The OVERSEER’s FITNESS-I—1Timothy 3:1-7
Attention:
Americans are fitness freaks!
We watch people on TV getting fit.
We buy videos(in lieu of a personal trainer) to help us get fit.(P90-X—Walk Away the Pounds—etc.)
We want to be fit because we are rightly convinced that a healthy body is better than an unhealthy one.
Need:
Paul related the moral qualifications for an overseer of the Church.
Character traits for overseers of the church are definitive/unequivocal.
?What moral character traits define an overseer’s fitness for office?
?How is an overseer’s fitness determined?
Characteristics by which an overseer’s fitness for office is decided.
1—An overseer’s fitness is decided by...
His DESIRE(:1)
Explanation: (:1)
:1—“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
Paul is stating a memorable saying. It is worthy of repeating for it “faithfully” encapsulates a valuable Christian truth.
In “bishop/overseer” is described the superintendent aspects of a pastor’s work. He is thus called of God to oversee the ministry/work of a local congregation.
Any who “seek”(are called upon by God for a task) a “bishoprick”(pastoral supervisory ministry) indeed seeks a “good work.” A “good work” is one which seamlessly & harmoniously integrates with God’s plan for the ages. A “good work” pleases God.
The overseer’s Desire is his Calling! Paul will describe below, the moral significance of the one desirous of such a work. This sets it apart as a calling rather than a fleshly desire because these descriptions remove a trust in self.
He “outwardly pursues the ministry because of a driving compulsion on the inside.”—John MacArthur
“Faithful”—pistov—Trusty, faithful, sure, true—reliable; Easily persuaded—believing, confiding, trusting
“Saying”—logov—Word; Reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating—2b) account, i.e. regard, consideration—2c) account, i.e. reckoning, score.
“If/If any”—ei tiv—Pron.—1) Whoever, whatever. Strong—1) If any.
“Man”—Not present in text, but implied thru context before & following.
*“Desires/Aspires/Sets his heart on/Stretches forward to”[See here also— epiyumew translated “Desire”]—oregomai—Present Middle Indicative—1)To stretch one’s self out in order to touch or to grasp something, to reach after or desire something; 2)To give one’s self up to the love of money. Used 3X. The physical act.
“Bishop/Overseer/Overseership”[See :2]—episkoph—1)Investigation, inspection, visitation—1a)That act by which God looks into & searches out the ways, deeds character, of men, in order to adjudge them their lot accordingly, whether joyous or sad—1b) oversight—1b1) Overseership, office, charge, the office of an elder, 1b2) The overseer or presiding officers of a Christian church. Strong—Inspection (for relief); by implication--Superintendence; specially--The Christian “episcopate.” Used 4X.
“Desires”[See also oregomai-translated “Desire”]— epiyumew—To turn upon a thing; 2) To have a desire for, long for, to desire; 3) To lust after, covet—3a)3a) Of those who seek things forbidden. Strong—To set the heart upon, i.e. Long for (rightfully or otherwise). The internal compulsion.
“Good”[See :7]—kalov—Beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable. A much higher word. It means beautiful, physically or morally. It is, however, distinctly the beauty which comes from harmony, the beauty which arises from a symmetrical adjustment in right proportion, in other words, from the harmonious completeness of the object concerned. Strong—properly--Beautiful, but chiefly(figuratively)--Good(literally or morally), i.e. Valuable or virtuous(for appearance or use, & thus distinguished from agayov, which is properly intrinsic).
“Work”—ergon—Business, employment, that which any one is occupied—1a) that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking; 2) any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind; 3) an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasized in opp. to that which is less than work.
Argumentation:
Isa. 40:10-11—“Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.”
1Pet. 5:1-4—“The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder & a witness of the sufferings of Christ, & also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion[of men] but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; & when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”
Jn. 10:11-14—[Jesus said]““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming & leaves the sheep & flees; & the wolf catches the sheep & scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling & does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; & I know My sheep, & am known by My own.”
2Cor. 12:14-15—“Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend & be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.”
Paul did not want possessions or even acknowledgment but he wanted the very souls of the flock to be safely in God’s presence at the end.
Acts 20:28-32—[Paul to the Ephesian elders]““Therefore take heed to yourselves & to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, & remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night & day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God & to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up & give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
Illustration:
My Daddy’s pull toward dentistry/Grew up in the mountains dirt poor, the youngest son of 9 children(1932)/His father became a subsistence dirt farmer after losing his upstart construction business during the Great Depression/He was the only one of his family to finish high school & attend college, much less dental school/None who lived in his area could afford dental care/He was a Christian & His compulsion of the Spirit was borne out of seeing those less fortunate in need(of dental care)/DESIRE
Releasing my secular grasp(job, career) so that I could enter seminary & thereby, pastoral ministry/ ‘Service to God, God’s way,’ became the new focus of my entire life!—As it should yours/DESIRE
?Has your DESIRE to serve God ever caused you to let of what held you previously?—Why or Why not?
Application:
?Does your pastor exemplify godly DESIRE?
?Your Pastor Fit for his Office?
?How do you measure up regarding the demands of that office?
2—An overseer’s fitness is decided by...
His BLAMELESSNESS(:2a)
Explanation: (:2a)
:2—A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;”
When considering a man as a spiritual overseer or in a supervisory role, his character must rest within certain moral parameters. Thereby, a detailed ‘job description’ is NOT of greatest importance. However the moral fortitude or character of the candidate in question IS of primary importance.
If his character is built upon Christ then he will necessarily allow himself to be conformed to the needs of his particular church at God’s bidding.
A man’s Christian character ultimately drives his every decision, & this will, in turn, heavily influence & determine the state & direction of the church for right or wrong in an “overseer/bishop” capacity.
Thus an “overseer” of the church “must” readily exemplify certain characteristics not only before the church but also civilly among secular society. These characteristics must be expressed actually & not fronted presumptuously. Pastoring is not acting...it is living! These characteristics are listed back-to-back, some with explanation or further descriptive insight & others with none. Each of these is telling & has ramifications for both Christian & secular circles.
Thus to be “blameless” is to be free from reprehension & thus “beyond reproach.” This does NOT mean that every time the pastor is accused of foul-play that he is guilty & done for. An accusation may not reflect reality.
To be blameworthy is to be blameworthy in actuality & thus to be “blame-less” is to “blameless” in actuality, deserving no reprehensible action.
*To ensure Blamelessness there must be an honest & active accountability between the Pastor & the Elders &/or Deacons. This keeps everybody ‘in-the-loop’ & aware of any oversight which may bring one to step over the line congregationally.
“Must”—dei—1)It is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right & proper. Seems to be more suggestive of moral obligation, denoting esp. that constrain which arises from divine appointment. Indicates a necessity in the nature of things rather than a personal obligation; it describes that which must be done. Strong—3d person singular active present of dew(To bind); Also deon ; neuter active participle of the same; both used impersonally; It is(was, etc.) necessary(as binding).
“Blameless/Above reproach”—anepilhptov—1)Not apprehended, that cannot be laid hold of; 2) That cannot be reprehended, not open to censure, irreproachable. Irreprehensible[undeserving of censure or condemnation] designating one who affords nothing upon which an adversary might seize, in order to make a charge against him. Strong—Not arrested, i.e. by implication--Inculpable. Used 3X—All in 1Timothy(here, 5:7; 6:14).
Argumentation:
Gen. 17:1-2—“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”” Mymt taw-meeym’—Complete, whole, entire, sound.
Deut. 18:13—““You[Israel] shall be blameless before the LORD your God.”
Php. 2:12-16—“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”
Col. 1:21-23—“And you[Christians of the local church], who once were alienated & enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He[Christ] has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, & blameless, & above reproach in His sight-- if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded & steadfast, & are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
*If blamelessness is pertinent for the flock, then certainly it must be for the leader of the flock.
Titus 2:6-8—“Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.”
Illustration:
At least 2 local Rowan County churches have recently threatened lawsuits due to internal disagreements/Either that pastor needs to change or leave OR the movers & shakers in the congregation need to change or leave/Reprehensible behavior lodges in either or both of them/They can be rightly charged with wrong/Where is the BLAMELESSNESS?
Mobsters & Politicians can appear ‘blameless’ due to payoffs & other coverups/BUT their sins will eventually find them out!/Lack of BLAMELESSNESS
?Has your DESIRE to serve God ever caused you to let of what held you previously?—Why or Why not?
Application:
?Does your pastor exemplify godly BLAMELESSNESS?
?Your Pastor Fit for Office?
?How do you measure up regarding the same qualifications?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
American obsession with physical fitness.
Action:
An overseer’s fitness for office is decided by His...
1. DESIRE(:1)
2. BLAMELESSNESS(:2a)
Presented 07/29/2012am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
