Daily devotion – Godly order and organisation
The Pastoral letters – Titus and 1 and 2 Timothy – deal with organization, order, obedience and authority in the Church.
1 Peter 5: 1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock
Titus 1:5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—
There is a growing trend today for people to despise organisation, and they quote this passage, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them – Matthew 18:20.
And the same people say, “Now there you have your Church, that’s your typical Church. And all Churches should take that for a standard: a few people gathered in the name of Christ.”
But notice in all this out of context theorising, there is no authority, no order, no form, no obedience – “just freedom and fellowship, and equality, and joy?”
But the Scriptures teach quite otherwise. The Scriptures teach not that a Church consists of a group of people, two or three or more, met together, without order, organisation, obedience, and authority. The Bible teaches something else altogether.
If you read the Book of Acts chapter 6, a problem arose and authority, order and organization were needed.
Back to Titus 1:5 – Paul says… “You should ….ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed you.”
Back in the Old Testament, you find when the Lord wanted to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, He selected one man, and He worked through that man.
When He wanted to lead them into the Promised Land, He selected another man.
When He wanted to lead them back from Babylon, He selected two men. And all down throughout the years it has been the same.
There was order – according to the Scriptures, and confirmed by Paul himself, to be a true New Testament Church, there must be offices, authority, and obedience.
We desperately need the right kind of leadership now. We need it in the Church. No one becomes an elder by election, he can only become an elder by ordination. And if the great God Almighty does not ordain a man, he is not an elder, no matter how often he may be elected.
Let us today pray for those whom God has ordained to lead His Church. These men have been given a great responsibility, but with that responsibility, comes an even greater accountability before God Almighty Himself.
There is a movement today for women to lead in ministry, to be over the Church ultimately.
Whilst women have been given by God an enormous role in ministry, but that role is never to be in authority over the Church.
1Ti 2:12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man,3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may instruct the young women in sensibility: to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be slandered.
2Ti 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.