Sunday Evening, October 6, 1974 · Richmond, Virginia
Ministry through Brother Stephen Kahn
We do thank the Lord for another opportunity of being together.
As I waited before the Lord for this time, I felt somewhat led to one particular book in the New Testament, and that is the first letter to Timothy. So, will you please turn to chapter 3? We will just read one verse tonight.
First Timothy, chapter 3, verse 15:
In order that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
Let me repeat it:
In order that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
God used Paul to write thirteen of the books in the New Testament, if you do not count Hebrews, because who was the writer of Hebrews is a matter of discussion. But of these thirteen letters that Paul wrote, there are three which are very unique in their character: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and the Epistle to Titus.
The ten letters that Paul wrote deal mainly with principles, and sometimes with the application of these principles to some issues or problems among God’s people in the church. But the last three epistles deal mainly with the government of the church.
Now, of course, we will say the church of God is not an organization; it is an organism. And when you think about government, probably you will connect it with an organization.
The church is not an organization; it is an organism. Therefore, the basic principle of the church is not system; it is life. You know, today people talk a lot about systems, because without a system you cannot run an organization.
Now, the church is an organism. Therefore, in the church, the basic principle is not system—whether you get the right system or not, or which system is the best system. It has nothing to do with systems. Its basic principle is life.
A special kind of life, of course—not your life, or my life, or anybody’s life. It is the life of a Person. His life is the governing principle of the church as an organism.
But as life grows, as an organism grows, it produces within itself a government, or an order. And this order, this government, that comes out of life, if it is followed, will help the growth of that organism even further.
So you will find, on the one hand, this government is not something that grows out of man’s ingenuity. But this government comes out of life. It speaks of an order, and when that order is kept, it helps the building up of that organism.
So this is the government of the church that Paul speaks about in these three epistles. He is not speaking of government as a system; he is speaking of government as the growth, the manifestation, of life.
Another thing I think we need to remember before we go on is that the church of God is one, universally.
The government of the church universal is upon the shoulder of the Son of God. He is the Son over His house. So, when you think of the church universal, it is Christ Himself who holds the government of the church.
But this church universal has its practical outworking wherever God’s people are, and that is what we usually call the local church, or the local assembly.
So far as the church universal is concerned, we can see all the spiritual principles that are involved. But when you come down to the local church, or local assembly, then you find all these spiritual principles are to be practical on earth among God’s people.
So when we talk of church government, or when you come to 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus, Paul is not dealing with the government of the church universal, because it is upon the shoulder of God’s Son.
But when Paul speaks about the government of the church, he is speaking of the government of the local church. And because it is the government of the local church, therefore you find there are elders, there are deacons, and so on and so forth.
The same thing is true with discipline. When you come to this matter of church discipline, so far as the church universal is concerned, it is in the hand of Christ. But when you come to the local level, then you have certain church discipline. But remember, it is limited to the local church.
Probably we will say more about that later on. I just mention these so that, as we go on, we know in what group we are. And I think probably that is basic.
Before we go into this first letter to Timothy, I think probably we need to know a little bit of the background. Now, of course, the writer of this letter is the apostle Paul.
I believe that we are quite familiar with him, even though he lived about twenty centuries ago. And yet, I think to us he is very familiar. Most Christians know about Paul and know him quite well.
He was once self-righteous and self-confident. And how the Lord met him on the road to Damascus and transformed him completely! From the chief of sinners, he became one who met the Lord.
God called him to be an apostle. He was not at all behind any other apostle, and yet he could truthfully say he was the least of all the saints. Now this is the person who wrote this letter.
Because of his testimony concerning Jesus, he was put in prison. At the end of the book of Acts, we find that he was in Rome, a prisoner, waiting to be judged by Caesar.
We do not know how long he remained in Rome in prison. According to the book of Acts, he was there for two years before he was judged by Caesar. By all historical research, we have reason to believe that he was released after he was judged.
Even though there is no record of what happened to him after he was released, we have enough to know that after Paul was released from Roman prison, most probably, as he mentioned in one of his letters, he desired to go to Spain to preach the gospel where no one had ever heard the gospel.
So most probably, during those few years that he was free from his first Roman imprisonment, he most likely did go to Spain. And no doubt he revisited the places where he had labored before he was in prison. One of these places was Ephesus.
After he was released, he went to Ephesus. That was the place of his labor before he was in prison. You remember that on his third missionary trip, he made Ephesus the center of his operation in the whole province of Asia, and he remained there for three years.
That was the longest Paul ever stayed in one place, and he was there for three whole years.
Of course, the Lord raised up a local assembly in Ephesus that had a tremendous impact. When you learn that the church in Ephesus was in a very healthy condition, even when he was in Roman prison he wrote a letter to the Ephesians.
And from the letter to the Ephesians, you can see the spiritual condition of that church. He was able to share with them the whole counsel of God when he was with them. And when he was away from them, he was able to write to them concerning the eternal purpose of God in Christ Jesus—that is, the church as the body of Christ.
But after a few years, things had changed. Only a few years later, he visited the church in Ephesus and discovered there were problems there—problems that could have very serious consequences.
He did not have the time to remain there long enough to deal with all these things. He had to move on to Macedonia and other places. So he left Timothy behind there in Ephesus to help with the situation there.
After he left Ephesus, he had the idea of coming back quickly, because his heart was with them. He had a burden for them. He loved them very much. But somehow he was hindered, and he could not foresee how soon he would be able to return. So he wrote a letter to Timothy.
Probably he wrote it from Macedonia, or maybe somewhere else, and most likely he wrote it in A.D. 66 or A.D. 67. He wrote a letter to his co-worker, Timothy, for various reasons.
First of all, of course, he wanted to notify Timothy that probably he would be delayed. You know, Timothy most likely was anxiously waiting for Paul to come, because it was such a difficult situation. Naturally, Timothy would like Paul to come back soon.
But as Paul could not fulfill his promise, he might be delayed. So he wrote this letter to Timothy to comfort him, to instruct him, and to encourage him.
Now we know Timothy was a young man, comparatively speaking. He was of such a nature that he needed to be encouraged. So that was one reason why Paul wrote this letter to Timothy.
And more than that, of course, in this letter he was to encourage him as to this matter of church government. He wanted to share with Timothy, and with all the brothers and sisters in the church there, concerning church government, because this was a problem at that time.
Now, who was Timothy? If you read the life story of Timothy, it is very edifying. He came from a family: his father was a Greek and his mother a Jew.
The Bible says his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, were godly women. So probably you will say, “Now, they were godly women, they were Jewish and godly women. How come that the grandmother Lois would allow her daughter Eunice to be married to a Gentile?”
Maybe a little bit of historical background will help. Because at that time, you will find the Jews were divided into two different groups. Those who were born and reared in Palestine were called Hebrew Jews, and those who were born and reared in the nations were called Hellenistic Jews.
The Hebrew Jews were very strict in the observance of the law of Moses. But the Hellenistic Jews were more liberal because they were influenced by Greek culture at that time. So among the Hellenistic Jews, they were not as strict in the observance of the law as those Hebrews.
Even though grandmother Lois and mother Eunice were godly women, yet you find Eunice was married to a Greek, and Timothy was born of such a mixed marriage. Because he was born out of such a mixed marriage, he was not circumcised.
You know, according to the law of Moses, a male child of a Jewish family must be circumcised on the eighth day. And how Paul later boasted of that, because that made him a member in the commonwealth of Israel.
Timothy was not even circumcised because of this mixed marriage. And yet, even though grandmother Lois and mother Eunice seemed to be a little bit liberal physically in the observance of the law of Moses, spiritually they were godly women. And they brought up this young child in the fear of God.
Their faith in God was real, so far as they understood, and they instilled into this young child a reverence for a God who was anything but mere and vain. You know, the very name Timothy, in Greek, means “honoring God,” or “honored of God.”
During the first missionary journey of Paul, he went out with Barnabas. You remember, Barnabas and Paul went out, and during the first missionary journey they came to a place called Lystra.
You remember how God used Paul to heal a man who was lame. At first they wanted to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, thinking that they were Zeus and Hermes. And when they refused to be worshiped, Paul was soon stoned.
How swiftly was the emotion of the people turned to death! They pulled the body of Paul outside the city and threw him away. The disciples surrounded him and looked at his dead body; they thought he was dead. And he got up. He was raised from the dead, and he walked into the city.
And that must have made such an impression upon the believers. Most likely Lois, Eunice, and even Timothy were saved during that first visit of Paul.
Timothy was brought up by his godly grandmother and godly mother to fear God. And when the gospel was presented, it was just as easy for him to accept the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, as the One whom he had been taught to expect. He was called a son by Paul. Why? He was led to the Lord most probably by Paul.
After a few years, maybe six or seven years, Paul went back on his second missionary journey with Silas. And when he came to Lystra, there was a disciple named Timothy.
This young man was recommended by all the brothers, not only in Lystra but also in Iconium. Within six or seven years, this young man had grown so rapidly in spiritual stature. He became such a useful vessel in the hand of God.
Even though he was young, God used him to teach and to help many brothers and sisters, not only in Lystra but also in the neighboring church of Iconium. So the brothers in both local assemblies highly recommended this young man.
Now, of course, there are four reasons why, within a few years, there was such spiritual growth in this young man.
Number one, of course, he had such a good background in the Word of God. His grandmother and his mother brought him up in the Word of God, in the sacred letters. He knew the Bible, the sacred letters, when he was a child. He knew the Word of God by heart.
And brothers and sisters, that is one of the factors for spiritual growth. If you want to grow spiritually, you have to be diligent in the sacred letters.
It surprises me whenever I come to this country. I discover that many of the Christians in this country know a lot about the Word of God, but they know the Word of God by hearing, not by reading. They hear a lot, but they do not read.
And because of that, there are places where they have no knowledge at all. Their knowledge of the Word of God is piecemeal, fitful, and fragmentary. It is not complete.
And brothers and sisters, how young people need a holy background in the Word of God. Timothy knew the sacred letters from childhood. He was brought up in the Word of God. That is one reason.
The second reason, of course, was that he was a disciple. He was not only a believer in the Lord, but he followed the Lord—not only believed in the Lord, but followed the Lord.
And you remember our Lord Jesus said:
If anyone desires to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.
In other words, there is a cost. And this young man was willing to follow the Lord, willing to pay any cost just to follow. And that is another factor for spiritual growth.
Some people may have a great knowledge of the Scriptures, but they never follow the Lord. You know, the scribes and the Pharisees knew the Scriptures. When the Magi came to Jerusalem and asked them where Christ should be born, they did not even need to go to the concordance.
They could say, “Well, Christ shall be born in Bethlehem,” and that is in the minor prophets—not even in a major prophet. But they did not go. They did not go to worship the King.
Many have knowledge of the Bible, but they do not follow the Lord. They are afraid to pay the cost. They will not deny themselves. They want to have their own way. They do not want to take up the cross and follow the Lord. They want to go the easy way.
And if you want to go the easy way, it will not lead you to maturity. So Timothy, you find, the Bible called him a disciple. As a young man, he was determined to follow the Lord at any cost.
This young man believed in discipline. In the Bible, you can find that this young man Timothy was highly disciplined. He disciplined himself to an extent that he almost became an ascetic.
He was weak in constitution, and yet he drank only water. And Paul had to encourage him to drink a little wine. Now, today probably Paul would have to do the very opposite: “I do not think—why not drink a little water?”
This young man disciplined himself before the Lord. His constitution was weak, and yet you find he had such discipline over himself. And Paul had to tell him, “Relax a little bit. Relax a little bit.”
Now, brothers and sisters, we young people today are not much different. And that is the reason why there is not that solid, solid spirituality. It is a real thing today.
By nature, Timothy was very timid. He was rather a reserved person, a person that would draw back naturally. Not that he was unwilling to die for the Lord—you want to know that? When duty called, he was willing to deny himself and do anything that God wanted him to do.
And yet naturally, his temperament was withdrawn. You will find, for this reason, Paul had to encourage him again and again, and had to tell other people, “Receive him kindly,” because he was such a person.
Timothy, you know, do not think that because of your timidity in nature God cannot use you. God can. Our temperaments are useful, whether you are naturally timid or naturally courageous. If they are in the hands of God, they are fine. If they are in your own hands, they are all very bad.
So here you find this young man.
There was such an intimate relationship between Paul and Timothy, even though they had a difference in age. Paul was much older, and Timothy was younger.
Even though they were very different in temperament—if you think of Paul, his temperament was not timid at all. Paul was bold and aggressive, dynamic. Timothy was reserved, withdrawn, timid, mild, weak.
And yet you will find there was no companion more intimate, more one with Paul, than Timothy. God put them together, and when they were together, you find they supplemented one another. Paul needed Timothy just as Timothy needed Paul.
You remember, before Paul died, he just wanted one person to come. He wanted to see Timothy before he died. There was such an intimate relationship between these two.
So, when Paul was on his second missionary journey, Timothy was recommended by the brethren in the assemblies at Lystra and Iconium. He had proven himself as a useful vessel in the hand of God.
Paul saw potential in this young man. He wanted to complete him. He was willing to take him along with him in order to complete that young man whom God had called.
And Timothy was good. Not because he had spiritual growth and was praised by everybody did he see that he could just go out by himself and do the work. No. He was humble enough to submit himself under the apostle Paul and receive whatever help Paul could give him.
Of all the companions of Paul, you find Timothy and Paul were together most of the time. We do not have time to go through the Scriptures to find where Timothy was with Paul and where Paul was with Timothy, but you will find that he walked with Paul most of the time.
When Paul was in Roman prison, Timothy was with him. And this was the person to whom Paul wrote to encourage him, and thank God, to reveal to us the government of the church.
Now, the key verse in 1 Timothy is the verse that we read at the very beginning. Paul wrote this letter to Timothy in order that he might know how he should conduct himself in the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
Now, of course, there is some discussion about that verse, because in the original you do not find this word “thou.”
“How thou oughtest to conduct thyself,” or “how thou oughtest to behave thyself in God’s house”—the word “thou” is not there in the original Greek.
Paul wrote this letter to Timothy in order that he might know how to conduct himself in God’s house. So in some of our versions, you will find the word “thou” put in, in order to complete the sentence: “How thou oughtest to conduct thyself in the house of God.”
In other words, Paul is telling Timothy how he should conduct himself, how he should behave himself in God’s house. That is what it is.
But because the word “thou” is not in the original, therefore in some versions they think that the word should be “man,” not “thou”: how man ought to conduct himself in God’s house. Because even though this is written to Timothy, yet it is for the whole church.
So it is for all the brothers and sisters in the church to know how to conduct himself or herself in God’s house. And because the pronoun is not there, therefore the best translation would be: “It behooves one to behave in the house of God.”
Now, whether this letter is applied exclusively to Paul and to Timothy, or whether it is applied to all the believers in the local church, I do not think we need to quarrel about that. Because even if it is written to Timothy, it is for the whole church.
Therefore, as we fellowship on this letter, on church government, remember that this matter is to instruct us as to how we should behave, how we should conduct ourselves in God’s house.
Every book in the Bible is needed. We need all the letters written by Paul that concern the spiritual principles of the church. We also need all the letters written by Paul concerning church government, because we can learn from the Word of God what He expects of us.
For, dear brothers and sisters, this time I think we will spend some time on the government of the church—that is, how should we behave? How shall we conduct ourselves in God’s house?
But before we go into that, I think we need some more background. First of all, the church of God, as we know, is not an organization, nor is it a building. It is the house of God.
Please turn the cassette over at this point.
The church of God is made up of Jesus Christ’s redeemed people. The church of God does not mean just a few people; it means God’s people. God’s people are the church. We are the church of God, and we are in the church of God.
We are in the church of God not because we have joined; we are in the church of God because we are born into it. We are born into it.
And because we are in the church of God, therefore it is important for us to know how to conduct ourselves in God’s house. You see the point?
If you are not in the house of God, then you do not need to know how to behave yourself. But because you are in—whether you like it or not—you are born into it, and there is nowhere else.
And therefore it is very, very essential for us to know how to behave ourselves in God’s house. That is very essential and very practical.
How to conduct yourself in God’s house. First, you will find Paul mentions this is God’s house.
Now, of course, when you think of God’s house, immediately you go back to the temple, to the tabernacle, and to the eternal purpose of God.
What is God’s purpose in creating man? God’s purpose in relation to man is that He wants to make man His house, His dwelling place, His habitation.
The heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. The heaven is His throne; the earth is His footstool. And yet His home, His dwelling place, is neither in heaven nor on earth, but in man.
He wants to dwell in man. He wants to make man His house. Oh, we all need a house. You can camp out once in a while, but you really need a home. You need a house.
And here you find God has a house, and this house is not made by hands. In Hebrews 3:6, it says, “Whose house are we,” if we hold fast.
In other words, we are God’s house. God desires to dwell among men, and because of that, He not only created us, but He redeemed us that He may dwell in us. He wants to rest.
So when you think of God’s house, of course, the foremost thought is that God wants to dwell in man. God wants to find a home.
That word is a good word—not just a house, but the house is a home. And that is how we take it. The church is God’s house; it is God’s home. He can find rest among His people.
First of all, every house must be built by someone. That is what Hebrews says. But it is God who builds this church.
I will build My church upon this rock, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
So number one, you find God’s house is built by God. Number two, God’s house is built for God. It is to be a holy habitation of God in the Spirit, as Ephesians 2 teaches us.
And number three, God’s house is God’s home. It is His home. And number four, God’s house is a place where spiritual sacrifices are offered to God.
We, as living stones coming to Christ, are being built up together as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And that is God’s house, and that is what we are.
And brothers and sisters, if we are God’s house, we ought to be His home. We are to provide a dwelling place where He can rest, where He can be appreciated, where He can be worshiped. We should know how to conduct ourselves in God’s house.
The word “house” in the Scripture also means household—not only the house, but the household, the family. We are not only God’s house for Him to dwell in, but we are the family of God.
God is our Father, Jesus Christ is our eldest Brother, and we are all brothers and sisters in the family. We are no strangers to one another.
In Ephesians 2, we are told that we are no strangers; we are not sojourners or visitors. You know, sometimes we say, “We are glad to have visitors today with us.”
That is not scriptural. We have no visitors. If someone who is not a believer comes to us, yes, he is a visitor. But if you are a child of God, you are no visitor, you are no sojourner, you are no stranger. You are a fellow citizen, and you are a member in the family of God.
But do we behave as members of the household? Oh, oftentimes you will find there is a strangeness there.
Sometimes when God’s people come together, you will find there are more visitors than family members—not in the real sense, but in the appearance.
You will find most brothers and sisters coming as if they are attending a meeting, and only a few brothers and sisters are at home. They are members of the family. They contribute something for the building up of that family.
But many brothers and sisters are still strangers and visitors. We ought to know how to behave, right? These are very practical, brothers and sisters.
Therefore, you find Paul says, “This is God’s house,” and we are in it. And we ought to know how to behave ourselves in the household of God.
But more, he says, it is the assembly of the living God. Now, of course, the word “assembly” today is known as the word “church.”
Actually, the word “church” in English is supposed to be a translation of the Greek word ekklesia, but actually it is not a correct translation. The Greek word ekklesia should be translated “assembly” instead of “church.”
But anyway, what is the assembly of the living God? What is the church of the living God? The word ekklesia means “called-out ones.”
God calls out people from every nation, every tongue, every people, every tribe, and gathers them unto one name: the name of the Lord Jesus. That is the church.
So far as that expression is concerned, in Acts 7 you will find Stephen testifying before the council. He used the word “assembly”—the assembly of God in the wilderness.
Of course, he was referring to the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel, being redeemed out of Egypt unto God, became an assembly of God in the wilderness.
As they passed through the wilderness, they were not just any people. They were not just scattered like sheep. They were an assembly of God in the wilderness. They were called out unto God.
And if you want to know the Greek background, of course, in Acts 19 you will find that at one time there was a great tumult in the city of Ephesus because of Paul. The town clerk had a very difficult time quieting down the mob.
And he said, “Now today we assemble here with no reason.” You know, among the Greeks they had what they called a town council, or city council.
The town clerk would call all the citizens together to discuss things concerning the town. But only citizens could participate. If you were not a citizen, you were not called into it. You had no privilege; you had no part.
But the citizens, all the citizens of the city, were called together to discuss things concerning the city. And this is the background of the word ekklesia.
So here you find in Acts 15:14, James said how God has called out of every nation a people unto His name, the name of Christ. That is the Word of God, brothers and sisters.
So here you find in the word “assembly” at least three elements.
The Lord calls us out of this world. We are not of the world. He has separated us from the world. We are called out of the world.
Not only are we called out, but we are gathered together into one. And we are gathered unto His name, that is, under His authority.
And you find, when you have these three elements, you have the principle of the assembly. “Where two or three are gathered together unto My name, there am I in the midst of them.” You have the principle of the assembly.
And it is called the assembly of the living God. Why? Because this assembly belongs to God. It does not belong to me. And it is the assembly of the living God because this assembly is to be characterized by one life.
And this is what the church is. Now, because the church is the assembly of the living God, brothers and sisters, we need to know how to behave ourselves in the assembly of the living God. Surely we need that.
And certainly Paul continues to describe the church. He laid the foundation for us, because we ought to know what the church is before we know how to conduct ourselves.
So here you find the third description of the church: the pillar and base—or ground, or basement—of the truth.
Brothers and sisters, the church is not the truth. Christ is the truth. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the truth.” The church is truth only in Christ. The church has no truth of her own.
The truth the church has is in Christ. When the church begins to think of her own truth, she becomes a false church. The church faces Christ; the church only hears, never says.
Christ is the truth. The church is the pillar of the truth and the base of the truth.
What is a pillar? A pillar is always for a testimony. The church is to bear witness to the truth. The church is to testify to the truth. That is, the church is to testify to Christ to this world.
How will the world know Christ? Through the church, through the testimony given by the church. The church is not to testify of doctrines; it is to testify of Christ. It is the pillar of the truth.
And not only the pillar, but the base of the truth. Now, I like the King James translation: “the ground of the truth,” or “the basement of the truth.”
Why? Because you usually store things in the basement, do you not? The church is a depository of the truth. God’s truths need to be deposited somewhere.
And where does God deposit His truth? If you cannot find the truth in the church, where can you find the truth? If you cannot find Christ in the church, where can you find Christ?
What is the church? The church is the depository of Christ. As God made Christ His depository, to use a modern term—for all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily—that is a depository.
So here you find Christ makes the church His depository. What is the church? The body, of course, the fullness of Him who fulfills all in all.
Brothers and sisters, what a responsibility! What a tremendous privilege and responsibility! The church is the basement of the truth—Christ, and all that is true of Him.
Not just part of it—all of it. All the truth, nothing but the truth. And because the church is the depository of the truth, therefore she can stand up as the pillar to testify to that truth.
Dear brothers and sisters, these are the descriptions of the church that we are. These are the descriptions of the church, which we are. And knowing the church as such, it behooves us to learn how to conduct ourselves.
That is possible. I think probably tonight we can just give an introduction. Let us pray.
Our Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank You because You have called Your people to be Your house, to be the assembly of the living God, to be the pillar and base of the truth.
Oh, how we praise You for the high calling with which You have called us. And because this is true, we do humble ourselves before You.
We desire to know how to behave in such a house, in such a household, in such an assembly, in such a testimony of the truth.
So, Lord, do prepare our hearts. Do open our hearts. Give us that spirit of humility and openness, that we may be able to be taught by Your Word.
And, Lord, we do desire to behave well, pleasing to You. We ask in Your precious name.