Latest / Reformed Thinking / Desiring the Work: A Biblical Theology of Elder Aspiration (1 Timothy 3:1)

Transcript

Desiring the Work: A Biblical Theology of Elder Aspiration (1 Timothy 3:1) · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to Reformed thinking. This is the place where we take
0:03
stacks of information and really try to distill the necessary
0:07
insights for you, the thoughtful listener, especially when you're
0:10
seeking to understand the order and, well, the truth of God's
0:13
household. Today we are opening up a deep
0:17
dive focused pretty intensely on one single verse, a verse that
0:21
really acts as a kind of spiritual filter for the church.
0:24
You could almost call it a gatekeeper text.
0:26
It's First Timothy 3.1, the passage about aspiring to the
0:29
office of overseer. Now I know for many that
0:32
probably sounds like, you know, super specialized advice.
0:35
Right, only for guys thinking about ministry.
0:37
Exactly. But that view misses the wider
0:39
picture, doesn't it? The doctrine behind this one
0:42
sentence is just vital for every single believer who cares about
0:45
the function, the health, and the order of the household of
0:48
God. Paul says that explicitly later
0:50
on in chapter 3, verse 15. He does.
0:52
And our source material for this deep dive, it reveals a pretty
0:56
sobering reality. It's been true throughout church
0:58
history, and it's certainly true right now.
1:00
Far too many churches suffer not because the men called lack
1:04
basic ability or, you know, intelligence.
1:07
It's because they possess a strong, sometimes an
1:10
overwhelming appetite for the title, for the recognition, the
1:12
status. But at the same time, they
1:15
shrink from the actual toil. They want the honor, but not the
1:18
burden. So our mission for this deep
1:21
dive is pretty straightforward. We want to show how the Holy
1:25
Spirit, speaking through Paul, completely redirects human
1:29
ambition. The entire structure of this
1:32
verse is designed to take our aspiration away from the status
1:35
symbol, you know, the office of overseer, and tie it firmly back
1:39
to the demanding reality of the noble work.
1:41
The question the text forces every potential elder to
1:44
confront isn't do you want to be called an elder, but rather do
1:47
you desire the work that requires you to spend and be
1:51
spent for Christ's people? And that redirection you're
1:54
talking about is exactly why the verse begins with such enormous
1:59
contextual weight. We can't just skip past the
2:02
formula Paul uses right at the start, OK?
2:04
He introduces this whole qualification for office with
2:07
the phrase The saying is trustworthy in the Greek.
2:11
That's Pisto's whole logos. And that's not just him clearing
2:14
his throat. Not at all.
2:15
It's a technical phrase. We know from the other pastoral
2:18
epistles, and really from the rest of First Timothy, that this
2:20
phrase is only pulled out for statements of special weight.
2:23
It elevates them to the level of, you know, core doctrine.
2:27
Think of First Timothy 1.15 where the same formula
2:30
introduces the truth that Christ Jesus came into the world to
2:33
save sinners. So it's a marker, a signpost
2:36
saying pay very close attention to what comes next.
2:38
Precisely by linking the call to ministry with such a solemn,
2:42
trustworthy saying, the Spirit is raising the whole principle
2:46
of Church office to a level of distinct theological urgency it
2:50
sets. It's a hierarchy of values right
2:52
away. What?
2:52
Do you mean by that? It establishes that leadership
2:55
in Christ Church is not something you seize through
2:57
personal magnetism or charisma. It isn't awarded based on, you
3:01
know, worldly metrics like how successful you are in business
3:04
or how big your social media platform is.
3:07
Social standing in the town. Right.
3:08
It's regulated entirely and exclusively by God's Word and by
3:12
specific character qualifications.
3:15
The desire Paul describes in this verse is the principium,
3:18
the starting point of what Reformed theology has long
3:21
called the internal call. It establishes that ministry is
3:24
a noble task, yes, but first and foremost it's a vocational
3:28
burden that requires a specific, intense spirit produced
3:31
compulsion toward the work itself.
3:33
That sets the stage perfectly. OK, let's unpack the verse
3:36
directly. I will get into our first
3:38
section and focus on the the fascinating linguistic structure
3:41
of First Timothy 3.1. If anyone aspires to the office
3:44
of overseer, he desires a noble work.
3:48
The genius here, and it's something I think is often
3:50
missed in a casual reading, lies in the two distinct Greek verbs
3:54
Paul uses for desire. They're not synonyms.
3:56
Not at all. They actually map out the
3:58
anatomy of a godly ambition, moving from an outward reach, a
4:02
kind of striving, to a deep internal spiritual fire that
4:06
burns for the actual work. So we start with that external
4:10
reach, the first verb, which is all about action, origiti.
4:14
This verb means to stretch oneself out, to reach after or
4:19
to strive toward. It's a very visual word.
4:21
It paints a picture of a man on his tip toes extending his hand
4:25
towards something that's maybe just beyond his immediate grasp,
4:28
but it's fully in his active focus.
4:31
And this is so important for understanding the biblical view
4:33
of aspiration. It tells us that this isn't
4:35
about, you know, stumbling accidentally into the office.
4:38
Or being pressured into it. Right.
4:39
Or being pressured into it by a nominating committee that's
4:42
desperate to fill a spot. It conveys an active and
4:44
intentional, A persistent inclination.
4:47
And the grammar of the word really reinforces that activity.
4:50
The verb is in the present tense, which describes A
4:53
continuous, habitual action. So the potential overseer
4:56
doesn't just wake up 1 morning and think, hey, I'd like that
4:59
title. He keeps on stretching toward
5:01
the work. He's defined by a persistent,
5:04
consistent orientation toward the care of the flock.
5:07
He's actively seeking opportunities to serve even
5:10
before he gets a formal title or, you know, is recognized by
5:13
the congregation. The man is already doing the
5:16
work, not just dreaming about the recognition that comes with
5:18
the title. I think that connection is so
5:20
critical for the listener because it instantly detoxifies
5:24
the word aspiration. You know, sometimes we hear that
5:27
word and think of sinful ambition, but our sources point
5:30
out that this is the same root word used to describe the
5:33
patriarchs desiring a better a heavenly country.
5:36
In Hebrews 11, point of something goes.
5:38
So the impulse to strive to actively reach for something
5:41
better isn't automatically sinful ambition.
5:44
It's not diatrophy is wanting to be first.
5:47
It can be a sober, sanctified recognition of a worthy office
5:50
that Christ himself instituted. You see a worthy goal, a
5:53
heavenly country, or the care of Christ's blood bought people,
5:57
you should stretch. Toward it.
5:58
Exactly. And that external reach of a
6:00
regiti has to be fueled by a very specific internal engine.
6:04
And that brings us to the second verb epitheme.
6:07
And this is where the linguistics get, well,
6:10
particularly provocative. As you pointed out earlier, the
6:13
noun form of this word, epithymia, is the standard New
6:16
Testament word for sinful lusts. Right.
6:19
It's a strong word, it. Is it describes the deep
6:22
visceral desires that choke the word in Mark chapter 4, or the
6:26
covetousness that Paul I'll call sin in Romans 7?
6:29
It's strong, intense, often carnal passion.
6:32
OK, let me just stop you there for a second because that word
6:35
choice is frankly shocking. Paul chooses the vocabulary of
6:39
lust or craving to describe the motive that should drive a man
6:43
toward the highest spiritual office in the church.
6:46
I mean, that seems to go against everything we often hear about
6:49
humble reluctance. It does, and that's the
6:51
beautiful genius of the text. What's so fascinating here is
6:53
that the spirit takes this highly charged vocabulary of
6:56
intense passion and completely redeems it by changing its
7:01
object. Paul is saying the potential
7:03
elder must have a passion so intense that we can actually
7:06
call it a lust for the work. Not a carnal appetite for status
7:10
or money or the feeling of being in charge, but a sanctified,
7:14
intense hunger for Christo's glory and for the good of his
7:18
people. So the morality of the passion
7:20
is fixed by what it's aimed. At entirely by its object.
7:23
If the object is self advancement, it's sinful lust.
7:26
If the object is the messy, thankless, tiring but noble work
7:31
of feeding and guarding souls, then it is a spirit generated
7:34
intense godly desire. The key take away for us is that
7:39
a man without this fire, without the specific deep compulsion, is
7:43
not truly called. The spirit demands A willingness
7:46
so intense that it's comparable to a craving, but it must be
7:49
fixed on the right thing, the toil.
7:51
That really helps clarify the distinction and it's so
7:54
practical for evaluating men. It means you can have a man who
7:57
looks good on paper. You know, he has the gifts and
7:59
he stretches out the origiti for the office because he wants to
8:02
please people, maybe fulfill an expectation, but if he lacks
8:05
that internal burning spirit wrought desire, the epithemi for
8:10
the actual labor, his ambition is exposed as fraudulent.
8:14
He wants the position, but he doesn't want the pain that comes
8:16
with. It that's absolutely the
8:17
application, and it brings us to the object of this aspiration.
8:21
And this is where that famous redirect happens.
8:23
The man's first desire, the one he stretches out for the
8:26
eregitie, is for episcopies. That means oversight or office.
8:31
A functional. Term.
8:32
Yes, A term of function, not hierarchy.
8:34
It's about visitation, inspection, personal care.
8:37
The overseer is a watchman, a shepherd, a man of
8:40
accountability, not a corporate strategist or some detached
8:43
manager of resources. But then the second, the
8:45
defining desire, the one he craves, the epithemi, is for
8:49
Kalu Ergu, the knowable. Work.
8:51
The noble work. And the brilliance is that Paul
8:53
deliberately places the nobility on the labor, the ergon, rather
8:57
than on the title itself. And this just strips away all
9:00
the romanticism, all the puffery.
9:02
It forces us to see the office not as a badge of honor, but as
9:05
a vocational burden of sacrificial service.
9:07
Right. The man who desperately wants
9:08
the honor of the title but despises the late night work,
9:12
the theological study, and the personal intrusion the office
9:15
demands. He's fundamentally misunderstood
9:18
the calling. His aspiration is exposed as
9:21
carnal ambition because he desired the office over the
9:24
toil. Yes, the sentence structure is
9:26
perfectly designed to test his motive.
9:29
The second desire explains and validates the first.
9:32
The man who is genuinely stretching toward the office.
9:35
The Episcopes is doing so only because he has a deep, spirit
9:39
wrought desire for the demanding, messy, noble work it
9:43
entails. The work itself pulls a man.
9:45
Exactly. The work itself exerts A
9:46
gravitational pull on his heart, ensuring that if he gets the
9:50
office, he is doing so to spend himself, not to receive for
9:53
himself. And that is the basis for how we
9:55
begin to test the internal call, by seeing what the man is
9:58
willing to do before he is given any permission.
10:01
OK, that's a perfect transition. Let's move to Section 2 and
10:04
really nail down with this noble work.
10:05
This ergon actually is, because we keep talking about it being
10:08
messy and difficult. But we need some concrete
10:11
definitions for the listener. The word ergon itself, it
10:14
signifies energy, toil, the expenditure of effort and
10:18
sustained labor. It's not a casual hobby, not at
10:20
all. Our sources point out that this
10:22
linguistic choice was, well, it was polemical in the 1st century
10:25
context. It was actively stripping away
10:28
the Hellenistic or Roman ideal of leadership, which often
10:31
viewed service or, you know, manual labor as undignified and.
10:36
Meet the person of status. Exactly.
10:37
For Paul, the noble work is not a privilege to be served.
10:41
It's a vocational burden of serving.
10:44
It is labor. That's a crucial historical
10:47
context. We often assume nobility means
10:49
high status, but Paul is completely redefining nobility
10:52
here in in cruciform terms. To be noble in Christ's economy
10:56
is to labor for others, and we can break this labor down into
10:59
three essential pillars drawn directly from the Pastoral
11:02
Epistles in Acts twenty. Pillar one is the elder of
11:05
shepherd. This is the ministry of care, or
11:07
Coyman. This man is explicitly not meant
11:10
to be a CEOA brand builder or some detached board member who
11:13
just votes on high level strategy from a distance.
11:15
Peter commands elders to shepherd the flock of God that
11:19
is among you, and he stresses proximity and personal
11:22
involvement. That means you must know the
11:25
people you shepherd, not just the budget you manage.
11:29
And proximity is expensive, isn't it?
11:30
I mean, in terms of time and energy.
11:33
True shepherding requires vigilant, prayerful oversight.
11:37
Paul stressed that to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20.
11:40
It's not just a weekly sermon performance, and it's not
11:42
restricted to a quarterly committee meeting.
11:44
It requires personal sacrificial involvement, being present for
11:49
the crises, being accessible when the call comes at 1:00 in
11:52
the morning, pursuing the straying brother or sister,
11:55
binding up the wounded and carrying burdens quietly, often
11:58
without any public recognition or applause.
12:01
And think about the texture of that care, which is laid out in
12:04
First Thessalonians 5. It's multifaceted.
12:07
It includes admonishing the idle, which is, let's be honest,
12:10
an unplanned conversation, encouraging the faint hearted,
12:13
which requires a lot of patience, and helping the weak,
12:16
which requires sustained effort. And all of this must be done
12:20
with patients. That is intense labor.
12:23
It costs emotional energy, it costs time, and it invades your
12:27
personal comfort zone. Yeah, the man who shies away
12:30
from the messiness of broken lives and confrontation has not
12:33
desired the actual noble work. He's desired a clean desk and a
12:37
quiet life. That focus on proximity and
12:39
personal care leads us perfectly into the content of the care,
12:43
right? What are the sheep actually fed?
12:45
Right? And that's where Pillar 2 comes
12:46
in. The elder is teacher, the
12:48
ministry of feeding, right? The qualification able to teach
12:51
in First Timothy 2332 is not a decorative skill, it's not
12:54
reserved for justice. One or two men on the session,
12:56
maybe the aid staff, it's essential for the overseer
12:59
because she were fed, sustained and directed by truth.
13:02
And the ability to teach doesn't just mean being able to stand up
13:05
and deliver a polished talk. It means the elder possesses
13:08
discipline, study habits, theological clarity, and the
13:10
courage to be precise when the culture, and sadly sometimes the
13:14
congregation, wants vagueness or novelty.
13:17
This labor requires a man to handle the word accurately, to
13:20
study hard so he's not ashamed of his knowledge.
13:22
And it has to be applied patiently.
13:24
We're talking about patient, persistent instruction,
13:27
equipping households to raise children in the Lord, counseling
13:31
individuals who are trapped in sin, and applying the Word in
13:34
season and out of season. As Paul says, teaching is
13:37
spiritual labor in the truest sense.
13:40
The elder has to teach as a man who is himself under the Word,
13:43
with a life that adorns what he proclaims as the source is
13:47
noted. He has to model repentance,
13:49
self-control, and steadfastness so the church sees what
13:53
obedience looks like in flesh and blood reality.
13:56
He can't preach what he isn't trying to live.
13:58
And that leads to Pillar 3, which is often the most
14:01
difficult and the most costly aspect.
14:03
The elder as guardian, the ministry of protection, the
14:07
tough part, the tough part, The New Testament makes this
14:09
necessity unavoidable. Paul himself warns the Ephesian
14:13
elders that fierce wolves will come even from within the
14:15
church's own ranks, speaking twisted things to draw away the
14:18
disciples. A guardian must therefore be
14:20
doctrinally alert and courageous.
14:23
He has to hold firm to the trustworthy word so that he's
14:26
equipped for two parallel tasks, giving instruction and sound
14:30
doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it.
14:34
Guarding isn't a personality trait reserved for the combative
14:37
guy who loves a fight. It's pure love expressed through
14:40
necessary protection, and this includes discerning false
14:45
teaching that might creep in through popular books or
14:48
cultural fads, correcting error early, resisting the temptation
14:52
to smuggle worldliness into worship under the guise of being
14:55
relevant, and, perhaps most painfully, performing church
14:59
discipline. Which is incredibly taxing.
15:01
It is that process which should always be done firmly but
15:05
tenderly. Aiming at repentance and
15:06
restoration is just incredibly taxing.
15:09
The elder who fears controversy more than he fears God is
15:12
disqualified from this noble work because he will fail to
15:15
protect the flock. So if we connect all three of
15:18
these pillars back to the bigger picture, the reason this labor
15:21
is called noble kalos is not because of the man's exceptional
15:23
talent, it's because of the supreme value of the object he
15:26
serves. The work is noble because it is
15:29
the faithful administration of the ordinary means of grace, the
15:33
feeding, the protecting, and the comforting that Christ himself
15:35
instituted. OK, but crucially, the flock
15:38
itself is blood bought. Paul charges the Ephesian elders
15:41
to care for the Church of God, which he obtained with his own
15:44
blood. That context changes everything.
15:47
The elder is a steward of Christ's purchased people.
15:51
Every single soul has an infinite price tag attached to
15:54
it. When an elder corrects A wayward
15:57
brother or spends hours counseling a struggling St., he
16:00
is handling a soul for whom Christ died.
16:03
This perspective just crushes any spirit of professional
16:06
detachment or casual indifference.
16:08
The nobility of the work is derived entirely from the
16:11
nobility of the master and the cost of the flock.
16:13
That ties the functional work right back to the spiritual
16:16
motivation, and if the work is that critical, then the desire
16:19
to do it has to be verified. Let's move into Section 3, the
16:22
doctrine of the call, where we look at how this internal desire
16:25
meets external confirmation. Desire, as we've established it,
16:28
isn't decorative. It's a moral necessity.
16:31
Peter commands elders to shepherd not under compulsion,
16:34
but willingly, as God would have you, right?
16:36
Willingly. The work is too spiritual, too
16:38
demanding and too weighty to be done out of reluctance or
16:41
grudging duty or just professional compliance.
16:44
A coerced elder, a man who was badgered into saying yes, will
16:49
inevitably treat people as interruptions to his schedule.
16:52
He'll see correction as an annoyance to be avoided.
16:54
And this willingness, this internal fire, stems from what
16:57
we call the internal call or the vocatio interna.
17:01
This is the secret spiritual work of the Holy Spirit, where a
17:04
man feels a compulsion, a spiritual pressure to enter the
17:07
ministry, a conviction of the will that is illuminated by the
17:11
Word. And it's not mystical
17:12
impressions. No, not at all.
17:14
It's not about seeking private, special revelations that bypass
17:17
Scripture. It's a burden, a sense of divine
17:20
necessity, like the Apostle Paul himself experienced when he
17:22
said, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.
17:25
And this internal call has to be sober and intensely tested by
17:29
Scripture. Man has to relentlessly ask
17:31
himself, is my desire fixed on God's defined work, the
17:35
shepherding, feeding and guarding?
17:37
And am I willing to do it with joyful willingness and self
17:40
denial? The sources point out a very
17:43
practical diagnostic here. A man who truly desires the work
17:46
will already be doing elder like labor before he has a title.
17:50
He's already stretching. Out.
17:51
He's already stretching. Out the eregitai, he's praying
17:54
for specific people by name, he's disciple in younger men,
17:57
he's guarding conversations from gossip or error.
18:00
He shoulder needs quietly the internal calls preven not by 1
18:04
moment of spiritual euphoria, but over time, by the kind of
18:07
desire that persists when the work is inconvenient, slow and
18:11
completely unseen by the wider church.
18:13
However, and this. Is a huge However, a man's
18:15
subjective feeling, no matter how intense it is, is never
18:18
sufficient on its own. Reformed theology insists that
18:21
this powerful internal desire must be ratified by the Church's
18:24
objective verification, which we call the external call or
18:27
Vocacio externa. Yeah, you can't just appoint.
18:29
Yourself. You can't.
18:31
To rely solely on internal feelings is to fall into
18:34
subjectivism, where private experience Trump's the
18:37
objective. God-given order of the household
18:39
of God, The Church acts as the interpretive community.
18:43
It recognizes the man's gifts and character qualifications
18:46
through an orderly public process.
18:48
The Apostolic. Pattern exactly.
18:50
We follow the Apostolic pattern. Elders are appointed in the
18:53
churches by those commissioned to do so.
18:55
This is why Paul warns Timothy against haste.
18:58
Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands.
19:01
The Church has to take time to rigorously examine his doctrine,
19:04
his character, the faithfulness of his household, and his public
19:07
reputation. The internal desire is tested by
19:10
external observation. This rigorous.
19:13
Process this relationship between the two calls.
19:15
It serves as the critical check and balance that protects the
19:18
flock from damage. And we can use this framework as
19:20
a really powerful diagnostic tool.
19:22
Yeah. For instance, if a man has a
19:23
strong internal call, he feels compelled to lead and teach, but
19:27
he's rejected by the external call because he lacks the
19:30
character or the the ability to teach, or his household is not
19:33
in order. What do you get?
19:34
You get the fanatic. The Fanatic.
19:37
The self appointed man who runs without being sent, often
19:40
causing division or spreading error because he believes his
19:43
private conviction overrides objective scriptural standards
19:47
and conversely. The danger goes the other way.
19:50
If a man has the external call, the title, the recognition,
19:53
maybe even a salary, but he lacks the internal call.
19:57
That spirit wrought fire for the noble work.
19:59
Then you get the hireling. The hireling.
20:02
This is the professional cleric who views the ministry purely as
20:06
a job or a career path rather than a spiritual compulsion.
20:11
He lacks the shepherd's heart that's necessary to endure
20:13
suffering for the flock. When the wolves come, or when
20:16
the cost of speaking the truth is too high, the hireling will
20:19
abandoned the sheep because his willingness was never genuine.
20:22
He came for the comfort, not for the toil.
20:25
The genius of. Paul's single sentence in First
20:27
Timothy 3.1 is that it immediately eliminates both
20:30
types of failure. It demands both the internal
20:32
compulsion, that epitheme of the noble work, and the external
20:36
target. The Orichito tore the office,
20:38
which is then validated by the church's standards and this
20:41
whole. Doctrine ultimately rests on the
20:43
headship of Christ, which is a central tenet of Reformed
20:46
theology. The Westminster Confession
20:48
states it clearly. Christ gives ministry and
20:50
ordinances to his church. The elder isn't a volunteer who
20:54
just emerged from the congregation, nor is he merely a
20:57
representative of the people chosen through some democratic
21:00
vote. He's a gift.
21:01
He is a gift. From the ascended Lord Himself.
21:04
Therefore, when we examine a man's desire, what we are really
21:07
looking for are the fingerprints of the King.
21:10
We are asking if this ambition is just a biological impulse
21:14
driven by human pride or vanity, or if it is a pneumatological
21:18
implant, a desire generated and directed by the Holy Spirit
21:21
toward Christ's purposes. The fire of desire within and
21:24
the confirmation of the body without must converge for the
21:27
office to be lawfully and spiritually filled.
21:30
And that protects both the man and the congregation.
21:32
That's just the necessary. Standard OK, now let's move to
21:34
Section 4 and apply a biblical diagnostic to separate what we
21:38
might call holy aspiration from carnal ambition.
21:41
Because the devil is excellent at counterfeiting godly desires.
21:44
He is. The core difference, as we
21:46
established earlier, is the object and the governing motive.
21:50
The question we have to relentlessly pursue when
21:52
examining a man is what does he actually want?
21:55
Does he want to be someone, or does he want to do something
21:57
painful for the sake of the sheep, the flesh?
22:00
In its sinful tendency wants the office because it offers
22:03
recognition, influence, status, and control.
22:06
It wants the social standing that comes with the title, the
22:09
reserved seat, the respectful address.
22:12
Grace, however, wants the work because it offers opportunities
22:16
to exalt Christ, to feed the flock with truth, and to bear
22:20
burden for the sake of immortal souls.
22:22
It's the contrast Jesus drew. The world says take the chair so
22:26
you can rule. Christ says take the cross so
22:28
you can serve holy. Aspiration starts with a genuine
22:32
act of love for Christ that just naturally overflows into active
22:36
love for Christ. People just like Jesus, asked
22:38
Peter. It embraces the hiddenness of
22:40
the work. It is satisfied to labor where
22:42
Christ alone sees and will reward.
22:44
The true shepherd doesn't need a microphone or a massive public
22:47
platform to feel useful. He's willing to labor when no
22:50
one applauds, and, maybe more tellingly, he welcomes scrutiny
22:54
and accountability. This type of aspiration is
22:57
marked by the humility of Philippians 2 counting others
23:00
more significant than yourself and seeking the good of the
23:02
church, not your own elevation and carnal.
23:05
Ambition, by stark contrast, is desire turned inward.
23:10
It feeds purely on self. It can be very expert at
23:13
borrowing spiritual language. It talks about vision and
23:15
reaching people. But it's aim is always self
23:18
advancement. It wants the.
23:19
Authority without the accountability exactly it wants.
23:22
The authority of Hebrews 13.17, where the congregation must
23:26
submit and obey. But it fiercely avoids the
23:28
accountability of that same verse where the elder must watch
23:31
over souls as one who will give account.
23:33
The carnal man wants to rule, but not to watch.
23:35
He wants to be honored, but not to serve.
23:38
Scripture gives. US clear, devastating portraits
23:40
of this disease. You look at diatrophes in three
23:43
John. He's a church leader who likes
23:45
to put himself 1st, and he refuses to welcome the brethren,
23:49
using his spiritual influence and authority to cast others out
23:52
of the congregation. That is pure carnal ambition
23:56
dressed up in religious authority.
23:57
Yes, it is. Paul also warns.
23:59
Of men who imagine godliness itself as a means of financial
24:03
or social gain. Whether the idol is cash,
24:06
applause, control, or reputation, the desire is
24:09
compromised and disqualified. And practically, the carnal man
24:13
is often hypersensitive to criticism because he sought the
24:16
office for affirmation, not for usefulness.
24:18
He avoids conflict and necessary confrontation not from genuine
24:22
gentleness but from cowardice because he fears losing approval
24:25
that diagnostic. Is absolutely essential for us
24:27
today as we confront some modern errors.
24:29
Paul's single verse dismantle several contemporary
24:32
counterfeits that plague the church.
24:34
The 1st and maybe the most pervasive today is what you
24:36
could call celebrity or platform desire.
24:39
Oh yeah. In the age of digital platforms
24:41
and hyper visibility, a man can completely confuse A craving for
24:45
an audience with a genuine call to shepherd.
24:48
He might long for the conference circuit, the book teal, or a
24:51
massive social media presence rather than the quiet, grinding,
24:55
anonymous work of intercession and visitation he longs for.
24:58
Visibility more than proximity, that says exactly.
25:01
And the problem. Here is a displacement of Labor.
25:04
Peter charges elders to shepherd the flock among you.
25:07
The noble work includes knowing names, bearing burdens, and
25:10
admonishing the idol. That requires getting your hands
25:13
dirty and being present. If a man wants the stage more
25:16
than he wants the names of his flock in his prayer journal, if
25:19
he measures his success by follower count rather than
25:21
faithfulness and private counsel, he has desired a
25:24
platform, not the noble work. He's seeking a crown without
25:28
carrying the cross, a second major.
25:30
Distortion is the pragmatism or CEO model.
25:33
This era treats the church as a company prioritizing managerial
25:37
instincts, organizational efficiency, and variable
25:40
outcomes like attendance numbers or budget growth over character
25:43
and spiritual credibility. And Paul does.
25:45
Not describe overseers as strategists of organizational
25:49
expansion, he describes them as men who are able to teach, sober
25:53
minded, self controlled and faithful in their households.
25:56
The CEO model shifts the focus from spiritual faithfulness to
25:59
worldly results, from doctrinal truth to psychological technique
26:03
and attempts. Churches to ordain quickly.
26:05
It does. Attempts them to ordain quickly
26:07
because someone looks successful in the business world and they
26:10
ignore Paul's stern warning against haste.
26:13
The work is not successful leadership in the world's terms.
26:16
It's faithful, self denying care under Christ's word, even when
26:20
that work is slow, unimpressive, and hidden from public view.
26:25
The moment a church starts to prioritize the balance sheet
26:28
over the balance of sound doctrine, the CEO model has
26:31
infected its leadership selection. 1/3 significant.
26:34
Counterfeit is mysticism and novel revelations this is where
26:37
a man claims authority based on private subjective impressions,
26:41
often stated as God told me, I'm called to this church or I
26:44
received a sign, and this declaration then acts as a
26:47
shield against rigorous examination by the local church
26:50
this completely. Ignores the New Testament
26:52
pattern. The Spirit does give the
26:54
internal desire, but that desire must submit to the objective
26:57
standard of the Word in the Church's orderly process.
27:00
The pattern is never aspiration followed by auto validation.
27:04
It is always aspiration, then rigorous evaluation by Scripture
27:08
and character qualifications, and then confirmation through
27:11
orderly appointment. When subjective experiences are
27:14
allowed to displace biblical examination, the church becomes
27:18
vulnerable to domineering personalities and doctrinal
27:20
drift. Sincerity is simply not a
27:23
qualification. The desire must be tested by the
27:26
job description Paul provides we also.
27:28
Have to address the qualification in light of the
27:30
cultural situation around egalitarianism on one side and
27:34
male passivity on the other. Regarding egalitarianism, the
27:37
text refutes the idea that a woman's desire validates her
27:40
fitness for this authoritative teaching office right.
27:44
We maintain that the Spirit never generates a desire that
27:46
contradicts the Word of God. Scripture strictly limits the
27:49
authoritative teaching office of overseer or elder to qualified
27:53
men. So if a woman experiences A
27:55
sincere desire for an office, God has restricted by His
27:58
revealed word. That desire has to be soberly
28:01
treated as a disordered desire or perhaps a misunderstanding of
28:05
her gifts, not as a validation of her fitness for the office.
28:09
The call to serve is for all believers.
28:11
The call to oversee is restricted.
28:13
And conversely, the text acts as a powerful confrontation to the
28:17
sin of male passivity in an age where men often shrink from
28:20
responsibility and spiritual leadership.
28:23
A qualified man who possesses the objective gifts and meets
28:25
the moral standards yet lacks the act of desire is suffering
28:29
from a spiritual defect. His lack of desire is not
28:31
humility, it's fear, it's laziness, it's abdication, the
28:34
desire. That act of striving that
28:36
aregitai is a moral imperative for the gifted man to cultivate.
28:41
He cannot mask fear or laziness with false humility.
28:44
If a qualified man fails to stretch out for the work, he
28:47
leaves the flock vulnerable to wolves, or he forces less
28:51
qualified men to carry burdens they shouldn't.
28:54
The desire is mandated by the Spirit for the good of the
28:57
Church. And finally.
28:58
We have to mention the very common comfort seeking desire.
29:01
This is the man who wants the respect of the office, the
29:04
title, the privilege of occasional preaching.
29:06
But he fiercely avoids the pain of shepherding.
29:08
He avoids the hard. Conversations exactly he.
29:11
Refuses to confront sin in a meaningful way, and he fears
29:14
conflict more than he fears God. He will trade truth for quiet
29:17
and holiness for ease. The noble work.
29:20
Demands spiritual courage. The elder must be willing to
29:23
warn with vigilance and rebuke those who contradict sound
29:27
doctrine. The true shepherd has to
29:29
manifest both firmness and tenderness, truth without
29:32
tyranny and courage without cruelty.
29:36
A man who enters the office primarily seeking safety or ease
29:40
has certainly not desired the noble work.
29:43
He has desired self preservation, which is
29:45
completely incompatible with the shepherding task.
29:48
Now that we've. Established the necessary
29:49
internal fire and define the external toil.
29:52
Let's move into our last section and frame all of this within the
29:55
standard set by Christ himself. The gospel shape of elder
29:58
desire. Christ has to be the.
30:00
Frame for this entire discussion because the elder is not an
30:02
independent ruler. He is an under shepherd, serving
30:05
completely beneath the gaze and the authority of the chief
30:07
Shepherd. The aspiration we're looking for
30:10
must reflect the heart of the Master and Christ's example.
30:13
Defines shepherding through self giving, yes.
30:16
He explicitly defined himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down
30:19
his life for the sheep. He contrasted himself sharply
30:23
with the hired hand, the hireling we talked about
30:25
earlier, who abandons the flock the moment danger comes, because
30:28
he only cares about the wages. This contrast.
30:31
Exposes the entire motive of the heart.
30:33
The true shepherd stays because the sheep matter and because
30:37
they were purchased with blood. This self giving model is what
30:40
purifies desire and it's what Jesus uses to reeducate his
30:44
disciples. He does.
30:45
Jesus rebukes the. Worldly model of leadership that
30:47
centers on status and domination.
30:49
He says you know that those were considered rulers of the
30:51
gentiles, lorded over them, but it shall not be so among you.
30:55
He completely replaces it with the ethic of Calvary leadership
30:59
is serving and giving one's life as a ransom.
31:01
This teaches. Aspiring men to want usefulness,
31:04
not prominence. If the inner drive is self
31:07
advancement, the man will inevitably manipulate situations
31:10
to gain favor, or he'll withdraw when he isn't honored.
31:13
But if the desire is Christ like, he gives himself for the
31:16
good of others even when there is no applause, no earthly
31:19
reward, no recognition. The noble work demands A
31:23
cruciform willingness to lose comfort and personal status for
31:26
the sake of the sheep. That gospel.
31:29
Shape carries A distinctly personal quality, too, Christ
31:32
says. I know my own and my own know
31:33
me. Elders mirror this nearness by
31:36
being attentive, prayerful, and pursuing the wandering they're
31:39
called to keep. Watch over souls as those who
31:41
have to give an account. The man who truly desires the
31:44
office has to tremble slightly at that monumental
31:46
accountability. And that trembling, if it's
31:49
rooted in love, is the beginning of wisdom.
31:51
It leads to faithful watching. This also brings.
31:53
Us back to the command that links love and labor.
31:56
You recall Christ's threefold question to Peter Do you love
31:59
me? Followed immediately by the
32:01
charge Feed my sheep, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.
32:05
Love for the Savior expresses itself in concrete labor for his
32:08
people. Elder desire is not
32:10
fundamentally a desire to teach or to lead meetings.
32:14
It is a desire to feed, to tend and to guard, to give the flock
32:17
what Christ gave truth, personal care and protection.
32:21
So finally, let's. Look at the application of this
32:23
doctrine for you, the listener. Let's structure it around your
32:25
head, your heart, and your hands.
32:27
First, the head, what we must believe.
32:31
We have to be intellectually convinced that desiring the
32:33
office and the work it entails is not inherently prideful.
32:37
It's a grace to be cultivated, not a flaw to be suppressed.
32:40
The work is kalos. It's noble and beautiful, and to
32:43
desire it is to agree with God's assessment of its value.
32:46
We have to reject the false humility that uses I am not
32:49
worthy as a mask for fear or spiritual laziness.
32:52
If God is giving you the gifts, you have a moral directive to
32:55
pursue the desire for the work. Second.
32:58
The heart, the motive, diagnostic.
33:00
The aspirant has to constantly test his heart against the
33:03
modern idol of comfort. The noble work is by its very
33:07
definition and inconvenience. It involves late night crises,
33:10
bearing the emotional weight of other sins, wading into
33:13
spiritual warfare and confronting error.
33:16
If a man loves his own ease more than he loves Christ's bride,
33:19
his desire is fraudulent. He has to aim for satisfaction
33:23
and expenditure, finding his joy in spending and being spent for
33:26
souls, knowing that this is the pattern of Christ and. 3rd the
33:31
hands concrete action. The aspirin has to begin
33:34
stretching out now. You don't suddenly become an
33:37
elder by being voted in. You become an elder by
33:39
faithfully doing the work first. The external call simply
33:42
recognizes and formalizes what you have already become through
33:45
the Holy Spirit's direction. This means rigorously studying
33:48
Scripture daily, visiting the sick and the shut in,
33:51
proactively counseling, and practicing hospitality with
33:54
discipline and spiritual intention.
33:57
The church should be looking for the man whose hands are already
33:59
dirty with the work of ministry, not the man with the most
34:02
impressive secular resume. The desire must.
34:04
Be active, continuous, and visible in labor.
34:08
A man who truly desires the work will already be shouldering
34:11
burdens without any expectation of applause or recognition.
34:14
This active engagement is the proving ground that shows his
34:17
internal call. That intense craving aligns
34:20
perfectly with the external objective requirement for noble
34:23
labor. Paul's single sentence.
34:24
In First Timothy, 3.1 remains a Searchlight that clarifies the
34:27
spiritual health of the church. The Spirit dignifies aspiration
34:31
but severely disciplines ambition, teaching us that the
34:34
desire must be tethered to the demanding sacrificial labor.
34:38
The congregation is protected when it prizes quiet, faithful
34:41
shepherding over showmanship or worldly metrics.
34:44
The noble work is noble precisely because it's
34:46
cruciform. It trades personal comfort for
34:49
sacrificial service and self seeking ambition for the true
34:52
good of the flock, aiming only at Christ's glory.
34:55
The ultimate measure of a man's fitness is not the size of his
34:58
platform, but the faithfulness of his personal care for the
35:01
souls entrusted to him. And this faithfulness?
35:03
Is sustained by hope. Peter ties the faithful elders
35:07
labor to the return of the chief shepherd.
35:10
He promises that if they shepherd the flock willingly,
35:12
they will receive an unfading crown of glory.
35:15
That promise anchors us. It completely liberates the true
35:18
shepherd from the craving for immediate, visible earthly
35:21
affirmation and from the seduction of pragmatism.
35:24
So we have to ask. Ourselves Does our desire for
35:26
ministry or for any form of leadership, spiritual or
35:30
otherwise, does it crave immediate, visible reward?
35:33
Or does it rest content in laboring obscurely now, quietly
35:37
bearing burdens and enduring inconvenience, knowing that the
35:40
ultimate unfating reward will come only when the chief
35:42
shepherd appears that hope is the only true sanctified fuel
35:46
for the noble work?