1 Timothy 3:1-7 sermon notes

1. 1 Timothy 3:1-13
The church leaders:
appointment, duties and character

2. Chiasmus / sandwich

3. The 1 Timothy sandwich [1]
1:1-20 false teaching
2:1-3:13 issues within the church family
3:14-4:16 need for godliness in the
life of Timothy as a leader
5:1-6:2 issues within the church family
6:3-6:21 false teaching

4. The 1 Timothy sandwich [2]
1:1-20 false teaching
1:3-7 danger of false teaching
1:8-20 response to legalism
2:1-3:13 issues within the church family
2:1-7 the gospel-centred church
2:8-15 the gospel-centred member
3:1-13 the gospel-centred leader
3:14-4:16 need for godliness in the life of Timothy as a
leader
3:14-4:5 priority of godliness and the gospel
4:6-16: example of godliness and the gospel
5:1-6:2 issues within the church family
5:1-16 honouring widows
5:17-6:2 honouring elders and masters
6:3-6:21 false teaching
6:3-10 danger of false teaching
6:11-21 response to materialism

5. Elders [1]
1 Timothy 3
1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the
position of a bishop [ἐπιςκοπῆσ], he desires a
good work.

6. Elders [2]
Exodus 18
17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “…20 And you
shall teach them the statutes and the laws…
21 Moreover you shall select from all the people
able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating
covetousness; and place such over them to
be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of
fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 And let them judge the
people at all times. Then it will be that every great
matter they shall bring to you, but every small
matter they themselves shall judge…”

7. Elders [3]
Ezekiel 34
17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I
shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and
goats…19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled
with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your
feet…you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the
weak ones with your horns, and scattered them
abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no
longer be a prey…23 I will establish one shepherd over them,
and he shall feed them—My servant David…24 And I, the LORD,
will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I,
the LORD, have spoken.

8. Elders [4]
Elders
represent Jesus
to the flock

9. Elders [5] / Another sandwich [1]
1 Timothy 3
2A bishop then must be blameless

10. Elders [6] / Another sandwich [2]
…the husband of one wife Letter begins and
temperate, sober-minded ends with
of good behaviour commands to
hospitable, avoid false
teaching.
able to teach;
3 not given to wine
not violent not greedy for money
but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous
4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission
with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own
house, how will he take care of the church of God?)
6 not
a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the
same condemnation as the devil.

11. Elders [7] / Another sandwich [3]
7 Moreover he must have a good
testimony among those who are
outside, lest he fall into reproach and the
snare of the devil.

12. Elders [8] / Another sandwich [3]
Elders represent
Jesus to the
community

13. Elders [9] / A one woman man
1 Timothy 3:2, 3:12
μιᾶσ γυναικὸσ ἄνδρα
one woman man
Proverbs 5
19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.

14. Elders [10]
Titus 1
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in
order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders
[πρεςβυτζρουσ] in every city as I commanded you— 6 if a man
is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children
not accused of dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a bishop
[ἐπίςκοπον] must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-
willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not
greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good,
sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the
faithful word as he has been taught [διδαχὴν], that he may
be able, by sound doctrine [διδαςκαλίᾳ], both to exhort
[παρακαλεῖν] and convict those who contradict.

15. Teach = teach? [1]
1 Timothy 3:2
διδακτικόν
able to teach

16. Teach = teach? [2]
1 Timothy 2 [again]
12 And I do not permit a woman to teach
[διδάςκειν] or [οὐδὲ] to have authority
[αὐθεντεῖν] over a man, but to be in silence.13 For
Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was
not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell
into transgression. 15 Nevertheless she will be saved
in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and
holiness, with self-control.

17. Teach = teach? [3]
Luke 4
24 Then He said, “Assuredly [ Ἀμὴν], I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own country ...
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard
these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up
and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to
the brow of the hill on which their city was built,
that they might throw Him down over the
cliff. 30 Then passing through the midst of them, He
went His way.

18. Teach = teach? [4]
James 3
1 My brethren, let not many of you become
teachers [διδάςκαλοι], knowing that we shall
receive a stricter judgment.

19. Teach = teach? [5]
1 Corinthians 11
2 …I praise you, brethren, that you…keep the
traditions just as I delivered them to you…5 But
every woman who prays or prophesies
with her head uncovered dishonours her
head…13 Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for
a woman to pray to God with her head
uncovered?

20. Teach = teach? [6]
Acts 18
25 This man had been instructed in the way of
the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke
and taught accurately the things of the Lord,
though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So
he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.
When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took
him aside and explained [ἐξζθεντο] to him the
way of God more accurately [ἀκριβζςτερον].

21. Teach = teach? [7]
Titus 2
1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for
sound doctrine [διδαςκαλίᾳ]: 2 that the older men be
sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in
patience; 3 the older women likewise, that they be
reverent in behaviour, not slanderers, not given to much
wine, teachers of good things[καλοδιδαςκάλουσ]— 4 that
they admonish the young women to love their husbands,
to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste,
homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that
the word of God may not be blasphemed.

22. Silence = silence? [1]
Luke 2
36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the
daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She
was of a great age, and had lived with a husband
seven years from her virginity; 37 and this
woman was a widow of about eighty-four years,
who did not depart from the temple, but
served God with fastings and prayers night and
day.

23. Silence = silence? [2]
Acts 21
8 On the next day we who were Paul’s
companions departed and came to Caesarea,
and entered the house of Philip the evangelist,
who was one of the seven, and stayed with
him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters
who prophesied.

24. Silence = silence? [3]
Only in church?
Church = called out community not building
Temple = building
Women spoke in the temple, e.g. Anna

25. Deacons [1]
1 Timothy 3
8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not
given to much wine, not greedy for money,
9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure
conscience.
10 But let these also first be tested; then let
them serve as deacons,
being found blameless.
11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers,
temperate, faithful in all things.
12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife,
ruling their children and their own houses well.

26. Deacons [2]
1 Timothy 3
13 For those who have served well as deacons
obtain for themselves a good standing and great
boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Acts 20
35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind
of hard work we must help the weak, remembering
the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more
blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

27. Therefore…
Both men and women are gifted to exhort and build
up one another [whole bible].
Women can have any role in the church except
[perhaps?] to be an authenticating teacher or elder
[1 Timothy 2:12].
Men and women should be trained and tested
before taking on specific ministry roles [1 Timothy
3:10].
It is more blessed to give than to receive [Acts
20:35].