1 Timothy 5:19-20 1 Timothy 5:19-Paul Commands That An Accusation Must Not Be Received Against An Elder Except On The Basis Of Two Or Three Witnesses Review of 1 Timothy 5:17-18 In 1 Timothy 5:17-25, Paul instructs Timothy as to the proper treatment of elders. Paul’s treatment of elders in this pericope is similar with that of his discussion regarding widows in the sense that in both periscopes the term “honor” includes money or financial support. Much of the problem involved these two groups. In chapter one, Paul explained in detail the problem with certain elders, i.e. overseers in Ephesus who were obeying the Judaizers’ false doctrine and misapplication of the Law and abandoning the gospel, which had disastrous consequences for the spiritual growth and testimony of the church in Ephesus. Some argue that Paul’s discussion of the elders is contained in 1 Timothy 5:17- 19 or 17-20 and does not include his statements in verses 21-25. However, this is incorrect. First of all, in verse 20, “those who continue in sin” is still speaking of sinning pastors, i.e. unrepentant. The urgency expressed in verse 20 is related to the previous discussion about pastors, i.e. elders in verses 17-20 because “ these things ” is the immediate demonstrative pronoun houtos , which is pointing to these verses. Verse 22 is a reference the ordination of pastors and the sins that are mentioned in this verse are again related to unrepentant pastors. Verse 23 is a parenthetical note addressing Timothy’s health. The “ sins of some men ” in verse 24 is in context speaking of the sins of pastors and the “good deeds” mentioned in verse 25 are also those of pastors. Throughout verses 17-25 Paul is addressing the issue of elders, i.e. overseers who are pastors-teachers. This is indicated by the fact that in verses 17-18 he speaks with regards to their remuneration, which is based on the teaching of the Old Testament. Then, in verses 19-21, he is addressing the topic of administering church discipline with sinning pastors who are unrepentant, which is to be impartial. Verse 22, Paul addresses the issue of ordaining pastors. In verses 24-25, the apostle gives the reason for his statements in verse 22 telling Timothy why he should not be hasty in ordaining men as overseers. Verse 23 is parenthetical addressing Timothy’s health, who is pastor, and is a digression based upon Paul’s statement at the end of verse 22 for Timothy to keep himself pure. Thus, his statements in verses 24 and 25 should be considered a part of the same discussion. The apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 5:17 issues another command to the Ephesian Christian community through his young delegate and fellow pastor-teacher, 2011 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1 Timothy. In this verse, he commands that elders who lead correctly are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at teaching the Word of God. 1 Timothy 5:17 Those elders who are leading correctly must be considered worthy of double honor. Specifically, those who make it their habit of working hard with respect to the Word, yes, teaching the Word. (My translation) This verse contains the figure of “asyndeton,” which emphasizes the importance of thee command for the Christian community in Ephesus, which is contained in it. “Elders ” is the adjective presbuteros , which refers to those who held the office of overseer, which could only be held by those men with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher that had met the qualifications listed by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. It does not refer to those men with the spiritual gift of leadership (cf. Romans 12:8), which is called “ administrations ” in 1 Corinthians 12:28. Nor, does it refer to those who held the office of deacon. This is indicated by the fact that the adverb malista , “ especially ” in 1 Timothy 5:17 is singling out or defining a specific segment of elders who are to receive double honor, namely those who teach, i.e. the pastor-teachers. Malista has an epexegetical function and should be rendered “specifically,” or “namely.” That malista has this function or sense is indicated by the fact that presbuteros is a synonymous term with episkopos , “ overseer ” which appears in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and the function of the overseer was teaching the Word of God according to 1 Timothy 3:2. Thus, the fact that episkopos and presbuteros are synonymous terms speaking of the same group of individuals whose function in the body of Christ is the same indicates that malista in 1 Timothy 5:17 is singling out pastor-teachers or is defining that these elders are those who teach the Word of God. Consequently, he is not referring to those have the gift of leadership, i.e. administrations or those who hold the office of deacon since deacons do not teach and neither do those who have the gift of leadership. Also, this rules out presbuteros as referring to older men in the congregation, which it refers to in 1 Timothy 5:1. “Leading ” is the verb proistemi , which is used with reference to the man with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher who holds the office of overseer and is also called presbuteros , “an elder.” It is used with reference to the pastor’s authority over the Ephesian Christian community, which he exercises by teaching them. The word conveys a leadership style characterized by loving care. The word expresses the idea that the Ephesian Christian community submits to the leadership of the pastor-teacher out of respect for his position of teaching the Word and the delegation of this authority by the Lord to him and not out of fear. “Correctly ” is the adverb kalos , which conveys the idea that the elder, i.e. the overseer or pastor-teacher is governing the household of God according to the standards of God’s Word and specifically with regards to teaching the Word of 2011 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2 God to the household of God and operating in God’s love by the power of the Spirit. “Must be considered worthy of double honor” expresses a general precept that the Ephesian Christian community must consider worthy of double honor those pastor-teachers who work hard at teaching the Word of God. It denotes that they are to be characterized as considering worthy of double honor those pastors who worked hard at teaching them the Word of God. The fact that Paul addresses this issue of remuneration of elders implies that there was a problem in the Christian community in Ephesus with regards to their attitudes towards pastor-teachers. Undoubtedly, this was the direct result of the apostasy of many pastors in Ephesus, whom Paul discusses in 1 Timothy chapter one. Of course, there were Christians who adhered to this command by Paul in 1 Timothy 5:17 and there must have been some that did not otherwise he would not addressed this issue in the first place. Thus Paul simply communicating a general precept of the Word of God and the Lord and the apostles’ teaching without reference to whether there was a violation of this command or not. “Honor ” is the noun time , which means not only “to honor” in the sense of respect and valuing the role of the elders in teaching the Ephesian congregation the Word of God but also it denotes remuneration for fulfilling this function on behalf of the body of Christ. Thus, the word denotes that the Ephesian Christian community is not only to show respect for those elders who worked hard at teaching them the Word of God but also was to provide for them financially, which demonstrates how much they value what these elders do for them and their families. That the idea contains the sense of remuneration is clearly indicated by the quotations that Paul uses in 1 Timothy 5:18. In this verse, he first quotes from Deuteronomy 25:4, which says “you shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing .” This is followed by a quote from the Lord Jesus Christ that “ the laborer is worthy of his wages .” This statement from our Lord is recorded in Matthew 10:10 and Luke 10:7. “Double ” is the adjective diplous , which speaks of both respect and remuneration with the former expressed by the latter. In other words, a Christian demonstrates respect for the pastor who works hard teaching them the Word of God by reciprocating and paying him for his services. By doing, he also demonstrates how much he values this work on his behalf by the pastor. Thus, the idea of providing generously for the pastor who works hard teaching the Word of God is not contained in this expression, which is supported by the quotations from the Law and the Lord. Both do not refer to generous compensation for teaching the gospel but rather that one should be compensated for doing so. 2011 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3 “Specifically, those who make it their habit of working hard with respect to the Word, yes, teaching the Word ” is an epexegetical clause meaning that it is singling out or defining a specific segment of elders who are to receive double honor, namely those who teach, i.e. the pastor-teachers. This clause speaks of pastors exerting themselves mentally, physically and spiritually in the face of adversity. It is used here to describe the efforts of those elders who teach the Ephesian Christian community the Word of God and are to be considered by them as worthy of double honor.