1 Timothy 3:14–16
14I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. 16By 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.
Focused Thinking:
What was Paul’s intent toward Timothy?
Paul was hoping to visit Timothy personally; however, Paul’s message couldn’t wait for his personal visit.
The needs of the ministry were too important and too urgent to wait.
What was Paul’s purpose in writing Timothy?
I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of truth.
Paul was protecting the church.
People are the greatest asset and the greatest liability of the church.
People accelerate the ministry or threaten the ministry.
The church is too important for people to not conduct themselves properly.
- We must protect the church.
- We must protect the mission.
- We must protect the people.
The church is the pillar and support of truth.
The greater good of the church is more important than the agenda of any individual.
What does Paul do next?
He affirms the greatest of the church by proclaiming the common confession.
He affirms the position of the church and our submission to the church.
Personal Application:
We must be serious about the conduct of the members of the church.
We must not allow inappropriate behavior to remind unchecked.
We must not allow individuals to be more important than the whole.
We must not allow a little leaven to ruin the whole lump.
We must put the common confession above the individual confession.
We must put the common mission above the individual mission.
We must elevate our view of the church.
There is a right way and a wrong way to conduct yourself in the church.
Interactive Prayer:
Father, help us protect our church from individual agendas. Protect us from favoritism. Help us be a people who move from our agenda to Your agenda. Help us to be a people who are more committed to God’s mission than our mission. Cause us to sacrifice our personal agendas. Help us to see and understand that Your agenda is better for us than our agenda. Give us clarity and focus has a church. I pray for our people to quit thinking about themselves and live for Christ and the good of others. I know selfishness is the constant battle of every individual, but please give us more and more victories. Give us more and more people who move from serving as an obligation to serving as a lifestyle.
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