these three descriptions, the first is a reminder that we are God's people, living in close harmony with the Lord.

The strength of that is added to by the next one, “which is the church of the living God.” Church is the place where the living God makes His presence known. It is not a place where dead idols are worshipped but a place where the One who is worshipped is alive and active. Behaviour is totally different for the two. If you worship a wooden idol you know, deep down at least, that it can't DO anything to you. If you worship the one true, living God who is revealed in the Bible, you know that bad behaviour has consequences because we are answerable to this one. Our role in respect of relating to the living God in the New Testament is expressed in the picture of the ‘body of Christ' where each one of us is an integral member of this body and the head is Jesus. The picture of the body emphasises our role as the expression of the Christ of service on the earth today. It is about us bringing about the will of the Lord as He lives in and through us – living!

The final picture is, “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” We the church reveal the Lord, we reveal truth to the rest of the world. A pillar can have two functions. One it may be part of the structure that upholds the building and so the church upholds truth. Second, a pillar can be a monument or reminder of the past, and in this respect we remind the world of the truth of Jesus coming to give his life for us that new lives may be lived. A foundation is what holds the rest of the building and so the church upholds the truth. Both pillar and foundation convey the same idea: we, the church, are the recipient of the truth and now we display the truth to the rest of the world – or we should be if we are allowing Christ to live in and through us as he wishes.

Each of these pictures adds to Paul's assertion that we are to live as God's people and that means there are specific things we should do and specific things we should not do. We no longer live as we think fit; we live according to God's design and God's leading.

Meditation No. 21

Meditation Title:    The Mystery of Godliness

1 Tim 3:16   Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

We have noted before Paul's use of the words, ‘a trustworthy saying' (1 Tim 1:15, 3:1, 4:9, 2 Tim 2:11 and Titus 3:8) indicating a practice in the early church of having mini-creedal sayings that conveyed the basics of the Gospel for believers to learn. Much of this verse is laid out in poetic style and the content also suggests that, although he doesn't say it, here we have another of those ‘sayings'.

But leading into this ‘saying' is an interesting statement. Sometimes comparing different versions is both helpful and interesting. The old RSV has, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion”. JBP version has, “No one would deny that this religion of ours is a tremendous mystery.” Both of those bring out well the meaning behind our version's “Beyond all question”, the AV's out of date, “And without controversy” and the more recent Message version's somewhat mundane, “This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding”. Those two first versions, I think, emphasise that the mystery that is the Gospel, is indeed a challenge to the intellect. Yes, we have to acknowledge the difficulty, implies the RSV and JBP.

Paul spoke of the Gospel, possibly into the minds of the adherents of the so-called ‘mystery religions' of that day, as a ‘mystery'. Near the end of Romans he spoke about the Lord: “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him.” (Rom 16:25,26) The so-called ‘mystery religions' held mysteries that only people on the inside could know about (rather like the Freemasons and similar groups today). Paul used mystery to refer to the fact that until recently God's plans had been a mystery. Hints had been there in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament, but now it had all come to past, prophetic writings and present actions married together to reveal that which had been previous hidden, a mystery.

But the focus of the mystery which has perplexed religious people down through the ages, is how can you be pious, how can you be genuinely religious, how can your behaviour truly reflect the reality of God or gods? That is where the RSV and JBP version fall down, for they both use that word, ‘religion'. ‘Religion' is too general. Religion, as a dictionary puts it, can be ‘man's expression of his acknowledgement of the divine', but that could simply mean the rites and rituals that a man performs in his attempts to reach and appease God. The better word is ‘godliness' which in its very simplest might be thought of a ‘being godly' or ‘being like God', for that is in fact what the Christian faith entails. We are being changed into the likeness of the God-man, Jesus Christ (see 2 Cor 3:18) by the working of His own Holy Spirit within us.

Although there are a number of New Testament uses of the word ‘godliness' none of then defines it. For example, the apostle Peter wrote, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.” (2 Pet 1:3-7) Note the order there: i) God's power equips us to live the Christian life and be godly. ii) This godliness comes as a byproduct of our experience of Him and knowing about Him which has been revealed through His glory and goodness. iii) Fulfilling the promises of His we participate in the divine nature, His very life. iv) The part we play is to work at the various characteristics that Peter points out, godliness being one of them. v) The implication is that as these things grow in us, we will express our godliness more fully.

Godliness is more than the word ‘pious', that is so often used to describe this. It is all about how we express the divine nature, the divine being that dwells within us, that enables us to have the most intimate relationship possible with God. This is the mystery of the ages: how is it possible to relate to God? How can we live lives free from fear of Almighty and Holy God? Until the coming of Jesus Christ, this was THE great mystery of existence. Mankind senses the presence of a God, but how to relate to Him? This is what the Gospel addresses and this is what the ‘saying' that follows is all about, which we shall examine in the next meditation. In the meantime, marvel at the wonder of what you have experienced: the mystery of the ages has been made clear to you and as a result, you live in harmony with the living God. Rejoice in that and worship Him.

Meditation No. 22

Meditation Title:  The Gospel in a Nutshell

1 Tim 3:16   Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

In the previous meditation we observed that much of this verse is laid out in poetic style and the content also suggests that, although he doesn't say it, here we have another of those ‘sayings' that Paul uses, sayings used by the early church to encapsulate the truths of the faith. In that previous mediation we also observed that this Gospel had been a mystery until Jesus came. It had been the mystery of how sinful men could relate to the Holy Living God. This saying encapsulates the truths of Jesus who has come and provided the answer to that mystery. Jesus IS the answer to the mystery of how sinful human beings can meaningfully relate to a Holy God.

This ‘saying', if that is what it was, starts out, “He appeared in a body.” You will observe the notes in your Bible that indicate alternative renderings of this might be, “God appeared in the flesh”. This is the fundamental starting place of the wonder of who Jesus is, that he was and is God who had lived in heaven with his Father and had then left heaven and appeared in human form. This is what distinguishes, first of all, Jesus Christ from any other human being who has ever lived on this planet. In another of those mini creedal sayings found in poetic form in Philippians, Paul wrote, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Phil 2:6,7) Alternative renderings in those verses speak of Jesus being “in the form of God” and then taking “the form of a servant being made in human likeness.” John's Gospel picks up on Jesus' comments about having come from heaven, which the other Gospels missed, for example, “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (Jn 6:33) This Jesus is God in human form; that is the first unique wonder about Jesus.

But then he says Jesus “was vindicated by the Spirit.” Peter, preaching on the Day of Pentecost said the same thing: “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” (Acts 2:22) The fact was that all the things Jesus did, could not be done by a mere man; they were done by the working of the Holy Spirit. Consider Jesus' own description of his ministry: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” (Mt 11;5) These are all workings of the Holy Spirit, confirming who Jesus was.

Then he says of Jesus, he “was seen by angels.” We might assume this meant when he went back to heaven, but the reference to that comes at the end of the hymn. Angels were involved in the plan of God for Jesus and we see them at the tomb (Mt 28:2) and at the Ascension (Acts 1:10). It is just possible that this is an obscure reference to the fallen angels in Hades who were part of the fallen congregation to whom Jesus went and preached between his death and resurrection: “He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison.” (1 Pet 3:18,19) Clearly being seen by angels after he ascend back to heaven is true also.

But then this mini-creed continues that Jesus “was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world.” This is interesting because it appears in an early mini-creedal form and recognizes that already the Gospel was going to the world. Jesus had said to them, “go and make disciples of all nations,” (Mt 20:19) and “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Within this part of this creed we see again what Isaiah had said when he was speaking what comes over so often in the Old Testament, that Israel (and now Jesus) was to be “a light to the Gentiles” (Isa 42:6) God's intent has always been to reach the whole world with His love, not just Israel; they were to be His instrument who revealed Him to the rest of the world. Hence our most familiar verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” (Jn 3:16)

  And then it concludes that Jesus, “was taken up in glory.” We suggest this means that he was taken up in a glorious way and was taken into glory, i.e. heaven, from where he came. His taking up was clearly seen by his closest disciples: “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee ," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Act 1:9-11) This clearly left the disciples standing there open mouthed and then two angels glorify Jesus by reference to his Second Coming. The New Testament is full of references to his sitting down in heaven at his Father's right hand where he now rules in glory (see Mark 16:19 / Acts 2:33 / Acts 5:31 / Acts 7:55 / Rom 8:34 / Eph 1:20 / Phil 2:9 / Col 3:1 / Heb 1:3 / Heb 8:1 / Heb 10:12 / Heb 12:2 / 1 Pet 3:22)

  It is this Jesus – who has come from heaven, revealed the Father and was vindicated or accredited by the Spirit through the things he did, died for our sins and was seen by angels, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and is now the focus of saving faith throughout the world. THIS is the answer to the mystery of how sinful human beings can have a meaningful relationship with the One true, Living, Holy God. Hallelujah!

Meditation No. 23

Meditation Title:   More on False Teachers

1 Tim 4:1,2  The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

Having instructed Timothy on leaders in church and good behaviour in church, that is godliness, and then flowing on to declare the means to godliness is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, it is natural that Paul returns to his original concern about false teachers who stand in opposition to the truths he has just written about.

He starts this denunciation of such false teachers by, “ The Spirit clearly says…” which, in the absence of any other information, may imply that his personal relationship with the Lord suggests, in line with Scripture, that these things will happen in the days to come. The Scripture clearly indicates the same things (see Mt 24:11; Mk 13:22; Acts 20:29-30; 2Thes 2:3), that deceivers will come in the future.

His rather vague description, “in later times” has echoes of the more commonly used, “end times” or “Last Days”, which refer to either the very last days before Jesus returns or the period of church history. (Peter indicates on the Day of Pentecost that things happening on that day indicated that these were the beginning of “the last days.” – Acts 2:17) We may assume that it means from that time on.

His warning is that in such times, “some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” Some people, he declares, will abandon the faith, what has been taught by the apostles from the beginning, and will go off after strange teachings, led astray by deceiving spirits or demons. When we reject the truth we make ourselves vulnerable to being led astray by the enemy in whatever form he comes to us.

But Paul's warning gets stronger: “Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” (v.2) These false teachers appear sincere in the beliefs that they now promulgate but actually to arrive at the place where they are, having come from a position of true faith as part of the church, they have bit by bit had to go against their consciences (and the working of the Holy Spirit) and therefore what they now bring forth is a lie, and what is worse, having come from a position of faith, they know it is a lie and that makes them hypocrites as well.

These people clearly hold a form of religion and they push a religion that demands celibacy and a lifestyle that forbids certain foods as well: “They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” (v.3) This is not what faith is all about, Paul declares, “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” (v.4,5)

There is a form of religion, the main one being the Gnostics, where there is a hostility between this world and God's kingdom, one seen as evil and the other good (dualism), seeing no good in the created world, only in the spirit. Thus anything that they saw that verges on the sensuous was rejected, hence marriage, and hence enjoying pleasurable foods. Even in the Christian Church in the last fifty years there were, at one time, certain schools of teaching that separated out soul and spirit, so that spirit was good but soul was bad. This is wrong, teaches Paul, because everything has been created by God, and as long as we can bring everything we experience into our relationship with the Lord, it will be good.

Immediately some things are out of bounds, things contrary to God's design, e.g. adultery, child abuse, rape etc. etc. (things that harm others), and some things need to be taken in moderation, avoiding gluttony or drunkenness or drug abuse (things that harm the body), but once we have taken these things into account, the Christian faith is not one that is full of prohibitions as to enjoying God's provision.

There is one part of those last two verses we noted that we haven't actually taken into account yet: “and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” If we are a people who give thanks to God for all good things in our lives (more than simply ‘saying grace') then we will be a people talking to God and in making contact with God in prayer, the Spirit will convict us if we are doing things that are clearly wrong (adultery, gluttony etc. etc.) This does presuppose, of course, that we are a people with a vibrant relationship with the Lord, whereby we not only speak to Him, but also hear from Him as well (which is what the New Testament assumes). Also, as we read God's word, His Spirit will convict us if we are doing things contrary to His will. By His word and in prayer our lives will be checked by the Lord and by peace He will confirm our behaviour is correct, or by lack of peace check us in what we are doing. It is a good and wonderful world provided by the Lord for our blessing. Let us enjoy it within the confines AND the freedom of the Scriptures.

Meditation No. 24

Meditation Title:   A Good Minister

1 Tim 4:6-8   If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

As we often say, if you are focusing on one or two verses you frequently need to look at the previous verses to catch the context. In our verses above Paul starts, “ If you point these things out,” and in the previous five verses we saw that he was again warning against erroneous teachings. His “to the brothers” is perhaps directed at the elders of the church rather than an indication of Paul's Jewish slant, that men bear the responsibility before the Lord for leading the house, both in terms of providing physical protection and spiritual protection.

If you counter these wrong teaching and guard and protect the church and its leaders against such teachings, he is saying, “you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus”. How many of us in leadership would like that affirmation: You are a good minister! But a good minister is one who has a good foundation: “brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.” (v.6) A ‘good minister' is founded in the “truths of the faith” and in “good teaching”, but they haven't just heard them; they have followed them. In the Christian faith there is no room for merely head knowledge. Jesus calls us to obedience, to application of his word, to ‘doing the stuff'.

Then, yet again, he reiterates his warning about these false teachers: “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales.” (v.7a) His first warning had been in 1:3-7, then an oblique reference in 1:19,20, then a general warning in 4:1-3, now in 4:7, then again in 6:3-5 and finally in 6:20,21. It is clearly a major concern to Paul. We may think that the early years or the Church were glorious with many signs of the Spirit moving in power, but in reality they were years of warfare as the enemy sought to distort the truth laid down by the apostles.

It was the apostles, presumably the eleven, who first laid down the teaching, e.g. “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching,” (Acts 2:42). In Acts 15 & 16 we seem them discussing doctrinal matters. They were initially at least the conveyors of the truth (see 1 Jn 1:1-3)

It is sometimes amazing what people will believe and so instead of this solid teaching of the facts about Jesus, his life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension, there were strange myths or stories with no historical foundation, untrue stories that had no origin in God. ‘Old wives' tales' tend to be superstitious nonsense that only the intellectually weak and gullible give credence to. These things, says Paul, have nothing to do with! But as so often, he not only rejects the negative, but also puts forward the positive: “rather, train yourself to be godly.” Very simply ‘godly' means related to God, imitating God, focusing on God, copying God, being taught and trained by God.

Now that last part is reflected in what follows: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (v.8) There Paul contrasts physical training with spiritual training or godliness. Godliness is the outworking of the spiritual relationship with God. Some call it piety. It is what we think, say and do (i.e. express) in respect of God, becoming like Him. A godly person is one who had qualities of the Lord and comes about through interaction with the Lord. As He works these things in us, we find ourselves being transformed and that transformation is referred to, not only in Jesus references to being ‘born again' (Jn 3), but in many other New Testament references to the changes God brings in us as the Spirit works in and through us. As this starts to happen in our lives and as we read the New Testament teaching, hope springs up within us of better things yet to come in our lives, both today and in the rest of our life on earth and in heaven afterwards.

The working of godliness into us is a lifelong process and it is founded on the teachings of God's word and the working of the Holy Spirit. These teaching are sound and reliable and are nothing like the superstitious nonsense conjured up in the minds of those who have rejected these plain truths of God's word. Hold to the word and don't let anyone lure you away from it. If you want extra encouragement, study to see how the New Testament came into being and you will know that you can trust what you find there. Even more as you read and study it and let it impact you and let the Holy Spirit apply it into your life, you will find an assurance that can never be found in the speculative wonderings of old and modern heretics. All they do is cause doubt and wonderings and loss of assurance. The truth is there in God's word and we CAN rely on it and as He applies it to us, it will build godliness in us and godliness will bring confidence in Him and assurance of the future. May it be so!

Meditation No. 25

Meditation Title:    Hope in the Living God

1 Tim 4:9,10   This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe .

So we come to the third of these “trustworthy” sayings in this particular letter, sayings we believe were used in the early church to convey basic truths, ways of getting the believers to hold to such truths. The first and this third saying are accompanied by the extra assurance, “that deserves full acceptance.” These two are about Jesus and salvation and the second one is simply about leaders in the church. It seems that when it comes to salvation Paul adds these words to increase the credibility or importance of them; they are sayings that are absolutely foundational to the Christian faith.

He adds here a rider, almost as to increase its significance: “and for this we labour and strive”. The content of this ‘saying' is what Paul's life and ministry is all about. Some commentators suggest that the ‘saying' may in fact be the verse beforehand: “ physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come,” being all about the outcome of our salvation. Indeed that might be supported by Paul's similar words to the Colossians: “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” ( Col 1:28,29). However when we examine the words that follow in our present verse they are words with deeper significance in respect of salvation generally and we take them to be the ‘saying' in question, so let's consider them.

It is simply, “we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.” Let us consider this very basic and fundamental statement or creed. The big struggle of the fallen, sinful human race is how to overcome and defeat the power of Sin and its outworkings. Wherever we turn in life, this is THE big problem that faces us, whether it be the inner struggles that I have to seek to be honest, truthful, full of integrity, kind, gracious, loving and so on, or whether it is the violence done by men or nations to other men or nations, we are what we wish we were not. Paul describes this inner struggle in Romans 7 : “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Rom 7:15) We turn to self-help courses or strict disciplines, but still we find ‘self' is the big issue which rises up and makes me a person I wish I wasn't. Some of us try to avoid it by simply not thinking about it, except at rare moments in life, but it is still there. We find ourselves helpless and (when we are being honest) realise we need help, we need God's help because we cannot do it ourselves.

Thus the most basic creed of salvation is, “we have put our hope in the living God.” Any hope of change must come from God. If the future is to be better than the present, I need God's help. That is the starting point of salvation. But note His description: “the living God.” We do not hope in a set of rules or rituals or human thought-out beliefs, we hope in God who is alive and who is all-powerful and who alone is able to come to deliver me from being the person I am to a person who is different, a person who is better, by the imparting of power which He alone has but shares with us.

We need a deliverer, a savior, and this is what God is. The God we speak of is the One “who is the Savior of all men” . Now in saying that Paul is not saying that every person will be saved but that the salvation God brings is available for any and every human being, if they will avail themselves of it. We have to say this in the light of what follows and of the content of the rest of Scripture, for he adds, “and especially of those who believe.” He can only mean, when he says “especially”, that the salvation applies when it is appropriated by belief. The person who says, “I believe” but who remains completely unchanged clearly does not believe in the Gospel, because belief is the precursor to change. You cannot have this change of life, you cannot be ‘born again' (Jn 3), until you come to a place of complete and real belief in the Gospel message, that Jesus has died for our sins and to release the power of the Holy Spirit in us to enable us to live new lives. Part of this ‘belief' is repentance and clearly not every person repents. The apostle Peter declared, “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pet 3:9) God holds back His judgment to give us every opportunity, while we alive on this earth, to receive the message of the Gospel and repent and be changed by Him – but He never forces us.

Thus we have this simple creed or statement of faith: “we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.” This is the shorthand version of the Gospel. It is short and simple and it needs spelling out – but it is the basic foundation of salvation. Hallelujah!

Meditation No. 26

Meditation Title:    Fulfil your Ministry

1 Tim 4:11-14   Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

“Command and teach these things.” Hmm! We live in an age where, I suspect, most people in the church don't like being told to do things, let along ‘commanded' to do them! However Jesus was quite explicit in his teaching to his disciples, for instance in the Sermon on the Mount although there are many oblique commands, there are also many direct ones – “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift,” (Mt 5:23,24), or “I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;” (Mt 5:34), or “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also,” (Mt 5:39) or “I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Mt 5:44) or “Be careful not to do your `acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them.” (Mt 6:1) and so on. When you come to the various letters of the New Testament, instructions or commands abound. Living out the Christian life is all about living out God's will and that is found for us in the many instructions in the New Testament. They are not options, they are commands.

Thus we find that the minister who is called by God to guard AND disciple God's people should not be fearful of that part of his role. Paul was aware that Timothy might feel a bit threatened in the role because of his age and so encourages him, “ Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young,” (v.12a) implying it doesn't matter how old or young you are, you are a minister of the truth, so don't be put off. Not leaving it a negative instruction, he continues with a positive side to it: “but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (v.12b) Look, Paul is saying, stand out as a shining example of a man of God and you don't need to fear being one who imparts the truth to the congregation. In all aspects of your life, be this example - in what and how you speak, in your life generally, as you express love, as you express faith and how you maintain purity in your life. All of these things will reveal you are a man to be followed and that will include your teaching!

In general, he continues, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” (v.13). One of the primary roles of the leader is to impart God's word. I believe we live in an age when so many Christians rarely read God's word and few hold it in high esteem. I believe we need to constantly emphasize that it is God's word and that it is the foundation for our lives. I worry that people using an iPhone or iPad or similar device for looking up Scripture subtly lose the sense that the Bible is a big book, that is to be read as a whole, and is not a series of short bits. (Just a personal concern!) When you hold the Bible as a book in your hands, you see before you hundreds of pages and thousands of words and the sense is conveyed that here is God's history and it goes back a long time and covers a long period. Accept no substitutes!

But this call to Timothy, to ensure the Bible is read in the congregation and that he preaches and teaches God's word, is not only because it is vital for the congregation but, in his case, it is a fulfilling of God's call on him: “Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” (v.14) At some point in their history together, the local elders had prayed over Timothy and as they did the Lord released His will for Timothy through a prophetic word as they prayed over him. It clearly called him to be a leader and therefore one who would impart the truth of God's word through the revealed teachings of what was to become the New Testament. This reminder was to encourage Timothy and reassure him in his ministry.

In closing we might note the distinction between preaching and teaching that Timothy is called to do. Preaching tends more to exhort by appealing to the will and to the spirit, and brings change in that way. Teaching appeals more to the intellect and imparts information that both informs and persuades and thus brings change in that manner. The objective of both preaching and teaching is to bring about change, change in the listening believers who are to conform more and more, bit by bit, to the will of God and the likeness of Jesus. May it be so!

Meditation No. 27

Meditation Title:    Fulfil your Ministry (2)

1 Tim 4:15,16   Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

We have seen Paul starting to encourage the young Timothy in his ministry as a leader in the church there in Ephesus . He had told him to be bold (implied) and command and teach the things spoken about in this letter (v.11), not letting people look down on him because of his youthfulness and, instead, aim to let his life be an example to the believers in the church (v.12). He urged him to uphold the word by ensuring public reading of Scripture and by preaching and teaching (v.13), exercising the gift that God had spoken of when he was being prayed over by the leaders (v.14). That's how far we got in the previous meditation.

But he hasn't finished and being mindful of Timothy's youthfulness, he encourages him to keep on learning, keep on developing, keep on maturing. That is what is behind the words before us now. “Be diligent in these matters.” (v.15a) When we speak about being diligent, it tends to be in respect of learning or education. There is a sense that Timothy is learning a lot of new things, (or maybe being reminded of things) it seems, from Paul's teaching in this letter. We've seen and will yet see more, instructions as to how the church should behave, and how it should be lead. Diligence suggests careful industry, persevering work, steady application of all that Paul says. Then he continues, “give yourself wholly to them.” (v.15b). Be wholehearted in learning and applying these things is what Paul now says. But he has a reason in mind: “so that everyone may see your progress.” (v.15c) He has already called Timothy to be an example to the believers and Paul is aware that the flock always watches the lives of its leaders carefully, so let them see you are growing in your ministry.

There is behind all this the whole area of the influence leaders have by their lives. I am aware that in the past my life has been greatly influenced by a variety of leaders. I hesitate to use their names but there have been many. Some have stirred or challenged me by their teaching and some have stirred or challenged me simply by their lives. We, the leaders of the church, do influence people by who we are; we may wish we didn't but we do! Perhaps, therefore, it is more important that we let the grace of God work in us than in any others in the flock. Yes, they are to change but one of the things that the Lord will use to bring change to them is us!

He continues, “Watch your life and doctrine closely.” (v.16a). Now there is a sense where this back up what we have just been saying. Paul doesn't just say “Watch your doctrine, what you believe and teach,” but he says, “Watch your life.” He is emphasizing even more how important it is for the leader's life to reflect Christ, to be a visible example of sanctification with grace and goodness clearly there and, we might suggest, being an example of availability and obedience to God. How easy it is for little things, not good things, to be tolerated in our lives, or to creep into our lives. Under the pressure of pastoral ministry the minister has to battle against hardness of hearts, false or confused beliefs and people doing their own thing and even falling into sin. All of these things can have an adverse affect within the life of the minister. How easy it is to become critical or jaded or cynical. It takes the 100% grace of God to overcome all those things and remain a gentle but firm, loving and caring minister who perseveres against all the pressures that come from people and from the world and from the enemy. No wonder Paul says, “Watch your life.”

But it is also a call to watch his doctrine, the things he believes and preaches and teaches. The leader, more than any other person, has to be constantly alert to fend off wrong thinking, wrong teachings, even wrong behaviour tolerated in the church. He is the main mouthpiece to the church – yes there are other gifts etc. being exercised in the church which should also work in this manner – but he and the other elders is the one who has the greatest opportunity to speak into the hearts and minds of the flock.

When Paul says, “Persevere in them,” (v.16b) he has a specific reason in mind which we'll come to in a moment, but it is also an indication that these things are not easy and the temptation for the minister / elder is to give up and take the easy path and just bring pleasant platitudes to the people. Constantly bringing the truth to the people requires effort, physical, mental and spiritual, and it is tiring and wearing and the temptation is to bring nice, simple expository teaching of simple passages of Scripture that bring little challenge to change and to grow and to be further sanctified. No we need the call to “persevere” when we are in the ministry, when we are any form of leader in God's church.

Yet, as we said, Paul has a reason in his mind for Timothy doing that: “because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (v.16c) Salvation is (i) something that happened when you were born again or converted (both terms used in Scripture when you turned to Christ) and (ii) it is also the ongoing life while on this earth, and (iii) it is also the end product of eternity with God in heaven. When Paul uses the word ‘save' here he means the second aspect of it and so perhaps we might expand that sentence and suggest he is saying, “when you do all these things you will be working out God's purpose of salvation in your own life and you will also be helping others to receive what God is doing in their lives, His purpose of salvation in them. By persevering in these things you will be extending the kingdom or rule of God in both your life and the lives of those over whom you keep watch as an elder or overseer. What an opportunity! No wonder Paul had used one of the church's ‘sayings' earlier in the letter, “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” (3:1) It may be hard work at times, but what a wonderful work! Go for it!