SSL 5 - 1 Tim. 5:1-8, 17-21
LAST WEEK: In 1 Tim. 4:1-13, Paul switched to a discussion about false teaching. The three main points were: (1) Those whom Paul describes as "falling away" (i.e., apostasy) are people who are not enjoying God's abundant blessings because they've been tricked into following an outward form of religion where they believe the can achieve a higher level of "holiness" by denying themselves basic things like marriage, certain foods, and other material provision. Citing Biblical fact, Paul told us that everything was created by God for a good purpose. (2) Like Paul urged Timothy, we need to continu-ally discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness. Similar in principle to the discipline of main-taining a healthy body, Paul tells us it's far more important to strive to maintain godliness through a discipline of "spiritual" exercise and nourishment. (3) We all need to take the same spiritual prescription Paul gave to Timothy. The "medicine" he prescribed was to live a life that's so godly in terms of personal lifestyle and behavior, together with his commitment to teach in the truth of the Christian faith that nobody, young or old, could object on the basis of his age.
THIS WEEK: Chapter 5 begins a new section focused on how Timothy is to minister to certain groups of people within the church. The first two verses deal with treatment of men and women, both old and young, then vv. 3-16 (in so much detail, we will skip vv. 9-16) set extensive instructions on the care of widows, which was a significant responsibility of the church during Timothy's day, and can still applies to us today. There wasn't anything even remotely like social security or Medicare coverage back in those times, and women had limited property rights and very little opportunity to find useful work. In vv. 17-21, we will cover Paul's instruction to Timothy on the treatment of elders, which refers not to older men generally but to those serving in leadership positions in the church.
Read 1 Tim. 5:1-2 - GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEN AND WOMEN
1 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, 2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.
v. 1a: "Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father" - Remember that Timothy is a young pastor and the majority of the men in his church are probably older than him. The words used for "sharply rebuke" (Gk. epipléssó) literally means to strike at, an offensive action. Instead, Paul says, appeal to him like he was your father. Treating older men as fathers in that day was no small matter and involved an attitude of deference and respect. The word for "appeal" (Gk. parakaleo) doesn't mean to agree but give to correction or clarification needed with all due respect and proper deference to age. We live in a culture today that worships youthfulness and often treats the older generation as "out of step" with the times and not worthy of serious attention.
v. 1b: "to the younger men as brothers" - Brothers should be treated as partners and friends in the work of the gospel, with respect but not necessarily with the same deference given to older men.
v. 2: "the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity" - The perspec-tive here, since Timothy is young, is that younger men should treat the older women with the same honor and respect due to their own mothers, which similar to fathers, was no small matter in that culture. Also, Timothy, as a young pastor, should graciously accept and appreciate some amount of "mothering" from the older women in the church. Paul tells him to treat younger women as sisters, making certain that his conduct (and that of the other men) was always above reproach, giving them with the same respect that they would give to their own sisters. A godly man is not flirtatious or forward in either his speech or actions toward the women of the church.
TRUTH 1: When it is necessary to correct church people, do so respectfully and honorably, and consider their age, responsibility, and gender. The need for correction of a church member, old or young or male or female, can be generated by all kinds of sinful behavior, e.g., people gossiping or spreading rumors, inappropriate behavior of one member toward another member, people known to be engaging in sinful activities, etc. The tendency to overlook these things and not deal with them will hurt the witness of a church.
Read 1 Tim. 5:3-6 - DETERMINING AND HONORING THOSE WHO ARE WIDOWS INDEED
3 Honor widows who are widows indeed; 4 but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. 5 Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day. 6 But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.
v. 3: "Honor widows who are widows indeed" - In those times, with no type of public social assistance available, widows were a particularly vulnerable class of people. Paul, using the term "widows Indeed," instructs Timothy to focus attention on widows who fit specific criteria that demonstrates that they really need help from the congregation.
v. 4: "but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God" - If the widow has children or grandchildren, her family should out of piety (that is, out of goodness or faithfulness) be responsible to support the widowed parent. This suggests that there were widows in the church who were being neglected by their own families. The term "acceptable in the sight of God" alludes to the commandment to honor your father and mother in Ex. 20:12. In the OT, God defends the weak, the socially disenfranchised, and the powerless.
v. 5: "Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day" - This described a woman who (1) has no living relatives willing or able to support her; (2) a woman who had "fixed her hope on God" whose life is devoted to serving in the church and sees God as her only source of help; and (3) relies on ongoing, daily prayers to meet her needs. This brings to mind the prophetess Anna, an elderly widow who witnessed the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple in Lk. 2:36-38-a widow indeed.
v. 6: "But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives" - Here, Paul tells Timothy to specifically exclude widows who don't practice a godly lifestyle. The term "wanton pleasure" describes a shameless person who is focused on pleasure and material possessions. Such a women is spiritually empty-dead. Paul is possibly referring to some woman of that day who, after being widowed, turned to prostitution to support themselves.
TRUTH 2: Even in this day and time, the church can be obligated to help meet the material needs of a member. In Timothy's day, older widows were the most vulnerable group, but today it might included men or women who have fallen ion hard times, and not necessarily limited to an older age group. At the same time, the person should be required meet the spiritual criteria Paul specified: (1) no other means of support from family; (2) a committed Christian who serves faithfully in the church; and (3) one who is a good steward of and accountable for whatever assistance received.
Read 1 Tim. 5:7-8 - A PERSCRIPTION FOR WIDOWS
7 Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach.8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
v. 7: "Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach" - Using the phrase, "prescribe these things as well," Paul adopts the same for "prescribe" seen in the previous chapter in relation to godly instruction (1 Tim. 4:11), (Gk. paragelle), is an action verb that to be obeyed and executed like a military order. With this, Timothy is commanded to instruct the entire church, which would include all of the house churches around Ephesus, to adhere to foregoing criteria established for the support of widows. The "they," who are to be "above reproach," is somewhat unclear but appears to be directed at members of the congregation who have or may in the future have widowed mother who is in need of support.
v. 8: "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" - This ties directly into the previous verse and serves as a command and a warning to "anyone" in the congregation who have or in the future will like have a widowed mother (i.e., "those of his household) who needs their help, and this provision seems to extend in-laws and possibly to other relatives of a family like childless aunts. And the penalty for a church member who fails to support a widow of his household is severe: he will be treated as if he had "denied the faith." Although the text doesn't say so, I assume that means he will be kicked-out of the church, what the Catholics call excommunicated.
Summary of vv. 9-16 (skipped): These eight verses list specific criteria to qualify or disqualify a widow to receive support from the church: (1) age 60 or older [v. 9]; (2) good moral reputation [vv. 10-11]; (3) not to remarry outside the faith [v. 12]; (4) not a gossip [v. 13]; (4) younger widows encouraged to remarry [v. 15]; and (5) doesn't have other family able to support her [v. 16]. We don't have time for it now, but I could speak volumes on how the traditional role of the church has been overtaken by various federal and state government agencies in caring for widows, orphans, elderly people, and the poor in general.
Read 1 Timothy 5:17-21 - CONCERNING ELDERS
17 The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, "YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages." 19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. 20 Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.
v. 17: "The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching" - The word for elder (Gk. presbuteros), not to be confused with older men (v. 1), signifies a person in a leadership position, who could function in the role of a pastor or a teacher or both. And the plural use of the word indicates that it applied to the leaders in the various house churches, insofar as the early church typically did not have separate buildings for a specific church until the third century A.D. Thus, the church at Ephesus consisted of gatherings at the houses of various church members. The adjective "double" combined with "honor" (Gk. timēs), which means "value," strongly implies financial support as well as respect, particularly for those who preach (pastoral role) and teach. Ephesus was a very large church in those days and preaching and teaching would have involved a major commitment of time and effort from these elders. For example, when have someone in to preach to us, we, as a church, are obligated to compensate them financially. They are acting as shepherds, not just guest speakers.
v. 18: "For the Scripture says, "YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages" - Paul gives two quotes that merge OT and NT ideas. The first, from Deut. 24:5, tells the owner to allow the ox to eat the grain it is grinding, so by analogy, a person who works for something should also benefit from it. The second, Jesus speaking in Lk. 10:7 confirms the same idea and is also interesting to see that by then Paul referring to the written records of Jesus' sayings. Both advance the church's obligation to give financial support to elders who preach and/or teach.
TRUTH 3: A person devoting time and effort to a pastoral ministry-lead pastor, youth, children's ministry-either permanently or temporarily, is entitled to receive fair compensation from the church. And they shouldn't have to ask for it. And this could extend to deacons who are incurring out-of-pocket expenses to care for members of their deacon families, like the leaders in the house churches in Timothy's day.
v. 19: "Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses" - The sense of the first phrase, "Do not receive," in effect says, Stop! Before you act on this, gather evidence of the alleged charge from the testimony of two or three credible witness. This reflects the turmoil being caused by the accusations of false teachers.
v. 20: "Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning" - The use of the present participle "continue in sin," indicates sinful conduct on the part of an elder that's not just a one time act. The word for rebuke (Gk. elenchō) means to convict and condemn -strong words-and it's to be done before the entire church. Paul understood that a church that fails to deal directly and candidly with sin in its leadership will get itself into trouble. And the last statement, "that the rest would also be fearful," means that the public rebuke of a visible leader would send a strong message to the leadership in the house churches.
v. 21: "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality" - This strong oath is found in several other place in the pastoral letters. Paul was emphatically serious about the authority and origin of his teachings, so much so that he refers to the last judgment before God, Jesus, and the angels. The word for "maintain" (Gk. proistēmi), means to rule over something, enforce it. And he was commanded to enforce these principles evenly and fairly, without bias or showing favoritism. This is a very hard aspect of good leadership, often requiring you to discipline the people you like, while being completely fair toward the those who are confrontational and difficult to deal with.
TRUTH 4: Accusations against "elders"-pastoral staff and deacons today-should be carefully handled with due-process. The means there must be an investigation of the facts in which the alleged wrongdoing of the "elder" is substantiated by two or more credible witnesses. Earlier, Paul said it this way: "But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully." 1 Tim. 1:8.
TRUTH 5: A church that fails to deal directly and candidly with sin in its leadership will get itself into trouble. This instruction ties in with the need for correction discussed in Truth 1, above, and concerns a person in a church leadership role who, after due process has been followed, has been found to be engaged in sinful conduct on a continuing basis. The remedy specified in v. 20 is a public rebuke, which in Greek means to convict and condemn. Paul doesn't say whether the person is summarily dismissed from his leadership position, but I imagine it would be up to the entire church congregation in the event he seeks forgiveness and completely repents.
