Paul has explicitly given Timothy the responsibility to protect the church in Ephesus from unsound doctrine. He implies that Timothy is responsible to appoint new pastors and deacons for the church in Ephesus. Paul even provided character qualifications for the two offices and reminded the congregation that, even as people are being appointed, the church as a whole is not to forget to have compassion. Since Timothy relays this information to the congregation on Paul’s behalf, the next exhortation is specifically for Timothy.
For churches in transition, Paul’s instruction here applies directly to those responsible for appointing pastors—which looks different in different contexts. In my own context, it applies directly to the pastor search team that has been appointed by the congregation. It secondarily applies to the congregation as a whole because the congregation as a whole has the final vote on whether a pastor chosen and presented by the pastor search team is affirmed. Paul instructs:
In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you (1 Timothy 4:6-16).
There is a lot here. I want to be very intentional about sticking to the main point of the passage without speculating too much beyond what the text actually says. Speaking directly to Timothy, Paul encourages him. If he points out everything that Paul has written to this point to the congregation, he will be a good servant. When we apply this encouragement directly to pastor search teams, we notice that the pastor search team bears some responsibility regarding the pastor who will be appointed. It also bears some responsibility in safeguarding the congregation from strange doctrine that leads to selfish religion and works-based righteousness. If a search team is a good servant of Jesus Christ, it will point out the things Paul has written for the congregation’s good. Primarily, we want to increase our love for one another. We don’t want to appoint pastors who teach what is contrary to Scripture or what causes people to become selfish in their religion. At Green Acres, we are blessed to have a pastor search team that cares for the well-being and future of the whole congregation. So, we encourage them. If you see a member of our search team at any time, be sure to encourage them like Scripture does because they are good servants of Jesus Christ. They are constantly nourished on the words of our faith and sound doctrine.
Paul also challenges Timothy, and therefore anyone who bears a similar type of responsibility. Have nothing to do with worldly fables—literally meaning worthless myths, stories, or speculations. I don’t think there is anything wrong with developing systematic doctrines or speculating about some things. Paul isn’t saying it’s wrong to do so in every arena of life or study. Consider the context, here. For those who are responsible to protect the church from strange doctrine and appoint pastors and deacons in the church, don’t do so by worthless myths. Don’t be misguided by your own conscience, desires, what you think is best, or whatever qualifications you have come up with. Don’t do things simply because they have always been done. Tradition can be a very good thing, but it does not have the authority of Scripture. Stick to what the Bible plainly says. A proverb or moral story, an old wives’ tale, may be profitable in some circumstances, but our authority is the Bible. So, we have nothing to do with those stories that are “fit only for elderly women.” They are fit for some circumstances, but not for appointing pastors and deacons and safeguarding the church from strange doctrine. Instead of drawing speculations and stories, Paul tells Timothy to discipline himself for the purpose of godliness. Personal godliness is of great profit to us in life and as we appoint pastors and deacons in the church. We don’t want immature Christians evaluating people for office. There is much more I could say about this verse, but I want to stick to the main point. If you have any questions about anything you see in the text or want to talk through your ideas as you read, please reach out.
Every Christian labors and strives for godliness because we have fixed our hope in the living God. God is the savior of all men, especially of believers—which is another conversation I’ll reserve for another time. The search team is to prescribe these things—everything Paul has written to this point in 1 Timothy. To prescribe them is essentially to teach them so as to require them.
If Timothy was a teenager in Acts 16:1, he is between 30-40 years old as Paul writes 1 Timothy to him. “Youth” is obviously a broad term meaning Timothy probably lacked some experience held by some of those he is instructing. Worldly people use their age or even longevity at a place as an excuse to look down on others. They will say something like, “I’ve been here longer than you,” or, “I have more experience than you.” We see that sort of argument doesn’t hold any water. It is one of the oldest fallacies, and the Bible calls it out as such. Seniority means nothing. Notice how Timothy is to not let anyone look down on him because of his youthfulness. Paul doesn’t tell him to lord his authority over people. Instead, Timothy is to set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. It is actual conduct, not seniority, that shows our spiritual maturity. No matter the “youthfulness” of the search team, we are instructed to conduct ourselves in a godly manner as examples to the congregation we are serving.
We give ourselves to the public reading of Scripture, exhortation, and teaching. First, this is why we have sermons on Sunday. I could go deeply into what makes a good sermon based on the three elements Paul lists, but I’ll leave that for another time. As the search team works to appoint pastors and/or deacons, the teaching ministry of the church is not lost. We look for pastors who will teach the content prescribed here in the method explicitly prescribed here, but we are not excused from this form of preaching if a pastor is absent—which is why Paul gives Timothy this task at this current time in the life of the Ephesian church.
We also don’t neglect our spiritual gifts. All of our attention is not to be on appointing people to office because that’s not primarily what the church is about. We should not neglect our service to one another and our community in this season. Finding a pastor is not the most important thing. We serve one another according to our gifts.
We take pains with these things so our progress will be evident to all. In this, we ensure salvation for ourselves and those who hear us when we do speak.
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