A Pastor’s Calling – 1 Timothy 3:1

11th lesson in a verse by verse series through the Epistle of 1 Timothy. This lesson explores 4 key aspects of the Pastoral Office.

1. This Chapter: Outlines the qualifications for the two church offices – Pastor and Deacon. The chapter ends with those great statements concerning the nature of the local church and the truth concerning Christ she is to uphold.
2. Strong leadership = strong church. Weak leadership = weak church
3. Everything rises and falls on leadership – “like people, like priest” (Hosea 4:9)
4. The qualifications are strict – Note the words “must be”
5. Qualified, spiritual men are essential for local church offices.

The Candidate for the Office (Vs. 1a) – “If a man”

1. He must be a man (Vs. 5)
2. Husband of one wife (Vs. 2)
3. Observe masculine pronouns in qualifications
4. Women prohibited from church leadership (2:11-12)

The Motivation for the Office (Vs. 1b & 1d) – “desire…desireth”

1. ‘desire’
   1. Means to stretch one’s self out in order to touch or to grasp something
   2. Translated “coveted after” in 1 Timothy 6:10
   3. Refers to an external act rather than inward emotions.
   4. Describes one who is taking steps to become an overseer
   5. Application: A man who is truly called will strive to prepare for that calling.
      1. “apt to teach” (Vs. 2)
      2. “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” Titus 1:9
      3. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
2. ‘desireth’
   1. Means a passionate compulsion
   2. Refers to an inward feeling of desire
   3. Note: Not a fleshly desire for power, position and prestige.
   4. 1 Corinthians 9:16 “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”
   5. C.H. Spurgeon: “If any student in this room could be content to be a newspaper editor, or a grocer, or a farmer, or a doctor, or a lawyer, or a senator, or a king, in the name of heaven and earth let him go his way…If on the other hand, you can say that for all the wealth of both the Indies you could not and dare not espouse any other calling so as to be put aside from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, then, depend upon it, if other things be equally satisfactory, you have the signs of this apostleship.”
3. Summary: “The two terms describe the man who outwardly pursues the ministry because of a driving compulsion on the inside…The man truly called to the ministry is marked by both an inward consuming passion and a disciplined outward pursuit. For him the ministry is not the best option, it is the only option.” (Macarthur)

The Title of the Office (Vs. 1c) – “the office of a bishop”

1. ‘Bishop’
   1. Means overseer
   2. Made up of epi (over) and skopos (sight)
   3. Used of a supervisor of a building construction. In modern terms, a foreman.
   4. Hebrews 13:7 “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”
   5. Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
   6. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.”
   7. Note: Oversight of the local church is only given to the Pastor in Scripture.
   8. NBC New Members Notes: “The authority of the pastorate may be disobeyed where the authority usurps a sphere, or jurisdiction of authority unlawfully (e.g. your home). The authority of the oversight of the church must be disobeyed where the subordinates are commanded to do something contrary to the clear principles, and precepts of the Word of God. BUT where these two conditions apply, where the command is Scriptural, and where the sphere is directly or indirectly matters in the local church, you are duty-bound before God to obey, as long as you remain in that church!”
2. Other N.T. Titles
   1. Pastor = shepherd
   2. Elder = spiritually mature
3. 3 Titles, 1 Office
   1. Terms used interchangeably in the N.T.
   2. Refer ‘elders’ & ‘bishop’ in Titus 1:4-7
   3. Refer ‘elders’, ‘feed’ & ‘oversight’ in 1 Peter 5:1-2

The Character of the Office (Vs. 1e) – “a good work”

1. It is an Excellent Office
   1. Good – speaks of excellence. Something that is noble, a high calling.
      1. John Wycliffe (14^th century): “The highest service that men may attain to on earth is to preach the Word of God.”
      2. Cotton Mather (17^th century): “The office of the Christian ministry, rightly understood, is the most honourable, and important, that any man in the whole world can sustain…The great design and intention of the office of a Christian preacher are to restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men; to display in the most lively colours, and proclaim in the clearest language, the wonderful perfections, offices and grace of the Son of God; and to attract the souls of men into a state of everlasting friendship with him…It is such an honourable, important and useful office, that if a man be put into it by God, and made faithful and successful through life, he may look down with disdain upon a crown, and shed a tear of pity on the brightest monarch on earth.”
   2. Trustworthy – “this is a true saying”
2. It is a demanding office
   1. ‘work’ = energy (spiritual, emotional, physical)
   2. ‘labour’ (5:17)
   3. “And we beseech you brethren, to know them which labour among you…” (1 Thess 5:12)
   4. ‘labour’ in both of these verses means “to work to the point of fatigue or exhaustion.”

Conclusion:

1. Are you called to the ministry?
2. Are you preparing for the ministry?
3. What is your attitude towards your Pastor’s office in the church?

Sermon 11 of 27 in 1 Timothy Series

Sermon Audio Id: 651662361