In addition to being pure instruction on when and how widows are to be supported, 1 Tim 5:3-16 is also an insight into what happened to the church over time as it spread.
Compare for example passages in 1 Timothy – which was written about 62-64 AD with what was going on in Acts. In Acts 2:44-45 and Acts 4:34-35 we see that the disciples had “all things in common” (Acts 2:44, Acts 3:34) which means that they sold their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need (Acts 2:45, Acts 3:35). We see there the principle of abundance and need was actively working in the church.
Fast forward to the time of first Timothy and you have one of the apostles of the Lord giving instruction regarding how the principle is to be applied to a specific group. What has happened that the church has gone from having “all things in common” to having scarce resources? How can we as a church get back to this?
In fact – many churches today are not even in a position to support widows, never mind the rest of the church. Why is this? Why would Paul even give instruction like this when the principle of abundance and need is in effect?
These are far reaching questions and by no means can I offer an answer for them in completeness, however, we can observe a number of things from the scripture.
First up with regards to why Paul gave these instructions it is worth noting that the instruction in 1 Timothy is given not to individuals with regards to how they are to give (that is seen in 2 Cor 8:8-15), but to a pastor regarding how to distribute that which is given. We have a responsibility to give, Pastors and church leaders have a responsibility to distribute that which is given.
There are a number of things that help us understand why these distinctions are necessary for a pastor to concern himself with. Firstly there is the issue of the distribution of the apostles. The Jerusalem church in Acts was a group of people who were under the instruction and the authority of the Lords apostles. The apostles had the experience of three years with Jesus and in addition had special revelation from the Lord that they were able to impart to the early disciples.
The believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42), they spent most of their time together (Acts 2:46).
The early church had the most knowledgeable teachers of the Bible that the world has ever seen, and as they were all together, they had all of these teachers together at once. In addition these teachers were the most acutely aware of the spiritual battle they were in and were the best equipped to deal with adversity. Finally the level of dedication and devotion of the early church has been unmatched since then. The very early church in Jerusalem was essentially incubated by top grade mature apostles in a single location.
As the church grew it became more dispersed and the protection and teaching of the apostles was not as accessible, and the church steadily came under attack. In addition, the apostles influence was diminished over time as they were either martyred or exiled.
As the church became more exposed false teachers infiltrated the church and started leading churches astray by teaching lies. In fact, in the previous chapter to the one we started with Paul explicitly warns Timothy that “in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim 4:1-3). The false teachers were already active in the church.
What did this do to the church? Essentially false doctrine slows spiritual maturity, and even enables those who are not saved to be part of the church as if they are saved. In addition some people make the appearance of being saved, but ultimately become apostate and leave the church (Matt 13:18-23, 1 John 2:18-19).
As the church apostasies, not only does it become necessary to be discerning about giving the proceeds of the saints giving to those who really need it as well as those who are worthy of it, but the amount that the church gives also reduces, which means that there is not as much to go around.
So how do we fix this? How can we get back to the unity of the early church?
There are a couple of basic things that each of us are called to do and can do. Firstly we must have a high view of God (i.e. love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength) and also to view others as more important than ourselves (Matt 22:36-40).
As we develop in these two areas, we will develop a greater concern for our brothers and sisters in Christ and this will be displayed as we take a greater interest in the welfare of other believers. As our awareness of the needs of others grows, so we will begin to respond to those needs work to help our brothers and sisters. This will have the affect of knitting our hearts together in love (Col 2:1-2) and increased giving will lead to greater affection between believers and consequently greater unity.
Another key factor is removal of wolves from among the flock. One of the tasks of leaders is to be discerning and to remove the ungodly from among the church. The affect of the ungodly on the church is quite profound. Paul said that a little leaven leavens the whole lump – what he meant was that associating with the ungodly who claim to be believers affects the believers in the church, by leading them to consider sin as “normal” or something that can be accommodated. Paul encouraged the Corinthian church to remove these people from the church. See 1 Cor 5:1-13 for details.
In the western world we live in a culture that encourages diversity and accommodation, however, the church is not under any circumstances to accommodate sin. The church should be the last bastion of right thinking and living in the world – not to say that it will be perfect – it is still filled with sinners, however each believer should have an ambition to drive sin from their lives and live for the glory of the Lord.
As we live in purity, our lives are focused on God and we look upon the worlds goods with less favor and we look upon the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ as being as great as, if not greater than our own and we provide for their needs as we can.
We cannot fix the other people in our church, however, we are responsible for our own conduct. It should be our goal to grow in Christ likeness and purity so that we care for other believers and become better connected with the needs of the church and provide for them as we can.
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