1 Timothy 3:1-7 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.… These three words are but one in the Greek. Ignorance is the inheritance of our fall in Eden. The grand work of the ministry of Christ is to illuminate the darkened mind. There is a fire that does not give light, and a cold phosphorescent flame that yields no heat. Our teaching, while it dispels the darkness of sin, must shed its beams to warm the frozen virtues into life. 1. To meet the claims of a good teacher one must he willing to learn. The apostles, dropping their nets and other worldly craft, went to a school of the prophets, such as never before or since existed on earth. Its sole instructor was the Great Teacher, the Creator of all things. They learned wisdom without a book from the source of all knowledge. 2. If we would be apt to teach, we must have a lesson to impart. 3. To be apt to teach, one must be master of the lesson he would impart. 4. To be apt to teach, a sacred enthusiasm is indispensable. 5. To be apt to teach under the wings of the Eternal Spirit, Holy Dove, we must gather strength and success by prayer. 6. Apt to teach, finally, has the element of faith. (W. H. Van Doren.) Parallel Verses KJV: This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.WEB: This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer, he desires a good work. |
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