Rev. Angus Stewart
I Timothy 3:1 declares, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop [i.e., elder], he desireth a good work.” By extension, this applies to the office of deacon. But are all desires for church office good? Does the text mean that it is good to want to be an elder or deacon in God’s church for the wrong reasons? No!
There are God-honouring and holy motives for preparing for and seeking church office, and for allowing one’s name to go forward for election and accepting the call of the congregation (and of the Lord) to an ecclesiastical position. But there are also sinful reasons why some desire to be an elder or a deacon.
Wrong Motivations for Seeking to Be an Elder or Deacon
First, some seek church office in order to gain the esteem of others. Consider a man in the church who realizes that his wife has lost respect for him, because of his own foolishness and sinful behaviour, especially in his treatment of her. However, instead of repenting before God and receiving forgiveness through the blood of Christ, and confessing his sin to his wife and living with her as a godly husband, he reckons that, if he were to become a deacon or an elder, he would regain her good opinion of him.
This manipulative policy, in all probability, will not achieve its earthly and carnal ends, even if the congregation votes the man into office. The Christian wife still sees his disobedient and unloving lifestyle, and so is more likely to lose respect for the church that elected her husband than to regard him more highly.
Others desire to be an elder or deacon to rise (as they think) in the estimation of their children or the members of their congregation or the wider Christian community or their work mates. This too is the “wisdom” from below that is “earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:15).
Second, some want to be installed in church office because they “lost” in the congregational vote last time or a previous time or several times. In other words, they view the ballot of the male confessing members as a popularity contest or a referendum on their piety, gifts and abilities, and are sore at what they view as past defeat or defeats.
A third sinful reason for desiring to become an elder or deacon could be summarized like this: “It will give me power to make decisions in the church!” This is not the spirit of a servant of Christ and His people, but of one who wants to be a lord “over God’s heritage” (I Pet. 5:3).
Fourth, this is a motivation for some in seeking church office: “Then I’ll know what is going on in the congregation!” This is plain nosiness and the members of the church will soon detect it in an office-bearer, causing resentment in the congregation and limiting the effectiveness of the elder or deacon.
“I need to get into office,” says a fifth person, “because I have been in the church longer than X and it looks like X could become a deacon or an elder soon.” This is simply a worldly desire to “keep up appearances,” involving sinful competition and jealousy.
Sixth, some seek to become an office-bearer because they have an agenda. “If I get in, I will really shake the church up and get things moving”—invariably in the wrong direction!
Pride
What one word best encapsulates the root sin in the wrong motives for church office? Pride!
This is involved in all of the six instances above: wounded pride (1, 2) or the fear of wounded pride (5), and the pride of power (3), knowledge (4) and rule (6).
This is also borne out very clearly in biblical instances of people wanting church office and/or its power for the wrong reasons. What does the Bible say about the attitude and motivation of King Uzziah who went into the Lord’s temple to burn incense upon the golden altar, as if he were a priest? Pride: “his heart was lifted up to his destruction” (II Chron. 26:16).
Think of Simon Magus in Acts 8. He desired “power,” apostolic power, to give the Holy Spirit by the laying on of his hands (v. 19). His problem was his evil “heart” (vv. 21, 22) for he had not really been converted but was still gripped by the same insatiable pride (vv. 9-10) that had characterised him before Philip preached the gospel in Samaria.
Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16 committed the same sin. They were not content with being a Levite (Korah) or rulers in the tribe of Reuben (Dathan and Abiram). They “envied” Moses and Aaron (Ps. 106:16). They wanted even higher offices in God’s (Old Testament) church: the priesthood or national leadership. Since Dathan and Abiram sought to be lifted up to heaven (as it were), the Most High opened the ground which swallowed them up. For unlawfully desiring to draw too close to Jehovah in His holy tabernacle to offer incense to him, God showed Korah His awesome holiness and burned him up.
For further proof that pride is the primary wrong motivation for church office, we need only look at I Timothy 3, the number one chapter and chair passage on the qualifications for (teaching and ruling) elders and deacons: “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil” (v. 6).
There are two main options for the meaning of “the condemnation of the devil” in this verse. First, Satan will condemn a proud office-bearer. Second, pride is the very sin for which God condemned the devil who thereby lost his high place among Jehovah’s holy servants. Both of these positions are correct but the latter is the meaning of I Timothy 3:6.
In Isaiah 14, the King of Babylon is “blended” with proud Satan who was working through him: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (vv. 13-14).
An office-bearer in the congregation gripped by the same sin as Jehovah’s archenemy—how terrible! Given that Scripture call us to “resist the devil” and states that “God resisteth the proud” (James 4:6-7; I Pet. 5:5), the last thing the church needs is a proud elder or deacon who yields to our heavenly Father’s chief opponent and adversary, Satan! The spirit of Diotrephes, “who loveth to have the preeminence” (III John 9), is the spirit of the devil.
How many times has the Lord not taught us in His Word how He abases the proud who want high office in His kingdom! Look what He did to Satan: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! … Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isa. 14:12, 15). King Uzziah was smitten with leprosy, fled out of the temple and lived in isolation for the rest of his life—a long time to consider, and repent of, his arrogance in usurping priestly functions (II Chron. 26:19-21). Moses reminded Israel of God’s destruction of the proud rebels in Numbers 16: “what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel” (Deut. 11:6). Even Simon Magus was made to humble himself by the threat of divine judgment (Acts 8:24).
What are some of the bad things that happen when proud people do not get their way and are not voted into church office? Sometimes they resign and leave the congregation. Sometimes they remain in the church, but become bitter and embitter others by pretending that injustices have been perpetrated against them. Sometimes they mercilessly and unfairly criticise the elders and deacons (those who, unlike them, were chosen by God and His church). Sometimes a sizeable number of people foolishly listen to them so that they create serious divisions in the congregation and then they perversely rejoice, “See, I was right about our church’s office-bearers! They cannot solve the congregation’s problems (that I have created)!”
Thankfully, a man who seeks to become an elder or deacon for the wrong reasons and is not appointed by the church will often be corrected and restored by the Lord. By the Word and Spirit or even through chastisements, the brother will see the error of his ways, put off his self-seeking and grow in Christian maturity. Such a man may well be installed as an office-bearer in the years ahead!
Of course, this is not to suggest that a man who is nominated for church office but not chosen by the congregation is, therefore and automatically, exposed as proud. Far from it!
Right Motivation for Seeking to Be an Elder or Deacon
The right motivation for seeking church office is very simple: to glorify the Triune God in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord who loved us and gave Himself for us, and to serve His body the church, by promoting the truth and serving our fellow saints. So much more could be said to open up and drive home this truth but shortage of space prohibits further elaboration. Let us read the first sentence of this paragraph several times and let it sink into our hearts!
This statement regarding a man’s proper motivation immediately commends itself to all of God’s people. Everyone instinctively knows that it is right, even those who desire church office for the wrong reasons, and seek to hide their real motives from themselves and others.
As I Timothy 3:1 states, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work”—the work of advancing and extending the kingdom of God’s dear Son among men, women and children. This is the right attitude and holy desire of Jehovah’s thankful covenant friends.
Men, this must be our motivation in seeking church office, in preparing for church office, while being installed into church office and when serving in church office! By His grace, we must maintain this spirit, not allowing proud and selfish motives to creep in. In this way, we can have confidence that our merciful God will bless our feeble efforts and we will have a good conscience before Him through Jesus Christ.
