1 Timothy 3:14-15: Exposition

Introduction: The Importance of Christ and His Church

0:08 May I urge you to follow in your own Bibles this morning as I read from Paul's first letter to Timothy, the portion of the Word of God that we commonly designate as 1 Timothy, and I shall begin the reading in chapter 2 and verse 1, 1 Timothy 2 and verse 1, and I would like you to think of these two chapters as one chapter. They are relatively brief, the first having 15 verses, the second 16, so try to think of it as one chapter of 31 verses, 1 Timothy chapters 2 and 3. I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgiving be made for all men, for kings and all that are in high place, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life. In all godliness and gravity, this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who

1:29 gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony to be born in its own times, whereunto I was appointed. I am appointed a preacher and an apostle, I speak the truth, I lie not, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without wrath and disputing, in like manner that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or gold. I am appointed a preacher and an apostle, I speak the truth, I lie not, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and gravity, but which becometh women professing godliness through good works.

2:14 Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness. For Adam was first formed, then Eve, and Adam was not utterly beguiled, or Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being. Utterly beguiled, there is an intensification of the word in the original, hath fallen into the transgression.

2:45 But she shall be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety. Faithful is the saying, if a man seeks the office of a bishop or an overseer, he desires a good work. The overseer therefore must be without reproach. The husband.

3:07 The husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach, no brawler, no striker, but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money, one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. But if a man knows not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up, he fall. Lest he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

3:40 Moreover, he must have good testimony from them that are without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

3:50 Deacons in like manner must be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved, then let them serve as deacons. Deacons, if they be blameless. Women in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.

4:18 Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

4:52 And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. He who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, received. He who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, preached among the nations, preached among the nations, preached among the nations. It has often been said, and I am sure many if not all of you have heard the saying, that there is perhaps no greater nor more important question with respect to discerning where a person is spiritually than the question, what do you think of Christ? For you see a person's estimation of God. The identity of Christ as to his person and the nature of Christ's work on behalf of sinners and his own heart's relationship to Christ in the uniqueness of his person and in the perfection of his work is indeed the real index of where he is spiritually. In the first preaching session of this conference, I should like to underscore that very fundamental issue.

6:16 We come from a diversity of backgrounds, we come out of the matrix of a broad spectrum of various degrees of exposure to preaching and teaching, and in a very real sense nothing more quickly lays bare the state of the heart of any man, woman, boy or girl in this building this morning than that question, what do you think of Christ? What is your estimation of his person? What is your estimation of Christ? What is your estimation of Christ?

6:44 Do you see in him, by the revelation of the Spirit through the Word, that one who is true God and true man? Do you see in his work the only sufficient basis for God extending a perfect righteousness, full pardon and unqualified acceptance to guilty sinners? And with all of your heart, do you run out to him in faith and in love? But next to that question, do you see in him the only sufficient basis for God extending a perfect righteousness, full pardon and unqualified acceptance to guilty sinners? And with all of your heart, do you run out to him in faith and in love?

7:15 That is the question, what do you think of Christ? I want to suggest that perhaps second in importance with respect to your spiritual state, is the question what do you think of Christ's church? Second only in importance to the question what do you think of Christ? Is the question what do you think of Christ's church?

7:44 And if we are thinking biblically, we cannot separate the two things. In fact, the more important underpinning is not what the Church thinks of Christ. In fact, Christ's ministry is actually running through the generational brotherages of good faith. That is why His prophecywe have established the brothers and sisters and sisters to serve one another with religion all the time.

7:47 those two questions. For the scriptures describe the Lord Jesus in reference to his church in such amazing language as that which we find in the end of Ephesians 1, in which the apostle speaks of the church of Christ as the very fullness of Christ himself. And in Ephesians chapter 5, he speaks of the church as being so intimately joined to Christ that even the description of the union between a husband and wife in which the two become one flesh pales in insignificance before that greater mystery. And Paul says, I speak concerning Christ and his church, and he nourishes and cherishes the church as his own body. And so he says, I speak concerning Christ and his church, and he nourishes and cherishes his own body. And so he says, I speak concerning Christ and his church, and he nourishes and cherishes the church as his own body. And so there can be no true reckoning with Christ while ignoring that which is his body, that which is the fullness of him that fills all in all, namely his church. And so that this subject should be taken up in a conference

8:58 where we trust the glory of Christ person, and the sufficiency of Christ's work will again and again be brought to our attention, it is indeed fitting that our attention should likewise be directed to his glorious church. And what I propose to do in the two sessions allotted to me, rather than give you a popular lecture or two after the vein of systematic theology, which I would like to do in some respects so that you would have a broad overview of all of the most strategic passages on the doctrine of the church, I want to approach the subject more pastorally and more exegetically. And so, God willing, this morning we'll spend the remainder of our time unpacking Paul's words in 1 Timothy 3, verses 14 and 15, the nature of our study today being basically an exposition with very little, if any, application. And then, God willing, tomorrow morning, having seen the truths contained in the passage with respect to the church in the dignity of its nature and function, then tomorrow's message will be all application. If these were Puritan days, when one could preach two-hour sermons, you would get the whole sermon in one

10:23 dose. But because of the circumstances of the conference, you get the first half this morning, the explication, the opening up, the exposition, and, God willing, tomorrow, in Puritan terminology, the uses of the doctrine or application. 2, 3, ending up with number 8, if time gives us the opportunity.

Paul's Specific Circumstances and Purpose for Writing

10:47 Now then, as we come to the words of the Spirit of God given through the pen of the Apostle in chapter 3, verses 14 and 15, follow as I read these words again. These things I am writing to you, hoping to come unto you shortly. But, if I tarry long, that thou mayest, or that one mayest, or that one mayest, or that one mayest, or that one mayest, know how to behave himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the foundation of the truth. Now, my thesis is that if God will help us by the Spirit to come to grips with the teaching deposited in these two verses, particularly in verse 15, we will have laid hold of some of the most profound and fundamental concepts, of the church, to be found anywhere in the word of God. And if, by the Spirit's help, I am enabled to unpack the truth, and by the aid of the same Spirit, you receive it, then God, I trust, will send us from this place with an appreciation for the church of Christ, that hitherto we have never known. Now, in the opening up of the verses, you will notice, first of all, that Paul makes reference,

12:12 to the specific circumstances which precipitated this letter to Timothy. The specific circumstances which precipitated this letter to Timothy. Now, I am confident that many of you realize that piecing together the chronological details and the historical circumstances given to us in the book of Acts, and alluded to in the epistles, is often a very difficult task, and not infrequently, it results in very uncertain and tentative conclusions. However, it is most likely, and a good deal of evidence can be brought forward to support this assertion, that Paul has been released from his first imprisonment, and on his way to Asia Minor, Titus has been left at Crete, as we read in Titus 1, he comes to Ephesus with Timothy, but he must press on and pass on from there, and so he says in chapter 1 and verse 3 of 1 Timothy, I exhorted thee to tarry at Ephesus, when I was going into Macedonia. And so Timothy leaves behind in Ephesus, this companion who was unique to him, in terms of sharing his own spirit, as we read in Philippians chapter 2,

13:38 I have no man like-minded. And then he speaks of Timothy, whose crowning grace was this instinctive self-giving love on behalf of others, as he served in the work of the gospel. So in a very real sense, according to our text, Paul, being unable to remain at Ephesus, expresses in his letter to Timothy, the perspectives, the activities and the priorities which would have marked his own physical presence and ministry, had he remained in Ephesus. These things I am writing to you, hoping to come shortly, but if I tarry long, in order that, so that the perspective that is in the mind of the apostle, is one of seeking to make Timothy his hands, his feet, and his mouth, to carry out the vision of his own mind and heart, with reference to the church in Ephesus. Then notice in the second place, the explicit purpose for this particular section of the letter. If the opening words describe the general circumstances in which the letter was penned, we also find in the text,

15:04 the explicit purpose for which this section, of the letter, was written. Now a key to a proper understanding of the passage, is the precise identity of the words, these things. These things I am writing unto you. Now do the tautah, the these things, refer to the entire letter?

15:30 Or do they refer to concerns of a more limited nature? Well if we tie together, the these things, I write, with the clause of purpose that follows in verse fifteen, I believe we have the answer to our question. These things I am writing to you, in order that one may know how men ought to behave themselves, in the house of God. So the these things has distinct, if not exclusive reference, to the matters pertaining to behavior within the house of God.

16:14 And so most likely he is referring to the things read in your hearing this morning. For you'll notice that the beginning of chapter two marks the transition. I exhort therefore first of all. So a subject is being taken up that has a first, and though we do not have a second and a third, there is obviously a transition to other concerns.

16:41 And that which gives unity to chapters two through chapter three and verse thirteen, are the distinctive things of specific behavior patterns within God's house, the church. He takes up the things of their public worship in the first seven verses. Worship that is to be characterized by prayerfulness, prayerfulness that reflects proper concepts of God, both in his sovereignty and in his compassion towards all men. And then in verses eight through fifteen he takes up the things of church order, the relative roles and responsibilities of men and women as they conduct themselves within the house of God. And then obviously in chapter three, He takes up the matter of the recognition of elders and deacons. These are the things pertaining to the government and official diaconal service of the Church of Jesus Christ. And so it is safe to say that the explicit purpose of at least this section, bounded by 2.1 and 3.13,

17:58 is the matter of behavior in the Church and by the Church, and that which we must underscore is the fact that it is obligatory behavior. Paul uses the little particle of necessity, day, translated in our Bibles, ought. And it is that very word which our Lord uses in Luke 24 when he says, Thus it is written, and thus it was day. It was necessary for Christ to suffer.

18:33 To die, to be raised from the dead on the third day. And so the explicit purpose for this section at least, and I am personally convinced that these things also anticipate the matters which follow, for he takes up other matters of Church practice and behavior. Such things as the relationship of the various groups within the Church, the care and concern, the care and concern of widows, the Church caring for its overseers, and other matters that we would call house rules for the people of God. But now we need not debate or come to some final resolution as to whether these things should be limited to chapters 2 and 3 or extend on to the end of the epistle. This much is clear. The Church in Ephesus was already firmly established, through the labors of the great Apostle Paul. He spent more time in that Church than in any other Church in which he labored in his missionary endeavors.

19:46 Although elders had already been raised up and were functioning according to Acts chapter 20, yet the Apostle is so passionately concerned for the life and order of the Church at Ephesus that he leaves behind this... eminently gifted and useful servant of Christ to carry on more work in the perfecting of behavior in the church at Ephesus.

20:17 Now in the face of the mentality that prevails in our day, Paul was a very poor missionary strategist. Had not Ephesus been evangelized? Had not the church been planted? And not only planted, had it not been furnished with a richness of gift in terms of a plurality and parity of oversight?

20:41 Was it not the recipient of all of that rich instruction of the apostle and the sober warnings given to the elders? Surely, if any section had been evangelized and the church established and now it is time to move on to more fertile fields and to break, as it were, new frontiers for the gospel, surely it is now. And especially when you have a man like Timothy who obviously had not only great gifts of administration and gifts to teach, but had no little measure of an evangelistic gift for Paul could say, do the work of an evangelist. To take an evangelist off the field, to pull a man back, as it were, from the front lines and deposit him in a place where the church is already established and flourishing. Paul, you don't understand the principle. The principles of missionary outreach and the cause of advancing the church of Christ.

21:41 Yet he tells us this was his explicit purpose for this section of the letter. Well, that raises a question if you're listening at all. And the question is, surely he must have had some good reasons for doing this. For whatever else we find when we read the epistles of Paul is that he never acted on impulse or rarely.

22:02 And he certainly didn't act on the basis of the church. And he certainly didn't act on the basis of the church. In the case of emotional jags, there were deep, well-thought-out perspectives that impelled him to action. And that brings us in the third place to the thing that is the heart of our study this morning.

The Fundamental Reasons: The Glorious Identity of the Church

22:19 Having considered the general circumstances in which he wrote the letter, the explicit purpose for this section of the letter, now the fundamental reasons for this concern expressed with reference to his purpose What reasons lay behind this decision to leave Timothy at Ephesus and now to write to him concerning behavior in the house of God?

22:51 I would suggest that the text answers the question by saying the fundamental reasons for Paul's concern are grounded in a. the glorious identity b. of the church c. the supreme function of the church d.

23:15 And if we with Timothy can be brought to understand in new dimensions the glorious identity of the church what is the church we will not think it strange at all that Paul should leave Timothy at Ephesus and Paul should then write to Timothy at Ephesus concerning the details of behavior in the church and then if we can grasp something of what he says concerning the supreme function of the church again we will no longer if we have hitherto fought his concerns excessive. First of all then the glorious identity of the church Paul's reasons for his actions and his writing are rooted in his understanding of the glorious identity of the church and identity expressed in two concepts look at the text that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God which is the church of the living God. The identity of the church is set before Timothy under the two-fold imagery of God's house and the living God is God's church and let's take them in the order in which they come before us

The Church as the House of God

24:44 in the text. The glorious identity of the church is that of the house of God and if you were to take your concordance to track down this concept you would probably end way back in Genesis chapter 28 in that amazing incident in which God appeared to the fleeing Jacob and after God appeared to him Jacob exclaimed in Genesis 28 in verse 17 this is none other than the house of God. Genesis 28 and verse 17 and he was afraid and said how dreadful is this place this is none other than the house of God this is the gate of heaven and that means that the dimension of the house of God gives us some indication of the significance of that terminology. It is not as though a physical building was suddenly erected supernaturally there as Jacob was dealt with by God but the fact that God himself drew near and pronounced himself to be the God of covenant love and faithfulness who would enter into peculiar engagement

26:10 with his servant and would be with him with his special presence it was that which caused old Jacob to exclaim this is the house of God and that concept of the house of God is further developed with great richness in the days of the wilderness wanderings in conjunction with the tabernacle and you have many references to the tabernacle being called the house of God references such as we have in Exodus 23 and verse 19 where the people of God are said to bring their sacrifices to the house of God and likewise though there was now at least a temporary physical structure it was not the structure so much as that which the structure became when the very glory of God entered the inner sanctuary and there God manifested himself as the God of covenant grace and love the God who dwelt with his people in his peculiar redemptive presence as the God of the covenant but then those concepts that are initiated in Genesis and fleshed out further in Exodus come to their fullest expression in conjunction with the construction and subsequent consecration of that great and ornate temple under Solomon and again and again in first place

27:39 in first Kings and perhaps some of you will have time to do this in your own meditations in first Kings chapter 5 verses 1 to 5 chapter 7 in verse 57 chapter 8 verses 10 to 13 chapter 9 in verse 3 throughout that entire section again and again the temple is referred to as the great house of God and it was the house of God again because in a peculiar way you'll remember after the prayer of consecration in the offering of the sacrifices the glory of God so filled that place that none could enter God himself came in his peculiar presence in covenant grace and love to dwell amongst his people and that temple then became as it were the type and the symbol the foreshadowing of that grand reality of God's final house his true house his true temple and sanctuary that would come into construction in the new covenant and would go on into the new heavens and the new earth when the tabernacle of God himself will be with men and God shall dwell with them and so it should not surprise us that when we turn to the new testament we find references again and again to the church as God's

29:09 house oikos God's sanctuary his naos the place where God dwells in his peculiar and powerful presence in the midst of his people and Paul in essence is saying to Timothy Timothy some of these instructions may seem overly concerned with details Timothy some of these instructions may seem to be relatively unimportant in the light of the fact that you're laboring in the midst of a pagan world reeling to and fro under the heady wine of its pagan ignorance and Timothy something in you at times may burn to break out of so privileged a place as Ephesus where the church is established and where there is church order but Timothy if you're ever tempted to become rested ever tended to be careless as a workman Timothy remember it is God's house not your church Timothy it's not my church Timothy it is God's dwelling place and every line every angle every piece of furniture every activity within God's house is of supreme importance because it is indeed God's house now any house that is worthy of the name of a house unless it is a shack

30:39 unless it is a shambles unless it is a house will reflect at least five realities and I don't have time to open them up so I'll just give you the heads and hope you'll fill them in with your own meditation must first of all have an architect a designer then it must have some materials out of which you build the house then there must be an owner I'm sorry there must be an actual work of construction then there must be an owner but all of that comes to naught unless you have a tenant and if we go through the New Testament scriptures we see in the most marvelous way the church is the house of God has all five of those realities it does indeed have an architect and according to Ephesians chapter 3 verses 8 to 11 God pinned his paper to the board in ages past and God took rule and compass and pen and all of his architect's tools and God designed that which he would not unfold until the gospel age until the gospel age that there should be a church a temple a dwelling place for himself that would reflect all the majesty of divine aesthetics and all the mystery of infinite wisdom so much so that Paul can say that now unto principalities and powers those created spiritual beings in the heavenlies might be made known

32:08 through the church the manifold wisdom of God and the and as a great and impressive work of structure structural work reflects the genius of the original architect so Paul says it is in the church that the manifold the many faceted dimensions of God's wisdom is now displayed unto principalities and powers you see the church was no afterthought in the mind of God nor was the church an expedient from the sincere heart of God to the hearts of men even inspired men such as the apostle Paul the church had an architect and its architect is God and God drew the plans in eternity then the materials well according to Ephesians chapter 2 they weren't very pre-materials to start with you read the first three verses of Ephesians 2 they were dead they were in bondage to sin and to lust and to the devil they were children of wrath that's how the chapter began to begin but look at the last verse of the chapter in whom you are builded together to be an habitation of God what an unlikely bunch of materials God went to work with dead sinners in bondage to the devil marred and scarred by their sin and yet it was such materials upon which

33:37 he had set his love Ephesians 1 4 his predestinating design Ephesians 1 5 they were the objects of God's love the redemptive activity of Christ the Son 1 6 and then he brings them together the most unlikely materials materials that humanly speaking would never stay together according to verses 18 and 19 of that same chapter Jew and Gentile there in any kind of epoxy or mortar in the world that could bring them together but almighty God has done it he takes materials from Jew and Gentile to build that living spiritual temple and house and the builder of course is God himself the Lord Jesus said I will build my church Matthew 16 18 Hebrews 3 1 to 6 1 Peter chapter 2 the owner it again is God himself Acts 20 28 it is the church of the Lord or the church of God but then the most glorious thing and I pass over the others in the interest of time a house is just an ornament without a tenant and the glory of God the glory of the church is to be found supremely in the identity of the tenant and the tenant is none other than God himself and oh dear people if the spirit of God will somehow bring this home to our hearts according to Ephesians 2 and verse 20 we are built

35:05 together to be an habitation of God through the spirit think of it we are built together to be God's house he is the great tenant of his church so much so that the apostle can say to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 16 one of the key texts that we shall look at tomorrow in the way of application but just this morning to underscore this truth don't you know you Corinthians that you and he does not use the singular but you plural you Corinthians as a church you are a temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you oh yes there is the biblical doctrine of the personal indwelling of the personal spirit in every individual believer yes but there is also this grand doctrine of the unique and peculiar dwelling of God in the midst of his people as his people as the church in their corporate life and identity Timothy when you begin to grow weary of following my directions remember it is God's house it is not your house Timothy it is not my house and it is behavior in the house of God that is of supreme importance

The Church as the Church of the Living God

36:34 because God himself dwells there and makes the house rules but then he gives the identity of the church with the second phrase he calls it the church of the living God which is and the relative pronoun points back to that which he has already described lest any out of pagan background identifying a house of God with a physical temple or those of a Jewish background thinking in terms of the carnal earthly physical type or shadow he says this house is the church the assembly the called out and called together ones of the living God the church his house is his people now there at Ephesus there were assemblies or congregations of people called together for the services and the worship of dead idols you will remember that Ephesus was the seat of the worship of the great goddess Diana gods who had no living ness who in the language of psalm 135 had eyes but they could not see had ears but they could not hear and so when the apostle by a simple stroke would underscore the uniqueness of the church in its

38:04 glorious identity says to Timothy Timothy it is God's house which is the church the assembly the called out and called together of the God who is marked by his living ness and according to first Thessalonians one in verse nine living ness in God is parallel to the reality of his being the only true God notice how Paul says it there ye turned unto God from your idols to serve the living and true God and the only true God is the God who is marked by living ness the God who is something more than the mere concoction of men's notions the God who is more than that which they can frame with their hands into an idol he is the great Jehovah who can say I am that I am all that he ever has been he is and ever shall be and Paul says to Timothy Timothy if you have any question about the rationale for my directions if you would ever begin to grow weary in the implementation of them Timothy I'm writing to you about behavior in God's house and it is nothing less than the assembly

39:33 the congregation of the living God God in his livingness has worked to constitute them a congregation there would be no ecclesia there would be no called out and called together people at Ephesus if God were like Diana no no it is only a living God who can unstop the deaf ears of sinners open the blinded eyes of sinners release the enslaved will and bring them to life Timothy it is the church of the living God and I want you to note that the context demands that we regard this reference as pointing to not exclusively but primarily to the church in its visible concrete expression worshipping chapter 2 verses 1 to 7 praying teaching with men and women in their proper places churches with elders and with deacons so that we must not just press this verse to a lofty concept of the church universal or to the church generic or to the church theoretical but he's writing to a specific person Timothy working in the midst of a specific church at Ephesus and says to him Timothy that congregation is nothing less than the living God's church

40:59 while I trust we abominate the heresies of landmarkism I call it a Baptist Romanism and for any of you who don't know what landmarkism is don't bother to find out but those who do those who do I hope that's suffices the silly notion that we trace a true church back to John the Baptist and then we see the pedigree coming on down through to the present day no no we abominate that and any person who says there is no reference to the church in the New Testament but a specific concrete local congregation must do violence to at least four or five key passages in the New Testament but the overwhelming emphasis of the New Testament in its doctrine of the church is upon specific concrete assemblies of God's people and that's the emphasis of this passage and so Timothy in his labors must ever keep before him the identity of the church God's house living God's church I said I wasn't going to apply I'll try to behave myself and keep my promise but now then as though that were not enough he then says Timothy the second reason for these directions is found not only in the glorious identity of the church but in the supreme function

The Supreme Function: The Pillar and Ground of the Truth

42:29 of the church look at the text how one ought to behave himself in the house of God which is the church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth now obviously the key words are pillar ground and truth now what's a pillar well a pillar is that which supports the roof structure and often in ancient architecture it was so strategic that the pillar was very prominent and therefore was often very ornamental in design and that imagery is taken up in the scriptures you remember the promise of the risen Lord to one of the churches in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 12 to him that overcometh I will make him a pillar in the house of my God I will give him a place of prominence but the ornamental concept is not the predominant concept but rather the use of this same word in Galatians 2 9 perhaps helps us where Paul makes reference to certain individuals who were pillars in the church at Jerusalem they held a key place in the function in the life and in the direction of that church and I'm sure you children you young people can remember the incident of Samson you remember his dying act of valor as a man of God

43:59 restored from his backsliding in that great temple of the God Dagon he places himself between the two main pillars and he prays that God will give him strength once more and as he presses out upon those pillars when those two pillars broke the entire structure came down and thousands were slain now the apostle takes that imagery which would be very real to those at Ephesus for remember the great temple of the goddess Diana was there and those with the Jewish background knew something of the ornate nature of Solomon's temple and its porch with its huge and beautiful pillars which held up the roof and in that sense the entire structure and now he says Timothy my reason for leaving you at Ephesus and now writing to you that men may know how to behave themselves in the church is that the church has a supreme function a function no less than that of being the pillar of the truth if the truth of God is the roof and the walls it is the church which upholds it before any given generation in any given community and society it is the church that is a city a temple as it were set upon a hill then he goes further and says it is not only the pillar

45:27 but he says it's the very foundation or the slab on which that pillar rests perhaps the best way to understand this word in current terminology is to say it was the basement or the concrete slab or the foundation which held the pillar and so Paul is very bold to state the supreme function of the church in this language it is the pillar and the very ground or foundation which holds the pillar all with respect to this one commodity look at the text it is pillar and foundation of the truth and what is the truth the truth is the sum total of all the revealed realities of God the truth is the sum total of all of the revealed realities of God and Jesus identified it with his father's word in John 17 17 sanctify them through the truth thy word is truth now I'm fully aware that in the context according to verse 16 the truth of which the church's pillar and foundation centers in the great mysteries of the gospel that's why Paul then launches into this marvelous statement and without controversy

46:55 great is the mystery the unfolded secret of godliness and then he just talks about these redemptive acts of the Lord Jesus Christ in his person and work are the lodestone of all the revealed realities of God but they do not constitute the full circumference all that God has revealed is truth and the church's pillar and ground of the truth that is all that God has revealed there is no warrant for the notion that if a church is doing its job with regard to being faithful to the message concerning Christ the uniqueness of his person the sufficiency of his work then matters of church order form of worship matters pertaining to church officers and government those are matters of latitude and area issues we need not be concerned my friend that can never be supported by this passage these things I'm writing and he didn't give a treatise on Christology he says first of all I want prayers to be made furthermore I will that the men pray furthermore I do not permit a woman to teach the church is pillar and ground of the truth what truth not just the central truths of the gospel as blessed as they are but hasn't God revealed some thing about the truth of roles has

48:25 God constituted masculinity and femininity in creation yes or no well God helped the church that upholds the law and when women stand in places of prominence and leadership the church is saying God gives our that is a law that's why he says Timothy I desire that the men be found in places of leadership that the women learn in silence the church is pillar and ground of the truth and it's to be pillar and ground of every truth that God has revealed in the language of Acts 20 the whole counsel of God Calvin in his most perceptive way comes to the heart of the meaning of this part of the text when he says this it is no ordinary dignity that is ascribed to the church when it is called the pillar and the ground of the truth for what higher terms could he have used to describe it there is nothing more venerable and holy than the truth which embraces both God's glory

49:54 and man's salvation where all the praises which its admirers have lavished on heathen philosophy gathered together into one it could not compare with the worth of this heavenly wisdom which alone has a title to be called light and truth and instruction for living the way and the kingdom of God but this truth is preserved in the world only through the church's ministry what a weight of responsibility rests upon pastors to whom has been entrusted the charge of such an inestimable treasure how shameless are the triflings of the papists who infer from Paul's word that all their absurdity should be considered the oracles of God because they are the pillars of the truth and therefore infallible no you see the church is pillar and ground of the truth and external independent commodity and it is pillar and ground of the truth only so far as it is itself the living impress and transcript of that truth the truth gives birth to a church and the church becomes pillar and ground of that truth then Calvin goes on to say thus it is easy to infer in what sense Paul means these words the church is the pillar of the truth because by its ministry the truth is preserved and spread God does

51:24 not himself come down from heaven to us nor does he daily send angelic messengers to publish his truth but he uses the labors of pastors whom he has ordained for this purpose or to put it in a more homely way is not the church the mother of all believers because she brings them to new birth by the word of God educates and nourishes them all in their life strengthens them and finally leads them to complete perfection the church is called the pillar of the truth for the same reason for the office of administering doctrine which God has put in her hands is the only means for preserving the truth that it may not pass from the memory of men in consequence this commendation applies to the ministry of the word for if it is removed God's truth will fall and then he goes on to amplify with equally perceptive statements but my time is gone and I want to bring this all to a conclusion again without application but I trust to our prophet as we looked

Conclusion: The Profound Implications for Ministry

52:33 Timothy I've written these things to you hoping to come shortly and you know Timothy if I were to come you know what I'd do the very things I'm telling you to do regulate the behavior of God's people and Timothy if you have any question as to why this is of such a pressing concern to me Timothy remember oh remember and feed your soul upon the glorious identity of the church it is God's house Timothy it is church of the living God and surely Timothy if anything will keep you from pragmatism expediency or self imposed notions the remembrance of this it is God's church that will keep you Timothy it is God's house and Timothy when in your native timidity and in the midst of your physical weakness your zeal would flag and coldness would begin to engulf you and you sense a desire to be careless Timothy remember there in Ephesus in that veritable sink of pagan iniquity and darkness God has made the church the pillar and the foundation of the truth the truth without which men cannot be saved the truth apart from which they cannot be brought to maturity in Christ Timothy labor on amidst your weakness labor on amidst your fear is Timothy it is God's house it is

54:02 church of a living God it is pillar it is ground of the truth oh my friend don't you see what a radical and powerful influence this can have upon us if we view the church as Paul viewed it may God write these perspectives upon our hearts and then God willing as I've suggested tomorrow morning in the light of what God has made the church and its identity and function there come to us some very pointed and sobering words of application which we shall take up on that occasion