JEAN'S BIBLE STUDY COM

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1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

1Tim 3,1-16

(142d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Having a good reputation >> A reputation of good works – To be “prudent” is another word for wise, and to be “respectable” refers to reputation. Respect is something that we give those who deserve it, and we must devote our lives to earning it from others. We need to respect one another’s faith, but when we don't properly reward our brothers and sisters in Christ for their service to the Kingdom of God, we condemn ourselves. It is an indication that we are not walking faithfully in the Lord as we should, for if we don’t respect the faith other others, how can we respect our own? respect and reputation must exist in the Church of God for the benefits and rewards to be properly dispensed to each person according to his faith, for God desires to reward us both in this life and in the life to come. 

1Tim 3,1-15

(10d) Responsibility >> Keeping order in the Church – There are three kinds of people in a pastor’s life: there are his own family members, there are those within the Church, and there are those within his community, the secular world. His neighbors and acquaintances must come away with a sense of uprightness about his character. If he falls out of reputation with the members of his community, the slander will spread in every direction. The Church will hear of it, his family members will be infected by it, and his ministry will suffer from it. So an overseer of the Church must be an upstanding citizen of his community, but more than that be an example of the Church, but even more than that have the respect of his wife and children if he has a family. There is a connection between a man’s family, his wife and children, and the Church of God, if his own family members do not respect him who know him better than anyone else, living under the same roof with him, if his children go in self-destruct mode and his wife is rebellious, it is because of the previous things that Paul mentioned are not in place in his life. If he can’t get his own family members to respect him, neither will anyone in the Church, and the people will never unite, which was the Lord’s vision according to His high priestly prayer in the gospel of John chapter seventeen. One of the things that must be in place in order for unity to exist is a sense of safety and security, and that flies out the door from a lack of respect for the leader of the Church.

1Tim 3,1-13

(6j) Responsibility >> Being spiritual >> Ministering to each other by the strength in your Spirit – This kind of spirituality is not as exciting as spiritual gifts and the like, but is just as important, since this kind lays the groundwork for the other. If you don’t possess integrity and the ability to remain constant through diverse circumstances, what will you do with the power of Christ? God is not interested in ruining His good name by giving His power to someone who will abuse it the first time adversity touches his soul. As a Christian, preparing for adversity is the same as preparing to walk in the anointing. You must have both to be effective in this world and in the house of God.

(137k) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Stages of maturity are levels of accountability >> It is our responsibility to be mature

(206b) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to living in the spirit >> Conditions to participating in the spirit

(236f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Invest your strength into the kingdom >> Invest your ambitions

1Tim 3,1-12

(12b) Servant >> Examples of God’s people >> Leaders are examples of the Church – Paul advocates the pursuit of leadership in the Church, but said that not just anybody should be an overseer and gave a list of traits a person should have who seeks the pastoral ministry, and all the traits have to do with behavior. The one trait that every good pastor needs to be a good shepherd is to have an abiding love for God, yet that trait is not listed in this chapter, why? We all know that somebody can love God and be in bondage to sin at the same time. Paul is saying that it is good to love God, but in the pastoral position it is even better to be in control of one’s own faculties. On the one hand, if a pastor loves the Lord yet caves to certain fleshly impulses, he will fail as a man of God. On the other hand, if he is in control of his own faculties but lacks zeal, at least he is not going to lead the Church into shame and condemnation in the eyes of the world by his poor example. Paul would rather the pastor were a positive example of Christianity, than to love God with all his heart and not be able to express that love in the real world. The pastor is mostly how people rate a church. If the pastor is a good shepherd, he will lead the people into repentance and the will of God, so the congregation is in that sense a reflection of the pastor’s ministry. Much as we want to be good examples to the world, we should want to be even better examples to one another.

(89a) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Being sensible is always appropriate

(100m) Thy kingdom come >> Devotion >> In your ministry to people >> Devoted to ministering to their physical needs

(101k) Thy kingdom come >> Ambitious to promote the Kingdom of God >> Building up the body of Christ – Paul does not prescribe putting new converts in authority over the Church because of their spiritual immaturity, and gives two warnings about them: they tend to be conceited and they tend to fall into condemnation incurred by the devil. New converts often have great zeal for the Lord, but that initial zeal is unusable in the ministry because it doesn’t readily bear fruit. Those who take responsibility for the Church must have a zeal for God that is based on knowledge, wisdom and experience. In contrast, new converts are like a couple who fall in love; they tend to view others as colorless and void, while viewing their lives as rich and vibrant, yet most couples in love reach an apex in their emotional epiphany and then soon start a descent among the commoners. They view those with contempt who have served God for years, whose faith seems dull and boring, but what they don’t know is that these seasoned saints love the Lord just as much if not more than new converts, it just doesn’t show as much in the emotional realm. New converts need to remember that their spiritual elders have shown the Lord many years of faithful service. Once that initial zeal fades, they will have to work on their relationship with God just like they work on a relationship with their spouse. It is possible to keep their zeal alive, but it takes work and dedication in daily study of God’s word, prayer and obedience in ministering to people’s needs.

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1Tim 3,1-10

(3k) Responsibility >> To the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Good men – These verses go with verses 12&13. For a man to be a good husband and father does not guarantee he will be a good pastor, but ineffectually fathering his children does in fact guarantee he will poorly shepherd the Church. A good man is hospitable. Isn’t that a woman’s job to be hospitable... apparently not. He is also “temperate,” which means even tempered, to have his anger under control. James said “the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (Jm 1-20). A good man is free from the love of money. That’s a big one and a real rarity nowadays in this materialistic world. What does the Bible say about the love of money? It is the root of all evil, and if pastors are addicted to it, that will adversely affect he and his church all the way down to the very root. Not a single soul in his church will benefit from his ministry. If you are a member of a church or merely attend somewhere, and you discern that the pastor is addicted to money, leave that church and never go back, for he has nothing to offer except lies and deception.

1Tim 3,1-7

(240b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Pastor (Shepherd) >> Pastor has a shepherd’s heart – The term “overseer” means shepherd or pastor. Paul doesn’t want pastors to be addicted to anything except Jesus. He wants them to have attributes that lend themselves to loving people. Paul doesn't want them to be double-minded or double-tongued, speaking two different languages, one to the Church and the other to the world. Instead of being addicted to much wine or fond of accumulating riches by corruption, God wants His shepherds to hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Indeed, there is a mystery to faith and godliness, and deacons and overseers of the Church must comprehend this mystery, which is understood only through the Spirit of God. Over the span of eternity we will fully comprehend this mystery, but until then He wants the shepherds to maintain a good reputation with the people that He has allotted to their charge.

1Tim 3-1,2

(3c) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Instruction about marriage -- These verses go with verse 12. An overseer is the pastor of a church. When Paul said the pastor must be the husband of one wife, he meant that he must not be a polygamist, not that he must be married, yet most people in the Church today do not respect or even trust a pastor who is not married because of this and other similar verses. The requirement to be married in order to be a pastor is something that developed on a social end of church politics and has no place in our doctrines. Paul, the person who wrote this, was not married, and he was the chief overseer of the entire early church. This interpretation of gifted single people being ineligible to minister in God's church has hindered the progression of the truth, squandered the gifts and oppressed God’s people. Another negative outcome of this heresy, it has pressured single people to get married when God may have wanted some of them to remain single. In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul detailed that he thought people would be better off to remain single, but churches nowadays are family oriented. That’s a good thing, but not if it ostracizes single people. Church has evolved into a marriage club. Some of the bigger churches have singles ministries, but they tend to be isolated and shoved into a corner and ignored, instead of being integrated and connected to the main pulse of church ministry. The result is single people have very little if any influence in the Church. Paul spoke to the contrary; they have a greater potential to have a richer, deeper relationship with God than married people, because they have more time and resources to devote to their faith, hence more spiritual insight to offer the Church than married people, though this is not always the case. The Church should capitalize on the contribution that single people can make to the ministry, instead of discouraging them from sharing their faith with others in the Church. Those in the Church ought to first consider the possibility that single people are following the example and advice of Paul to remain single. The fact is, married couples can better relate to their pastor if he is married, but the same could be said about single people, they could better relate to their pastor if he were single, but married people control the Church, so that settles that. Another deception about being “married to one wife” is that a married couple can minister better than two single people, and that is simply a lie. Paul condemned that notion again in 1st Corinthians chapter seven when he proclaimed that the single person can “secure undistracted devotion to the Lord” (vs32-35). Perhaps they think that married couples get their sexual tensions satisfied so they can come to church without thinking about people in the wrong way, but this is also a fallacy, because having sex does not satisfy a person’s desire for sex. In fact, it often increases the desire if people allow their minds to go there. See also: Instruction about marriage; 1Cor 7-1; 189c

(126l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Be patient with your brother -- These verses go with verse This verse goes with verses 11

(235g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Hospitality (providing a temporary home) >> Being a good host

(239i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> The gift of teaching >> Teachers are a gift to the body

1Tim 3-1

(68a) Authority >> Doing God’s work under His authority >> Ministry of helps >> Help God’s people -- This verse goes with verse 13

(71l) Authority >> Ordained by God >> We are ordained through obedience

(72h) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More Authority The More Responsibility >> Closer we get to Jesus the more authority we have -- This verse goes with verse 13

(76j) Thy kingdom come >> Desires of your heart >> Desiring to do the will of God

(102h) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Trustworthy >> Loyalty

(191f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us through our devotion to Him -- This verse goes with verse 13

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2&3 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

1Tim 3,2-13

(4e) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Being accountable in your stewardship – People can make their claims about what we have said and done against them and against the teachings of the Bible, but if we are innocent of their charges, then our reputation is still intact in their conscience where it matters most. Even if they slander us as evildoers (1Pet 2-12), we will one day put them to shame by our good behavior. This is something that is accomplished over a period of weeks, months and sometimes years. People can continue believing things about us from what they have been told, believing the report without investigating; however, as they observe the way we live, they will eventually come to their own conclusions, but it doesn’t happen overnight.

(11a) Servant >> Standard for a servant >> A changed lifestyle

(42b) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Blameless before men

(250l) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Lists >> Terms of graduating to the next level >> List of prerequisites

1Tim 3-2

(99h) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Enduring circumstances >> Endure temptation -- This verse goes with verse 11

1Tim 3-3

(21m) Sin >> Greed tries to satisfy man’s need for security >> The love of money – The Bible wants pastors free from the love of money, yet there are many who still love money. They beg for it every Sunday morning, claiming they need it for the ministry and to pay off the Church debt, which may be true, but people who love money also have bulging budgets. They don’t actually love money; what they really love is to spend it. Most people who are addicted to the love of money don’t have any, distinguishing them from misers who like to accumulate money. It is hard to say what they love more, money or the things money can buy; they are two sides of the same coin. They widen their budgets like the Pharisees widened their phylacteries, demanding a higher standard of living that they expect their congregation finance, and then come back on Sunday morning and beg for more. The love of money is a bottomless pit that can never be filled. It hurts people; it puts the breaks on evangelism; it causes the entire purpose of God to screech to a halt. The love of money has the power to derail the gospel of Jesus Christ, rendering it ineffective both in the world and in the Church. Jesus preached against it incessantly.

(119c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Freedom from satanic influence >> Free from sin

(126e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> Peacemakers >> Peacemakers avoid unnecessary confrontation

(128g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Gentleness >> Be gentle in all your ways >> Be gentle in correcting one another

(158c) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Strife >> Contentions

(159j) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit anointing >> Drunkenness >> The alcoholic -- This verse goes with verse 8. It is not against the will of God to drink a little alcohol and catch a buzz, but it is against the will of God to get drunk and to be an alcoholic. To have a snort now and then never hurt anybody, in fact it is probably healthy. Later in Timothy, Paul says to drink a little wine for your frequent ailments. It calms the nerves and takes the edge off stress, yet there will always be prudish people in the Church who believe that drinking alcohol in any amount is evil. Some will go as far as to say that alcohol itself is evil, but Paul said in Rom 14-14, “As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food [or drink] is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.” They also believe that dancing and playing cards is evil. Prudishness is a false righteousness. They hold to these so-called high standards because they have rejected the standard of Christ, which is to listen to the Holy Spirit and do whatever He says. Prudes do not have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, because their prudishness is their religion.

(176j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Extremes >> Truth is never found in your conduct on either extreme of any circumstance -- This verse goes with verse 8

(249b) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not pursue wealth -- This verse goes with verses 8&9

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4-6 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

1Tim 3-4,5

(3n) Responsibility >> Parenting >> How to discipline your children – These verses go with verse 12. Here is another reference to the pastor being married with children, but Paul is not saying that a man must have children to be the pastor of a church. Rather, he’s saying that if he does have children, they must be their manners, in that how well he manages his children will determine how well he manages his congregation.

(72c) Authority >> Transferring authority >> Men delegate authority by obeying the word

1Tim 3-5,6

(176b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Lacking experience with God – A new convert is immature on a spiritual level, not necessarily in other ways. A person brings all kinds of talents to the body of Christ the moment he is saved, but one thing a new convert doesn’t have is experience in the things of God. Paul wanted the leaders of the Church to have inexperience in walking by the Spirit and doing the will of God. These things are necessary and essential to be an example to the rest of the Church in how to live. However, keep in mind that there is really no difference between a new convert and someone who has been so-called saved for years and has never grown. People who call themselves Christians, who want to lead people, who want to become pastors, because their children are well managed, the congregation thinks they are a great candidate for the job, but is he spiritual? Has he grown in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? How well does he know the Scriptures? This is not necessarily a matter or reciting Bible verses or using them to defend his views, as much as understanding the big picture, integrating all the Scriptures into a single concept to comprehend God’s eternal purpose. If a person never grows over the years, how will he ever understand the heart of God, or be able to teach the truth, or cause others to grow in the faith? His congregation will not rise above his own understanding of the Scriptures. If they do, they will leave his church and go elsewhere to be fed a richer version of God’s word, where they can continue to grow. A person who does not grow is deceived by default and under the condemnation incurred by the devil. You cannot be a Christian and not grow and be free from satanic influence. Part of growing is being set free from the enslavements of the flesh in an ongoing freedom that transpires throughout your life. 

1Tim 3-6,7

(161i) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Satan’s attitude determines our direction >> Carried Away >> Condemnation >> Condemnation based on evidence of sin – A pastor must be someone who continuously grows in the grace of God. On the one hand, if the world respects your pastor’s Christianity, there is a chance for growth in his church. On the other hand, if people outside the Church don’t respect your pastor, there is very little chance for growth or for anyone inside the Church will respect him either. Those outside the Church who don’t respect your pastor probably know about him, the way he lives and talks, and the way he throws around his attitude about unbelievers. Contrary to popular belief, the world actually does have a little respect for Christians who live by their faith.

1Tim 3-6

(148f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage as an evangelist >> Being youthful

(223b) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Conceit >> Thinking you are superior to others >> Having an inflated opinion of self

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7-9 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, 9 but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

1Tim 3,7-11

(1k) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Carrying a false burden >> Weighs you down as you walk according to the law

1Tim 3-7

(164c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan rules the world >> The world is his kingdom

(246hh) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Demonstration of God’s kingdom >> God demonstrates His glory >> Materializing the inner man

1Tim 3-8,9

(56a) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Gain your idea of wealth to lose God’s wealth

(195e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Serving two masters >> Being double minded

(230h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery of godliness >> Mystery of the trinity >> Obey the mystery of godliness like Jesus did -- These verses go with verse 16. Paul speaks of the mystery of faith and the mystery of godliness (verse 16), so there must be a connection between faith and godliness. In fact, faith solves the mystery of godliness. What is it about faith that means so much to God? Faith is the very substance of God! It is something that will take an eternity to understand. This is something that the world does not understand, because they don’t possess anything that originated from God. The day we decided that God is true, we placed our faith in Him, and when we pointed our human will at the cross and proclaimed Jesus as our Lord and savior, and trusted that our name is etched in His cross, God responded by placing His Holy Spirit in our hearts, which is the very substance of faith. Now we possess something from God and the mystery of this faith is indeed godliness, which is the product that the Holy Spirit. We hold onto this mystery with a clear conscience to ensure there is no conflict. Unbelievers don’t believe there is a mystery to faith; instead, they believe Christians dump everything they don’t understand into the word "faith" and blindly believe in God. However, there is a vast difference between this and the faith of God. True faith is truly mysterious, simply because it is a God-given ability to believe in Him. It is not just the object of our faith that is mysterious, but faith itself. With some, faith just drops in their laps and they are born-again; and there are others who have sought faith with all their hearts and have come up short. The bottom line about the mystery of faith is that it originates from heaven. Faith is a simple matter of God calling us and choosing us. However, there is something we must do to receive it. We must respond to Him, but that is a very small part compared to possessing a faith that is far beyond our ability to believe. Paul said that we hold to this mystery with a clear conscience. A clear conscience is like the baseball mitt that the outfielder uses to catch the ball or like the mitt the cook uses to pull the casserole from the oven. This way our hand is insolated from the fastball and the hot dish, so no direct contact comes to our bare skin, which would injure us. Similarly trying to hold to the faith with an evil conscience would be like holding dry ice in our bare hands or like putting new wine into old wineskins; Jesus said the skins would burst and both would be ruined (Mat 9-16,17). Only a clear conscience can contain faith that we receive from God.

(249b) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not pursue wealth -- These verses go with verse 3

1Tim 3-8

(25h) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Thief >> Stealing from some one

(128j) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >> Living a fruitful life >> Living a continuous life of fruitfulness – Deacons had vital ministries in the early church, having much authority in the Lord and were considered just as crucial to the health and welfare of the Church as the pastor. They did less teaching and preaching, but more hands on ministry with the people, and were for that reason often spiritually gifted with powerful ministries. So people like Timothy would organize all the people into a church after the apostles had gone through and evangelized and brought hundreds of people into the light of Christ. Paul would preach the gospel to a certain people, and those who believed would become the church in that area. Timothy and other helpers of Paul would stay and organize the church and teach the pastors the true doctrines of the faith that they should convey to their parishioners. Apparently this process is no longer done anymore. Occasionally we hear of a church being built, but usually it had fragmented from an earlier church. 

(159j) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit anointing >> Drunkenness >> The alcoholic -- This verse goes with verse 3

(176j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Extremes >> Truth is never found in your conduct on either extreme of any circumstance -- This verse goes with verse 3

1Tim 3-9

(106l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Purpose of hearing from God >> To protect your faith – “Holding” is an active word that refers to protecting our faith, maintaining it with a clear conscience, never letting go of it no matter what theory or religion tries to throw us off-track. Paul said that faith is a mystery, but we look in the Church these days and don’t see the mysterious attribute of faith; all we see is people believing in a set of doctrines and calling it faith. There is no mystery in that. Some people think they believe, while others know God, and they both go to the same church. One of them is a disciple of Jesus, while the other is a disciple of his religion. The mystery of the faith is understood in the statement that Jesus made in Jn 15-16, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.” The mystery of the faith is in God giving us His faith and telling us to hold onto it for Him throughout this life, as in a football game not to fumble it, “Holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God” (Col 2-19). The mystery of the faith is in the fact that it originated from heaven and rested upon us, and now we have the faith of God, and by this we know that we are born of Him, not just because we keep His word, but also because of His Spirit that He has given us, who constantly broadcasts in our hearts that we belong to Him.

(155b) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> Having a good conscience >> Conscience bears witness of our good behavior

(232g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Embrace (Jesus during the storm) >> Hold on to your faith

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10&11 These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. 11 Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. 

1Tim 3-10

(5l) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> The Church tests the disciples – The ministry of deacons was an important position in the early church; they had to be beyond reproach. It was a position where they directly interfaced with people, solving problems, and personally showing compassion to those in need. They were not teachers or preachers or shepherds who overlooked the flock, but mingled with the people and ministered to them by the authority of the Church, which was under the authority of Christ. This was not a ministry that the leaders were willing to give to just anybody, but to those who had a profound anointing and were beyond reproach, who had maintained a reputation of good works in the Church. To be tested is to be given an opportunity to show our true identity; the pastor owes that to those who are seeking leadership positions. Make rash decisions about spiritually inclined people without testing them or giving them an opportunity to prove themselves is unfair and a waste of giftedness, which is meant as a benefit for everyone. We go to leadership for the opportunity to minister to the saints, and they judge us in ways that are irrespective of faith. The leaders of the Church have an obligation to give everyone a full opportunity to prove themselves worthy as a leader if that is what the aspire to do; otherwise they would discourage them from believing in Jesus. The primary role of Christian leaders is to protect the faith of the saints, and the best way to do that is to offer them opportunities to express their faith with those of the congregation. If we give them no avenue of expression, their discouragement may lead to spiritual burnout, or it may even cause them to fall from their faith altogether.

(13m) Servant >> Serve God faithfully

(14j) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers are indirectly in charge of the Word >> They have the heart of the one who trained them – There is nothing worse than having bottled up gifts with no way of expressing them. Proverbs 27-5 says, “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.” Any gifted person would prefer being mentored and corrected for the hope of sharing what is in his heart, than to be ignored and pushed to the curb. The gifted person who is shunned for no reason is like the one who eats a steak dinner every night with all the trimmings by himself, the dinner table makes him feel all the lonelier. This would discourage anyone from serving the Lord. While we are heading up our evangelism programs and seeking new converts, the last thing we want is to discourage those who are already faithful, yet this is a common occurrence in the Church today. We go there and listen to the sermon about how important it is to be a Christian and to maintain our faith, yet after the sermon the pastor discourages the people from serving the Lord, barring them from ministry.

(244i) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Literal manifestation of God’s word >> Manifesting the righteousness of His kingdom

1Tim 3-11

(3h) Responsibility >> To the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Instruction about women – Note that it doesn’t say pastors and deacons should have a good relationship with their wives, but that they should manage their children well. So, a pastor or a deacon can have a tumultuous marriage, but still be in right standing in their respective offices. The man of God can control his own behavior and attitude, but if the wife decides to have a problem, it doesn’t mean the man can no longer be pastor or deacon. In other words, Paul didn’t want wives dictating for pastors and deacons whether they should enter into service to the Church, because that would turn into an opportunity for Satan to exclude certain godly men from spiritual office through their wives. God has called the woman to help her husband; wasn’t that the original calling of women to be a helpmate? Paul mentioned women in context to seeking leadership positions in the Church. Elsewhere, Paul said that a women is not to teach a man, so putting these two verses together, we get women in leadership positions in the Church teaching other women. We might not understand why Paul said women are not to teach a man (what they do in their houses is their business), but the Church strictly forbade it. We might say it is bigoted, yet it is written, and we need to respect that, unless we think we have better wisdom than God or think our society has progressed since biblical times. Maybe we have progressed since Paul’s day, but not spiritually; if anything we have spiritually regressed. Some of our “progressiveness” has been deleterious to society, causing the breakup of the family structure, causing the entire nation to crumble. It is arguable that letting women in the workforce was the one change that led to all these negative effects. When the family structure crumbles, nations cannot survive; even Hitler knew this.

(84i) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Gossip >> Attacking a person’s name

(99h) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Enduring circumstances >> Endure temptation -- This verse goes with verse 2

(102i) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Consistency >> Faithfulness

(126l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Be patient with your brother -- These verses go with verse This verse goes with verses 1&2

(250c) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> In all things ... >> Be a servant in all things

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12&13 Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households. 13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

1Tim 3-12,13

(3k) Responsibility >> To the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Good men – These verses go with verses 1-10

1Tim 3-12

(3c) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Instruction about marriage – This verse goes with verses 1&2. Married people in charge of the Church say that all ministers should be “husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households,” using this passage to prove that God wants all church leaders to be married, but Paul did not mean this; rather, he was speaking against polygamy. Paul was not saying he wanted all ministers to be married; rather, ministers should not be husbands of two or more wives, and since they are married, we can assume children are part of the picture; hence they should be well controlled. Had Paul mandated to Timothy that all ministers be married, he would have contradicted his statements in First Corinthians chapter seven. It Paul preferred the saints to remain single, why do Church leaders use marriage as a criterion for ministry, unless they don’t understand the Scriptures? This shows a lack of trust in single people, and it makes them feel inferior as though they were second-class citizens, and for that reason we don’t see many single people in the Church of God; meanwhile, Paul is saying that being single is a superior status to marriage. Singles feel that married people view them as immoral, going from partner to partner, frequenting red-light districts or picking partners from bars and taking them home. Perhaps married people feel this way about singles because this is how they lived as single people before they got married.

(3n) Responsibility >> Parenting >> How to discipline your children -- This verse goes with verses 4&5

1Tim 3-13

(31b) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> He favors you as a servant

(68a) Authority >> Doing God’s work under His authority >> Ministry of helps >> Help God’s people -- This verse goes with verse 1. There are two reasons for deacons obtaining high standing and great confidence in the faith: They were servants of the Church, and as teachers they were compelled to study the Scriptures more fervently than ever. Now they have a deeper, fuller understanding of God’s word not because they were deacons, but because they were servants of God.

(71l) Authority >> Ordained by God >> We are ordained through obedience -- This verse goes with verse 1. Many people believe in God who stand on the outskirts of their own faith and peer into the Church to see what the people are doing, thinking about jumping in with both feet but never doing it. They will never have confidence in the faith if they don’t, though they look for confidence in other places without requiring a commitment or investment in the faith or the need to form their lives around their beliefs. They may be 20, 30, 40 years old in the Lord, and still they are babes in Christ, because they never trusted God. No doubt there were moments when they had to trust God in certain situations, but then went back to their old ways of doubt and complacency. Instead of making these experiences a launching pad for a new life in the Spirit, they went back to a place of safety and continued peering into the Church. They think they are doing everything right: reading their Bible, praying, going to church, giving tithes, but the one thing they haven’t done was seek their calling from God. They never opened their hearts to Him, who would have led them into His will. Instead, they wanted to live like the world; their objectives were to have a good paying job, get married, have children, live in a nice house, ride new car, etc. These are all desires of the world; their divine calling is waiting for them somewhere else, and they are ignoring it. It is when we begin to fulfill our calling that we begin to develop strong confidence in the faith, and that is what deacons do. Strong confidence in the faith will lead to high standing among the people, and high standing among the people will lead to strong confidence in the faith. The two of them work in tandem up the ladder of spiritual maturity, leading to holiness and righteousness of the truth.

(72h) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More authority the more responsibility >> Closer we get to Jesus the more authority we have -- This verse goes with verse 1

(106b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Knowing the sound of His voice >> Having confidence in His voice – It is one thing to believe in God; it is another thing to have strong confidence in the faith. A person who believes in God may not take the first step in forming his life around his faith, but the person who is confident in the faith does that very thing. Someone may have gotten saved only a week earlier and has a sincere faith but by no means has had time to grow confident in the faith. However, spiritual maturity is not a time issue like puberty or developing the ability to grow a beard; rather, the more we conduct ourselves according to our believes, the more confident we become in the faith. Forming our lives around our beliefs is an investment in the Kingdom of God, and it is this process of investment that gives us confidence. Now, when God speaks to us, we are expecting to hear His voice, because we have committed ourselves to His cause and to His calling in our lives.

(121l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence >> Confidence in God >> Confidence in God as you fulfill your ministry – Paul said that if one serves well as a deacon, he would obtain a high standing among the people; that makes sense, but it also says that he will obtain great confidence in the faith. Isn’t great confidence something a deacon should bring into a leadership position as criterion the Church uses to select him in the first place? If criteria for selecting a deacon doesn’t include high standing with the people or great confidence in the faith, then what does it include? The answer is a sincere faith! A person can have a sincere faith without being particularly confident in that faith, but over time in a leadership position he will develop confidence, because people are relying on him to do the will of God. When he first enters the ministry he is not entirely sure if he can meet the people’s needs and please the Lord, but where there is need there is grace. God give grace to those in leadership positions to fulfill their ministry, who then develop strong confidence in the faith. That is, they begin to believe what they sincerely believed from the start.

(191f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us through our devotion to Him -- This verse goes with verse 1

(226h) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> Levels of reward >> God rewards us to the degree of our faithfulness

KJV    NAS  /  Navigation Bar

14-16 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 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. 16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

1Tim 3-14,15

(7e) Responsibility >> Protecting the gospel >> God defends His own word – Knowing there is a devil in the world, hence a motive to destroy the word of God, the fact that it still exists is a miracle. If opportunity arose, Satan would take every advantage to expunge the Bible, and he did try numerous times with no success. In the last days there will be another attempt to snuff out the Church and rid the planet of every page of Scripture when the antichrist comes to power, but he will fail again. This person, this creature, this thing that once ruled the entire universe now cannot resist the weakness of flesh and blood when it obeys the living God. The Lord has allowed him to do some things; he has twisted the world around his little finger, and he has distorted the doctrines of the Church in many respects, and has caused interpretations of the Bible to make people’s head spin trying to understand what it all means, but God drew a line in the sand that he should not come near His written word to utterly destroy it, and if anyone made an attempt to do so, He would stand off his throne and see to it that His word remained, simply because God’s word is eternal, and it must therefore meet this definition.

(61c) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Author—Paul or John / Jesus

(237c) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The rapture >> Rapture is delayed – the Church holds an office in the world as pillar and support of the truth. That is, without the Church in the world there is no truth. If the world knew the truth, it would be part of the Church. So long as God is still working in the world to save sinners, the Church will be here. This has an endtime implication that God will not Rapture his people until He is done saving sinners.

(251a) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Making plans >> Making plans according to the will of God >> Making plans within the boundaries of God’s will

1Tim 3-15

(92l) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Our holy conduct along the narrow way – This dissertation that Paul wrote about deacons he wrote also to Titus. It was a list of expectations that he had for them, and to follow this list is how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God; thus, it only applies to deacons but to everyone. For example, every man must be the husband of one wife, not that every man should be married, but that no man should be a polygamist.

(107h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> The Church is of the truth >> God’s people are the true witnesses of God

(136j) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Body of Christ is the temple of God

(137f) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Jesus is the foundation >> Church is the foundation of manifested truth – The purpose of the Church in the world is to be the pillar and support of the truth, meaning that if the Church did not exist, neither would the Bible, implying that the Church has preserved the Bible these 2000 years. That is one positive thing we can say about the Church that it has done well throughout the age of grace. The Jews preserved the Old Testament in the old covenant era, and the gentiles preserved the New Testament in the new covenant era. It is because of the Church that the world knows anything about the Bible. The Church has suffered apostasy for many years, and as a result, the sayings and stories of the Bible have become foreign to most people in the world. A generation ago they were household phrases all across America, but now the Bible is mostly unknown, because the truth of Scripture has slowly eroded from social consciousness, making it difficult to reach anyone with the gospel.

(15g) Servant >> Angels >> The presence of angels denotes authority

(37c) Judgment >> Jesus’ humanity >> He had human flesh

(41k) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> The word leads you to godliness

(86e) Thy kingdom come >> Belief >> God’s works act as evidence to support our beliefs

(89g) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wisdom is the key that unlocks the mysteries of God – Wisdom is the key that unlocks the mysteries of God, but it doesn’t unlock every mystery, for example the mystery of lawlessness is not something we will ever understand. Also, some aspects of godliness will remain shrouded in mystery. In heaven we will learn a lot more about God, though He will remain mysterious to us throughout eternity. Like an asymptote, a straight line in geometry with a curved line approaching it but never touching it, we will fully understand God at the end of eternity. Although the curve is infinitesimally close to the coordinate line, yet the breach between them represents infinity and will take eternity to close the gap. Every segment of infinity no matter how small is itself infinite and every segment of eternity is itself eternal, so one day in heaven a billion years from now we may begin to think we are closing the gap between us and God and unlocking His secrets, but He will have an infinite array of them still awaiting our curiosity. This will give us ample room to grow and continuously learn about the mysteries of godliness, so we who strive for wisdom may find it. This is His promise: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever” (1 Chronicles 28-9).

(108i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Revelation of the mysteries of God – Paul gives a short list denoting some of the mysteries of God: Jesus came to us, was vindicated by the Spirit and seen by angels from a different realm, and He was proclaimed among the nations. It is a mystery that the gospel of Christ went forth into all the world. It is a mystery the motivation that God provides to do His will that we could never do without receiving His power. We believe in Jesus by faith that comes to us from a different realm. Even preaching the gospel is a mystery, both the act of evangelism and the effects it has on mankind, that people get saved is perhaps the greatest mystery of all. Who can explain being born-again, when God comes in the form of the Holy Spirit and mixes with our spirit to become one Spirit in Him? The difference between those who believe in Jesus and those who don’t is simply God choosing us. Jesus walked the earth among mortal men, but He spoke in heavenly tones, saying, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (Jn 15-16). In an earthly sense, we view ourselves as seeking God and finding Him, which the Old Testament says to do (2 Chronicles 15-2), but the New Testament revelation speaks of God calling and choosing us to be His true worshippers, and the whole process is shrouded in mystery. Everything about God is mysterious, and if we lose that sense of wonder, it is a sign we have fallen short of understanding the gospel of Christ.

(138g) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Exhortation >> Glorifying God in your exhortation

(144i) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Trinity bears witness of Jesus >> Holy Spirit bears witness of Jesus – Jesus was vindicated in the Spirit, meaning God sent the Holy Spirit in place of Christ and made His death worthwhile. In other words, had God not sent the Holy Spirit, His death would have been meaningless. With the Holy Spirit, over the last 2000 years billions of people have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Without Him no flesh can be saved, for the Holy Spirit created and guides the Church into all the truth.

(150a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Invitation to the Kingdom of God

(150e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Confessing Jesus >> Making the good confession (Son of God)

(230g) Mystery Of Godliness (Key verse)

(230h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery of godliness >> Mystery of the trinity >> Obey the mystery of godliness like Jesus did -- This verse goes with verses 8&9. There is a difference between the mystery of godliness and the mysteries of God. Godliness references a lifestyle and is defined by walking in the Spirit to produce His fruit. Godliness sounds boring to most people, but Paul said, “Great is the mystery of godliness.” Most people are not even aware there is a mystery associated with godliness. In the eyes of the world, the godly man is a boring fellow; he acts like he doesn’t have any fun or does anything interesting, but inwardly he has a life full of wonder. Through godliness and wisdom God reveals mysteries to him. Wisdom and godliness are one and the same, for we can’t have one without the other. Even the world admits that godliness is beneficial in virtually every way, as opposed to being a swindler, for example. In the corporate world being a swindler is bad for business, including an angry temper and strife. None of these things enhance our faith in Jesus or our relationships in the world but lead to our demise. Godliness is therefore a wise way to live; that is how the observer sees us, but internally what the godly man experiences is the wisdom of God revealing the mysteries of His kingdom through the Spirit.

(237h) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The ascension >> Jesus’ ascension

(245n) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Spirit realm superimposed upon the natural realm >> The spiritual manifesting into the natural

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