Monday 27 November 2006

1 Timothy 3


After preaching on this passage at our Beach Mission house party on Saturday I've started listening to Mark Driscoll speak on the second part of the same passage (3:8-16). It's good so far. You can listen here. He addresses the much debated topic of Deaconesses and sorted it out really well for me. Let me know what you think.

To answer John's comment a while back on relating verse 1 to verse 16 of Chapter 3. It helps if you pay attention to the bit in between 1 and 16 but it is possible.

Verse 14 is key...

14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that... (ESV)


...as the first part is written so that they know how to behave and one of the key things they need to get right is their adherence to the gospel which is what verse 16 is on about (though an incomplete version of the gospel as it doesn't mention specifically Jesus death & resurrection)

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory. (ESV)

It's supposedly part of a larger hymn/story/confession (a friend commented that it was like an ancient Two Ways To Live).

4 comments:

SamR said...

How good is Mark Driscoll!

Matt & Kate said...

I finished listening to the talk. Yes he's a great speaker. However I wasn't a fan of his approach on the whole of the passage.

He spent about 30 minutes singing the praises of Mars Hill and it's leaders with a couple of comments that made it sound like the only decent church in the States - which it might well be.

He then looked at the end of the passage (v16) for less than 5 minutes which every commentary I looked at reckons is the most important part and central to the whole letter.

I think his aim was to encourage his church which I'm sure would have been achieved.

Tommy said...

i enjoyed his take on the proprioceptors, as mentioned in habbakuk

Matt & Kate said...

Sorry Tommy, I don't remember it. What was his point and what did you enjoy about it?