Something Greater

Managing A Household 1 Timothy 3:4-5 What has gone before... Paul warned Timothy to guard against relying upon leaders who were "lovers of silver", people who sought "sordid gain". The Greek word for "sordid" includes the idea of shame. Shame is the emotion a person feels when they are disfigured or disgraced in the eyes of other people. Yet the leaders of the church in Ephesus felt no shame for their greedy, contradictory teaching and control. God, through the ministry of Paul and Timothy, was demonstrating His knowledge of the shameful, sordid leadership in Ephesus, and He was providing a way of rescue for the church. Moving on... 1 Timothy 3:4-5 (ESV) "He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?" Managing a household well, supporting a family, loving a wife and children, requires th...

Family and Work, Part 3: The Father and the Children Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. (Colossians 3:20 ESV) Children, in the Greek, refers to offspring, regardless of age . It implies a result or something produced. The result of wise decisions is described as being children of wisdom. (Matthew 11:19). The owner of a vineyard had two children, old enough to work in a vineyard (Matthew 21:28). Jesus called his disciples, Children (Mark 10:24). Thus, all children, of any age , are to obey their parents in everything. Obey in the Greek means to listen attentively, implying obedience to a command. This word is related to that used of the woman's submission. Both words use the Greek preposition hypo, meaning under. However, they are distinctly different . The woman's submission to her husband is based upon arrangement . God has placed the husband as the head, and the woman as the helper, as a matter of arrangement an...