A Brief Theology of Administration

It seems that in this last quarter the administrative aspect of my job has demanded a larger slice of time than it has in two decades of ministry. At the beginning of that two decades I was convinced I would never make it as a pastor because of committee meetings, deacons’ meetings, and business meetings. Thankfully, things are a little different now. No, I haven’t come anywhere close to mastering Robert’s Rules of Order, and I don’t believe meetings to be a means of grace like preaching, prayer, or the ordinances. But I do understand that in Baptist life the committee and its meetings are the rallying point for involvement in the cooperative. The committee and its meetings are a tool to involve “the saints [in] the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12,13). There is a collectivism in the Baptist Church that necessitates some means of organization (“A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord,” Baptist Faith & Message 2000, VI). This increased time in administrative duties and the fact that I am introducing the business session of our State Convention next week with a Scripture reading and prayer have me reading and meditating on “administration” as a theological concept.

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, Who is our hope, to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:1-5).

“Administration” (οικονομια) literally means “house-law” or “house-rule.” It is usually rendered “stewardship.” Notice that the ruling of the house according to laws is “of God,” and “by faith.” This ought to change everything. General Robert may guide us in our parliamentary procedure, but he’s not the goal or the motivation (the good General, by the way, wrote his “rules” after a calamitous experience leading a meeting at a Baptist church...I’m not making that up!). I think he’d agree. The apostle Paul introduces this letter (and this paragraph) by a focus on the command-Giver (“God our Savior”) and Hope (“Christ Jesus”) of himself and the Christian congregation. He reminds us of the ideal of the Church – that we are family (“Timothy, my true child in the faith”). I’m jealous for that kind of view of the Church for our congregation. After a mostly standard blessing from the Father and Son (notice, though, that he adds “mercy” to his usual “grace and peace”), he gets into the administrative stuff, along with its motivation and goal.

Timothy has been stationed in Ephesus to fight false doctrine and bad teaching. These things, Paul says, hinder the house-law of God which is according to faith (and biblical faith is always based on the Word of God). God says there is a certain way we live and grow together as His people (house-law), and we believe and obey it (faith) for His glory. “Strange doctrines,” “myths,” “endless genealogies,” and “speculation” hinder that life together as the covenant people of God. Timothy’s task is to make sure that God’s reign is firmly established in the congregation by putting down insurrection (“with gentleness,” 2 Timothy 2:25). The apostle’s goal is not just orderliness for its own sake, but the preservation of the means by which God rules His household: the proclamation, teaching, reading, praying, singing, meditation upon, and living out of His Word (“the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”). If the order does not serve the Word, it is vanity at best and idolatry at worst.

Committee meetings and the business of the congregation (or convention) need to have this in mind: our goal in all we do is to lift up the reign of God over us through His Word for our involvement in the “work of service,” our further unity as the Body, growth in obedience-producing faith, and the glory of God in His Son. Administration is good when it is “Great Commission” administration, the teaching of all the commands of the One Who has been given “all authority...in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18,20).

This is not optional for me as the vocational elder called to “shepherd” and serve as an “example” to “those allotted to [my] charge” (1 Peter 5:2,3). I must do all I can to lead us into a collective obedience to Christ to the glory of the Father (this is the practical application of Philippians 2:10,11). In a Church with congregational polity, this happens through administration, meetings, councils, committees, etc. But we cannot lose sight of the purpose. I cannot lose sight.

“For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain” (Titus 1:7-11). Part of God’s job description for me is that I’m to be “above reproach as God’s steward,” or οικονομος (house-ruler, enforcer of the laws of the house)...administrator. Again, this is founded upon and carried out through “the faithful word which is in accordance with teaching” and “sound doctrine.” It is the preservation of the reign of God over and through the congregation by His Word. That’s the job description. Don’t overlook (pun intended) the job title: “overseer” (a good, literal rendering of επισκοπος). I love teaching and preaching. I would do it all day long every day until I was so emptied that the great New Mexican winds would blow my rattling husk to the heavenly country. But this teaching and preaching must be done as one called to overlook the congregation – not any congregation, but this one currently “allotted to [my] charge.” Untrue beliefs and practices must be deterred, and the reign of Jesus in our lives must be lifted up above all. I must administrate from here.

The apostle Peter agrees: “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards [οικονομος] of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:7-11). The pressure of the “end of all things” is a motivation to “good administration” by the gifting of God. And, once again, it is manifested in a corporate setting (“serving one another”) through teaching (“speaking the utterances of God”) to the glory of God “through Jesus Christ,” Who alone is worthy of “dominion.” There is, further, a plurality of “good stewards.” God willing, there are several men gifted and called to serve the congregation in this way, vocationally and/or non-vocationally.

Returning to 1 Timothy, this is why Paul writes to Timothy: “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household [the οικος of the οικονομια we’ve been considering] of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14,15). The administration of the Church is based on the “writing” inspired by God for our “conduct.” It is molded by the reality that this house is “the pillar and support of the truth,” that is, the Word of God.

Is the “house” a building? No, of course not. As our confession stated above (a “congregation of baptized believers”), the “house” is made up of those holding “fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:6). The goal of our “business” in meetings and committees is “to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5 – the text prior to this, 1:22-2:3, shows us that we are governed by the Word in this).

The ordering (administration) of the house of God must be done according to an obedience-producing faith by the authority of the Word of God for the purpose of bringing glory to God in Christ together as His people. This is the goal and the prayer of this steward. It requires more than I have in myself (and more than General Robert had in himself, for that matter). Thankfully, God the Son, the Lord of the manor, is faithful to accomplish His purpose for His house.

Maybe this is General Robert's real secret to orderly meetings...a uniform!

Gospel Suffering

“Remember that Jesus Christ, made of the seed of David, was raised again from the dead according to my Gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evil doer, even unto bonds: but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I suffer all things for the elect’s sake, that they might also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:8-10, Geneva Bible).

This suffering is not just Paul’s – he gives a command to Timothy to suffer, as well. Three times.

• “Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, neither of me his prisoner: but be partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God, Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us through Christ Jesus before the world was, But is now made manifest by that appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality unto light through the Gospel” (1:8-10). This is a command.
• “Thou therefore suffer affliction as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth, entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, because he would please him that hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2:3,4). This is a command.
• “...suffer adversity” (4:5). Again, this is a command.

The only other place this verb is used in the N.T. is in James, where we are given the means by which we are meant to endure suffering. “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray” (James 5:13). “The grace of faith...is also increased and strengthened by the work of the Spirit through...prayer...” This is the “means appointed by God” in our Gospel suffering (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, 14.1).

Growth in grace through prayer is God’s intended purpose in Gospel suffering for the elect.

The Gospel suffering of the elect is also a means of God’s effectual calling in the witness of the Church:

• “Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of the wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the Councils, and will scourge you in their Synagogues. And ye shall be brought to the governors and kings for my sake, in witness to them, and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour, what ye shall say. For it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matthew 10:16-20). We are to suffer for Christ’s “sake...in witness to them.”
• “...this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongly...and if when ye do well, ye suffer wrong and take it patiently, this is acceptable to God. For hereunto ye are called: for Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that ye should follow his steps, Who did no sin, neither was there guile found in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, reviled not again: when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed it to him that judgeth righteously. Who his own self bare our sins in his body on the tree, that we being dead to sin, should live in righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:19,21-24). This is one of the places where “W.W.J.D.” actually applies.

This is not a defeatist theology. This is the God-decreed means by which we will reign with Christ, Who has “all power...in heaven, and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).

• “Then Peter said, ‘Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.’ And he said unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children for the kingdom of God’s sake, Which shall not receive much more in this world, and in the world to come life everlasting’” (Luke 18:28-30).
• “And ye are they which have continued with me in my tentations. Therefore I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me, That ye may eat, and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on seats, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:28-30).
• “Confirming the disciples hearts, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, affirming that we must through many afflictions enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Please not that Paul’s encouragement to them in his preaching and teaching included this teaching on suffering!
• “If we be children, we are also heirs, even the heirs of God, and heirs annexed with Christ: if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. For I count that the afflictions of this present time are not worthy of the glory, which shall be showed unto us” (Romans 8:17,18).
• “If we suffer, we shall also reign together with him” (2 Timothy 2:12).
• “I John even your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the Isle called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the witnessing of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9).
• “And I saw seats: and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which did not worship the beast, neither his image, neither had taken his mark upon their foreheads or on their hands: and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead men shall not live again, until the thousand years be finished: this is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he, that hath part in the first resurrection: for on such the second death hath no power: but they shall be the Priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4-6).

Do we believe His Word? We are to ascend to the throne through Gospel suffering.

If the Church is surprised by suffering, it will be because the Word was not faithfully preached in the pulpit. If the preachers are surprised, it will be because they preached from something other than the Word.

May we preach and hear the full message of Gospel suffering unto growth in grace, unstoppable spread of the Gospel, and Kingdom reign with Christ.

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

The Reign of the Image of God

It’s a beautiful rainy morning here in the high desert as I sit with a cup of coffee and the Word, considering God’s image and how that image is the story of His Kingdom’s reign over all.

“What is man, say I, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than God, and crowned him with glory and worship. Thou hast made him to have dominion in the works of Thine hands, Thou hast put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:4-6, Geneva Bible).

Dominion, the command of God to Adam, failed in man the Image’s rebellion (Genesis 3:1-24).

• “Furthermore God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image according to Our likeness, and let them rule’...thus God created the man in His image: in the image of God created He him: He created them male and female. And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Bring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it” (Genesis 1:26-28).

Dominion, the command of God to Christ, victorious in God-man the Image’s death and resurrection.

• “Moreover brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which ye have also received, and wherein ye continue, and whereby ye are saved, if ye keep in memory, after what manner I preached it unto you, except ye have believed in vain. For first of all, I delivered unto you that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He arose the third day, according to the Scriptures...since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive...for He must reign till He hath put all His enemies under His feet...for He hath put down all things under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4,21,22,25,27).
• “Let the same mind be in you that was even in Christ Jesus, Who being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God: But He made Himself of no reputation, and took on Him the form of a servant, and was made like unto men, and was found in shape as a man. He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto the death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath also highly exalted Him, and given Him a name above every name. That at the Name of Jesus should every knee bow, both of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, unto the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).
• “At sundry times and in divers manners God spake in the old time to our fathers by the Prophets: in these last days He hath spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath made heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds, Who being the brightness of the glory, and the engraved form of His person, and bearing up all things by His mighty word: hath by Himself purged our sins: and sitteth at the right hand of the Majesty in the highest places...unto the Son He saith, ‘O God, Thy throne is forever and ever: the scepter of Thy kingdom is a scepter of righteousness...one in a certain place witnessed, saying, ‘What is man, that Thou shouldest be mindful of him? Or the son of man, that Thou wouldest consider him? Thou madest him a little inferior to the Angels: Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and hast set him above the works of Thine hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.’ And in that He hath put all things in subjection under Him, He left nothing that should not be subject unto Him...but we see Jesus crowned with glory and honor, which was made little inferior to the Angels, through the suffering of death, that by God’s grace He might taste death for all men” (Hebrews 1:1-3,8; 2:6-9).

Dominion, the command of God the Christ to His Church, unstoppable in Christ-Church the Image’s lifting up of the Word everywhere in the Spirit’s power.

• “As I beheld in visions by night, behold, one like the son of man came in the clouds of heaven, and approached unto the Ancient of days, and they brought Him before Him. And He gave Him dominion, and honor, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall never be taken away: and His dominion shall never be destroyed...they shall take the kingdom of the Saints of the most High, and shall possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever...the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the Saints of the most High: and the time approached, that the Saints possessed the kingdom...the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the holy people of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all powers shall serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:13,14,18,22,27).
• “And Jesus came, and spake unto them, saying, ‘All power is given unto Me, in heaven, and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, until the end of the world, Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).
• “Therefore also after that I heard of the faith, which ye have in the Lord Jesus, and love toward all the Saints, I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, that Father of glory, might give unto you the Spirit of wisdom, and revelation through the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding may be lightened, that ye may know what the hope is of His calling, and what the riches of His glorious inheritance is in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us, which believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and domination, and every name that is named, not in this world only, but also in that that is to come, and hath made all things subject under His feet, and hath given Him over all things to be the head to the Church, which is His body, even the fullness of Him that filleth all in all things” (Ephesians 1:15-23).
• “And they sung a new song, saying, ‘Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, because Thou wast killed, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto our God Kings, and Priests, and we shall reign on the earth’” (Revelation 5:9,10).

Confess Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved. All those who call on Him shall be saved; not one will be disappointed. Be baptized in the name of God the Trinity, obeying Him in grateful love in the power of His Spirit in unity with His Church, spreading His Word throughout the world, for His glory forever and ever.