1 Timothy 5:17
Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
Elders
The term "elders" in the Greek is "πρεσβύτεροι" (presbyteroi), which historically refers to mature, respected leaders within the early Christian community. In the Jewish tradition, elders were often seen as wise leaders who provided guidance and governance. In the early church, elders were appointed to oversee congregations, reflecting a continuity of leadership roles from the synagogue to the church. This highlights the importance of spiritual maturity and wisdom in church leadership.

who lead effectively
The phrase "who lead effectively" underscores the role of elders as leaders who are not only appointed but are also expected to perform their duties with diligence and competence. The Greek word "προεστῶτες" (proestōtes) implies standing before others, leading, and managing well. This suggests that effective leadership is characterized by a proactive and responsible approach to guiding the church community, ensuring that the spiritual and administrative needs of the congregation are met.

are worthy of double honor
The concept of "double honor" is intriguing and can be understood in both a material and a spiritual sense. The Greek word "τιμῆς" (timēs) can mean both honor and compensation. Historically, this implies that elders who serve well should be respected and, where appropriate, supported financially. This reflects the biblical principle that those who labor in the Word and doctrine deserve to be cared for by the community they serve, as seen in other scriptural references like 1 Corinthians 9:14.

especially those who work hard
The phrase "especially those who work hard" emphasizes the value of diligence and dedication in ministry. The Greek word "κοπιῶντες" (kopiōntes) conveys the idea of laboring to the point of exhaustion. This highlights the demanding nature of pastoral work, which requires not only spiritual insight but also a significant investment of time and energy. It serves as a reminder of the commitment required to faithfully shepherd a congregation.

at preaching and teaching
"Preaching and teaching" are central to the role of an elder, as they involve the dissemination of biblical truth and the edification of the church body. The Greek words "λόγῳ" (logō) and "διδασκαλίᾳ" (didaskalia) refer to the proclamation of the gospel and the instruction in sound doctrine, respectively. This dual focus ensures that the church is both evangelized and educated, grounded in the truth of Scripture. Historically, this reflects the early church's emphasis on apostolic teaching as foundational to Christian life and practice.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Elders
In the early church, elders were leaders responsible for teaching, guiding, and overseeing the spiritual well-being of the congregation. The term "elder" is derived from the Greek word "presbyteros," indicating a position of authority and respect within the church community.

2. Timothy
A young pastor and protégé of the Apostle Paul, Timothy was entrusted with the leadership of the church in Ephesus. Paul wrote this letter to provide guidance and instruction for church governance and personal conduct.

3. Apostle Paul
The author of the letter, Paul was a key figure in the early Christian church, responsible for spreading the Gospel and establishing churches throughout the Roman Empire. His letters provide foundational teachings for Christian doctrine and practice.

4. Ephesus
A major city in the Roman province of Asia, Ephesus was a center of commerce and culture. The church in Ephesus faced various challenges, including false teachings and the need for strong leadership.

5. Preaching and Teaching
These are central functions of church leadership, emphasizing the importance of sound doctrine and the dissemination of biblical truth. The Greek words "logos" (word) and "didaskalia" (teaching) highlight the dual focus on verbal proclamation and instructional guidance.
Teaching Points
The Value of Leadership
Elders who lead well are to be esteemed and honored, reflecting the high value placed on godly leadership within the church.

The Importance of Preaching and Teaching
Those who labor in preaching and teaching are especially worthy of honor, underscoring the critical role of sound doctrine and biblical instruction in the life of the church.

Double Honor
The concept of "double honor" suggests both respect and material support, indicating that those who serve faithfully in leadership should be adequately compensated and appreciated.

Accountability and Responsibility
Elders are accountable to God for their leadership, and they must exercise their duties with diligence, integrity, and a heart for service.

Encouragement for Church Members
Congregants are encouraged to recognize and support their leaders, fostering a spirit of unity and cooperation within the church body.
Bible Study Questions
1. What qualities should characterize an elder who "leads well," and how can these be cultivated in church leadership today?

2. How does the concept of "double honor" apply to the way we support and appreciate our church leaders, both spiritually and materially?

3. In what ways can church members actively support the preaching and teaching ministries within their congregation?

4. How do the roles of preaching and teaching contribute to the spiritual growth and health of the church?

5. Reflecting on Hebrews 13:17, how can we as believers ensure that we are submitting to and supporting our church leaders in a biblical manner?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Peter 5:1-4
This passage also addresses the role of elders, emphasizing their responsibility to shepherd the flock willingly and eagerly, not for personal gain but as examples to the believers.

Hebrews 13:17
This verse instructs believers to obey their leaders and submit to their authority, recognizing their role in watching over the souls of the congregation.

Acts 20:28
Paul, speaking to the Ephesian elders, urges them to be vigilant in their oversight, as they are appointed by the Holy Spirit to shepherd the church of God.
Directions Respecting the Honor Due to the Alders of the ChurchT. Croskery 1 Timothy 5:17, 18
A Question of PaymentMemoirs of Bp. S. Wilberforce.1 Timothy 5:17-22
Duties Towards the MinistryA. Rowland, LL. B.1 Timothy 5:17-22
Gifts to MinistersC. H. Spurgeon.1 Timothy 5:17-22
Ministers Need EncouragementDr. Hoge.1 Timothy 5:17-22
Partiality to be Avoided1 Timothy 5:17-22
Payment of Ministers1 Timothy 5:17-22
Providing for the Minister1 Timothy 5:17-22
The PresbyterateR. Finlayson 1 Timothy 5:17-25
People
Paul, Timothy
Places
Ephesus
Topics
Affairs, Church, Considered, Counted, Direct, Doctrine, Double, Duties, Elders, Especially, Esteemed, Held, Honor, Honour, Honoured, Labor, Labour, Labouring, Lead, Perform, Preaching, Rule, Rulers, Saints, Specially, Teaching, Twice, Well-leading, Wisely, Worthy
Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Timothy 5:17

     4065   orderliness
     5217   authority, in church
     5434   officer
     5489   rank
     5727   old age, attitudes
     5833   diligence
     5878   honour
     6182   ignorance, human situation
     7760   preachers, responsibilities
     7793   teachers
     8235   doctrine, nature of
     8369   worthiness

1 Timothy 5:16-18

     5414   money, stewardship

1 Timothy 5:17-18

     5501   reward, human
     5504   rights
     5522   servants, work conditions
     5603   wages
     5974   value
     7912   collections
     7943   ministry, in church
     8262   generosity, human
     8436   giving, of possessions
     8470   respect, for God

1 Timothy 5:17-20

     7026   church, leadership
     7720   elders, in the church
     7734   leaders, spiritual

Library
Of Confirmation.
It is surprising that it should have entered any one's mind to make a Sacrament of Confirmation out of that laying on of hands which Christ applied to little children, and by which the apostles bestowed the Holy Spirit, ordained presbyters, and healed the sick; as the Apostle writes to Timothy: "Lay hands suddenly on no man." (1 Tim. v. 22.) Why not also make a confirmation out of the sacrament of bread, because it is written: "And when he had received meat, he was strengthened" (Acts ix. 19); or
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Whereas, Then, all Christians have to Guard Humility...
33. Whereas, then, all Christians have to guard humility, forasmuch as it is from Christ that they are called Christians, Whose Gospel no one considers with care, but that he discovers Him to be a Teacher of humility; specially is it becoming that they be followers and keepers of this virtue, who excel the rest of men in any great good, in order that they may have a great care of that, which I set down in the beginning, "By how much thou art great, by so much humble thyself in all things, and thou
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

That, Namely, Befalleth them which in Undisciplined Younger Widows...
26. That, namely, befalleth them which in undisciplined younger widows, the same Apostle saith must be avoided: "And withal they learn to be idle; and not only idle, but also busy bodies and full of words, speaking what they ought not." [2562] This very thing said he concerning evil women, which we also in evil men do mourn and bewail, who against him, the very man in whose Epistles we read these things, do, being idle and full of words, speak what they ought not. And if there be any among them who
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Truly we must Consider, that God Gives us Some Goods...
9. Truly we must consider, that God gives us some goods, which are to be sought for their own sake, such as wisdom, health, friendship: but others, which are necessary for the sake of somewhat, such as learning, meat, drink, sleep, marriage, sexual intercourse. For of these certain are necessary for the sake of wisdom, as learning: certain for the sake of health, as meat and drink and sleep: certain for the sake of friendship, as marriage or sexual intercourse: for hence subsists the propagation
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

This HomilyWas Delivered in the Old Church of Antioch
The Argument. This Homily was delivered in the Old Church [997] of Antioch, while St. Chrysostom was yet a Presbyter, upon that saying of the Apostle, 1 Tim. v. 23, "Drink a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and thy often infirmities." 1. Ye have heard the Apostolic voice, that trumpet from heaven, that spiritual lyre! For even as a trumpet sounding a fearful and warlike note, it both dismays the enemy, and arouses the dejected spirits on its own side, and filling them with great boldness, renders
St. Chrysostom—On the Priesthood

Book ix. Epistle i. To Januarius, Bishop of Caralis (Cagliari).
To Januarius, Bishop of Caralis (Cagliari). Gregory to Januarius, &c. The preacher of Almighty God, Paul the apostle, says, Rebuke not an elder (1 Tim. v. 1). But this rule of his is to be observed in cases where the fault of an elder does not draw through his example the hearts of the younger into ruin. But, when an elder sets an example to the young for their ruin, he is to be smitten with severe rebuke. For it is written, Ye are all a snare to the young (Isai. xlii. 22). And again the prophet
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Sundry Exhortations.
HEBREWS xiii. Let love of the brethren continue. Forget not to shew love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; them that are evil entreated, as being yourselves also in the body. Let marriage be had in honour among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee,
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

Excursus on the Deaconess of the Early Church.
It has been supposed by many that the deaconess of the Early Church had an Apostolic institution and that its existence may be referred to by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans (xvi. 1) where he speaks of Phoebe as being a diakonos of the Church of Cenchrea. It moreover has been suggested that the "widows" of 1 Tim. v. 9 may have been deaconesses, and this seems not unlikely from the fact that the age for the admission of women to this ministry was fixed by Tertullian at sixty years (De Vel.
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

What Diversity There Ought to be in the Art of Preaching.
Differently to be admonished are these that follow:-- Men and women. The poor and the rich. The joyful and the sad. Prelates and subordinates. Servants and masters. The wise of this world and the dull. The impudent and the bashful. The forward and the fainthearted. The impatient and the patient. The kindly disposed and the envious. The simple and the insincere. The whole and the sick. Those who fear scourges, and therefore live innocently; and those who have grown so hard in iniquity as not to be
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Thoughts Upon Worldly-Riches. Sect. Ii.
TIMOTHY after his Conversion to the Christian Faith, being found to be a Man of great Parts, Learning, and Piety, and so every way qualified for the work of the Ministry, St. Paul who had planted a Church at Ephesus the Metropolis or chief City of all Asia, left him to dress and propagate it, after his departure from it, giving him Power to ordain Elders or Priests, and to visit and exercise Jurisdiction over them, to see they did not teach false Doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3. That they be unblameable in
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

The Third Word from the Cross
In the life of our Lord from first to last there is a strange blending of the majestic and the lowly. When a beam of His divine dignity is allowed to shine out and dazzle us, it is never long before there ensues some incident which reminds us that He is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh; and, contrariwise, when He does anything which impressively brings home to us His humanity, there always follows something to remind us that He was greater than the sons of men. Thus at His birth He was laid
James Stalker—The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ

And not Without Just Cause a Doubt is Raised...
14. And not without just cause a doubt is raised, whether he said this of all married women, or of such as so many are, as that nearly all may be thought so to be. For neither doth that, which he saith of unmarried women, "She, that is unmarried, thinkest of the things of the Lord, to be holy both in body and spirit:" [1973] pertain unto all unmarried women: whereas there are certain widows who are dead, who live in delights. However, so far as regards a certain distinction and, as it were, character
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

Marriage, I Say, is a Good, and May Be...
24. Marriage, I say, is a good, and may be, by sound reason, defended against all calumnies. But with the marriage of the holy fathers, I inquire not what marriage, but what continence, is on a level: or rather not marriage with marriage; for it is an equal gift in all cases given to the mortal nature of men; but men who use marriage, forasmuch as I find not, to compare with other men who used marriage in a far other spirit, we must require what continent persons admit of being compared with those
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

But Since, as the Lord Saith, "Not all Receive this Word...
12. But since, as the Lord saith, "Not all receive this word;" [2249] therefore let her who can receive it, receive it; and let her, who containeth not, marry; let her, who hath not begun, deliberate; let her, who hath undertaken it, persevere; let there be no occasion given unto the adversary, let there be no oblation withdrawn from Christ. Forsooth in the marriage bond if chastity be preserved, condemnation is not feared; but in widowed and virginal continence, the excellence of a greater gift
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

For that Also is no Foolish Question which is Wont to be Proposed...
16. For that also is no foolish question which is wont to be proposed, that whoso can may say, which widow is to be preferred in desert; whether one who hath had one husband, who, after having lived a considerable time with her husband, being left a widow with sons born to her and alive, hath made profession of continence; or she who as a young woman having lost two husbands within two years, having no children left alive to console her, hath vowed to God continence, and in it hath grown old with
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Epistle xxxi. To Cyriacus, Bishop.
To Cyriacus, Bishop. Gregory to Cyriacus, Bishop of Constantinople. We have received the letters of your Blessedness, which speak to us in words not of the tongue but of the soul. For they open to me your mind, which, however, was not closed to me, since of myself I retain experience of the same sweetness. Wherefore I return thanks continually to Almighty God, since, if charity the mother of virtues abides in your heart towards us, you will never lose the branches of good works, seeing that you
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Preaching (I. ).
Earthen vessels, frail and slight, Yet the golden Lamp we bear; Master, break us, that the light So may fire the murky air; Skill and wisdom none we claim, Only seek to lift Thy Name. I have on purpose reserved the subject of Preaching for our closing pages. Preaching is, from many points of view, the goal and summing up of all other parts and works of the Ministry. What we have said already about the Clergyman's life and labour, in secret, in society, in the parish; what we have said about his
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

The Praise of Men.
"They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."--John xii. 43. This is spoken of the chief rulers of the Jews, who, though they believed in Christ's Divine mission, were afraid to confess Him, lest they should incur temporal loss and shame from the Pharisees. The censure passed by St. John on these persons is too often applicable to Christians at the present day; perhaps, indeed, there is no one among us who has not at some time or other fallen under it. We love the good opinion
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man
THERE are not a few difficulties in the account, which Moses has given of the creation of the world, and of the formation, and temptation, and fall of our first parents. Some by the six days of the creation have understood as many years. Whilst others have thought the creation of the world instantaneous: and that the number of days mentioned by Moses is only intended to assist our conception, who are best able to think of things in order of succession. No one part of this account is fuller of difficulties,
Nathaniel Lardner—An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man

The Past Day Returns not Hereafter, and after Yesterday Proceeds To-Day...
25. The past day returns not hereafter, and after yesterday proceeds to-day, and after to-day will proceed to-morrow; and, lo, all times and the things of time pass away, that there may come the promise that shall abide; and "whoso shall have persevered even unto the end, this one shall be saved." [2287] If the world is now perishing, the married woman, for whom beareth she? Or in heart about to bear, and in flesh not about to bear, why doth she marry? But if the world is still about to last, why
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

A Discourse of the Building, Nature, Excellency, and Government of the House of God; with Counsels and Directions to the Inhabitants Thereof.
BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. 'Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.'--Psalm 26:8 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Beautiful in its simplicity is this treatise on the Church of Christ, by John Bunyan. He opens, with profound knowledge and eminent skill, all those portions of sacred writ which illustrate the nature, excellency, and government of the house of God, with the personal and relative duties of its inhabitants. It was originally published in
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Twenty-Fourth Day for the Spirit on Your Own Congregation
WHAT TO PRAY.--For the Spirit on your own Congregation "Beginning at Jerusalem."--LUKE xxiv. 47. Each one of us is connected with some congregation or circle of believers, who are to us the part of Christ's body with which we come into most direct contact. They have a special claim on our intercession. Let it be a settled matter between God and you that you are to labour in prayer on its behalf. Pray for the minister and all leaders or workers in it. Pray for the believers according to their needs.
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

For He Himself Also, with an Eye to the Like Necessities of Saints...
16. For he himself also, with an eye to the like necessities of saints, who, although they obey his precepts, "that with silence they work and eat their own bread," may yet from many causes stand in need of somewhat by way of supplement to the like sustenance, therefore, after he had thus said, teaching and premonishing, "Now them which are such we command and beseech in our Lord Jesus Christ, that with silence they work and eat their own bread;" [2521] yet, lest they which had whereof they might
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

But Thou who Both Hast Sons, and Livest in that End of the World...
11. But thou who both hast sons, and livest in that end of the world, wherein now is the time not of casting stones, but of gathering; not of embracing, but of abstaining from embracing; [2244] when the Apostle cries out, "But this I say, brethren, the time is short; it remains, that both they who have wives be as not having;" [2245] assuredly if thou hadst sought a second marriage, it would have been no obedience of prophecy or law, no carnal desire even of family, but a mark of incontinence alone.
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

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