Qualifications for the Overseer – Part 1

1 Timothy 3:1-3

February 21, 2010

In his book on preaching, John MacArthur wrote:

“I am continually overwhelmed by the responsibility and liability that possess the preacher of God’s Word. We all look with indignation at the lawyer or judge who, for the motive of personal wealth, distorts the truth in attacking the reputation and personal possessions of people, while reducing them to poverty. We respond with similar indignation to the quack doctor who, by incompetence, hazards the health and life of someone for the purpose of financial gain. Such people deserve to be considered criminals; the pain and loss of their victims should rightly be laid to their account.

Offering oneself this way as the counselor or healer to care for someone in the time of crisis and then, through negligence, lack of skill, or selfish greed, making havoc of their lives is unconscionable. Medical and legal associations have set standards in an attempt to prevent such malpractice.

But what about me as the purveyor of God’s truth, the physician of the soul? Shall I not be held responsible to God for any perversion of truth, however witless, and for my negligence and lack of skill? What earthly regulatory association validates me? Do not I, who preach God’s Word, face a higher court than the legal bar or any medical tribunal? James wrote, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1)

No profession has as high a liability potential as that of one who preaches God’s Word. God will judge every preacher on the truthfulness and accuracy of his preaching. Any failure as a spokesman for God brings not only shame (2 Timothy 2:15) but judgment. The Holy Spirit has promised that all who pastor God’s flock must “give an account” (Heb. 3:17). There will be a day of reckoning for the preacher. Only a tested and qualified kind of person has the right to be considered a lawyer, a judge, or a physician. The standard is significantly higher for the preacher!”

(MacArthur, John: Preaching; How to Preach Biblically, [Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN 2005] pg. xi – The Introduction

As you know we are studying through the book of 1 Timothy

Because in this powerful letter we find one of

The most straightforward answers to a very important question.

“What should the church look like?”

It used to bother me tremendously in seminary

When professors would talk authoritatively

About what our churches should look like,

But they would never reference this book.

This letter reveals what the church should look like.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

MORE SPECIFICALLY

This letter focuses on the conduct and character of God’s church.

Paul wrote “so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God”

And therefore the main theme of the book is godliness.

And we have also studied this letter long enough for you to figure out

That godliness was lacking in the Ephesian church.

The reason of course was because the Ephesian church had bad teachers.

BAD TEACHERS PRODUCE BAD CHARACTER

1 Timothy 1:5-7 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

Without going back through all the flaws in their teaching,

We understand the main problem was that their teaching was “fruitless”.

They were not bringing out salvation for the lost.

They were not bringing out sanctification for the saved.

They did not know how to use the Law,

They were fascinated with things that didn’t matter

And it was extremely spiritually harmful for all who listened to them.

Their teaching was terrible.

Which is why Paul will eventually tell Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:7 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;”

But their bad teaching was not even the root of the problem.

These teachers were bad teachers because they had bad character.

If they had truly loved God’s Word they would not have strayed from it.

If they had truly loved God they would not have led people away from Him.

If they had truly feared God they would have certainly given more effort to be accurate.

But these men were not in the ministry

For the glory of God or the growth of God’s flock.

These men were in it for their own personal glory.

Paul told Timothy that they were “wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

As you will see in a moment, it is not wrong to desire to teach,

But it is wrong to desire to teach if you do not understand God’s Word,

Or do not desire to remain committed to it.

Much like the Pharisees that Jesus dealt with:

Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

But this was not the only character problem.

They had unrepentant sin.

1 Timothy 5:19-20 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.”

Also prompting Paul to write:

1 Timothy 5:24 “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.”

They ignored the concept of godliness

1 Timothy 6:3-5 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”

They were greedy for money

1 Timothy 6:8-10 “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

In short their bad teaching did not stem just from lack of ability.

Their bad teaching was a result of their bad character.

And as you remember Timothy has already been charged

To clean up that ministry.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.”

Therefore the church (and specifically Timothy) needed to know

What sort of man was qualified to lead the church,

And what sort of man was disqualified.

When looking for a man to lead the church, what do you look for?

Strong voice?

Good hair?

Magnetic personality?

Business experience?

Quality education?

Family pedigree?

That is precisely why Paul penned this third chapter.

It is meant to help us evaluate those who lead us.

In these first 7 verses Paul lists 15 characteristics about the man

Who will oversee or pastor or shepherd God’s flock.

We will break them down into 5 main points of evaluation.

His Desire

His Character

His Family

His Maturity

His Reputation

We will only make it through the first two tonight.

#1 HIS DESIRE

1 Timothy 3:1

Paul begins with the phrase “It is a trustworthy statement:”

Most likely Paul is referencing a common creed that floated around

Here Paul endorses it as accurate by preserving it in the Scriptures.

“If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

Speaks of a man who not only desires to shepherd God’s flock,

But who also takes the necessary steps to qualify himself to do so.

“aspires” translates OREGO

“to reach or stretch out”

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Hebrews 11:16 “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

It is a word that speaks of a desire, but it more specifically

Speaks of the external steps used to fulfill that desire.

The saints of old took steps toward a heavenly country.

In a negative sense, the greedy take steps toward getting more money.

And so Paul here speaks of a man

Who is making the steps necessary to be an overseer.

He is pursuing the career.

He is preparing himself for it.

Now the reason he is preparing himself is because “he desires to do” it.

“desires” translates EPITHUMEO

“to desire earnestly”

This word stresses the inner impulse.

Poor man Lazarus

Luke 16:21 “[He was] longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.”

Jesus used it:

Luke 17:22 “And He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.”

And so the word speaks of a strong inward desire.

And when you put both of those words together,

Paul reveals that a qualified overseer is one

Who actively pursues the office

Because he is driven by a strong desire to shepherd God’s people.

Certainly his motives must be pure (as we will examine in a moment)

But there must be a desire there none the less.

This was a very liberating truth for me, and an instrumental one that God used in confirming my calling.

I heard men run from the ministry.

I heard “You can’t do it just because you want to.”

THEN I READ 1 TIMOTHY 3:1

And it revealed to me that I was not the exception to the rule,

I was what God intended.

Men who do not wish to preach God’s word,

And who do not wish to lead others to godliness,

And who do not wish to see the lost saved

Should not let someone talk them into it.

The ministry is a toil, the work is hard.

Paul calls it “work”

And if you enter that job already not wanting to do it,

I can only imagine what sort of pitiful job you will do.

The man who is qualified to be an overseer must be a man who desires it.

After all, it is indeed a “fine work”

Paul said:

1 Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”

He said again:

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

It wasn’t something he had to do.

Good luck trying to get him to stop.

A man who is qualified to lead God’s people

Must be a man with a fire in his bones to do the task.

He must be the type of man

That would lead with or without the title.

That would preach with or without the pulpit.

That would exhort with or without a salary.

That would teach with or without the glory.

That would continue with or without the encouragement of others.

So first: His Desire

#2 HIS CHARACTER

1 Timothy 3:2-3

Here are listed 12 attributes about the overseer.

All but one refer to his character.

If his character isn’t right then his motives are wrong.

He desires for the wrong reasons, as the false prophets do.

Furthermore half of his ministry is drastically ineffective.

For the preacher must not only preach truth, he must live truth.

If he does not, then he is unqualified for the ministry.

So Paul here sets out the character requirements for the man

Who would seek to shepherd God’s flock.

“An overseer, then, must be above reproach”

This is really the overreaching character trait.

It carries the idea of being one who charges will not stick against.

Because this world is and always has been opposed to the gospel,

It is only obvious that those who speak God’s word

Will continually come under attack.

John the Baptist was accused.

“He came neither eating or drinking and they say, “He has a demon!”

Jesus was accused.

“Of being a glutton and drunkard a friend of tax collectors and sinners”

So it is not that an overseer is free from all accusation,

But that none of those accusations will stick.

The facts must always be on his side.

Before Jesus first sent out the twelve he told them:

Matthew 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”

This must be the character of the overseer.

“the husband of one wife”

Simply means “A One Woman Man” (not an adulterer)

MANY CONCERN THEMSELVES ONLY WITH DIVORCE

This can be true of a divorced man.

This can be true of a man who marries a divorced woman.

This can be true of a man who has an affair.

This can be true of a man who visits a prostitute.

This can be true of a man who is addicted to pornography.

Sexual sin is one of the strongest temptations that Satan throws at a man, and so he will certainly use it against a pastor.

Proverbs 6:26 “For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.”

Many a pastor has fallen from his position

Because he succumbed to sexual temptation.

This has to be settled in his character long before the temptation arises.

“temperate”

This word literally means “wineless” or “unmixed with wine”

And so we could easily say that the overseer

Can have absolutely no alcohol.

However:

1 Timothy 5:23 “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.”

But that was as much medicinal as it was anything.

The water was so foul that a little wine actually worked as a purifying agent.

Because of his command to Timothy and because Paul will later command that an overseer not be “addicted to wine”,

We must look at this in a metaphorical or spiritual sense.

In which case the same Greek word

Can mean “watchful” or “alert” or “clear-headed”

(sort of like we use the word “sober”)

And so he is a man who is aware of what is going on around him.

You may remember in the book of Isaiah,

Isaiah actually rebuked the Jewish teachers

For their incompetence in this area.

Isaiah 28:7-8 “And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.”

There Isaiah likened the preaching of the prophets to vomit.

It was coming out of their mouth, but it was useless.

They were out of touch with God,

And therefore useless to the people.

A true overseer must not fall into such a trap.

He must be alert, he must be “temperate”

“prudent”

This carries the idea of being serious about things that matter.

Not necessarily a lack of humor,

But he realizes what things in life really matter.

One only has to look at the life and example of Jesus.

Most of the time He is very serious.

A few times He appears frustrated

Several times He is obviously angry

And twice we see Him cry.

But never in the gospel accounts do we witness Him laughing.

Certainly He did.

But those who wrote of His life were overwhelmed with His seriousness.

Nothing ever came before the ministry for Him.

He was prudent.

An overseer must be as well.

“respectable”

KOSMIOS “orderly”

This man’s lifestyle is not in disarray, but is in order.

There are no loose ends.

There are no areas where his life is a mess.

All of those are possible areas to fall under scorn,

And in order to remain “above reproach” he keeps an orderly life.

We have talked about it before while studying Hebrews.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

There the writer tells us to “lay aside every encumbrance AND the sin that so easily entangles.”

And we learn that not all things that encumber are necessarily sin.

Through bad decisions, debts, and poor planning

We can get ourselves in trouble.

An overseer has to have an orderly lifestyle

So that he is free and able to perform his ministry.

“hospitable”

He is a man who gives of himself to strangers.

This is not a man who just likes to fellowship with his friends,

But a man who is truly generous to those he does not know.

NOTHING INDICATES PURE MOTIVES LIKE HOSPITALITY

Jesus said:

Luke 14:12-14 “And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

“able to teach”

This is the single ability based requirement.

And I could certainly spend a lot more time here

But we will get there soon enough.

It is sufficient to remind, that in a church world

That seeks the “pastoral leader”

Being a good pastor is NOT enough to qualify a man for service.

He must be a good teacher of the word of God,

After all, that is his main responsibility.

All you have to do is listen to Peter when confronted with a pastoral problem.

Acts 6:1-4 “Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. "Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

That is also why above all else Paul will tell Timothy

1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

And even later in regard to elders

1 Timothy 5:17 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”

You just cannot have a pastor who is not an able teacher of God’s word.

“not addicted to wine”

This goes back to the drinking issue,

And it reminds that the overseer

Must not be given to worldly pleasures and vices.

He is not a social drinker, as such would open him up to much criticism,

And then he would not be “above reproach”.

He is one who keeps his reputation clean.

“or pugnacious”

The word here literally means “a giver of blows”

Is not an aggressive or combative person.

He is not the type that will punch you in the nose

For disagreeing with him.

Paul tells Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

And that carries into the next attribute as well.

“but gentle”

He is a man who does not influence men by force,

But one who leaves room for the working of God.

He is not a fighter.

He is not an intimidator.

He is a man who is content to let God work.

“peaceable”

While “pugnacious” refers to physical action,

This refers more to his nature.

He does not have a quarrelsome spirit.

He doesn’t look for fights.

He is not combative.

This doesn’t mean he refuses to stand,

But he is not one who relishes in the battle.

“free from the love of money”

Aside from sexual temptation, this may be THE OTHER BIG SNARE

That faces any man who desires to enter the ministry.

In fact, money and sex are the two most common ways

That false prophets are revealed and that they eventually stumble and fall.

Listen to Peter give attributes of a false prophet.

2 Peter 2:12-16 “But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.”

If a man is not serving for the glory of God

Then he must have an ulterior motive and payoff.

For many that payoff is money.

If he is to remain above reproach,

He must not be one who is so open to such temptations.

So you get the first two elements of what an overseer is required to be.

Next week we will finish this passage and the requirements.

But here we realize that leadership of God’s church

Is a serious responsibility with serious requirements,

And ones that must be followed

If the church is to be what God intends it to be.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”