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1 Timothy 3:5
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5 (For [de] if a man [ei tis] know [eido] not [ou] how [eido] to rule [proistemi] his own [idios] house, [oikos] how [pos] shall he take care of [epimeleomai] the church [ekklesia] of God [theos]?) KJV-Interlinear
5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?); NASB
If a man has no authority, no control, no semblance of structure within his own family, a small group that is presumably made up of younger people, that he sees and interacts with everyday, then how could he possibly have any control of interaction with folks in a larger group, the most of whom he may never see or know in this life?
For the family, Paul uses the word, ‘proistemi,’ which means to stand before, to preside over and comes to mean to have a personal up close relationship.
For the Church, Paul uses the word, ‘epimeleomai,’ which means to care for, to look out for, and comes to mean to know what is needed and to lead or guide through counsel.
The objective of the family, from the parents view, is to raise their children in such a manner that they will be able to make their way through life on their own, when they go out on their own. You do this by giving the children structure, security, stability, opportunity and resources, not to mention the love and care that they need.
The objective of the teacher for the Church, a larger group, is to make available the resources they need in order to complete their individual lives to the utmost. That means a daily dose of spiritual food (Bible doctrine), so that the members of the congregation, group, assembly, etc, can have a steady spiritual diet and a healthy growth pattern in their spiritual life.
If a man is not well organized within his family, then he will likely be disorganized in his preparation and presentation to Christian students.
A failed family may mean failed lives for the children. A failed ministry means misleading people in their spiritual lives, or causing confusion, or simply messing their lives up.
In either case, getting straightened out usually takes many falls in life and a great deal of time.
Too often, you will run across would be ministers, prophets, or whatever they call themselves, who run from one sensational message to the next. And this is only to gain followers, because they need followers in order to satisfy their ego. That does not help anyone.
If is far better to tell students that they are messing up and need a daily study of spinach, than to feed them sugar only. Of course many students do not like to hear that, so they will fall away.
But sooner or later, in the back of their mind, they will come back to the diet of meat and potatoes and vegetables, and set aside the sugar, because they know the former is a better diet than the latter.
A family is run with the fundamental principles of life, which includes love, discipline, encouragement, guidance, allowing a safe space to maneuver in, an education, and so forth.
A congregation of Christian believers likewise needs the nuts and bolts of doctrine, so that they can grow up and eventually become independent from within their own spiritual life.
A family will grow up and move on, but they will always be your children for all of your life.
A congregation of believers should grow up, but they will always be students for all of their life, as the learning of knowledge of doctrine has no ending.
Those who want it all and now, are like the five year old who asks, ‘When will I be grown up?’
Maturity takes time and is comprehended as it happens, or from hindsight. Sometimes you have to be fifty before you realize just how dumb you were when you were twenty.
There are three levels of maturity – physical, mental, and spiritual. They are all very different.
The physical maturing process simply takes time. You have to grow up physically. You have to become five years old, then ten years old, then twenty years old, then thirty years old, etc.
The mental maturing process takes education and experience. That too, takes time, and it is generally a part of the family environment and from your life’s experiences.
The spiritual maturing process comes from your daily Bible study. That too, will not occur over night. All learning and experience and growth take time, and each compliments the other to enhance your overall maturing process.
The Bible instructor is primarily concerned with providing you the resources and tools necessary such that you can have a full spiritual education, which prepares you for life and for all of eternity.
That is what is meant by ‘taking care of the Church.’
Gimmicks, cults, and religions all, are only interested in taking care of the leaders at the expense of the membership.
A Christian Bible instructor’s first priority should be making sure that you are taken care of.
Isn’t that what being a parent is all about? The children and family always come before ones self?
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