In 1 Tim 3:15, the Church was presented as the household - a family. Now, Timothy is told how to approached different age people. Again, regarding the younger women - the word purity comes again. - Good advice for all pastors.
Honor widows who are widows indeed.
That is an interesting beginning. There are widows and widows. How does one distinguish between the “fake” and the “real” one? It should be stated that no other female group in the early Church is so often addressed as that of widows. It seems that the widows created a kind of “order”. They seem to live in groups (or at least work in groups), doing charitable works, teaching, and praying. And what is even more interesting, they seemed to be materially rewarded by the communities for their work.
“Timao” - means “to honor”, including the idea of appropirate financial reward. (Compare 1 Tim 5:17 – “double honor” for speaking and teaching).
5:4 - another group of widows that have a support of their own families;
5:5 - true widow is left alone, such a widow needs the help of the Church. Judith 8:4–8; Luke 2:37; 18:7; Jer 49:11.
Praying day and night refers to a regular prayer.
5:6 - live a wanton life is dead - a life contrary to the Christian doctrine and the Gospel principles.
5:7 - there is a call to repentance to everyone, but particularly to those living wantonly.
5:8 connects with 5:4 - not caring for the members of one household, particularly for widows - refers to close relatives - is against biblical teaching.
5:9–10 Evidently the Ephesian church had a “list” of “widows indeed” who received regular support from the congregation. A widow had to meet three qualifications to get her name on this list.
First, she had to be at least 60 years old. At this age most widows probably became incapable of providing for their own needs, and most would no longer have the opportunity to remarry.
Second, she had to have been a one-man woman. The same qualification existed for elders and deacons (3:2, 12). Following the same interpretation given in 3:2, this would mean that she was unqualified if she had been unfaithful, promiscuous, or polyandrous. Polyandrous means married to more than one man at a time, which was a rare occurrence in Paul’s culture. Remarriage after the death of her spouse would not necessarily disqualify her.
Third, she had to have established a reputation for good works. Paul cited five typical examples of good works. (1) She had reared her children responsibly, assuming she had children. This evidenced good works in the home. (2) She had been hospitable. This demonstrated good works in her community. (3) She had humbly served her Christian brothers and sisters. “Washed the saints’ feet” - in the early church it was considered to be a sacrament (John 13).
(4) She had helped people in special need, an example of good works toward the needy. (5) She had “devoted herself” to good works. Good works had been important to her presumably as an expression of her faith in Christ.
5:11–12 It was not wise to place younger widows on this list, and Paul explained why. Younger widows’ sensual desires would be stronger, and these feelings would make it very hard for them to remain committed to serving Christ wholeheartedly as single women.
Paul evidently assumed that this commitment to the Lord characterized those on the list (cf. v. 5). If the church leaders placed younger widows on the list and they wanted to remarry, they would have to set aside this pledge of devotion to and service of Christ alone.[230] They would thereby incur some form of temporal condemnation. Perhaps this punishment came from their consciences, their church family, or elsewhere. It certainly was not eternal condemnation.
“The pledge Paul referred to was probably a more or less formal commitment, taken on joining the list of widows, wherein the woman vowed to serve Christ entirely without thought of remarriage.
5:13–15 - idleness leads to gossiping and entering into other people’s affair. The solution is to remarry. By remarrying, the younger widows would not give the enemy (any accuser of believers) an opportunity to criticize them for going back on their pledge to serve Christ as a “widow indeed.” Evidently this had already happened in the Ephesian church (v. 15). In forsaking their professed service of Christ in this way some had turned aside to follow Satan. This is a strong description of the real situation involved in going back on a commitment to Christ.
The apostle urged the younger widows to use their strength to bear children and to care for their families, the primary duties of a typical Christian wife (cf. Titus 2:5). The Greek word oikodespotein, translated “keep house” in the NASB, means “rule the house(hold).” Since the husband is ultimately responsible to God for what happens in his home (3:4; Gen. 3:16), Paul must have meant that the wife is to rule over the household under his authority.
5:16 - Acts 4:32–33
In the ancient world, a lonely woman was very often left without any support. Some believing women took such women to their homes and took care of them. Paul encourages them to continue doing it. The community then would focus on those who were without any support.
“In conclusion, Paul sought to correct a possible misunderstanding. He wrote that financially capable women should maintain the widows in their families so the church would not have to support them. Probably he referred to “any woman” to clarify that this duty applied to women who did not have living or believing husbands as well as to male heads of households”.
It is interesting to notice that already here, we have three levels of leadership: bishops, presbiters - elders, and deacons. The office of elders is also seen in Acts 14:23 - they were necessary for the functioning of the community and they were endorsed with necessary powers by laying on hands. They themselves lay hands on others (1 Tim 4:14), including Timothy.
Those who work in the word and teaching - are singled out for a special honor (see Acts 6:4). The ministry of the Word of God - preaching and teaching - was specifically stressed. Here, we notice the OT tradition that not by bread alone man lives (Deut 8:3). Human person needs something more than just to satisfy their own basic - physical needs.
Double honor refers to a kind of wages for the ministry. In support of this statement Paul quotes from the OT (Deut 25:4). We have the same argument in 1 Cor 9:9–14. The second part of the quote comes from Luke 10:7.
Finally, there are also presibiters who do not live up to their lofty calling. They can be accused (two witnesses are necessary - Deut 19:15) and if it is true they should be publicly rebuked.
Paul could hardly have stressed the importance of absolute objectivity and honesty in dealing with offending leaders more strongly (cf. 6:13; 2 Tim. 4:1). God, Christ Jesus, and the elect angels are all judges (Matt. 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Rev. 14:10). Paul urged Timothy on behalf of these judges to judge fairly. The apostle may have been thinking of Deuteronomy 19:17 here since that verse also specifies a trio of judges in a context of judging an accused offender.
Paul also urged Timothy to minimize the possibility of elder failure by being extremely careful about whom he appointed in the first place. Laying on hands in this context probably refers to public ordination (cf. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6). Since Timothy occupied the seat of a judge he needed to stay free from sin himself. As in 4:6–16, Paul’s concern about the sins of others led him to insert a short aside to Timothy about the importance of ordering his own life, specifically maintaining his purity (cf. 4:12; 5:2).
According to this verse Timothy suffered from frequent illness of stomach. Consequently the apostle prescribed a little wine for medicinal purposes. Wine was often safer than the common water that could be easily contaminated.
One can wonder what caused Timothy’s stomach problems. Perhaps the stress of a missionary and shepherd life.
Timothy needed to be cautious about choosing church leaders.
“In assessing people, errors are unavoidable.”[252]
Sin is not always obvious as soon as someone practices it. However eventually it will become known if persisted in, normally. In the same manner good deeds can remain hidden for years. Consequently the better a church knows its potential elders the fewer surprises they will present after their appointment. That is the practice of our Church that often checks the background of her own candidates to the office of presbiters.