Paul the
apostle continued to give instructions to Timothy concerning “elders”
within the church in Ephesus. He told him the “elder”
was “worthy of double honor”, “of his reward”,
was not to be accused unless there were “two or three
witnesses”, and if they sinned, they were to be “rebuked
before all that others may fear”. Paul also “charged”
Timothy to “observe these things without preferring one before
another, doing nothing by partiality”, and
in chapter five and verse twenty-two of his letter to Timothy,
Paul told him to “lay hands suddenly on no man” where we
read:
Lay hands
suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep
thyself pure.
The verse begins, “Lay
hands suddenly on no man,...” Paul
employed the Greek phrase, “epitithēmi
cheir tacheōs
epitithēmi” which
interpreted is “lay”
or “put on or set” “hands”
or “by the help, means or agency of any one” “suddenly
on”
which means “quickly, briefly, shortly, soon or hastily set or put”
“no man”
or “nobody or no one”. The idea is
“to ordain”
no one hastily or quickly. Paul knew there was a tendency to put
someone into the office of “elder”
before they were examined for their “gifts and graces”, and often
there was an inclination to reinstate a person who sinned before
there was true repentance and remuneration observed.
The verse continues, “...neither be partaker of
other men's sins: keep yourself pure.” Paul
continued with, “neither be partaker”
which means “to come into communion or fellowship with, to
become a sharer or partner, to enter into fellowship or join one's
self to an associate” “of other” or “belonging to
another” “men's sins” or “that which is done wrong,
sin, an offense, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act”.
Paul added, “keep” or “to attend to carefully, take care
of and guard” “yourself” which referred to “Timothy
himself” “pure” or “with exciting reverence,
venerable, sacred, clean from carnality, chaste, modest, apart from
every fault, immaculate and clean”. Timothy was not to involve
himself or indite himself in other men's sins. If he was to be a
“good minister”, he was not to allow other men's sins to affect
his own life by “ordaining” an “elder” too quickly, or
hastily reinstating one who had fallen.
While we think
on Paul's words, we see the two-fold idea which can be derived from
his thoughts. Timothy was not to hastily “lay hands” or
“ordain” an “elder”. Many mistakes have been
made throughout the history of the church because a man was
“ordained” before he should have been. There must be a
testing or proving time before such an office is given. The Lord
Jesus through His Holy Spirit is the one who truly “ordains”
men to be pastors and elders, and people, usually the overseeing
pastor or pastors, “ratify” them. In other words, men validate or
formalize what God has already done. Also, there are times when men
have been reinstated too quickly after they have sinned. There needs
to be a time of restoration and repentance before this person is
restored, and some men will never be restored to their previous state
again. We understand the need for the Holy Spirit's guidance in these
areas, and perhaps we will understand the gravity of Paul's words as
we learn what the Lord Jesus has to say about those whom He has
ordained. May the Lord Jesus lead us to His truth, and keep us “pure”
from the sins of other men.
Next
time Paul tells Timothy to “drink a little wine” for his
“stomach's sake”, 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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