Who do you believe: the scripture or the workers?
The early workers taught that the scripture was written to two sets of people. Some things were instructions to the “workers” and some things were instructions to the “saints.” Moreover, the workers were the only ones who had the ability to explain any of it. This deception has actually discouraged professing people from trying to understand it. They simply wait for the workers to tell them what is necessary to know and do. The workers have always believed that God takes care of their natural needs because of their faith; but the “saints” cannot ask God for help for their natural needs. They have to work, or accept whatever happens to them, no matter how much pain, how much illness, worry or hunger. God doesn’t care about the natural lives of anyone but the workers.
The workers claimed to be able to “rightly divide the Word of truth,” and that anyone who did not follow them were damned:
Preachers must be homeless,
must go two by two,
must not ask for money,
must not marry,
must not have church buildings.
They were supposed to die to the natural life. They believed that Jesus had instituted a different ministry and church by training the disciples and apostles to preach the “two by two gospel.” But read for yourself what the 12 and 70 disciples were doing. The word ‘gospel’ isn’t mentioned. They were healing the sick, casting out demons and telling people that Jesus the Messiah was coming to their town; the Kingdom of Heaven had arrived. It is obvious that Jesus cared about people’s natural lives. His entire ministry proves that fact.
Our natural lives and natural behavior will affect our eternal lives and future.
The 2x2 system only has two classes of people: workers and saints…. The ‘elder’ is the man who leads Sunday morning meeting and the “deacon” is the man who leads the mid week Bible study. But in reality, the ‘two by two’ role of those titles does not match up with what Paul described in his letters to Timothy and Titus.
In a personal letter to Helen Kellog, April 4, 1929, William Irvine said. “If you read the Bible where and when it has been opened to you by my reading and His Spirit, then it will help you, otherwise it will hinder you. But to master all that has been opened to you and use it in helping others, will help yourself and those you hear. You need not trouble about religion of any sort. It’s all the same and never was any real value to any one, but to deceive them. What people need is life, not knowledge of the scriptures or anything else. All human nature is selfish and dead to God and so people need living words to quicken them and guide them to let the Spirit work in them, to will and do of His good pleasure (not yours) but His.”
Scripture says that all believers are ministers and that every member is a servant to God and to one another. 1 Peter 2:9;
Hebrews 10:19, 22 The leaders of the church are not any different than anyone else, except they have a higher standard of expectation placed upon them. Full time ministry requires full time dedication to knowing the Word of God and being prepared by study; years of being a disciple before being a teacher.
Let’s take a look at what scripture says about the leaders of the church. The words used to delineate the leaders are various because they have various responsibilities. ‘Deacons’ were the men who were appointed to monitor and meet the natural needs of the helpless and vulnerable members of the church: widows, orphans, the sick, elderly, the injured, etc. The church members contributed what they had and it was distributed as equitably as possible by the deacons. Most Christian churches still do this today. Some even reach out to the unbelieving needy of the community.
The words ‘elder,’ ‘bishop,’ ‘overseer’ and ‘pastor’ identifies leadership roles associated with teaching and preaching. These people were expected to spend themselves in labor to the point of fatigue, exhaustion, even death. The original Greek words were associated with extreme responsibilities. Evangelists were traveling servants who preached the gospel to people who had never heard the Word. Paul was an evangelist to the Gentiles. He was also an apostle, one who had been directly appointed and sent by Jesus to preach the gospel of grace. His experiences were extreme to the point of death, as were many leaders. It was more probable for the early Christians to face death by martyrdom than for them to die a normal death.
These instructions apply to all leaders in the church. They must be:
Self-controlled -- 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8
Hospitable – 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8
Able to teach -- 1 Timothy 3:2; 4:13-16; 5:15-17; Titus 1:9;
Gentle, not violent -- 1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7
Not quarrelsome or angry -- 1 Timothy 3:3; 2 Timothy 2:24
Not a lover of money -- 1 Timothy 3:3
Not sexually immoral – 2 Timothy 3:6; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Timothy 1:9-11; Galatians 5:18-21
Not a recent convert -- 1 Timothy 3:6
Of a good reputation with non-believers -- 1 Timothy 3:7
Not overbearing -- Titus 1:7
Not quick tempered – Titus 1:7
Love what is good – Titus 1:8
Upright, holy – Titus 1:8
Disciplined – Titus 1:8
Above reproach -- Titus 1:8
Husband of one wife -- 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6; 1 Corinthians 9:5
Temperate -- 1 Timothy 3:2, 8; Titus 1:7
Respectable, dignified – 1 Timothy 3:2, 8
Not given to drunkenness – 1 Timothy 3:3, 8: Titus 1:7
Good household management – 1 Timothy 3:4, 12
A good father with obedient children – 1 Timothy 3:4, 5, 12; Titus 1:6
Honest in business and financial matters, not greedy – Titus 1:7 1 Timothy 3:8; 6:9-10
Consistent in beliefs and sound doctrines -- Titus 1:9; 1 Timothy 3:9; 6:3
Labor in the Word and doctrine, rightly dividing the Word of Truth – 1 Timothy 5:1-22; 2 Timothy 2:15
Public reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching --1 Timothy 4:13
Defend the true gospel of grace: Galatians 1:6-9
Feed the flock of God -- 1 Peter 5:1-4, etc.
Sincere -- 1 Timothy 3:8
Tested – 1 Timothy 3:10
Faithful -- 2 Timothy 2:2
Courageous, willing to suffer and die for the cause of Christ – 1 Timothy 1:8; 2:3; 2 Timothy 1:7-8
Thankful -- 1 Thessalonians 1:2, etc.
Study to be approved by God, a workman, rightly dividing the Word of truth. -- 2 Timothy 1-7
Warn against false teachers, deceitful workers, false apostles, false prophets – Matthew 15:9; Colossians 2:4, 8, 18, 19; 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 7; 2 Timothy 3:6-9, 13; 1 John 4:1-3, 5; 2 John 7, 10, 11; Jude 4, 11; Revelation 22, 14-15
Wives of leaders must be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 1 Timothy 3:11
The most constant and severe instruction was given in regard to protecting the true gospel, the complete understanding of scripture, purity of life in all things, moral, financial integrity in family life.
“The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” 1 Timothy 1:5
“But (we) have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-10
“Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God. 2 Corinthians 6:3-7
Members of the Church have a diversity of gifts and functions
Every believer has a role or multiple roles in the body of Christ
Book of Acts, James 5:13-19; Ephesians 4:11-12; Ephesians 5 and 6; Proverbs 31; Colossians 1:25-29; Romans 2:21-23; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3; etc.
The Holy Spirit directs each person individually and they have the opportunity to choose what they want to be within the body. They could change their minds, change their activities without being excommunicated or blamed. One can see that the early church had several disagreements and how those disagreements were handled. The church was not ever a perfectly functioning group of people.
The believers had different gifts, different personalities.
They were different ages, from different cultures and backgrounds, different nationalities from different pagan backgrounds and sin.
So there was plenty of room for dispute and need for working together in love. Being a Christian is a lifetime of learning experiences filled with plenty of mistakes.
Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Elders, Evangelists, Bishops, Deacons, Missionaries, Disciples who chose or were given the tasks of preaching the gospel, defending the weak and the suffering, baptizing, holding marriage ceremonies and funerals, teaching scripture, writing letters and copying scriptural transcripts, traveling, staying in one place, sharing and giving. If there weren’t any full time leaders available, the believers were trained to take their place and to step up to the job of helping others, evangelizing, administrating and caring for the needy. It was a common practice that at the time of baptism or conversion to have the elders lay hands on people to pray for them to be healed, forgiven, to receive the Holy Spirit, or to be given a special gift for an assignment. It was also done if people were sick and needed healing for body or soul. There were no prohibitions against anyone marrying. In fact, that was considered a doctrine of demons. Paul had chosen to be single, and recommended it during the period of time when they were being severely persecuted and routinely murdered and hunted down. But there is strong speculation that Paul had actually been married at one time and was possibly a widower due to the fact that he had been a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin before his conversion. Members of the Sanhedrin were required to be married men.
The job of the church is to train Christian believers for service, for ministry, for evangelism.
Some people go into full time ministry,
Some of them minister without pay,
Some of them minister with pay.
Some are simply believers who minister to friends and their community and church family.
Some go to foreign countries for life,
Some just for a few weeks or a year.
Some have the gift of hospitality, the gift of counseling, exhortation, service, administration, revelation, managing, reading, writing, financial responsibility, charity to the poor, needy, widows and orphans, teaching with wisdom and knowledge, preaching the gospel, preaching the Cross of Christ, warning of the dangers of sin and hell. Some sow, some reap.
Some explain the prophecies of scripture.
Some explain the literal history of scripture.
Some teach and defend sound doctrine, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, equipping the saints for the work of service.
Some wash the feet of one another.
Some practice laying on of hands.
Some are doctors,
Some have power of healing or helping.
Some have abilities with languages.
Some speak in tongues;
Some interpret. (Paul spoke in tongues and he said, “Do not forbid to speak in tongues. 1 Corinthians14:39)
Some are involved in Church building and church planting.
Some are musicians, singers, song writers, worship leaders.
Some speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
All are ambassadors for Christ. Older women are to teach the younger women to raise godly children, to respect their husbands, encouraging them in hospitality, cooking, sewing, homemaking, etc. 1 Corinthians 12-14, etc.
Paul said, “I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ and lie not); a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” 1 Timothy 2:7
All these roles are to be conducted with love, humility, sincerity, giving glory to God, excelling in the Lord’s work, with all thanks, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 There are no divisions of importance. The one who will be the leader must take the position of servant. Matthew 20:25-28 We are spiritually equal before God. New believers must be willing to be taught by elders and pastors and are not to be given positions of leadership until they have spent a long time learning and serving. Men are to be leaders and women are to be helpers. 1 Timothy 2:11-12, Timothy was as unusual case and that was why Paul told him not to let anyone intimidate him because of his youth. There may have been a shortage of elders and therefore, Timothy was being sent to do the job. This shows that God makes room for variances depending on the occasion and environment and people available. Paul probably felt that Timothy was able for the task because he had been so well trained in scriptures from childhood.
There is no Biblical support for the workers’ Two part division of labor, or a division of scripture for preachers and followers; no Biblical support for the idea that God doesn’t care about people’s natural lives. It is no wonder the workers have nervous exhaustion.
It was never intended that the preachers carry the whole load.
Kathy Lewis
