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Report a Typo1Timothy ◦ Chapter 3
1 Of this you can be sure: Anyone who has a heart for ministering to others as a spiritual leader in the church desires a responsibility worth having.2 However, spiritual leaders must have taken the Remedy and possess a Christlike character. If married, they must not be polygamists. They must live in harmony with God's laws of health, have governance of their own impulses, be honorable, make people feel welcome, and be effective teachers.3 They must not be drunkards or have rage problems but be gentle and not argumentative or antagonistic. They must not be greedy.4 They must lead their own family effectively, setting healthy boundaries with their children and teaching them intelligent obedience, thereby earning their respect.5 (If anyone does not know how to apply God's principles in leading their own family, how can they be an effective spiritual leader in the church?)6 They must not have just recently taken the Remedy–as they need time for the Remedy to heal and transform them–lest the admiration received in leadership cause self-glorification, and as a result they experience the same fate as the devil.7 Their reputation with those who have not taken the Remedy must be as kind, compassionate, trustworthy and approachable people, so that they will not fall into the devil's trap of spiritual arrogance, or misrepresent God and disgrace God's cause.8 Church stewards must also be honorable, dedicated, responsible, with mature character, not drunkards, and not seeking selfish gain.9 With a clear conscience, they must operate upon the foundational principles of God's government–truth, love and freedom.10 Examine those being considered for the position, and if they meet the qualifications, let them serve as stewards.11 Their spouses must also be honorable and respectable: not gossips but mature and self-controlled, living in harmony with God's principles, completely trustworthy individuals.12 Stewards, if married, must not be polygamists, and must set healthy boundaries with their children and govern their home in harmony with God's design.13 Those who consistently minister in love will develop mature character and draw closer in unity and friendship with Christ Jesus.14 I hope to be with you soon, but I am writing these instructions just in case15 I am delayed, so that you will know how people need to conduct themselves in God's household — which is the temple of the living God–the earthly depository of his Remedy.16 And this Remedy, which restores mankind to God's ideal, in many ways is a mystery. But we know that
- Christ left heaven and partook of our fallen humanity,
- was empowered by the Spirit to set humankind right,
- revealed the truth about God to the unfallen beings,
- was proclaimed as the Remedy to all peoples on earth,
- was trusted and received by many in the world, and
- was taken to heaven in perfected humanity.