September 13, 2019
BIBLE READING: I Timothy 3
14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Matthew Henry said this:
* Those who are employed in the house of God must see to it that they behave themselves well, lest they bring reproach upon the house of God, and that worthy name by which they are called. Ministers ought to behave themselves well, and to look not only to their praying and preaching, but to their behaviour: their office binds them to their good behaviour, for any behaviour will not do in this case.
Paul is saying here that he wants to visit these believers as soon as possible, but in case it takes longer than he hopes, he’s writing this letter to make sure they are educated and reminded about things that they need to know. One of those things is they need to know how to behave themselves when it comes to corporate worship. Now I am not right about everything, and the older I get I find that I am wrong about more than I realized. Here in this passage, the “house of God” is the building, and the “church of the living God” is the people. We need to learn to behave ourselves in both. We need to learn how to conduct ourselves publicly, and how to get along with each other personally. Why is this so important? Because the “church of the living God” is the “pillar and ground of the truth”.
It is our responsibility as the church to maintain, hold up, and publish, the truths of Christ in the church. What does this phrase, pillar and ground of truth, mean? It means that truth is the foundation that the church is built on, and truth is what keeps the church standing. It’s not just the ground, or the foundation, it is also the pillar, or the support above the ground.
If we do not learn how to behave ourselves publicly, and conduct ourselves personally, we will not correctly represent the truth. You and I are the only church that some people will ever be exposed to. You and I might be the only Bible that some people will ever read. So, let’s behave ourselves!