Paul the
apostle taught young Timothy concerning people within the church.
Timothy was the pastor of the church in Ephesus, and Paul knew there
were different groups of people with whom he would oversee. Part of
that group were “widows”, and Paul gave instructions
concerning them. Another part of them were “elders”, and
Paul told Timothy to extend to them “double honor”
“especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.” In
chapter five and verse eighteen of his letter to Timothy, Paul told
him the “laborer is worthy of his reward”
where we read:
For the
scripture says, You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn.
And, The
laborer is
worthy of his reward.
The verse
begins, “For the scripture says, You shall not muzzle the ox
that treads out the corn.” It
is interesting to note that Paul refers to the scriptures, “For
the scripture says” when he
seeks to prove his next point with caring for elders who teach the
word of God. The idea is “because, since and on account of the
certain portion of the Holy Scripture says”, and Paul's reference
is to Deuteronomy chapter twenty five and verse four which reads,
“You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the
grain”. In other words, as
farmers were to allow oxen to eat of the grain as they plowed in the
harvest time, so were “elders”
to be able to partake of the “harvest” or “offerings” within
the church.
The verse goes
on to say, “And, The laborer is
worthy of his reward.” Paul
went on to add, “And” which
denotes a continuum of thought, “the
laborer”
or “workman or worker” “is
worthy”
which means “has weight, value, befits, is congruous and
corresponds to a thing” “of his
reward” or
“dues and fruits of his labor”. Paul desired for Timothy to know
that an “elder”
who “labored in the word and
doctrine”
was to receive compensation for his work.
When
we meditate upon these words of Paul, we may be inclined to wonder
why Paul would write such a directive. Too many times people think
that the “elder”
who labors in the “word and doctrine”
should be doing so without any compensation at all, and because there
is a tendency to believe that the minister should be doing what he
does for free, many think he is “taking from the church” if he
receives a “reward”
for his work. We have heard of those “elders”
who have abused the practice of being paid by the church, and it is
certain that the pendulum can swing that way as well. Paul's idea was
for the “elders”
or “presbyteros” to receive “reward”
for their labor, and if Timothy assured they did, he would be a good
overseer of the church in Ephesus. May the Lord Jesus bring to our
mind the truth of His word as we consider the “elders”
who bring the word of God to us.
Next
time Paul tells Timothy to not receive an accusation against an elder
without witnesses, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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