Our spiritual gifts (1 Timothy 4:14) are not for our benefit; they’re for everybody except us. Our task is to serve those alongside us by doing well what we can do, in order to strengthen them in their faith and in their walk.

Having laid out the qualifications for the church ministry offices, Paul now turns to Timothy himself, the overseer of the whole process, to specify to him what qualities he must have as he carries his responsibilities.

Now, we readers can’t assume that everything Paul requires of Timothy should be required of all believers two millennia later–I don’t “use a little wine for [my] stomach’s sake” (1Ti 5.23)–but as we’ve noted before, the characteristics of effective ministers (servants) in the church in the first century can legitimately be extrapolated to all of us who believe. We’ll need to maintain a careful interpretive balance as we proceed.

As I read chapter 4, the first thing that strikes me is Paul’s heavy emphasis on doctrine; it appears in verses 1, 6, 13, and 16. One might expect the focus of someone who is “serving” others in the church to be on interpersonal skills such as empathy, listening, compassion, and so forth. I’m not suggesting that those things aren’t important; they are inherent elements in love, which is the second great commandment.

But the greatest commandment is to love God, and thus listening to him, and obeying him, are at least as important as being moved by the pleas of others. Of course the two are not in opposition; we can love God well and love others well too. But disregarding love for God, which is manifested by obedience, will render us unable to “serve” others well.

Read More