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When Paul left Crete, he left Titus behind to continue on in
ministering to the people of Crete.
Titus 01.05 “5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you
would set in order what remains & appoint elders in every city as I
directed you,”
Because of these false teachers, we see that Paul wanted
Titus to set up leaders for each church in every city, who were…
Titus 01.09 “9 holding fast the faithful word (G3056. logov
logos log'-os) which is in accordance w/the teaching, so that he will be able
both to exhort in sound doctrine & to refute those who contradict.”
“5 you would set in
order” G1930. epidioryow epidiorthoo ep-ee-dee-or-tho'-o; from 1909 &
a derivative of 3717; to
straighten further, i.e. (figuratively) arrange additionally:-- set in order.
G1909. epi epi ep-ee';
a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place,
order, etc.), as a relation of distribution [w/the genitive case], i.e. over,
upon, etc.; of rest (w/the det.) at, on, etc.; of direction (w/the accusative
case) towards, upon, etc.:-- about (the times), above, after, against, among,
as long as (touching), at, beside, X have charge of, (be-, [where-])fore, in (a
place, as much as, the time of, -to), (because) of, (up-)on (behalf of), over,
(by, for) the space of, through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), with. In compounds it
retains essentially the same import, at, upon, etc. (literally or
figuratively).
G3717. oryov orthos or-thos';
probably from the base of 3735; right (as rising), i.e. (perpendicularly) erect
(figuratively, honest), or (horizontally) level or direct:-- straight, upright.
Thayer-to set in order besides or further (what still
remains to be set in order)
The Greek verb epidioryow epidiorthoo (to
straighten, set in order) is comprised of 02 prepositions, epi (“upon”) &
dia (“through”), attached to oryov orthos (“to make straight”).
It is from oryov orthos that we get the word
orthodontist, a specialist in dentristry who straightens & aligns crooked
teeth.
In ancient times, the term oryov orthos was used of
setting broken bones & straightening bent limbs, today we call it orthopedics.
Titus 01.05 “5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you
would set in order what remains & appoint elders in every city as I
directed you,”
Paul left Titus behind in Crete to correct & set
straight the doctrines & practices in the churches there that had become
defective.
1 Corinthians 14.40 “40 But all things must be done properly
& in an orderly manner.”
“5 appoint” G2525. kayisthmi kathistemi kath-is'-tay-mee;
from 2596 & 2476; to place down (permanently), i.e. (figuratively) to
designate, constitute, convoy:-- appoint, be, conduct, make, ordain, set.
Thayer-to appoint to do something
Paul tells Titus that he wants
him to ordain men to be in the leadership of the local churches.
“5 elders” G4245. presbuterov presbuteros pres-boo'-ter-os;
comparative of presbuv presbus (elderly); older; as noun, a senior;
specifically, an Israelite Sanhedrist (also figuratively, member of the
celestial council) or Christian "presbyter":-- elder(-est), old.
Thayer-those who presided over the assemblies (or churches)
Elders-used 67 times in 67 verses
2Timothy 02.02 “2 The things
which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these
to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
This list is similar to the list
that Paul gave to Timothy in 1Timothy 03.01-07.
05 of the other words that are used for church leaders in
the Bible are…
Bishop/overseer-used only in 1Timothy 03.01 for an overseer
G1984. episkoph episkope ep-is-kop-ay'; from 1980;
inspection (for relief); by implication, superintendence; specially, the
Christian "episcopate":-- the office of a "bishop",
bishoprick, visitation.
Rulers-used 08 times in 08 verses
G4291. proisthmi proistemi pro-is'-tay-mee; from 4253 & 2476;
to stand before, i.e. (in rank) to preside, or (by implication) to practise:--
maintain, be over, rule.
Leaders-used 30 times in 27 verses
G2233. hgeomai hegeomai hayg-eh'-om-ahee; middle voice of a
(presumed) strengthened form of 71; to lead, i.e. command (w/official
authority); figuratively, to deem, i.e. consider:-- account, (be) chief, count,
esteem, governor, judge, have the rule over, suppose, think.
Pastors-used 18 times in 17 verses
G4166. poimhn poimen poy-mane'; of uncertain affinity; a
shepherd (literally or figuratively):-- shepherd, pastor.
Teachers-used 58 times in 57 verses (popular title used of
Jesus)
G1320. didaskalov didaskalos did-as'-kal-os; from 1321; an
instructor (genitive case or specially):-- doctor, master, teacher.
Titus 01.05 “5 For this reason I
left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains & appoint
elders in every city as I directed you,”
Paul says in 1Timothy 03.01 that it’s a great thing to
desire to be a Pastor, if that is what the LORD has called you to do.
1Timothy 03.01 “1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man
aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”
It was Jesus who gave the requirement for each church to
have pastors & other leaders in the church.
Acts 20.28 “28 “Be on guard for yourselves & for all the
flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (G1985 episkope), to
shepherd (G4165 root word of G4166 poimen=to tend as a shepherd) the church of
God which He purchased w/His own blood.”
Paul wrote…
Ephesians 04.11 “11 And He gave some as apostles, & some
as prophets, & some as evangelists, & some as pastors & teachers,”
Unfortunately, through time, many men have abused their
positions of leadership, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a God ordained
position.
Many want to be a pastor, but for the wrong reasons.
On the outside, it seems like it would be great to be a
Pastor, you work only 01 or 02 days a week, everyone knows who you are &
that seems so cool.
But many don’t realize that being a Pastor is not a job, but
a calling, & its one that requires you to always be ready 24/7.
There are no set hours, vacations are often cut short, &
hardly any personal time, & you can’t get away w/doing something wrong.
Plus, on top of that, you will have to answer to God for how
you were, how you treated the sheep & how you taught the Word of God.
James 03.01 “1 Let not many of you become teachers, my
brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”
The New Testament standard of a Pastor is a high one. Unfortunately
in many of todays churches we see that they lower the bar in order to be
relevant, to relate to a demographic or just to be politically correct.
Most of the time, we see that these so called pastors are
more like CEO’s of a business, & they run a church much like that.
Being a pastor is not just something that you can take a
course on how to teach the Bible, & then you can become one. That is one
danger that we see today in seminaries & Bible Colleges, because many
“think” that they are called & have the “gift” but they do not.
We see in this section that in order to serve in the church
as a Pastor, there is more needed than just a willingness to serve.
It is a God-ordained position.
01. The Personal (Titus
01.06-07a)
Titus 01.06-07a “6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the
husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or
rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward…”
There are 17 qualifications that
Paul lists in Titus 01.06-09 for Titus to look at & use.
“6 namely, if any man is above reproach” G410. anegklhtov
anegkletos an-eng'-klay-tos; from 1 (as a negative particle) & a derivative
of 1458; unaccused, i.e. (by implication) irreproachable:-- blameless.
G1458. egkalew
egkaleo eng-kal-eh'-o; from 1722 & 2564; to call in (as a debt or demand),
i.e. bring to account (charge, criminate, etc.):-- accuse, call in question,
implead, lay to the charge.
Thayer-that cannot be called to account, unreprovable,
unaccused, blameless
Genesis 06.09 “9 These are the records of the generations of
Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked w/God.”
Genesis 17.01 “1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old,
the LORD appeared to Abram & said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before
Me, & be blameless.”
Job 01.01 “1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name
was Job; & that man was blameless, upright, fearing God & turning away
from evil.”
Job 02.03 “3 The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My
servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless &
upright man fearing God & turning away from evil. And he still holds fast
his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him w/o cause.””
Titus 01.06-07a “6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the
husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or
rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward…”
“6 the husband” G435. anhr aner an'-ayr; a primary word
[compare 444]; a man (properly as an individual male):-- fellow, husband, man,
sir.
Thayer-w/a reference to sex, & so to distinguish a man
from a woman; a husband
It needs to be a man!
“6 of one wife”
Leviticus 21.07 “7 ‘They shall not take a woman who is
profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband;
for he is holy to his God.”
Leviticus 21.14 “14 ‘A widow, or
a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take;
but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people,”
Ezekiel 44.22 “22 “And they
shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman but shall take virgins from the
offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.”
“6 having children who believe (that Jesus is the Messiah),
not accused of dissipation (not a prodigal) or rebellion (disobedient).”
This seems to be an oft-debated
passage amongst people & in commentaries.
There are many who state very
dogmatically that if a church leader has grown up children who do not have a
personal relationship w/God, than they are to be excluded from service.
Then there are those who say
that if that church leader has kids, but is training them up in the fear of the
LORD, than if their children walk away, they did all that they could & that
doesn’t disqualify them from church leadership.
The only real example from
Scripture that I know of that fits this, where there is a religious leader w/insubordinate
kids is in 1Samuel.
Samuel the prophet was a young
boy. His mother Hannah dedicated him to the service of the LORD in the
Tabernacle, fulfilling her vow that if the LORD heard her prayer, her son would
be dedicated to serving the LORD in the Tabernacle.
Eli was the High Priest at the
time…
1Samuel 02.22-25 “22 Now Eli was
very old; & he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, & how
they lay w/the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 23 He
said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all
these people? 24 “No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the
LORD’S people circulating. 25 “If one man sins against another, God will
mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for
him?” But they would not
listen to the voice of their father, for the LORD desired to put them to death.”
1Samuel 02.27-35 “27 Then a man
of God came to Eli & said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Did I not indeed
reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to
Pharaoh’s house? 28 ‘Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be
My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me;
& did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the
sons of Israel? 29 ‘Why do
you kick at My sacrifice & at My offering which I have commanded in My
dwelling, & honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat w/the
choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ 30 “Therefore the LORD
God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house & the house of
your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be
it from Me--for those who honor Me I will honor, & those who despise Me
will be lightly esteemed. 31 ‘Behold, the days are coming when I will break
your strength & the strength of your father’s house so that there will not
be an old man in your house. 32 ‘You will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite
of all the good that I do for Israel; & an old man will not be in your
house forever. 33 ‘Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so
that your eyes will fail from weeping & your soul grieve, & all the
increase of your house will die in the prime of life. 34 ‘This will be the sign
to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni & Phinehas: on the
same day both of them will die. 35 ‘But I will raise up for Myself a faithful
priest who will do according to what is in My heart & in My soul; & I
will build him an enduring house, & he will walk before My anointed
always.”
Than the LORD awakes Samuel
during the night, & tells Samuel…
1Samuel 03.12-13 “12 “In that
day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house,
from beginning to end. 13 “For I have told him that I am about to judge his
house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse
on themselves & he did not rebuke them.”
Nowhere do we see that Eli does
more than just talk to his sons. He never rebuked them, & he should have
stripped them of their duties. Words need to be backed w/actions.
Proverbs 28.07 “7 He who keeps
the law is a discerning son, But he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates
his father.”
Paul mentioned this in his
letter to Timothy…
1Timothy 03.04-05 “4 He must be
one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control w/all
dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will
he take care of the church of God?),”
Titus 01.07 “7 For the overseer must be above reproach as
God’s steward…”
“7 overseer” G1985. episkopov episkopos ep-is'-kop-os; from 1909
& 4649 (in the sense of 1983); a superintendent, i.e. Christian officer in
genitive case charge of a (or the) church (literally or figuratively):--
bishop, overseer.
Thayer-the superintendent, head or overseer of any Christian
church
“7 steward,” G3623. oikonomov oikonomos oy-kon-om'-os; from 3624
& the base of 3551; a house-distributor (i.e. manager), or overseer, i.e.
an employee in that capacity; by extension, a fiscal agent (treasurer);
figuratively, a preacher (of the Gospel):-- chamberlain, governor, steward.
Thayer-the manager of a household or of household affairs;
esp a steward, manager, superintendent
When used of a church leader, it
is usually written “oikonomov yeov”, a steward of God.
1Corinthians 04.01-02 “1 Let a
man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ & stewards of the
mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one
be found trustworthy.”
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