A Serious Calling

It is a trustworthy statement; if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach,... - 1 Timothy 3:1-2

Convocation Message of September 9, 1990

A Serious Calling

The call to become a pastor is a serious calling. That is made evident by the way 1 Timothy 3 begins. The apostle Paul used the formula "It is a trustworthy statement" or "This is a true saying" five times in the pastoral epistles (1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; and Titus 3:8) Apparently that formula identifies an obvious fact, so we see the early church held the conviction that when a man aspires to serve in leadership, he desires a noble task.

Those early Christians knew that leadership is an essential part of church life (cf. Acts 14:23; 15:22-35; 20:28-31; Phil. 1:1; 1 Thess. 5:12-13; Heb. 13:7, 17; 12 Pet. 5:1-5).

God has always called upon leaders to guide His people. In 1 Samuel 13:14 we read, “The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart.” God told Ezekiel, “I searched for a man...who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezek. 22:30).

Samuel Logan Brengle, and outstanding leader of great scholarship and spiritual power, said leadership “is not won by promotion, but by many prayers and tears. It is attained by confessions of sin, and much heart-searching and humbling before God; by self-surrender, a courageous sacrifice of every idol, a bold deathless, uncompromising and uncomplaining embracing of the cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering looking unto Jesus crucified.

“It is not gained by seeking greater things for ourselves, but rather, like Paul, by counting those things that are gained to us as loss for Christ. That is a great price, but it must be unflinchingly paid by him who would not be merely a nominal but a real spiritual leader of men, a leader whose power is recognized and felt in heaven, on earth and in hell” (The Soul-Winner’s Secret [London: The Salvation Army, 1918], p. 22).

So God looks for the noblest of men because the call to church leadership is a serious one.

A Limited Calling

You’ll notice in 1 Timothy 3:1 the apostle Paul wrote, “If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do” (emphasis added). The office of church leadership--specifically a pastor or an elder--is limited to men. The conclusion is supported by Paul’s use of the masculine gender in the context.

Earlier in chapter 2 Paul said, “Let a women quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet" (vv. 11-12). In the Old Testament we read of no female priests. Although women such as Deborah and Miriam occasionally spoke for God, none of them had an ongoing prophetic ministry. In the New Testament we do not see women identified as apostles, elders, or evangelists. Nor were any books of the Bible written by women.

God has given women a different role in the church. Men and women are equal in spiritual privilege, capacity, blessedness, and promise. Both are able to serve the Lord effectively. But the responsibility of overseeing a church is limited to men.

A Compelling Calling

Paul used two forms of the word "desire" in 1 Timothy 3:1: “If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.” “Aspire” (Gk., orego) means to “reach out” or “stretch,” and refers to external movement. “Desires” (Gk., epithumeo) means “a passionate compulsion,” and speaks of an internal drive.

The pastorate is a calling to men who have a passionate desire to minister. I never compel anyone to go into the ministry. A man must sense the calling of God as a consuming desire in his heart. He is not fit for ministry if he hasn’t sensed the call or if sin in his life is muffling the call.

Commentator Patrick Fairbairn said, “The seeking here intended ... must be of the proper kind, not the promoting of a carnal ambition, but the aspiration of a heart which has itself experienced the grace of God, and which longs to see others coming to participate in the heavenly gift” (Pastoral Epistles [Minneapolis: James and Klock, 1976], p. 136).

Jeremiah 45:5 says, “Are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them.” I fear there are people today becoming church leaders for their own benefit. That wasn’t likely to happen in Paul’s day because the risks associated with ministry then included death, hard work, little to no pay, and tremendous persecution.

The desire is not to be for the office or title of overseer, but for the work itself. Paul ends 1 Timothy 3:1 with the words, “It is a fine work he desires to do.” If you merely want the position or title of pastor, your desire is wrong. Your passion should be for the doing of the work of God.

Biographer C. W. Hall quoted Samuel Logan Brengle as saying, “The final estimate of men shows that history cares not for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office he has held, but only the quality of his deeds and the character of his mind and heart” (Samuel Logan Brengle [New York: The Salvation Army, 1933], p. 274).

Ambition for office corrupts, but the compulsion to do God’s work for the welfare of His church and the glory of His name is worthy of commendation. Paul was obviously that kind of man: “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).

A Responsible Calling

Paul referred to a church leader as an “overseer.” The Greek word, episkopos, has also been translated “bishop,” which is unfortunate because the latter carries the modern ecclesiastical implications that are not consistent with the intended biblical meaning.

It’s a great responsibility to serve as the pastor. Acts 20 says overseers “shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (v. 28). The position includes preaching, teaching, caring for, and discipling everyone the Lord places under him.

In Greek culture an episkopos was a city administrator or financial manager. But a better analogy for one who oversees a church would be the episkopoi, leaders of a monastic group of Jews known as the Essenes or Qumran community near the Dead Sea. Those leaders preached, taught, and exercised care and authority over their people--they had a broad range of spiritual responsibilities.

One should not pursue the pastorate lightly. The pastor must understand the responsibility of ruling, preaching, teaching, caring for, loving, and building up leadership in the church. He must set a pattern by example. So serious is the responsibility that Hebrews 13:17 says overseers must give an account to God for their work.

A Worthy Calling

The highest calling a man can have on earth is to preach the Word of God. Paul says a man who desires to become an overseer desires “a fine work” (1 Tim. 3:1). He aspires to a noble task. That is a high estimate of the pastorate.

British pastor Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “To me the work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called" (Preaching and Preachers [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1973], p. 9). The pastorate is truly a noble calling.

A Demanding Calling

Paul also referred to the overseers role as “a fine work” (emphasis added). A pastor is not merely an honored dignitary; the Lord has called him to a lifelong task. Paul told Timothy, “Do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). Ephesians 4:12 says church leaders are to equip the saints “for the work of service.” Serving the Lord is hard work and requires diligence.

A Holy Calling

First Timothy 3:2 begins, “An overseer, then, must be above reproach.” Only a holy man can fulfill the requirements of church leadership.

Conclusion

The call to church leadership is a serious, limited, compelling, responsible, worthy, demanding, and holy calling. At The Master’s Seminary, we are dedicated to training men of God who fit these qualifications. Our faculty are all men of God, men of the Word, and men of excellence who take seriously God’s call to train the next generation of godly leaders to guide the Lord’s church into the next millennium.

For additional information about The Master’s Seminary or how you can prayerfully and financially be co-laborers with us, write to me at the address below.

Dr. John MacArthur
The Master’s Seminary
13248 Roscoe Blvd.
Sun Valley, CA 91352