Biblical Concept: Finding Pastor-teachers
NAS 1 Timothy 3:1 It is a
trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a
fine work he desires to do.
GNT 1 Timothy 3:1 pisto.j o` lo,gojÅ Ei; tij evpiskoph/j
ovre,getai( kalou/ e;rgou evpiqumei/Å
A literal
translation of 1 Timothy 3:1 - faithful the word if any man upon-watching
himself-continually-reaches-out a good work he continually-upon-lusts.
A
meaningful translation of 1 Timothy 3:1 – Faithful is the word, if any man
himself continually longs to spiritually oversee, a good work he continually
has a strong passion to do.
The Application: A man could have the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher if he has a continually-strong-self-motivated-desire-to-spiritually-oversee. Note the context of 1 Timothy 3: "skilled to teach" in 1:2b and "take care of the church" in 1:5b. Note the context of 1 Timothy 3: the other qualifications listed in 3:2-7 do not necessarily concern the internal self-determination and identification of the pastor-teacher spiritual gift.