“Coca-Cola” is something very simple and very cheap, but the ingredients in the recipe for “Coca-Cola” are a secret.
The exact recipe for Coca-Cola is a legendary trade secret. The original copy of the recipe is kept in the main vault of SunTrust Bank in Atlanta. There is a myth that only two people have access to the recipe, each of them knowing only half of it. The truth is that, although Coca-Cola does have a rule limiting access to only two people, each of them knows the whole formula (so that it will not be lost if one of them dies suddenly), and there have also been others who knew the process of making it. (Source: Wikipedia)
The ingredients in the recipe for a solid church are known, yet even so they remain a “trademark” all their own. Why? Because, even though they are known, they cannot and must not be changed.
In the Pastoral Epistles — 1 Timothy, Titus, and 2 Timothy — the letters in which God reveals to us the secret of a healthy and stable church, we find three components, or three constituent parts, of such a church. These three components are given separately, one in each of these three letters. If we had to sum them up in a few words, those words would be:
- Order — 1 Timothy
- Godliness — Titus
- A bold and diligent pastor — 2 Timothy
Of course, the three letters resemble one another, but in each one something particular stands out that sets it apart from the rest.
CHURCH ORDER — 1 Timothy
In 1 Timothy, the apostle Paul teaches the young worker of God, Timothy, how the church ought to be organized. The purpose of this letter is stated plainly in 1 Timothy 3:14-15:
14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:14-15)
In this letter the apostle gives Timothy very clear and concrete guidance concerning each of the groups within the church. He speaks about the men, about the women, about the overseer, about the deacons, about the widows… In this way he teaches us that every single person in the church must know his place, his position, his responsibilities, his rights, and his duties. So we come to understand that a church in which there is order is far more stable and far less vulnerable to demonic attacks, false teachings, and delusions than some other church in which there is no order. A church in which there is no order —
- a church in which everyone “answers only to God and to no one else,”
- a church in which the workers despise their employers,
- a church in which the wives do not submit to their husbands,
- a church in which the pastor and the leaders have no authority —
…is a weak church.
Such a church exposes itself to great risk, for in 1 Timothy 4:1 we are warned about the spread of false teachings in the last days:
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. (1 Timothy 4:1-2)
Notice, here the text speaks of abandoning the faith and following demonic teachings. In order to withstand these attacks of the evil one, every single member of the church must know “how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household” — that is, what our behavior should be, both during the worship services and in the time between them.
GODLINESS — Titus
And so, if the first component of a solid church is the obedience of the believers and their submission to the church order established by God, then the second is their godliness. In Titus 1:1 we discover that this letter was written in order to help the believers understand Christian doctrine. And the remarkable thing here is that the apostle Paul calls Christian doctrine “the truth that leads to godliness.”
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness — (Titus 1:1)
If the aim of church order is to define the boundaries and the right and fitting behavior for every single member of the church, so that no disorder or confusion is allowed within it, then the aim of godliness is to improve the character of the believers and to lift up the standing of the church before the world. If all the members of the church are not only obedient but also godly, that would rule out any possibility of the “word of God” being maligned. In Titus 2:2-5 we read:
1 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. (Titus 2:1-5)
Godliness is the adornment of Christianity. In Titus 2:9-10 we read:
9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. (Titus 2:9-10)
Are we living as an adornment of the teaching of God? In 1 Timothy 2:9-10 something similar is said:
9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. (1 Timothy 2:9-10)
Obedience, honesty, faithfulness, modesty, purity, good deeds — these are the things that mark out godliness.
Godliness, however, is more than an adornment. It is a defense against the attacks of the devil. In 1 Timothy 3:7 we read of the overseer that “he must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”
The more a given person — whether man or woman, old or young — is devoted to godliness, the less vulnerable he is to pride, false teachings, and quarrels over trivial matters, out of which come “envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions.” In 1 Timothy 6:3-4 we read:
3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions (1 Timothy 6:3-4)
In Titus 3 something similar is said:
8 … And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. 9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. (Titus 3:8-9)
The sad truth about godliness is that it can be not only genuine but also empty. In James 1:26 the apostle tells us that if we cannot control what comes out of our mouths, then we are deceiving ourselves if we consider ourselves godly:
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. (James 1:26)
And if our godliness is worthless, then it becomes meaningless and powerless. In 2 Timothy 3:5 the apostle Paul speaks of what people will become in the last days, and one of the things is that they will be:
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. (2 Timothy 3:5)
A BOLD AND DILIGENT PASTOR — 2 Timothy
The third component of a solid church is the bold and diligent pastor. The key to success in building a healthy and stable church is right, biblical teaching. The devil knows this too, and that is why he tries to substitute the authentic apostolic teaching or to counterfeit it. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4 the apostle Paul warns:
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
This is precisely why, when the apostle Paul begins his First Letter to Timothy, before he moves on to the subject of order in the church, he pauses on the need to preserve and pass on the apostolic teaching. In 1 Timothy 1:3-7 we read:
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work — which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. (1 Timothy 1:3-7)
When we speak of Christianity and of ministry, we must understand that as a body of teaching, Christian doctrine was fully and finally completed back in the first century. Then, as now, there are people who want to introduce “new things,” but we must understand that ever since apostolic times the teaching of Christ has had no need of any further development or change. This is precisely why the apostle says in Jude 3:
3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. (Jude 3)
You see, through His apostles and prophets of the first century, God entrusted “the faith” — the whole body of Christian truths — to His holy people “once for all.” There is no such thing as a “further” revelation. There is only illumination by the Holy Spirit upon the things that have already been given to us.
Christian doctrine must be kept intact, and the responsibility for preserving the purity of Christian teaching rests above all on the pastor of the church. In the Pastoral Epistles the apostolic teaching is described as a golden, precious standard, as a “pattern” that must be preserved, followed, held fast, guarded, and passed on to the coming generations unaltered and unchanged, because it is truly sacred. The guardians of this holy apostolic trust are, above all, the pastors. In 2 Timothy 1:13 we read:
13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (2 Timothy 1:13-14)
What is that good thing that was entrusted to young Timothy? It is the apostolic teaching — “the pattern of sound teaching” that he heard from the apostle Paul. This is the “thing” he is bound to “keep” and that he is responsible to “guard” with the help of the Holy Spirit.
In 2 Timothy 2:2 we read that the apostle must not only hold fast to the apostolic teaching, but also pass it on intact to the coming generations.
2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)
In 1 Timothy too, the apostle Paul speaks not of “developing” but of “guarding” the apostolic teaching. In 1 Timothy 6:13-14 we hear the solemn charge of the apostle to Timothy:
13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (1 Timothy 6:13-14)
The command spoken of in verse 14 is, in fact, the whole letter, the entire body of the truths of “sound teaching” that the apostle Paul is passing on to Timothy. In verses 20-21 of that same chapter, by way of conclusion, the apostle exclaims once more:
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all. (1 Timothy 6:20-21)
What is entrusted to every bold and diligent pastor is the same thing that was entrusted to Timothy — the apostolic teaching, the Word of God, the saving gospel. And the guarding and passing on of this holy trust demands an immense amount of time and back-breaking spiritual labor. In 2 Timothy 2:15 the apostle charges Timothy:
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
Correctly handling the word of truth is no easy work. It requires serious study and preparation. Often we are inclined to neglect and even to despise spiritual and mental labor. Many people do not even regard pastoring and preaching as work. But in 1 Timothy 5:17-18 the apostle Paul expressly reminds us of the truth that the spiritual servant labors and ought to receive wages for that labor of his.
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:17-18)
IN PRACTICE…
And so, these are the three components, the three irreplaceable constituent parts, the three unconditional requirements, for the building up and existence of a healthy, solid, and unshakable biblical church.
- Good church order
- Godly members
- A diligent pastor
In theory it is all very simple and elementary. Unfortunately, however, in practice things are not at all like that. The problems are many.
First, viewed from the outside, we have an established order in our worship services. What happens in the time between the services, however, is often in complete contradiction to good church order. What is the problem? The problem is that when we are here, in the church, we are one kind of people, and when we step out of that door, we become another.
Second, before others we claim godliness, faithfulness, and an approved character, yet very often, instead of the “fruit of the Spirit,” we give ourselves over to the “works of the flesh.”
Third, if anyone asks us, we will readily answer that we hold the Bible as the standard for our conduct and practice, but at the same time, because we want to hear novelties, we are inclined to reject God’s worker and, in his place, to set up teachers according to our own passions.
If we allow all these weaknesses, however, we must know that in doing so we are working against the church and against our own souls. For the breaking of the church order established by God, the allowing of works of the flesh like those in Galatians 5:19-21, and the sickness of a bent toward quarreling (1 Timothy 6:4; 2 Timothy 2:14, 16, 23) are things that insidiously undermine the foundations of the church and can ruin it. This must not be so! If we see one of our brothers or sisters breaking the order in the church, or doing things unbecoming of the gospel — gossip, lies, slander — or else straying from the truth of the gospel that is preached from the pulpit, we must not remain passive. We must react. Not to keep silent, not to remain indifferent, or to pretend that his actions do not concern us. No. We must stop him. For one poisonous root can infect the whole fellowship! A little of the old yeast of malice and wickedness can leaven the whole church. That is why we must not only react appropriately to every assault upon the order in the church, the godliness of the believers, and the authority of the pastor, but also strive continually to live according to these three components of a healthy church and to uphold them at every level of our lives. If we do this, we will manage to live out a peaceful, quiet, and fruitful Christian life — not a life of problems and intrigues, but a life lived under the seal of God’s approval, a life in a healthy, solid, and unshakable Christian church.