You please stand for reading of God's word.
This morning, I'm reading into different passages.
Both have to do with the church in Ephesus.
The first is first, Timothy 3 and then I'll be reading and
Ephesians chapter 4. First Timothy 3 beginning in
verse 1, Paul writes the saying is trustworthy.
If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble
task, therefore an off, overseer must be above reproach, the
husband of one wife sober-minded self-controlled respectable
hospitable able to teach not a drunkard, not violent, but
gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, he must manage
his own household. Well with all dignity, keeping
his children's submissive for someone does not know Know how
to manage his own household. How we care for God's church?
He must not be a recent convert. May be puffed up with conceit
and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
Moreover, he must be well thought of by Outsiders.
They may not fall into disgrace into a snare of the devil.
Deacon's likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,
not addicted too much, wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.
The must hold the mystery of Faith with a clear conscience,
and let them also be tested first.
Let them Service deacons. If they prove themselves
blameless their lives wives likewise must be dignified, not
slanderers, but sober-minded faithful in all things.
Let deacons each be the husband of one wife managing their
children and their households, well for those who serve well as
deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great
confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
Now Visions, for beginning of verse 11, And he gave the
apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the Shepherds and
teachers to equip the Saints for the work of Ministry for
building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity
of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature,
manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ. So that we may no longer be
children tossed to and fro by the waves carried about by every
wind of Doctrine by human cunning by craftiness and
deceitful schemes. Rather speaking the truth in
love we are to grow grow up in every way into him.
Who is the head into Christ from whom the whole body joined and
held together by every joint with which it is equipped?
When each part is working properly makes the body grow so
that it builds itself up in love.
This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.
In 1979, Gallup ran a poll to gauge the trust that Americans
had in public institutions and every year since then, they have
run that same poll serving Americans, to see how much we
trust the institutions that have authority over us institutions
like government police military Banks, the school system, the
media and big business. Do you want to guess how we're
doing? If you look at this pole, each
and every year, it's a downward trajectory showing an eroding of
public, trust in institutions, So much.
So that last year, we had an all-time low.
Americans simply don't trust our institutions anymore.
Why is that Well, I think it's because so many of them have let
us down. They've disappointed us, we've
lost confidence in them, they've even hurt us.
They've wounded Us in some ways and that has left a cynical and
jaded. And I wish it weren't true.
But you could say the same thing about the American Church.
Do you trust the church? With all of the distrust that
you might have of other institutions and organizations
do you trust the church? Do you trust the people?
God has called to lead the church?
A couple years ago. Christianity Today, published a
podcast that went viral almost overnight.
Immediately had 2.5 million downloads him.
The number one religious podcast on Apple top three podcast and
any category was called the rise and fall of Mars Hill.
Some of you may have listened to it.
It tells a tragic story of a church in Seattle that was
founded by a pastor named Mark Driscoll.
And it Chronicles in great detail.
This sad and tragic story. Of what happens when ego and
pride and unhealthy leadership do great damage to the church
and have to admit. That it was a hard.
Listen for me. Not simply because it was
painful to listen to and it was, but because it hit too close to
home. You see because before I became
a pastor and the Presbyterian Church in America.
I was part of a network of churches called Acts 29 the very
same network of churches, that Mars Hill belong to the very
same network of churches that Mark Driscoll lead.
I have worshipped at Mars Hill. I've been to Ministry
conferences at Mars Hill. I've been to pastors, Gatherings
and Mark, Driscoll's backyard. I saw firsthand.
Just how dangerous it is when there is a culture of unhealthy
leadership in the church. And I saw that not only in
others, but I was beginning to see it in myself.
And in many ways, that is why I'm Presbyterian today.
Not because we are perfect for not. but because of the way that
we, as Presbyterians, Describe the church.
And how she is to be organized and more important.
Because of the way we envisioned the church to be.
What is the church? The church is not an
institution. It's not a building, it's not an
organization. It's not even a Ministry
organization. It's not a philanthropy.
It's not a social club. It's not even a thing.
We go to The church is a people. I counter cultural community in
Christ, Jesus Redeemed by his death and Resurrection to
fulfill the Great Commission and bring the kingdom of God Here.
And Now And since the beginning of the church, God has called
Elders to Shepherd and deacons to serve and every Christian to
build up the body of Christ and love.
And so this morning, I want us to look at how every one of us
has a role to play in that mission and I want to begin with
the office of Elder. I want you to look with me at
first, Timothy 3 verse 1. Paul tells us that the saying is
trustworthy, if anyone is fires the office of overseer, he
desires a noble task. Now, before we get into it, I
just want to say a couple things about the context of what Paul
is writing. He's writing a letter, A
pastoral letter to a young Pastor named Timothy who's been
called to lead the church in Ephesus and he's writing these
words to help Timothy deal with all of the complexities of
church leadership and how church is supposed to function.
Function. And so he says the saying is
trustworthy. In other words, this this is
going to be true. What I'm going to say, you can
trust it. He says, if anyone aspires to
the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.
Now that word overseer comes from the Greek word Episcopal.
So that's where we get the word Bishop.
It's the same word that's used throughout the New Testament to
describe the office of Elder an elder or an overseer.
It's the language that Peter uses to describe the way Jesus
Shepherds and leads us as his people first Peter 225 Peter
says you were straying like sheep but you've now returned to
the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
That same word Episcopal has that.
Jesus is the chief shepherd, He is the lead Elder, he is the
true overseer. He's the head of the church.
It's also the word that the Apostle Paul uses again in
addressing the church, in Ephesus and acts 20:28.
Paul here is speaking to the Ephesian Elders for the last
time before he has to leave them forever and this is what he
says, he says, pay careful attention to yourselves elders
and to all the flock and which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers same word to care for the Church of God, which he
obtained with his own blood and then Paul's words here in acts
are very helpful. Because they tell us a lot about
what it means for an elder to be the overseer of the church.
The first thing it tells us is that it is God.
Who calls an elder? This is not a man-made office of
power. This is a work of the holy
spirit in a spiritual calling. Want you to listen again?
What Paul says, the Ephesian Elders, he says the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers. This is why I love Ben's answer
so much. That he had first had to see was
the Lord calling him to serve as an elder in his church because
this is not a man-made position. This is a spiritual calling set
apart by Jesus himself. The second thing we see in what
Paul says here is that the church belongs to Jesus.
This is his church Paul even says that he paid for it with
his own blood. Have any of you shed blood for
your church? Jesus bought us with a price and
that means Park Cities. Presbyterian Church as a local
expression of his church belongs to Jesus, it doesn't belong to
me, doesn't belong to mark, it doesn't belong to Tommy, it
doesn't even belong to our session.
This is Christchurch and he alone is the head, the
foundation, the Cornerstone. But the last thing, I think we
seen what Paul says here in the book of Acts is that we see that
first and foremost, the call of a elder or overseer of the
church is to be a shepherd. He says, pay attention to the
flock. Because as his people, we are
sheep and we need Shepherds to lead us back to Jesus each and
every day. What that means is that in the
same way that the church is not an organization or an
institution, Elders are not called to be a board of
directors. Elders are called to be a
community of shepherds. Called by Jesus himself to
Steward, the people, the flock, the sheep that he is entrusted
to us. And our denomination.
The Presbyterian Church in America are book of church
order. Puts it this way that the role
of an elder is one of spiritual oversight, instruction,
evangelism, discipleship, prayer, and care.
We are called to Shepherd the flock because Jesus is the chief
Shepherd And in an Elders, shepherding of the flock.
We should see something of Jesus.
So, how did Jesus Shepherd the flock?
He tells us in the Gospel of John.
We're in John 10 verse 11. Jesus said, I am the Good
Shepherd. The Good Shepherd, lays down his
life for his sheep. So, what is the role of an
elder? The role of an elder is to die.
The role of an elder is to lay down his life for the Sheep to
Shepherd sacrificially because that is what Jesus has done for
us. So as Paul talks about the role
of an elder in 1st Timothy 3, he then moves to a different role
in important role as the role of Deacon.
The second thing I want you to know just as Elders are called
to Shepherd deacons are called to serve.
I want you to look with me first Timothy. 3 verse 8.
Deacon's likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,
not addicted to much wide, not greedy for dishonest, gain the
word Deacon here is a transliteration of the Greek
word, diaconis transliteration. And that it's not simply a
translation, but it's an English representation of a Greek word.
What's interesting about this word is it's used 29 times in
the New Testament, but only a few times that used to describe
an office or a role every other time.
It's used more generally just to describe Ministry.
Our service of others. So a deacon is called to serve.
And we see this word used again in the book of Acts.
We're giving that the description of the very first
deacons who were called Acts chapter 6, and a 6 were told
that the church had grown so much that the ministry.
You had become too much for the apostles to handle on their own.
And so they set aside seven men to serve the tables and others.
In other words, to serve widows in the needy so that they could
do the work of prayer and Ministry of the word.
What we see is two roles being distinguished for very specific
purposes and reasons to offices, the role of Elder to minister
the word and to pray and the role of deacons to serve the
needy among the body. And that is what a deacon is.
Deacon is called to be a servant to serve the needy Among Us.
Again, The Book of church order I think, is helpful saying that
the role of Deacon is one of sympathy and service addressing
others in time of need serving, those who are sick and the
friendless and any who may be in distress all and the example of
Jesus, who not only is our Good Shepherd but is the true servant
the one whom Paul said in Philippians 2, took the form of
a servant to the point of death, even death on a cross.
So what is an a deacon called to do?
Well, just like an elder. A deacon like Jesus is called to
die to lay his life down for the flock to serve them.
And to care for any who are in need.
As you hear those roles described you might be asking
well, who can do those things. Well, the answer is none of us
apart from Jesus. But this is why the Apostle Paul
goes on after he describes these roles to talk about their
qualifications who is qualified to serve as an elder or Deacon
and were given a somewhat similar list with a few
differences for each. I want you to go back to verse 3
Again, building off of this idea in verse 2 that an elder, an
overseer must be above reproach and the husband of one wife and
several wounded and self-controlled and respectable
he goes on and on talking about all of the different things than
an elder is supposed to embody. And I just want to mention a few
of them. And as I do, I want you to see
them in the list that Paul gives he says, an elder should be
above reproach husband of one, wife self-controlled,
respectable holy disciplined, hospitable.
Well, thought of by Outsiders not a drunken are violent, not
arrogant, or quarrelsome not greedy or a lover of money.
His children are be faithful and submissive he must not be a
recent convert Miss Hannah hold firm to the word and able to
teach We see a similar list given later and First Timothy
394 deacons that they must hold mystery of Faith with a clear
conscience that they must be tested first and serve as
deacons if they prove blameless. These lists are exhaustive.
And I think we can tell a couple things about what it means to be
an elder or Deacon by them. First thing I want you to see is
that God is interested in the heart.
The qualifications of Elder and Deacon are not about human
competency. They're about gospel character.
And none of these things are possible apart from the powerful
and transforming Grace of Jesus Christ.
And so an elder or Deacon is not called to be perfect.
They're called to be dependent. Called to follow Jesus to know
what it looks like to be repentant to be changed and
shaped and formed by the gospel each and every day to do.
What Paul said. When he said follow me as I
follow Christ, and many ways elders and deacons are called to
be the lead repenters And the lead abiders.
The ones who know, just how desperate we are for the saving
work of Jesus. I think the other thing that
this list tells me, Is that there is a huge difference in
the kinds of things that we expect from leaders and what God
wants of them. In a world, where were used to
human institutions? We think of a certain kind of
values and characteristics that God doesn't seem to be
interested. Reminds me of something that New
York Times columnist. David Brooks said a few years
ago, talked about the difference between resume virtues and
eulogy virtues resume virtues are the kinds of things.
You put on your resume your accomplishments, your skills,
the things that you think you are good at But eulogy virtues
are the things that will be read at your funeral.
Things about the heart, the kind of person you are.
These lists to borrow from this distinction or eulogy virtues.
And they're impossible apart from Jesus.
I wonder as you hear these lists and here the kind of men that
God is calling to be officers in the church to serve as Elders or
deacons some of you might be asking this morning.
What about the women It's a fair question.
It's a fair question, not only because of our cultural moment,
but I think it's a fair question because so many men in the
history of the church have done abuse in the name of being an
elder or a deacon. And if you've experienced that
yourself, this morning, first I want to say I'm sorry.
And then second just want to spend a minute or two.
Talking about what Paul is saying here about Elder and
Deacon what that means for the role of women. there's a few
responses to that, I guess the question would be What is Paul
saying by saying that elders and deacons are to be men?
We see that In this passage, we calls them to be husband of one
wife. 1st Timothy 3, building off of First, Timothy 2, which
is all about the difference in the roles of men and women in
the church. And you say, so what are we to
do with that? Paul says that elders and
deacons are to be men. And if that's our practice,
which it is here at pc, pc than what are we saying?
As a church. We saying that somehow men are
more important and women are less sir.
No. We deeply believe in the value
dignity and worth of every woman.
So, what do we do with this one response is the egalitarian
position? it says that women and men have
equal worth and dignity and value and therefore they should
have equal roles and they come to a passage like 1st Timothy 3
and they say, well, I think perhaps things could be
interchangeable here. That really what Paul means is
spouse of one spouse or you could maybe interchange husband
and wife and it could be wife of one husband, But I think what
Paul is saying in the original Greek doesn't allow us to do
that. And so what do we do?
When opposite response would be called patriarchy.
That says, men and women actually don't have equal value.
That men are more important than women and therefore should have
more important roles in the church.
Let me offer a third way. I would argue a better way and
it's the way that we practice here at pc pc.
It's called complementarianism. It says that men and women have
equal worth dignity and value. In fact, I would go so far to
say that when you read Genesis and the creation of male and
female, it is actually both of us together that bear the
fullness of the image of God. and without the other that image
is incomplete, So complementarianism in the truest
sense of the word says that men and women are equal and worth
and dignity and value. But they have been given
distinct differences. That when they fulfill those
different roles, produce a fuller picture of flourishing
and the body of Christ, they complement one another. and so
here, Do the Apostle, Paul is saying elders and deacons belong
to men. The Bible.
From beginning to end shows us the value worth and importance
of women in the body of Christ. It was women who were there to
First bear witness to the empty tomb women, who first proclaimed
that Christ had risen from the dead.
Well, it's Apostle Paul here who says that Elder and Deacon are
called to be men. He says elsewhere in the Book of
Romans with a long list of women by a name, just how invaluable
they had been to the mission of the church and he Praises them
by name and Philippians. He calls out to women and he's
Praises them for their partnership in the gospel.
In other words, every single person in the church has a role
to play both men and women. And when we play these roles as
men and women and the fullness of how God has designed us to
be, we build up the body of Christ.
So that's the final thing I want you to know before we sing I
want you to know. Well, Elders are called to
Shepherd and deacons are called to serve.
Every Christian is called to build up the church and I want
you to look with me at Ephesians 4 verse 11, As I told you of
First Timothy is Paul writing to one of the pastor's of the
Ephesian church and Ephesians is Paul writing to the church
itself. And so it's a helpful partner as
we try to understand the church in Ephesus and how it was
organized. notice what Paul says in Ephesians 4 verse 11, it says
he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the
Shepherds and teachers, These god-given roles to lead the
church, why? To equip the Saints for the work
of ministry. You want to guess what?
The word ministry is an original Greek.
Diakonos. In other words, God has called
elders and deacons, not to do the ministry, but to equip the
Saints for the work of ministry, who are the Saints.
Everyone who was a follower of Jesus Christ.
God has given us elders and deacons to lay their lives down
for the flock to Shepherd and to serve.
So that we as the church would fulfill our mission to build up
the body of Christ in love and the metaphor that Paul uses is a
body, not an institution, not an organization, but a body.
Where Christ is the head. Not only the head as one who's
an authority, but the head of a body and that he is the source
of all life and wisdom and godliness.
So, brothers and sisters Christ Alone is the head of the church.
He's called Elders to Shepherd deacons to serve, he's called
every one of us to build up the body and love because when
Christ is the head, the church becomes the great apologetic and
are fractured world and a world that has lost trust and
institutions and a world that is increasingly hopeless.
We place our hope and Christ alone and we embody who he is
and how the gospel changes us and The way that we fulfill our
god-given roles and building up one another with a Love Of
Christ. Let me pray Father in heaven.
We pray that we would now embody what it means to be the body,
even as we sing that as we sing this final him, we would
consider not only you Jesus as the Cornerstone.
But as we listen to the voices, singing around us, we be
reminded that we are not alone in this that you've given us the
church that you've given us elders and deacons and that
you've given us the Saints around us.
And you've each given us a very specific role to play.
Help us to seek your will and knowing what that role is and
help us by your grace to embody that role.
So that we might bear the love of Christ to a lost and Dying
World. We ask this in Jesus name.
Amen, let's stand. Let's sing together.