CHAPTER 13 CHURCH ORDER

Church Order
A Minister’s Qualifications
The Work of a Minister
Duties as a Minister
Standards required of Ministers of God
A Deacon’s Qualifications
Elders of the Church
The Duties of Church Members
Gifts for Others

Church Order
(Paul)
1 TIMOTHY 3:15
The Church of the Living God, which contains and holds high the truth of God.
(Paul)
1 CORINTHIANS 8:1
What is really needed to build the church is love.
(Paul)
1 CORINTHIANS 9:14
The Lord has given orders that those who preach the Gospel should be supported by those who accept it.
(Paul)
1 CORINTHIANS 9:10
Christian workers should be paid by those they help.

A Minister’s Qualifications
(Paul)
1 TIMOTHY 3:1-7
It is a true saying that if a man wants to be a minister, he has a good ambition (a strong desire to do or achieve something). For a minister must be a good man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must have only one wife, and he must be hard-working and thoughtful, orderly and full of good deeds. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and must be a good Bible teacher. He must not be a drinker or quarrelsome, but he must be gentle and kind, and not be one who loves money. He must have a well-behaved family, with children who obey quickly and quietly. For if a man can’t make his own little family behave, how can he help the whole church?
The minister must not be a new Christian, because he might be proud of being chosen so soon, and pride comes before a fall. (Satan’s downfall is an example.) [Note: Pride is an excessively high opinion of oneself which precedes destruction and ruin and Haughtiness, arrogance, and insolence precede a downfall. See Proverbs 16:18] Also, he must be well spoken of by people outside the church – those who aren’t Christians – so that Satan can’t trap him with many accusations, and leave him without freedom to lead his flock.

The Work of a Minister
(Paul)
TITUS 1:6-11
The men you choose must be well thought of for their good lives; they must have only one wife and their children must love the Lord and not have a reputation for being wild or disobedient to their parents.
These ministers must be men of blameless lives because they are God’s servants. They must not be proud or impatient; they must not be drunkards or fighters or greedy for money. They must enjoy having guests in their homes and must love all that is good. They must be sensible men, and fair. They must be clean-minded and level-headed. Their belief in the truth which they have been taught must be strong and steadfast, so that they will be able to teach it to others and show those who disagree with them where they are wrong.
For there are many who refuse to obey; this is especially true among those who say that all Christians must obey the Jewish laws. But this is foolish talk; it blinds people to the truth, and it must be stopped.

Duties as a Minister
(Paul)
1 TIMOTHY 4:7-16 and
5:1-2
Don’t waste time arguing over foolish ideas and silly myths and legends. Spend your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit. Bodily exercise is all right, but spiritual exercise is much more important and is a tonic (giving strength and energy) for all you do. So exercise yourself spiritually and practise being a better Christian, because that will help you not only now in this life, but in the next life too. This is the truth and everyone should accept it. We work hard and suffer much in order that people will believe it, for our hope is in the living God who died for all, and particularly for those who have accepted his salvation.
Teach these things and make sure everyone learns them well. Don’t let anyone think little of you (Timothy) because you are young. Be their ideal; let them follow the way you teach and live; be a pattern for them in your love, your faith and your clean thoughts. Until I get there, read and explain the Scriptures to the church; preach God’s Word.
Be sure to use the abilities God has given you through his prophets when the elders of the church laid their hands upon your head. Put these abilities to work; throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone may notice your improvement and progress. Keep a close watch on all you do and think. Stay true to what is right and God will bless you and use you to help others.
1 TIMOTHY 5:1-2
Never speak sharply to an older man, but plead with him respectfully, just as though he were your own father. Talk to the younger men as you would to brothers you love. Treat the older women as mothers, and the girls as your sisters, thinking only pure thoughts about them.

Standards required of Ministers of God
(Paul)
2 CORINTHIANS 6:3-10
We try to live in such a way that no one will ever be offended or kept back from finding the Lord by the way we act, so that no one can find fault with us and blame it on the Lord. In fact, in everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure suffering and hardship and trouble of every kind. We have been beaten, put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, stayed awake through sleepless nights of watching, and gone without food.
We have proved ourselves to be what we claim by our wholesome lives and by our understanding of the Gospel and by our patience. We have been kind and truly loving and filled with the Holy Spirit. We have been truthful, with God’s power helping us in all we do. All of the godly man’s entire arsenal (through the arms, the weapons of righteousness) - weapons of defence and weapons of attack on the right hand and on the left – have been ours. We stand true to the Lord whether others honor us or despise us (and look down on us), whether they criticize us or commend us. We are honest, but they call us liars (makers of false [or wrong] statements).
The world ignores us, but we are known to God; we live close to death, but here we are, still very much alive. We have been injured but kept from death. Our hearts ache, but at the same time we have the joy of the Lord. We are poor, but we give rich spiritual gifts to others. We own nothing and yet we enjoy everything.

A Deacon’s Qualifications
(Paul)
1 TIMOTHY 3:8-13
The Deacons must be the same sort of good, steady men as the ministers. They must not be heavy drinkers and must not be greedy for money. They must be earnest, wholehearted followers of Christ who is the hidden source of their faith. Before they are asked to be deacons they should be given other jobs in the church as a test of their character and ability, and if they do well, then they may be chosen as deacons.
Their wives must be thoughtful, not heavy drinkers, not gossipers, but faithful in everything they do. Deacons should have only one wife and they should have happy, obedient families. Those who do well as deacons will be well rewarded both by respect from others and also by developing their own confidence and bold trust in the Lord.

Elders of the Church
1 PETER 5:1-7
And now, a word to you elders of the church. I, too, am an elder; with my own eyes I saw Christ dying on the cross; and I, too, will share his glory and his honor when he returns. Fellow elders, this is my plea to you: Feed the flock of God; care for it willingly, not grudgingly; not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve the Lord. Don’t be tyrants (cruel and oppressive rulers), but lead them by your good example, and when the Head Shepherd comes, your reward will be a never-ending share in his glory and honor.
You younger men, follow the leadership of those who are older. And all of you serve each other with humble (and gentle) spirits, for God gives special blessings to those who are humble (and gentle) but sets himself against those who are proud (the overbearing and self-important). If you will humble (and lower) yourselves (in importance) under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will (elevate you and) lift you up.
Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. (Note: worries are troubles caused by feelings about present and future problems and difficulties; cares are deep concerns and anxieties about health, welfare, maintenance and protection from harm.)

The Duties of Church Members
(Paul)
1 TIMOTHY 5:3-25
The church should take loving care of women whose husbands have died if they don’t have anyone else to help them. But if they have children or grandchildren, these are the ones who should take the responsibility, for kindness should begin at home, supporting needy parents. This is something that pleases God very much.

The church should care for widows who are poor and alone in the world if they are looking to God for his help, and spending much time in prayer; but not if they are spending their time running around gossiping, seeking only pleasure and thus ruining their souls. This should be your church rule so that the Christians will know and do what is right.
But anyone who doesn’t provide for his own relatives when they need help, especially those living in his own family, has no right to say he is a Christian. Such a person is worse than the heathen (the unbelievers).
A widow who wants to become one of the special church workers should be at least sixty years old and have been married only once. She must be well thought of by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers as well as to other Christians? Has she helped those who are sick and hurt? Is she always ready to show kindness?
The younger widows should not become members of this special group because after a while they are likely to disregard their vow to Christ and marry again. And so they will stand condemned because they broke their first promise. Besides, they are likely to be lazy and spend their time gossiping from house to house, prying (with curiosity) into other people’s business. So I think it is better for these younger widows to marry again and have children, and take care of their own homes; then no one will be able to say anything against them. For I am afraid that some of them have already turned away from the church and been led astray (away from direct path) by Satan.
Ministers who do their work well should be paid well and should be highly appreciated, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the Scriptures say, “Never tie up the mouth of an ox when it is treading out the grain – let him eat as he goes along.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay.”
Don’t listen to complaints against an elder unless there are two or three witnesses to accuse him. If he has really sinned, then he should be rebuked in front of the whole church so that no one else will follow his example.
I solemnly command you in the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ and of the holy angels to do this whether the elder is a special friend of yours or not. All must be treated exactly the same. Never be in a hurry about choosing a minister or elder; you may overlook his sins and it will look as though you approve of them. Be sure that you yourself stay away from all sin. (By the way, this doesn’t mean you should completely give up drinking wine. You ought to take a little sometimes as medicine for your stomach because you are sick so often.)
Remember that some men, even ministers, lead sinful lives and everyone knows it. In such situations you can do something about it. But in other cases only the judgment day will reveal the terrible truth. In the same way, everyone knows how much good some ministers do, but sometimes their good deeds aren’t known until long afterwards.
(Paul)
1 THESSALONIANS 5:12-13
Dear brothers, honor the officers of your church who work hard among you and warn you against all that is wrong. Think highly of them and give them your wholehearted love, because they are straining to help you. And remember, no quarrelling among yourselves.

(Paul)
TITUS 3:8-11
These things I have told you are all true. Insist on them so that Christians will be careful to do good deeds all the time, for this is not only right, but it brings results.
Don’t get involved in arguing over unanswerable questions and controversial theological ideas; keep out of arguments and quarrels about obedience to Jewish laws, for this kind of thing isn’t worthwhile; it only does harm. If anyone is causing divisions among you, he should be given a first and second warning. After that have nothing more to do with him, for such a person has a wrong sense of values. He is sinning, and he knows it.

Gifts for Others
(Paul)
1 CORINTHIANS 16:2
Every Sunday each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week, and use it for this offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn.