I Timothy 3

I Timothy 3:1:
This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

I Timothy 3:2-7:
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

The biblical qualifications for a pastor don’t rely on clicks, downloads, book sales, revenue, conference circuits, the number of bums in pews, or how many celebrities attend your church.
Instead, they require a pastor to be “above reapproach” and “self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money” (1 Tim. 3:2–3). Jesus taught that “the greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matt 23:11–12). -Michael Bird; Ridley College, Melbourne.

Now, Paul did not mean that an elder could not be single. Paul himself was unmarried, after all, and he was not only an elder, but an apostle. No, more fundamentally, this is a way of saying men of God are to be sexually pure. They are men, whether married or not, who refuse to indulge themselves sexually (in thought or action or suggestion) with any woman but their wife. “The husband of one wife” (literally, “one-woman man”) is a concise way of saying, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4). -Marshall Segal; Desiring God

I Timothy 3:8-14:
8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:

I Timothy 3:15:
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth

The church of the New Testament speaks, which is the pillar and ground of truth, had no buildings, a minimum of organizations, and was almost more a movement at times than an institution; moreover, it is not the institutional church but the truly ultimate church, which is Christ's mystical body, which is truly and fully the pillar and ground of truth. There is an inseparable link between the true church and the visible and faithful congregation, "the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth," but there cannot be an identification. To identify them is to become guilty of institutionalizing God; it is another form of impersonalism. It is only as men are established in Christ that there can be a true church and a true state. The decline and moral decay in church and state today is a product of this institutionalism. Only as men are justified by sovereign grace, and sanctified by means of obedience to the law, can either church or state prosper.

1 Timothy 3:16:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Christ manifested in the flesh is the great mystery of godliness.

January 28, 2022:
Lee Strobel said the following in an announcement that he was headlining the 2022 Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference: “Evangelism is even more important today, but so is apologetics, or offering reasons for why we believe what we believe...My friend J. Warner Wallace, an atheist detective who came to Christ after his investigation of the Gospels, went so far as to say, ‘evangelism in the 21st Century is spelled apologetics.’ I think he’s on the right track. We need to help people know why we believe that Jesus is the unique Son of God. That’s going to be vitally important as we face a nation and world that are skeptical and sometimes even hostile toward our faith.” I agree and disagree with this. Apologetics is good to learn.. Sharpens the Bible knowledge. But, I believe every Christian has a testimony and a need to "testify" and give witness of why he or she believes what they do. But the commission in Acts 1:7–8 states Jesus said to the disciples, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Maybe conferences like the one Strobel mentions is helpful for some, but for the vast number of people who cannot attend such conferences...God has provided a way that keeps your testimony real that has no urgent need for conference. In 3 words: "Read Your Bible.": 2 Timothy 3:16–17: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.