For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. Titus 1:5-6
One of the Apostle Pauls goals was not just evangelism but also to establish structure and order in the Churches. As we went through previously the Apostle Pauls teaching to the Church of Corinth about Order in the Church, here again we see there is an order and structure for the body of Christ. The Church is not to be ran in chaos, there is a hierarchy and structure, just as their is a structure to the family, the husband , wife, and children, this same structure applies to the family of God, the Church
This is why Satan is so determined to attack the natural order of God. The attack on the natural family, the attack on natural biological gender. Satan is opposing the authority and structure of God. And this has seeped into alot of our Churches, many people refusing to use the Word of God as their authority, and structuring the Church however they feel seems fit. But God has ordained a natural structure for the Church, just as he has ordained a natural structure for the family, anything outside of this structure introduces chaos into the hierarchy.
The Apostle Paul begins by saying “that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city” A couple things we see from this, first Paul recognizes all the Churches need order and structure. Secondly every Church needs a spiritual leader overseeing them to protect the flock. The position of elder and pastor are used and considered interchangeable in the Bible. When you think of the elder position of the Church, you can basically think of it as a Pastor. If your Church is blessed enough to have multiple elders, consider your Church to be blessed. The more strong leadership a Church has, the less likely the Church will fall away from false doctrines
Now when you look at the qualifications of an elder, its very clear Gods intention was it to be a man, as the Apostle Paul said “if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of unruly behavior” Now those who say this a cultural issue, remember this letter Paul is writing is not to a specific Church, but to all Churches. You might ask why would Paul require the overseer to be a man? Well it goes back to Paul’s teaching 1 Timothy 2, the order of Creation, God created Adam and Eve was created from Adam. This is the creation order of the world, including the family and the Church. This is God’s natural design for creation, to go against this order is to go against God’s natural order.
We will continue this examination of the scriptures in the next couple posts as we work through Paul’s teachings here to Titus. I recommend you also study Paul’s teachings in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy 2
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