MOOR of the Word with Pastor Chuck Pourciau

A skilled teacher is marked by a life of holiness. It’s not just enough to be a skilled teacher. The overseer must also live a godly life. 1 Timothy 6:11: “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseveranceand gentleness.” He must add credibility to his teaching with his conduct. He is the prototype of what he is asking his people to be. 1 Ti...

The last thing Paul wrote in verse 2 was that he must be “able to teach.” What we have here is the only qualification listed that has to do with his giftedness and function. The other ones have been concerned with his character. This one word translated “able to teach” is found only here and in 2 Timothy 2:24. In short, the overseer must be a highly skilled teacher of God’s Word. He works hard in...

After noting that the overseer must be a one woman man, Paul noted that he must be “temperate.” This means to be alert, watchful, vigilant, or clear-headed. A leader must be one who thinks clearly. He must possess the inner strength to refrain from any excess that would dull his alertness. William Hendriksen: “His pleasures are not primarily those of the senses but of the soul.” Temperate men aren...

The overseer first must be above reproach in regards to women. Here he is said to need to be the “husband of one wife.” The literal rendering of the Greek here is “one woman man.” Some have contended this means that the overseer must be married and that his wife must be his first. The implication is that he is the husband of one wife instead of two, three, or more. But, frankly, this, when the Gre...

In this passage, Paul listed requirement of God’s overseers in the local church. He began, in verses 2 and 3 with the moral necessities of a Godly pastor. What we learn in this passage is that the most important of leadership qualities are moral. Pastoring God’s people requires not just capable leadership, but also moral and spiritual example. In the words of Paul, the overseer must be “above repr...

The office of overseer is a highly responsible calling. One should “aspire” to it only if he is called. Otherwise, disaster awaits. But, if he is called, Paul declares that “it is a fine work” he desires to do. The word translated “fine” denotes noble, honorable, excellent, high quality work. It is a worthy and glorious calling. Some people are wrongly drawn to the office by noticing that it is a...

Paul writes of the men who aspire to the office of overseer. The word means to reach out after or to stretch oneself out to grasp something. Don’t you just love it when something falls behind the washing machine? Yesterday, I was fetching batteries from above the washing machine when one of them fell between the cabinet and the machine. It rolled to the point where I could just touch it with my lo...

The task of overall leadership and instruction in the church was not a task to be entered into lightly. The motive for seeking this kind of ministry is of profound importance. Some people are in it for the money, others for a secure job, some for the prestige they think it brings, some for the safety of working in the Christian workplace as opposed to the secular workplace, or others for different...

There is an inseparable link between the character of the church and the character of its leadership. Leaders don’t just direct, but they must set a Godly example for the church to follow. Note the words of Paul in Philippians 4:9: “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Paul does not derive women’s role from the Fall, but he uses that event as further corroboration of God’s intention. He points out that it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. Then she gave to Adam and he ate. The order of creation was man and then woman. The order of sin was woman and then man. Paul gives these as reasons for men only in the...

Paul sees in God’s order of creation a teaching concerning the responsibility of man to be a leader in relationship to woman. God created man first, put him in the garden, gave him the responsibility over the garden and the moral pattern for life in the garden, and then created woman as his partner and assistant to help him carry that responsibility into action. In other words, when Paul teaches t...

We saw how people, especially in the past generation or two, have sought to make this passage be more in line with those who believe there should be no distinctions at all in how men and women operate in the church.  We first understand that Paul is speaking to saved women in the context of corporate worship in church. Saved women have a different worldview, a different purpose, a different everyt...

This passage has created much fire. A woman must quietly receive instruction with submissiveness? A woman is not to exercise authority over a man and is to remain quiet? Has Paul been around any women?  Is any member of your family a lesser family member? I hope not. But that does not mean that all people in the family have the exact same roles. What we have here is that common tendency to seek to...

Paul urged women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, “moderately and discreetly.” This speaks to the attitude a woman brings to the corporate worship experience. Obviously, this isn’t restricted to women, but, in these verses, Paul is addressing women specifically.  These two words, modestly and discreetly characterize the attitudes Christian women bring to the worship experience. The term “...

Paul’s point is not that women should be indifferent to their hair. That would contradict what he had just said about careful preparation to put oneself in order. Paul’s intent is not to forbid certain kinds of hairdos, as if some reflected a more worshipful attitude than others. He is confronting any gaudy, ostentatious hairdo that would distract attention from the Lord and the purposes that are...

How often do we think of the clothing we wear when we prepare ourselves for worship? Following his discussion of the role of the men when the church is called to evangelistic prayer, Paul turns to the subject of women in worship. He addresses their appearance, attitude, testimony, role, design, and contribution.

Paul now turns his attention from the men to the women. Needless to say, the role of women is one that is hotly debated in today’s church. There are two basic positions on the issue, and most everyone identifies with one or the other more closely. One is called the egalitarian view. The other view is called complementarianism. This passage stands at the center of this contentious debate. Which vie...

There are many prayer postures found in the Bible: standing with outstretched hands; kneeling; standing; sitting; bowing the; lifting the eyes; falling on the ground. What posture are we to choose from amongst so many as it is impossible to assume them all. In short, the important thing is not the posture of the body but the posture of the heart. Paul gave insight into how we are to pray. The firs...

The word “preacher” comes from a word that means to proclaim or herald, to speak publicly. Some will say that we need always to be proclaiming the gospel, and, if necessary, use words. That’s a statement born in hell, brothers and sisters, since it minimizes the oral proclamation of the gospel.  Paul wasn’t appointed as a gospel example to the Gentiles but as a preacher to the Gentiles, a proclaim...

The word “ransom” is a rich term that highlights just what happened to Jesus on the cross. When someone is kidnapped, a ransom must be paid by someone else to free that person. Jesus didn’t merely pay a ransom to free us. He became the victim in our place. He died our death. He bore our sin. He gave himself. 

Not only is there only one God, but there is only one mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ. Mediator is one who intervenes between two individuals to restore peace. Because Christ is the only mediator, all must come to God through him. Some are offended by such an exclusive claim. But understand something very important. This claim is exclusive because it’s the only means of dealing with the...

This at the beginning of this verse points back to the admonition of pray for the lost in the first two verses of this chapter. To do so is “good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” “Good” refers to that which is intrinsically and morally good. Praying for the lost is the noble and spiritually proper thing to do, and our consciences will affirm that.  The lost suffer the agony of sin,...

I don’t know about you, but I like quiet and tranquil as opposed to loud and chaotic. The adjectives quiet and tranquil are rare to the New Testament. Tranquil, appearing only here in the New Testament, refers to the absence of external disturbances. The latter, translated quiet, appears only here and in 1 Peter 3:4, refers to the absence of internal disturbances. When the church manifests its lov...

We can be tempted to pray for our political leaders in ways contrary to what Paul is directing here. We may be tempted to ask God to sick them instead of save them, but that would be contrary to Scripture’s counsel. The injunction here calls for the Ephesian assembly to pray for the emperor, who at that time was the cruel and vicious blasphemer, Nero. The request for kings and all who are in autho...

These characteristically evangelistic prayers are to be made on behalf of all people, including kings and all who are in authority. Our prayers are all too often narrowly confined to personal needs and wants and rarely extend beyond those of our immediate circle of friends and family. In sharp contrast, however, Paul calls for evangelistic prayer on behalf of all men. There is no place for selfish...