Across the nation there are sports teams with powerful names. Some are derived from animals – Eagles, Falcons, Bulls. Some come from the imagery of past strengths – Patriots, Cavaliers, Buccaneers. Virtually nowhere in the country do I see a powerful team paraded onto the field to the sound of the band instruments, breaking through the paper at the end of the entryway to the stadium… the Mighty SERVANTS! Servants are not seen as powerful, nor important. Even the word “subservient” connects to the “underling” idea of a server…
Yet, in the Bible, servant hood is a very powerful ideal. It is, in point of fact, the CENTRAL identity for every believer. They take their cues from the Master-servant, Jesus, who calls us to act as He did! (Phil. 2).
Key Principle: Only when God’s people serve as God calls, will their church AND their community be protected with His designed covering.
I. The Conduct of a Godly Servant (3:8-13)
The men of God that should be appointed as recognized “family servants” of the household of the Lord are recognizable by their conduct. They are not limited by pedigree or intelligence – but they are limited or disqualified based on character traits shown in daily actions. They were:
1. Careful in action: Dignity (8): semnos is august, respectable from sebomai for reverenced or treated with great respect and care. The idea is that a deacon is one who has a spiritually majestic quality about them that causes other s to have a sense of awe and respect when around them.
2. True in word: not double-tongued (8): di-logos or “two words” as in duplicitous – saying one thing with one person another with another (with the intent to deceive or avoid clear presentation of the truth). He speaks with integrity, consistency, and grace.
3. “Uncrutched”: (not) addicted to much wine (8): addicted is the word prosecho – to attach one’s self to, hold or cleave to a person or a thing.
4. “Biblical value” focused: (not) fond of sordid gain (8): the phrase is found in a compound word – “ai-skhrok-er-dace’” or eager to gain things of this world, as in greedy for money. They must see only temporal value in money and should not use the respect they garner from being a deacon to gain an advantage in business.
5. Grasping deep the truths of God: holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience (9): mystery is musterion – hidden thing, a secret, used in pagan rites as “religious secrets confided only to the initiated”; the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly.
6. Examined and Proven: first be tested, then serve (10): tested is from the word dok-im-ad’-zo, was a metallurgy term to heat a metal and see whether a thing is genuine or not; to examine, prove, place one’s self in a position of scrutiny and be measured. Deacons must not have a blot on their lives for which they could be accused or disqualified.
7. Intentionally Vetted: beyond reproach (10): this is NOT the word ‘unhandled’ as in the leadership quality in 3:2. The word here is “asan-eng’-klay-tos” – an adjective that means “cannot be called into to account, unreproveable, unaccused particularly in relation to the examined testing mentioned above.
8. Unquestionably Faithful: husbands of only one wife (12): the phrase is the same as with the leaders above in 3:2, but is posed in an emphatic style preceded with “Let them be (estosan)”. This is an important marker of a danger area, apparently because of the depth of contact in meeting needs.
9. Properly Prioritized: good managers of their children and their own households (13): the key word here is manager, or “pro-is’-tay-mee”, a verb used to denote ‘to set or place before’, to superintend, preside over, be a protector or guardian over.
10. Standard Bearer: obtain high standing and great confidence in the faith (13): to obtain is to peripoeomai – a verb to make to remain over; to reserve, to “lay away” or purchase in time. The term “high standing” is two words that can be translated “Beautiful threshold step” (from kalos and bath-mos’ ) figuratively meaning they raise the bar of all.
The simple fact is that God desires us to be qualified servants so that His empowering may be displayed through appropriate vessels. What are the “right vessels”? Those men who have earned the respect of others in the room because they speak the truth out of a life of integrity. They have learned to be sufficient in Jesus and need not lean on any other for happiness. They understand the “long view” of eternity and don’t get caught up in over-valuing this present world. They are able to possess the deep truths of God from his Word. They were not installed quickly out of sheer willingness to serve, but were carefully borne along and observed, mentored and tested. They earned their reputation as a servant through faithful behaviors, overcoming the enemy’s obstacles of sensual pressure and making good choices in their daily walk. The mere appearance of such qualified servants causes the whole of God’s work to “step up” to a higher and more beautiful plane. Men like these change churches, towns and generations. They are pure hearted servants of the Living God!
Women
As is true of the men of this group, so the women are called to pay special attention to areas they may be led astray. The overcomers led with the sweet aroma of a surrendered life! They were:
1. Careful in action: likewise be dignified (11): in the same exact way, act in “semnos” is august, respectable from sebomai for reverenced or treated with great respect and care
2. Clear thinking: temperate (11): nay-fal’-eh-os is sober, abstaining from cloudy thinking particularly associated with wine and its immoderate use.
4. Reliable: faithful in all things (11): as consistent about responsibilities as one could expect. Not rash or given to impulsive directions.
Women of God that have earned a reputation of faithful service have given special attention to overcoming a temptation to jump to conclusions about people. They guard their tongues and control their dependency on anything but Jesus. They steadily commit and follow through on each opportunity to serve their Master!
II. The Cause of a Godly Servant (3:14-15)
Three important truths to consider:
1. There is a standard in God’s Word as to how we ought to act in relation to one another. When churches don’t behave, it isn’t because God didn’t offer us instruction on how to behave, it is because we don’t immerse ourselves in learning His Word, or we refuse (whether passively or defiantly) to do what He commands.
2. When we act as we should in the church, we hold the roof on the protective covering of the two in which we live. It will have many holes, but one less for every believer that upholds the godly standards marked for a servant we have just annunciated.
3. The foundation of the church is the work of God in us that becomes a stable influence and example as we become a firm course that supports His work among others. Soft foundations in the church lead to collapses in the society!
Since the passage clearly states that character standards mattered to the Lord in regard to servant-hood, we must consider the lack of these traits to lead to failures that have devastating consequences for the church and the community. Only when God’s people serve as God calls, will their church AND their community be protected with His designed covering.
III. The Confession of a Godly Servant (3:16)
There is a united message of God’s people that take God’s Word literally and seriously. Consider verse sixteen:
16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. NASB
A few observations about our confession: A confession is a unified statement. It comes from “hom-ol-og-ow-men’-oce” is an adverb that modifies a “given word” and adds this sense – something that is spoken by consent of all, confessedly, without controversy. It is the word in the phrase of a judge to the unanimous verdict of a jury, “So say you all?” which is matched by the response, “So say we all!”. Paul has in mind, “What the church says together about the truth”.
Six truths held in common by the church include:
* God’s truths are private to the family: Mystery of godliness: Deep revealed private markers of how God works in a life to set it free, and in particular to keep it operating in His empowering.
* Jesus perfectly showed who the Father is, and what He desires. Revealed in the flesh: The church believes and knows that God was accurately and wholly revealed in Jesus. He is not an imposter, nor one of us. He came as God in human skin. The high place of Jesus is central to the whole Christian message. Mess with Jesus and His place and you destroy the heart of the redemption message. He is not the illegitimate son of a young Israelite girl raped by a Roman soldier. He is not a “good man” Who came to show us how to love one another. He was, and is, God revealed by putting on human skin (Hebrew 1:1ff).
* Jesus’ work was God’s plan, not man’s device. Vindicated in the Spirit: vindicated is “dikao-o” meaning to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, or show as he wishes himself to be considered. Within the work of the Spirit of God, Jesus was shown to be exactly Who He is, and how He wishes you to see Him. Without the Spirit working in full within your life, there will be a marred view of Jesus.
* All Heaven gasped at the Father’s plan as it unfolded. Seen by angels: horao is “gazed at in wonder” by angelic beings. A truth of the church that was common was the knowledge that every power in Heaven was amazed as they observed what Jesus did for man. It was completely beyond their expectation!
* The Gospel’s power is known. Proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world: persuasively preached (kerudzo) or officially heralded, with authority which must be listened to and obeyed. The church does not own the message. It cannot decide the necessity of lost men to come and be saved. It is God’s message and has become powerful in nation after nation, when they bowed to Christ.
* The disposition of our Savior is as a Heavenly contractor! Taken up in glory: It sounds like the historical passage in Acts 1:11 “and they also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” The Ascension was part of the early church’s unified statement concerning what happened to Jesus. Jesus said He was “going to prepare a place for us.” When mine is ready, He will send for me!
Only when God’s people serve as God calls, will their church AND their community be protected with His designed covering.
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