BLESSED WITH A PURE CONSCIENCE

My Dear Precious Child, To his fellow minister who was the pastor of the church at Ephesis, Paul wrote to Timothy the qualifications of bishops of the church, and also the men and women who desired to become deacons of the church. There were restrictions in order to only give those ministries to people who would not bring an accusation of hypocrisy onto the entire church. He wrote that first a deacon must be respected in the community so that he or she will not become guilty of deserving slanderous comments and accusations or the person would fall into the devil's trap of one kind or another. Another requirement was that a person who desired to be a deacon must be worthy of respect both inside and outside of the church, not a double talker but the person must be sincere in everything that he says, that he must not be an excessive drinker of wine, not greedy by craving wealth or he will resort to evil means of getting it. Then Paul also wrote a spiritual requirement for being a deacon, writing that a candidate for the office of deacon must possess the mystery of the Gospel of Christ with a CLEAR CONSCIENCE. In other words, there must be nothing in his or her mind or heart that convicts the person of being guilty of some secret, hidden sin. (I Timothy 3:8-10) Paul wrote that women who desire to be deacons must be worthy of respect, be serious, not be gossipers, be temperate with no craving for wine, be led by self-control and trustworthy in all things. He also added another general requirement for men who desire to be a deacon is that they only have been married one time and are able to manage their own children and their own households well. They must have a good standing in the community themselves and also gain the confidence, boldness and faith which is centered in Christ Jesus. (I Timothy 3:11-13) Just in case Paul was detained from visiting the congregation where Timothy had been placed as pastor, Paul wanted to make sure that Timothy knew how officials were to conduct themselves in the church of the Living God and support the Truth. Then in his first letter to Timothy Paul wrote about the faith that must be evident in anyone who serves in a place of authority in the church, writing that what is the most important requirement for a deacon is that the person possess a personal knowledge of the hidden truth, the mystic secret of godliness which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians1:27) Earlier Paul had written briefly about it, writing that an office holder must possess the secret of faith of a Christian which is hidden from ungodly people and is only present in a believer. (I Timothy 3:9) In Paul's effort to more fully explain the mystery of the secret of faith, he described the hidden truth of godliness, that being that I had made Christ Jesus visible in human flesh, justified by the Holy Spirit, was seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed-on in the world and then He was taken up in glory. (I Timothy 3:15-16) That profession of faith must be genuine and true in anyone who desired to serve in the office of deacon in the church. Paul wrote the first letter to Timothy in order to assist his friend and ministry associate on how to govern a church that had been justified by Christ Jesus, and also to make sure that the church members were protected from false teachers and false prophets who were invading the churches of Christ. In his office of bishop, Paul had stepped outside of his first calling as minister and he was operating in the gift of administration by writing the letter, making sure that the entire church at Ephesis was operating as efficiently as possible in order to protect My children from an ungodly element that was desiring to overtake My church. Your Father of Order and Peace