In 1 Timothy 3:14-15, immediately following Paul’s
instructions for church members – men, women, bishops, and deacons (2:1-3:13) –
he states his intention for writing:
I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but 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. [NASB]
An examination of this passage reveals the importance of why
believers need to function according to the intended plan of God. This is meant
not merely for each individual of the local, visible church, but for the entire
invisible Church, in order to attain the unified witness needed in the Body of
Christ.
Paul begins his exhortation in verse 15 when he explains
that he has written so that they might “know how one ought to conduct himself.” The verb ‘ought’[1] is
explained by Arndt and Gingrich to convey the idea: “It is necessary, one must
or has to, denoting compulsion of any kind.”[2]
Spiros Zodhiates further states that this word implies “That
which must be done from a sense of duty.”[3] He
further supports this by citing its usage in the following passages: Matt.
26:35; Mark 14:31; Luke 2:49; 4:43; John 3:7, 30; 1 Cor. 11:19; Heb. 9:26.
Therefore, Paul is asserting that believers should have a sense
of duty, and a compulsion to conduct themselves based on the guidelines which
he has laid out in chapters 2 and 3. He supports his directive with two
indisputable facts.
First, he declares
that believers are “in the household of God.” This is not an isolated
reference; it is a unique designation for this age, clarified by Paul when he
states that it is “the church[4]
of the living God”, comprised of those who have been called out to become the
mystical Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:12;
Colossians 1:18, 24).
Further evidence of this is provided by the writer of
Hebrews when he stated that “Christ was faithful as a Son over His [God’s]
house – whose house we are” (Hebrews 3:6). And Peter declares that “it is time
for judgment to begin with the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17).
Being in this household of God is a place of great honor and
privilege. And like a typical household there is order: the Father is the head
and we are His children. This wonderful relationship that we are a part of is illustrated
further by the apostle John:
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God. (1 John 3:1)
In this household we have the love of the Father and the
absolute confidence (the eternal hope) that “when He appears, we will be like
Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). John’s conclusion
resonates Paul’s urging of “how one ought to conduct himself”:
“And everyone who has this hope
fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3)
Dr. R.M.L. Waugh observes that “Just as sons and daughters
reveal striking resemblances to their parents and express many of their
qualities of character, so with those who are born of God.”[5]
With these details of our position in this blessed household
of God, it only makes sense that the apostle Paul would exhort us to conduct
our lives within the parameters he has defined so that our lives will be pure[6],
like He is.
Secondly, Paul
declares that we are “the pillar and support of the truth.” The imagery is
astounding, to say the least. The pillar and support refers to an architectural
structure, and the meaning of the Greek words from which they are translated is
instructive:
· Pillar (στύλος/stúlos)
means “A pillar or column which stands by itself or supports a building.”[7]
· Support (ἑδραίωμα/hedraíōma) means foundation. Or stated
by Vine, it is “a support, bulwark, stay...is translated ‘ground’ in 1 Tim.
3:15 [KJV].”[8]
To visualize this consider the diagram:
 |
| I Timothy 3:15 |
We, the Household of God, the Church of the living God, are the
pillar of the Apostle Paul’s architectural imagery. We are also the support, the
foundation – a foundation based firmly on those who have placed their faith in
Jesus Christ. We have been chosen to uphold and proclaim the truth – to be the
standard bearers of His truth.
In the original Greek text, the word for truth is accompanied with an article
which serves to underscore the identity of the word. Three aspects of Biblical
truth can be explained as follows:
①Truth:
an attribute of the Living God. David asserted that God the Father is the “God
of truth” (Psalm 31:5). L.S. Chafer states the importance of this attribute:
“Apart from the element of truth in God there would be no certainty whatsoever
in this life, and men would wander on in comfortless perplexity not knowing
whence they came or whither they are going.”[9]
The character of God is the embodiment of absolute truth. He
is not just someone who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2), but the One who
provides the basis for creation and the existence of reality as opposed to the
human viewpoint of how the universe came to be.
②The personification
of truth: the incarnate Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:2), the unique person of the
universe, Who provided salvation for all. For Christ proclaimed to be “The way, and the
truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and Paul declared that “truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians
4:21).
③The
written truth, the Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Word of God. The
Psalmist attested this when he wrote: “The sum of Your word is truth” (Psalm
119:160). Paul wrote that the Scriptures are “the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)
as did James (1:18).
Why then would Paul insist that the church be compelled to uphold
and proclaim the truth? Because of the heresies and apostasy which were coming
which he mentions in 4:1-3. We are here on earth to safeguard God’s truth from
heresies influenced by the Satanic deceitful spirits and from apostasy, the
doctrine of demons.
And sadly, heresy and apostasy are in our midst today. It
has crept into the church like savage wolves (Acts20:29-30) just as Paul had
predicted. The evidence of this is the watering down of the truth of God’s Word
to accommodate personal preferences and to appease an errant and wicked
culture.
[1] δεῖ
- Present Active Indicative
[2]
Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1979). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
And Other Early Christian Literature, Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, p. 172.
[3]
Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word
Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG
Publishers, G1163
[5]
Waugh, R.M.L. (1953) The Preacher and His
Greek Testament. London: The Epworth Press, p.26
[7]
Zodhiates, G4769
[8] Vine,
W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.
Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, Vol. 2, p. 283.
[9] Chafer,
Lewis Sperry (1976) Systematic Theology,
Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 1.207
Tasty and delicious delicacies to delight myself in. Such were all the words above. Ah what will it take for Christ's Ambassadors to function, to come out of hiding?
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