Sunday, March 6, 2011

1 Timothy 3:2-3

" Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. "

I linked these verses because I think they all had one thing. A leader in the church must be a "winner". Now before we go to far into worldly connotations associated with the idea of a winner, what I mean is a spiritual winner. One who fights the battles against the true enemies of believers "the powers of the dark world and the spiritual forces of evil". A man who is tested in battle, has on many occasions sent Satan and his minions away defeated. A man who, under God, "fights the good fight". A man who knows how to put on the Ephesians 6 armor of God and "Stand Firm".

All of the qualifications in these two verses (with the possible exception of teaching) have to do with controlling the desires of the flesh that generally wreak havoc on men. They go from lust, to violence, to anger, to greed, to selfishness, and even alcohol addiction. When put together, this becomes a pretty comprehensive list of the passions of the flesh that wage against men soles. Notice, that while the passions above are true of both sexes, some of the things that are unique to women are not listed here. This is a comprehensive list of men's struggles.

Men worthy of leading God's church have fought these battles and they are winners! They have "overcome this world". They are God's men. I think this is where teaching fits into this verse. Because these men have overcome the desires of their flesh, they are men capable of teaching with a clear conscience from a position of victory. God's leaders are winners.

No comments:

Post a Comment