First Timothy lesson 15 cont from Q4

All right, let's go to question four. Certain qualifications are to be met for approval of this person. List and explain those in verse two. Let's read verse two. Mike Polo, you want to read verse two for us? Okay. The overseer then must be irreproachable, husband of one wife, sober, discreet, decorous, hospitable, apt to teach. Okay, let's break it down. Is Mike all those things?

Does Cheryl say something under the? Yeah. What? I want to hear what Cheryl said. Well, he will. Yeah. Let's see. He is the husband of one wife, tempered, sober-minded, good behavior, hospitable, able to teach. That's verse two. That's verse two. Okay, let's break this down.

Above reproach, an overseer, so I'm basing this on what I anticipated was from last week, because I was traveling. An overseer is to be above reproach. I think it just means that they're honest and upright. They don't have a secret agenda about anything. What you see is what you get. What you see is what you get. I like that way of putting it. This is really the overarching qualification. Everything else falls underneath this above reproach. So if one of you or any of us had some kind of character flaw that we recognized that was not above reproach, we would have to bring that about and this would disqualify an overseer. Right? So when I think about Mike and Roger and the elders that have led before in my life, was there any legitimate criticism that could come to them that would defame their character? You know? Like President Trump?

No, he's not an elder. Yeah, I doubt. Blameless, is that... I have a New King James and it says blameless. Oh, well, that's your first problem, Carol, is we don't have a New King James around here. I'm just kidding. Yeah, blameless is... it falls into the unassailable character of a person, right?

If a person is not who they say they are, and they've got a background agenda, and we're not talking about their past, we're talking about their present, right? Because we all have pasts. However, when you step into this role, this qualification of being an elder, above reproach is absolutely required. It's not enough for him not to be a criminal. He must be one against whom it is impossible to bring any charge or wrongdoing such as could stand impartial examination. He must be without reproach. Irreprehensible. And I think you make a good point in that this above reproach is something that a believer as they grow spiritually becomes part of them, they may not and probably are not above reproach as a brand new believer. I know a lot of guys in the real estate business that weren't above reproach. But every once in a while, I'd meet one that was, and he was a reliable guy. You could trust him, you know?

Yeah. And that's what we're looking at here. We're looking for a reliable guy. Yeah. And that relying has to do solely on, they are relying on the Lord to do this work. Yeah, there you go. motives, their own reputation, right? It's very popular to have a great reputation and to be a very likable person and to run away with an eldership position.

But that's not what we're looking at here. It's not about their self, how do I say this? It's not about their self-assurance. It's about their assurance with the Lord. They've had time to settle on that. And that makes them irreproachable, meaning there's nothing you can bring against that person. It doesn't mean that they don't make mistakes. It just means that their character is such that it stays consistently reliant, independent on the Lord. All right.

And you already talked about husband and one wife last week? Yeah, we did. Okay. Well, the way I was going to teach it, and I'll review my notes, given that I was going to be there. It's a man of one woman. Yeah. Yeah. A husband of one wife, literally a one woman man. Yeah.

That's what we're talking about here. And you had, I would imagine you brought up some of your, your background there last week. I wasn't there, but this is character. This is how this has to do with the, in the Greek construction, the elder or the Bishop, however you want to translate that should be a man who loves only one woman as his wife. Yeah. I like the way that my notes put this, I forget where I came about it, but it should be his nature to isolate and centralize his love. That's a good way, yeah. Alright, so we've got above reproach, a husband of one wife, he's a one woman man, and he's temperate. Tell me about that.

What do you think temperate means? Is that sober? Yeah. Like not drinking alcohol or sober in what way? I asked the question. No, I asked it back. Okay. Like a sound mind? A sound mind. Yeah. I always use the term clear headed, right? Your head is clear, you're prepared, you're available, you're capable. You're not stretched because you can't think straight. You've got a self-control about yourself.

You've got balanced judgment. And I think that's the real key here, is for an elder, they do have to make judgments about things. The calls that you get from Mike and Mary You know, the questions of why did Jesus have to die? You know, these are the kinds of things that an elder must remain temperate for and prepared to be clear-minded and balance that judgment with regards to, okay, I hear what you're saying and I can process this, right? It does have to do with mental sobriety. No. Yeah, it does. Clear thinking. You want an elder, well, Paul wants Timothy to know that an elder is to be balanced and clear-minded and sober of thought.

Yeah. Oh, I've got a whole other page. Oh. If you already covered all the Oh, I had a whole set of notes. Again, be reminded, I wasn't prepared this morning. So I'm kind of looking through what I had done prior to last week. We're doing good so far. Well, thank you. Got your help. I don't want you to have to speak more than you need to. Yeah, I was looking at this connect. Okay, oh, now I know what I was going to potentially say here. And I'm going to do it now.

So, there's a connection in this verse. An overseer then must be above reproach to the husband of a wife. Those two things are connected. in the Greek. Husband of one wife and sober-minded are actually, they're connected. It's mias ganakos andra and sober-minded nephalaios.

So these two terms bring a really interesting perspective from Paul on marriage and leadership. There's a connection there. Did you remember that in your study, Mike? Yeah, I did, and I don't think we talked about it last week. As you brought it up, it's interesting.

If you've ever done any premarital counseling, you recognize that the requirements on both a potential husband and wife speak to temperance and all of these qualities. If you've been around the block once, you know that marriage isn't, like my father-in-law used to say, marriage isn't for sissies. Well, and in this case, marriage is not for the un-sober. So, the sober-minded, and there's the Greek word, nephileos, It literally means not mixed with wine, to Paula's point, but metaphorically means clear-thinking and vigilant. So, you're clear-minded, you're balanced in your judgment, and then when paired with a one-woman man, it suggests that clear judgment is necessary for maintaining marital fidelity.

Could you say that if you have more than one wife, you're not clear-headed? More than one wife? I wouldn't be. One is plenty. Yeah, but it's interesting that Paul puts this together for Timothy in such a way that he's like, hey, you need to know that these two things go together. They work together. Being clear-headed and maintaining marital fidelity are a pair. They're a couple. They go together.

And I think that's right. I mean, anytime I'm not clear or my mind is not working, I probably don't treat and maintain the right relationship with my wife that I should. That's fair for me to say. You can say your own statement, but the implication is that sound mental state and marital faithfulness are interconnected qualities.

Wouldn't that be like our position in Christ, our union with Christ is revealed through the marriage order? Yeah, if you're not clear-minded, how can you be the head of the family as a man? You can't be. You can't be. You're going to fail. And that failure not only disqualifies you for eldership, it also creates marital issues.

Sure does. I think one of the elements that goes into this word temperance is that you recognize that you don't have all the answers. that you are in a leadership position, which causes you to go to the Lord about things and to learn and to trust Him with, if you're not, you know, Why do I say this? If you're not conformed enough that someone could say, oh, you're temperate, that you trust the Lord to make you temperate. He'd give you that quality of the Lord Jesus that is temperance. That makes sense. Yeah, it has to be. We don't produce that. We can't produce that. That's not a human quality. Yeah. You can't fake it until you make it on that one. No. God-given.

Well, let's look at the next word, prudent. The Greek word, which doesn't probably matter much, but sophron, it was an easier one for me to speak. I had to say it, prudent, sophron. What does that mean? My translation says discreet. Discreet. That's a good word. Okay. Discretion. Sober minded. Discretion and conduct.

So you're not going to pipe off. Even when you're getting kind of nailed on something, you get that, that one guy or gal that just wants to rip everything apart. You're going to remain, you're going to have discretion in your conduct. You're going to demonstrate discipline yourself. You're going to manage yourself.

I also think that this word has to do with not only marriage, but also, are you serious about the Lord and your life with Him or not? You know, am I a go-to-church-on-Sunday believer, or am I sober about the things of the Lord every day? Yeah, I think you're right. The idea here with this word, Sophron, demonstrating discipline and managing yourself unto the Lord, right? This is all unto the Lord.

I mean, these are the kinds of verses that govern leadership across the board. It's not just in the church. This is leadership. you know, class 101 on how the Lord manages leadership and how he defines it. So we're defining leadership across the board.

So if you're running a construction business or you're running a design business or you're an elder of the church, these are still principles that apply. Managing yourself Demonstrating discipline, being prudent, being sensible, these are leadership qualities that in this context apply to an elder, but you can apply these to any leadership position outside of eldership as well.

Do you say that that's true? That's good. I like the chatter. I want to hear what you have to say, though. JD, how about responsible? Well, what do you mean? I wouldn't go with proving. Responsible for yourself, making sure that you are managing in such a way that you show self-control, discretion in the conduct, that's responsibility for sure.

Yeah. And when we look at these aspects, there's a lot to glean from them other than just being an overseer or a deacon, right? And so, this is the way that the Lord impacts your life through His Spirit. This is the behavior that leaders have to their wives, to those that they're around, whether they are in the official position or not, I still believe that these are qualities of believers.

Yeah. At large. Yeah, they are. Yeah. Well, the next word is respectable. So what does that mean? How others see you. Okay. How would they see you as not respectable? Got any good examples of that? Don't tell me. I'm just kidding. I can tell you. Fine.

Being respectable. Why does an overseer need to be respectable? And what does it mean? Well, first of all, there's a sense of order. There's orderliness. They show up. They do the work, and they do it in such a way that is, you would call it, well-behaved. They're kind. They're respectable. They're well-arranged. Another word might be dignified. They're dignified in how they go about their business. When a Mike or Mary knocks on that door and asks the question, why did Jesus have to die? In this case, Doyle would be respectable, orderly, well-behaved, and capable of answering their questions.

Proper conduct. Not like, what are you talking about? You're crazy. No. It's a kindness and a gentleness that is well arranged. I think that respectable has a lot to do with the order in which the overseer manages themselves. Other thoughts? A couple.

One is that he has to have a reputation that includes respectability. And I think the reason that's so important is that as a shepherd, the sheep come to him and ask him questions about things, or lay their problems out. And I think it's important that he have a reputation of sober-mindedness, he's serious, He's enough of a studier of God's word. He has an answer. And he's orderly.

It's not hit or miss. It isn't fake it until you make it. Like a realtor? Yeah, that's right. That's a great example. It's a perfect example. Or a car salesman. It's a reputation that a realtor or a spice car salesman have that they will say or do anything to consummate the deal where a shepherd or an elder will say and do whatever the Lord's word says in a demeanor of respectability and order in order to solve your problem.

I'm telling people the truth, even though it hurts. And I think this word, respectable, I'm just going to double check my thinking. I'm not uber prepared. Cosmo, it's like Cosmo, Cosmo Mouse. You know, telling the truth. doesn't mean that the person's going to like it. Being respectable doesn't mean that just because you're well-behaved, people are going to like you for it. And it's important to recognize that proper conduct, good organization, having an answer for, in this case, the question of why did Jesus have to die, it doesn't mean that people are going to like what you have to say. It just means that you are prepared and orderly and behaved as you deliver it. And people don't like the truth at all, most of them. However, you do find those hungry hearts. And as an overseer, your job is to maintain well-behaved responses and be prepared for those.

You agree? Like speaking the truth in love? Yes, very much. That, uh, truthing, I think is what we used the term years ago, truthing in love. Um, that is what comes to mind here. You, you tell the truth, uh, and you accept the, the, the reality of how someone deals with it, but you remain well behaved throughout it. is what this word means. Can't we also say caring? Caring?

Yeah. No, we don't care about anybody. Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's the next word, right? Hospitable. That's literally a lover of strangers. Yeah. That's what that means. Hospitable. You're a lover of strangers. You do care about people that you don't even know. You have no background, but you extend love towards them because as an overseer, in this case, it is part of your role. When a stranger walks in the door, and I observe Mike or Roger or in past cases Vern, when strangers walk in, sit down, I observe how they manage that situation. And what I should be observing is this phylexinos, which is hospitable in the Greek. It's hospitable, lover of strangers. And what I have, I'm happy to say that I have observed that, is there's this readiness to open up the home with a careful mindedness, right?

This was a big thing in the early church culture. I mean, people would just walk in, you know, much more than they do in our modern day churches, right? They would just walk into a home church. And the overseer would have to manage that situation in a way that they were hospitable to that person. But there's also this huge background mindset of like, is this a safe person?

So being sober-minded, being prudent, being respectable, all of these things come together in such a way that, especially in this early church culture, they were capable of managing situations that were just off the cuff, out of nowhere. You know, one of the things you observe here at the church Occasionally someone comes in and they need a handout, you know.

And our policy is that well if we never give them cash because we don't know what the cash is going to be used for. So if they need a tank full of gas, we can do that. If they need a place to stay, we can do that for a day or two. But the prudence comes in where you might help them the first time. and recognize that that was probably a mistake, because it really didn't help him, and your prudence and temperament would say, we're not helping you again.

Yeah, one time Mike drove a guy to get some gas, and I followed him in my car, and I pulled up behind, and I asked him if he'd fill my tank up too, but he didn't. Do you remember that, Mike? I do. Yeah. I was like, man, you're not a lover of strangers. You weren't a stranger. That was a problem. That's the problem.

Well, let me finish this last point. Able to teach. So that's the hospitable and able to teach, and then we'll pray here. Capable of instructing others in sound doctrine. You've got to know your doctrine as an overseer. You can't fake it till you make it. You can't lean on, you know, the different resources and tools. You have to know what you're talking about. Ability to communicate. You have a knowledge of the scripture. Probably, and I'm rushing through this, but This is character-based. You're grounded in God's Word. You're dependent upon what He has taught you and how to teach others.

That is a very critical aspect of an overseer. So if Mike doesn't have his doctrine right, you've got to call him out on it. That's right. Yes, we do. To be able to be a counselor and mediator Those are two good words. That's a big part of teaching. It's not just telling you what to believe, it's also coming alongside you and helping you understand what you believe. Counseling, mediator, very important. One of the ways you become skilled in teaching is by doing it.

Doing a lot of it, yeah. You have to. Making a lot of mistakes on your own and having those come, like Cheryl, come alongside and make sure you're dotting your I's and crossing your T's. Yeah. Well, that's how you learn, I think. Yeah. All right, well, I apologize for a little bit of unpreparedness, but I think the Lord took us through this and we got through verse 2. Okay. Good deal. I don't know what is going on. Is that your band? That was the red carpet room doing a little trumpet sideshow. All right, let's pray. Father, we thank You for this morning.

We thank You for our time to spend time in Your Word, to think about the character of an overseer and how it relates to us as well. We just pray that it would settle in our hearts as to the kind of quality and character that believers behave according to. We know that that comes from a full dependency upon you. It has to do with our new history in Christ, our union with Christ. It has much to do with our reckoning on who we are and what you have done. And so we're just thankful for that. We thank you for your love and for your grace. We pray for a great next service that Mike's voice would hold out and that he would be able to communicate in the way that he intends to, as an overseer. And so we pray this in your name. Amen.