PAUL'S LETTERS TO TIMOTHY (4)
PAUL’S LETTERS TO TIMOTHY (4)
We considered the following:- 1. Public side involving divine order of man and woman.
2. Why are some young men silent at meetings for prayer and in assembly service?
3. Dress of women.
4. High standard set out in chapter 3, is because the assembly is in mind.
5. Is an unmarried brother with no household disqualified from overseership?
6. The ‘know-how’ of verses 5 and 15.
7. The assembly does not teach, nor does one assembly teach another.
We have the “assembly of God” and the “assembly of the living God”, chapter 3:5,15, and we saw Timothy’s relation to the assembly, first in regard to the care of it, and then in regard to his conduct in it. We referred to the last paragraph of chapter 2, which is very instructive about the whole matter, because it is a question of men and women; that is, “Men pray in every place” and “In like manner also that the women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion” 1 Timothy 2:8,9. Then woman is not to exercise authority over man — an allusion to the fact that the assembly is not to exercise [p. 472] authority other than what the Lord has committed to her.
Violation of the order of man and woman would be reflected in the assembly. This is not to say that the woman is not personally the same as the man, but it bears on the public order as set out in 1 Corinthians 11, which runs down from God to Christ, then to man, then to woman. As to the assembly exercising authority other than what the Lord has committed to her. Eve was brought in not only as one who was deceived, but one who went beyond divine order. Full-blown evidence of usurpation was seen in Jezebel. This brought out what the assembly does and what the assembly does not do. We saw that the assembly does not teach or preach, or teach another assembly, but is taught. The word of Paul in Colossians 4:16, “And when the letter has been read among you, cause that it be read also in the assembly of Laodiceans and that ye also read that from Laodicea”, indicates how a whole area or district may need the same ministry.
The allusion to men praying brought up the service of young men, whether they are filling out their part sufficiently. We were reminded that Timothy, though a young man, was a man of God and was given a charge. This should normally exercise each of our young men as being right on moral lines to enquire of himself if he has received a charge. It will be seen that a practical line came before us here, in relation not only to young men but to the dress of women — that it is to be seemly, not extreme or conspicuous.
We spent some time on chapter 3, our brother calling attention to the high standard which becomes this section because, as he said, the assembly of God is in mind, and Paul never fails to impress us with the greatness of this vessel. We rested on the word ‘irreproachable’, searching ourselves whether this could be said of any one of us — not one thing against him. Running down the list, while not minimising this faithful word of Paul, we were reminded that we are in 2 Timothy conditions, and if this scripture were insisted on to the letter, almost all of us would be disqualified from overseership. Enosh, whose name means, ‘Man, as weak, mortal’ was mentioned, but the scripture continues, “Then people began to call on the name of Jehovah”, Genesis 4:26.
[p. 473] Verse 5 was considered — how one who aspires to oversight conducts his own house. Is a brother disqualified if a member of his family has been withdrawn from or is not in fellowship? It was said that if the head of the house asserts his authority and maintains right principles in the home he is not disqualified — he takes issue about things. Eli was mentioned as one who was disqualified, “because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not”, 1 Samuel 3:13.
Further enquiry was made as to an unmarried brother with no household. It was observed that Paul was unmarried, with no household, and we were reminded that in 2 Timothy days Paul says to Timothy, “Do the work of an evangelist”, 2 Timothy 4:5. The need for skill in doing things in the assembly was mentioned, that while ‘elder’ would literally allude to one who is older yet the Lord would help any one of us to arrive at eldership rapidly by having the basic quality of love. We observed that David lowered the age of the Levites from thirty to twenty (1 Chronicles 23:27). This would suggest ten years of learning before they entered upon their full levitical service. There is no thought of only one elder being in a city — it is plural, and the ‘know-how’ mentioned twice in this chapter has its application especially in days of difficulty, and when there is trouble in the local setting.
We were warned that fleshly leadership may come into a local assembly and shut out what is of Christ and of the Spirit. There must be room for the Spirit to speak in each assembly — the Lord is very jealous over every local position, “there am I”, Matthew 18:20. “The pillar and base of the truth” works out locally.