How to Run the Church

Ought:
How To Do Church

(1 Tim 3:14-15)

1. A Side Point—Divine Providence Makes Our Plans: "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 15 but if I am delayed…”

a. Paul had intended to return to Ephesus at this point—he never did

b. Divine Providence is that characteristic and power of God by which He controls the course o f human history and individual human lives

(1) Human History—Acts 17:24-27, Is 42:8-11
(2) Individual Lives—Ps 139:13-16, Gal 1:13-15

c. Paul, at this time, does not realize that he will never be in Ephesus again


2. How To Conduct Yourself In Church—“…I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God…”

a. Some peoples claim that there are no normal forms of organization, leadership, or polity (organization) for the NT church—this gives them the leeway to set up the church according to their tastes—this verse destroys that entire idea

b. The purpose of this letter, supplemented by other passages in other books, is to show us how the Apostles organized the local church, so that we might follow their example.

c. This entire book is dedicated to telling us how we are to do church!

d. Here is what we have looked at so far in our study of Timothy:

(1) How to fight against false teachers

(a) Given the amount of time the New Testament spends telling us how to deal with false teachers, this must be very important
(b) Examples

(i) 1st Corinthians in part, dealt with false teachers who had denied the bodily resurrection of Jesus

(ii) 2nd Corinthians dealt with “super-apostles” who were teaching false doctrines and deceiving believers

(iii) The entire book of Galatians was about defending salvation by Grace against false teachers who denied it

(iv) The Ephesian letter teaches about spiritual warfare, because in that city of pagan religion, fighting against demonic forces was all too common.

(v) In Colossians, they were fighting against a false teacher who had organized his own cult religion

(vi) In 1st Thessalonians, there was confusion about the end times

(vii) In 2nd Thessalonians, a cult group that had broken off from the true church and were forging letters as if from Paul, teaching that the Lord had already returned and the Thessalonians had missed it.

(viii) In 1st and 2nd Timothy, here before us, there were several different kinds of false doctrine being dealt with

(ix) In Titus, there were false teachers in the churches in Crete which Titus had to take on head on and deal with.

(x) In 2 Peter and Jude, a dangerous cult was spreading through several churches

(xi) In 1, 2, and 3 John, a group we now know as the Gnostics had penetrated several churches

(xii) In the seven churches of Asia in Rev 2 and 3, there were problems with false teachers in five of the seven churches.

(xiii) And, there is more to come!


(2) 1 Timothy tells men and women how to worship and serve?

(a) There are distinct, overlapping, and complementary ways of Serving God in the church
(b) All are to serve, but not in the same way


(3) 1 Timothy tells us How to organize the government of the local New Testament church

(a) Paul names two offices, elder/overseer/pastor, and deacon

(b) Paul gives qualifications for those offices

(c) Titus 1 and Acts 14, 15, 20 suggest to us that these were regular and widespread practices

(d) Since Paul was the man through whom the Lord had decided to reveal church Truth—Eph 2:11-3:21, these things are seen to really fit together well, and belong to his ministry.

(4) Several things yet remain to be studied, and among the mosts vital are

(a) How pastors are to serve

(b) How pastors are to be treated by the church

3. What the church is—“…the Household of God…”

a. Not a physical building—“God’s House…” is not brick and mortar, but is flesh and blood. The congregation does not meet at the church—wherever the congregation is, that IS the church.

b. The Assembly, the ecclesia, is the congregation gathered together for conducting church—Mat 16:17-20

c. “In the household…” refers to your relationship to other believers when you meet together.

(1) We are little stones (1 Pet 2:1-5)
(2) He is the chief corner stone—Eph 2:20

4. What the Church is To Be, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

a. The church of the LIVING God

(1) God spoke of this often in the OT

(2) The Church is the Church of The Living God

(a) In the OT, it is a phrase that emphasizes the falsehood of the dead “gods” of the pagans—(Jer 10:1-10) ***
(b) In the NT, it is a confession of faith

(Mat 16:16) "Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.""

(John 6:69) ""Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.""

(2 Cor 6:16) "And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.""


b. The Church is The bulwark [pillar and ground] of Truth

(1) In Ephesus and other places, the pagan temples had large columns with stone bases, which not only were beautiful but also functional, in that they held the building together

(2) Paul is using that architectural form to illustrate the centrality and importance of the Word, and of the importance of the church protecting and preserving the Word of God.

(a) 2 Tim 1:13-14
(b) 2 Tim 2:1-2

c. The Word of God is the Only authority the church has

(1) God holds His Word in such esteem, that He puts it over His own Name—Ps 138:2—"I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name." Why?

(a) First, because God truly loves the Word of Truth that He ordained before the ages (1 Cor 2), which has eternally been settled in Heaven (Ps 119:89)

(b) Second, because the Word of God is an objective standard by which to measure everything—it is easy to claim to be serving in the Name of the Lord, but the only way that can be tested and measured is by reference to God’s Word—see Mat 7:21-23, 1 John 2:18-23, 4:1-3, Is 8:19-20

(2) The Word of God tells us how be saved—Romans 10:9

(3) The Word of God tells us Who Jesus Is—

(Mat 16:16) "Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.""

(John 8:58) "Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.""

(John 20:28-29) "And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.""

(4) The Word of God tells us What Jesus Has Done

(Mat 1:21) ""And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.""

(5) The Word of God tells us How we are to respond to Him

(Acts 16:30-31) "And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.""

(Rom 10:9-10) "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

(6) The Word of God tells us how to live for Him

(Mat 28:19-20) ""Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."

(John 10:27) ""My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

(7) The Word of God tells us what True New Covenant worship is


(8) The Word of God tells us what is right and wrong behavior for a believer

(9) The Word of God gives us that sure and certain hope of the return of the Lord and our going to be with him.

(10) And the church is supposed to be the bulwark, the fortress of the Truth, the repository of the Truth, the legacy-keeper, the succession of Truth preachers and Truth teachers that have safeguarded and who still safeguard this Holy Word