Qualifications for Overseers 1 Timothy 3:1-7 Justin Deeter May 8, 2016 Introduction We are making our way through 1 Timothy. Most recently in chapter two, Paul has given us some instruction on conducting our worship services, most recently reflecting on the proper order for men and women in the church. This leads him to tackle issues of leadership qualifications in chapter 3 where he provides a list of qualifications for the two biblical offices of the church, overseers and deacons. Today we tackle the first office, that of overseer. These qualifications are valuable not only for men in the pastoral office, but for all men who aspire to godliness, righteousness, and maturity in Jesus. So moms we give you our thanks today for all you do, and I thought one of the best gifts I could give you today is by instructing the men in your life how to be godly men. So let s get started, but first we have to ask ourselves, what in the world is an overseer? What is an Overseer? When the Bible refers to the position of pastor, it refers to it using three different Greek words. The English translations come out to be elder, overseer, and pastor. The most common words used is that of elder and overseer. There are a few passages where you see them used interchangeably as the author swaps one word out for another. I ll give you one main example from 1 Peter 5:1-2. Peter writes, So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is 1
going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight. (1 Peter 5:1 2, ESV) You see all three words in just the two verses. Elders. Overseer. Shepherd. So the qualifications before us today are for the pastoral position. The position is reserved for men of impeccable character. In our passage today Paul doesn t discuss much what the job description of an overseer is, he focuses primarily on the character qualifications of the position. So what is the job description of the overseer/elder/pastor? Teach the Bible to their church. Guard the deposit of the Gospel. Shepherd the Flock under their care. Pray for the church and the world. Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. Lead the church in vision and direction. So how does the position of pastor differ from that of deacon? Well we will talk about this more next week when we talk about the qualifications of deacons, but here is a simple way to remember. Pastors care for the spiritual needs of the congregation. Deacons care for the temporal needs of the congregation. How many elders or pastors would there be in a given local church? Well we don t have specific numbers, but they are always referenced in the New Testament in the plural. There is always more than one elder at a church. There wasn t one pastor who acted like a CEO, but a team of pastors who hold each other accountable and shepherd the church together. Also keep in mind, all of these elders were bi-vocational. There were many elders who worked full time jobs but who shepherded the congregation as a part of the elder team. That s different than the way we think about it today. Though we have three full-time pastors here at Forest Hills, many churches can only afford to pay one full time pastor. So what s the solution? Well, I think the Bible instructs us that we should look for called, qualified, and gifted Christian men of maturity to join the pastoral team and shepherded the church on a bi-vocational capacity. Whether you only have one paid pastor or three paid pastor, each church should seek within their own congregation men who are qualified for this office and set them apart as elders. Now if you are not a pastor, what in the world will this sermon have to do with you? It has a great deal to do with all of us! 2
First, the qualifications outlined are attributes every Christian, male and female, should aspire to have in their life. The qualifications outlined here are remarkably ordinary. As we walk through them, examine your own life to see how you can grow in each area. Second, we must know these qualifications so that we can recognize godly men within our own church who meet these qualifications. My prayer is that as we walk through this list together that the names of certain men in our church will come to your mind by the Spirit. When it comes to the office of elder and deacon we must hold the highest standards, and in order to preserve the dignity of the offices of the church we must know the qualifications of the office so we do not put someone in an office who is not yet qualified for it. Third, for you men in particular, the Scripture says, that if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Men, it is a good thing to desire leadership in the church as an elder or pastor. Some of you may be called to be pastors in a vocational sense as your full time work, but some of you may be called by God in a lay capacity. Either way if you aspire to the office of overseer, it s a good thing. Men, as we walk through these qualifications you may think, Well I don t meet that one yet or I still really need to grow here. Praise be to God! May you aspire to meet these qualifications in your life by the grace of God, and perhaps one-day God may call you to such an important position of leadership in the church. Fourth, to the pastors in the room, primarily myself, Grant, and Tim, this text reminds us that we have a weighty role to fill as ones who model Christian maturity to those God has placed under our care. It is a weighty responsibility, and we should constantly examine our lives in light of the qualifications and strive by grace to fulfill them. So this passage is incredibly relevant to everyone in the room in its own way. Also keep in mind, Paul isn t trying to be exhaustive in his qualifications, but rather he is trying to paint a picture in our mind of what an overseer looks like, so that we can recognize them in our churches. What are the Qualifications for an Overseer? So let s get into the qualifications. I ve identified five main themes that I think summarize the qualifications Paul outlines for us. They are godliness, ability, family, maturity, and witness. Let s talk about the first one. Godliness 3
An overseer must be godly, or to use Paul s language, he must be above reproach. Indeed, that phrase above reproach is kind of a junk drawer term that means he must be above criticism of his character. Others should be able to look at your life and see an upright, godly, Christian man. Husband of One Wife. This is literally translated a one-woman man. He must be a man faithfully known for loving his wife. He doesn t have a reputation for running around on his wife. He must not be a big flirt, but showing loyalty and faithfulness to his bride. Sober-Minded. He must have a clear head and make decisions and judgements not clouded by emotions. He isn t a hot head or biased, but makes objective and impartial decisions. Self-Controlled. He is not ruled by his flesh. He is not controlled by an substance and his lusts do not rule him. He is controlled instead by the Spirit of God dwelling inside of him. Respectable. Is the man well thought of by others? Does he garner respect from the congregation? When he opens his mouth to people stop and turn their heads to listen what he has to say? The congregation must respect the man and hold him in high honor as an example. Hospitable. Does he have relational warmth, or is he cold, calloused, and impersonal? Now this doesn t mean a pastor has to be extroverted, but rather he should show a welcoming attitude to all people, particularly to those outside of the church. Does he invite people into his home for dinner? Is he regularly grabbing lunches with church members, listening to them, praying for them? Not a Drunkard. Similar to the idea of self-control and sober minded, but an overseer must not engage in the sin of drunkenness. He must not be addicted to any substance. Not Violent, but Gentle. The overseer cannot be a one who is looking for a fight. He isn t violent both in word or action, but rather gentle. He isn t an angry shepherd who beats the sheep or who domineers over them, but he speaks with a firm and gentle word. Not Quarrelsome. We all know those people who are constantly looking for a fight. Or, we ve sat in meetings where there is always that one person who takes great pride in being the contrarian. An overseer doesn t have a 4
quarrelsome spirit, but desires to work together with the other elders in unity. Not a Lover of Money. The man must live in such a way in which materialism and greed are far from his life. Though he might be financially rich, he must live in such a way that displays money is not his true treasure, Christ is. Part of that means then that an overseer should be a generous giver to the church, reflecting the true love of his heart. As Paul gives us all these character qualifications, we begin to get a picture of the kind of man qualified for the office of overseer. He is a godly man. The fruits of the Spirit are ripe in his life. There is a connection between his teaching and his life. He isn t a hypocrite. I m sure in the background of Paul s mind is the false teachers that Timothy must deal with. They taught some wise teaching, but their lives were filled with hypocritical living. So that s the first big category here, an overseer must be godly. Let s talk about the next one, ability. Ability You may have noticed, that I skipped one item at the end of verse two. Paul says that an overseer must be able to teach. This is the only item of the list that provides both job ability and a giftedness required for the office. In fact, it is one of the main differences between the office of overseer and deacon. Overseers have the responsibility of teaching. Not every godly man will have the spiritual gift of teaching, and that s ok! God hasn t gifted every Christian with the gift of teaching. A man might meet every other item on the list, but if he doesn t have the ability to teach, then he isn t qualified for the office. Now, this doesn t mean that each man needs to be able to preach a Sunday morning sermon. He might be really skilled at teaching the Bible in a small group format or through one on one discipleship. But in some way, he must be able to explain the Bible to other people. Why is that? Because the Bible is the authority of the pastoral office. The Bible is the rod in the hand of God s shepherds. If a man does not understand the Bible and sound doctrine, and if he can t explain it to anyone else, he cannot perform the duties of an overseer. This means that overseers must be men of the book. When you cut them, they bleed Bible. They read the Scriptures, study the Scriptures, memorize 5
the Scriptures, talk about the Scriptures, and so on. The know sound doctrine. They ve done the hard work studying theology and growing in their understanding of the Bible. Again this doesn t mean a pastor has to have a seminary degree, but the man can be self-trained or church-trained. The pastor must have a firm grasp on God s word and be able to explain it to others. Family Another aspect of qualifications for pastoral ministry comes within the context of the family. It s not necessarily that you are required to be married and have children in order to be an overseer, but the home provides a visible testing ground for your ability to shepherd God s flock. If a man is not managing his own household well, then he will be unable to manage the church. Godly men are family men. He must love his wife as Christ has loved the church. His children must be submissive under his leadership, displaying evidence as a godly father. The household is a mini congregation and every father a mini pastor. Christian dads have responsibility to disciples their children and serve their wives. The man as the head of the household, has the biblical responsibility to center his family around the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God will hold them accountable for this mini flock under their care. Fatherhood is of the greatest responsibilities and of the greatest honors. Every Christian man should aspire to be the kind of husband and father that God has called you to be. So Paul says if you want to see if someone can shepherd the church, check to see if he is shepherding the home. If his home is in disarray, if there are severe marital issues between the husband and wife, if his kids are spiraling out of control, then he is not qualified for the office of pastor. So what happens when a pastor begins to have severe family dysfunction? Then he should step down from his role of pastoring the church in order to focus his efforts on shepherding his family. Men, whether you are a pastor or not, your family is your chief responsibility. If your wife and children are suffering, you are the one God has appointed to be there for them. Men, your family should be thriving under your leadership, not suffering. May this passage cause us to take heed, to evaluate our own leadership, and repent where necessary. Maturity Paul also tells us that an overseer must not be a recent convert. You do not want a new Christian serving as a pastor. They are still learning and growing as a Christian. They are not yet of the maturity to shepherd anyone 6
else s soul. Overseers must be of evident spiritual maturity, less the become puffed up in pride and fall into the condemnation of the devil. We must be cautious of putting people in our church into a leadership position in hopes that they will grow into it. That might be fine for some positions, but the office of elder/pastor must maintain the high bar of Spiritual maturity. The offices of elder or deacon must never become slot filling. A warm body will not do, in fact it will only harm the church. We need godly, mature men. Sometimes that means waiting until a man grows in Christ. Perhaps he has areas of growth in his life. Maybe he needs some more discipleship before he is ready. If we are uncertain if a man has the maturity enough for the position, then it is best to wait and see rather than putting him into a position of leadership before he is spiritually ready. Witness A final qualification Paul gives is that an overseer should be well thought of by outsiders. The community must respect and honor the man. He should be known as a man of great character, honesty, fairness, kindness, and compassion. His private and public life must match up. He must maintain a good witness to the community of the Gospel of Jesus. If not, he may very well fall into disgrace and into the devil s snare. Final Thoughts Men and women, may we aspire to the mature Christian life as outlined in so much of these qualifications. Ladies, may you pray for the men in your life, for your husbands and for your sons, that they would grow by the grace of God into such men who would meet these qualifications. Mom s, particularly for those of you with sons, may you seek to train such godly men within your homes. Young men, this is what true manhood looks like. Forget what you ve seen on TV. Manhood isn t about power, money, and getting the ladies. Rather, true manhood is displayed in the qualifications of the overseer. As you dream of who you may one day be, aspire to the office of overseer. It is a noble task. My prayer is that you young men will one day grow into this role. Some men are called specifically to full time pastoral ministry. Others may be called to serve as lay-elders, shepherding the flock with a team of other pastors. May God grow you into such men as this. Older men, may we evaluate our lives in light of these qualifications. Aspire to the character and maturity displayed in these qualifications. Repent of 7
hidden sin where you fall short. Grow in areas of weakness. Follow the pattern of Christ. It is easy to look at a list like this and feel helplessness and disappointment. None of us meet this vision of leadership cast here perfectly. Even pastors have areas where we still have so much more room for growth. But may we sinful men follow to true man, Jesus Christ. If we want to understand what true masculinity looks like, we must look to the life of Christ. Though we fall short, Christ succeeds. This is a key principle of the Gospel and the great danger of a sermon like this. I don t want you to hear, Do better, try harder. That s not the Gospel. Christ achieves our qualifications for us through his life, death, and resurrection. Men, when you fall short, grace is extended to you through your savior Jesus. But men who have received redemption through the blood of Christ, must aspire to become like Christ. This means we should aspire to the office of overseer. We must aspire to be like the true man, the new man, Jesus. By the grace of God, may God cause the men in our church to grow in godliness, to rise to the challenge set before us today. Because when that happens our entire church will flourish. We need men who are committed. We need men zealous for the fame of Christ. We need men willing to fight for the truth. We need men willing to go on the front lines of Gospel ministry. We need men who have the courage to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. We need men willing to put aside boyish pursuits and hobbies, to sacrifice for the people they love. We need better men. Men of Forest Hills, will we rise to the challenge? 8