Caring for the Body – 1 Timothy 5 v 1 – 16

In Chapter 12 of the Apostle Paul’s 1^st letter to the church in Corinth, he uses the metaphor of a human body to describe the church and how it is to function. In verse 12 he writes, ‘The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ’.

And in verses 24 – 26 he writes: ‘But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that the parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it’.

Although we are many parts in terms of age, gender, gifting, marital status, life experience, and so forth, we all form and function as one body. You and I are the body of Christ. And the most important function of the body is how all the parts of the body are to love and care for one another.

Just hours before he was crucified, we read these words of Jesus to His Disciples. He said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you’.

Caring for one another and loving one another with the love of Christ, is what truly defines us. That’s what makes the church, the church. But if we fail to love one another and take care of one another, then we cease to function as the Body of Christ is meant to function.

Our reading this morning then centres upon the importance of the Body of Christ caring for one another and loving one another, and the context of Paul’s teaching is the care and well-being of the widows at Timothy’s church in Ephesus. Paul is giving instruction to Timothy on how widows are to be treated within the church.

Now whilst Paul’s focus is primarily upon widows, there are, nevertheless, a number of general principals we can draw from Paul’s instructions that will help us learn how we may better love and care for each other, and the first principle is we should treat each other in the church as family.

In verses 1 & 2 Paul writes: “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” The language Paul uses – fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters – is the language of ‘family’.   

So not only are we the body of Christ, but we are also the family of God, which is reinforced by Paul in 2 Corinthians Chapter 6 verse 18 where he draws upon God’s words to Israel through the prophet Samuel recorded in 2 Samuel Chapter 7 verse 18 and applies them to the church. God said, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters’.

As sons and daughters of God, and as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are also God’s family, which means we should love and care for each other in the same way we love and care for our biological family.

And the first family member we are to demonstrate care and love for, are older men who we should also treat as ‘Fathers’. Timothy was the designated leader of the church at Ephesus. But here he is told by Paul that should he have cause to rebuke or discipline an older man, instead of rebuking him harshly, he must first ‘exhort him as a father’.

The Greek word Paul used for ‘exhort’ means ‘to encourage; to make an appeal’. So instead of immediately rebuking the older man, Timothy should first ‘appeal’ to him. The Oxford English Dictionary describes ‘appeal’ as, ‘to make a serious, urgent, heartfelt request’.

Timothy was to first make a ‘serious, urgent, heartfelt request’ to the older man. If after his appeal, the older man still refused to acknowledge any wrong doing, then Timothy can rebuke him, but appealing to him was to be Timothy’s first course of action.

Timothy was to treat older men in the church as fathers, and older women as mothers. He was to demonstrate love and respect to those within the church who are of an elderly age – which is a biblical principle that is rooted in the Old Testament.

In Leviticus Chapter 19 verse 32 we read: ‘Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD’. Respecting the elderly is one of the ways you and I revere and respect God, and that is one of the reasons why Paul gives comprehensive instruction to Timothy and the church on how they should treat the elderly and widows.

Those within the church who we would regard as being ‘mature in age’ are to be treated as we would treat our flesh and blood fathers and mothers. They are to be treated with care, love, and respect, which in turn will honour and revere God.

As I said, that doesn’t mean we can simply ignore any wrong doing those who are mature in age may commit, but in addressing their wrong doing we must first recognise their age and treat them accordingly.

So, what about the younger men and women within the church? Well according to Paul, we should treat younger men as brothers and younger women as sisters. Because we all share one heavenly Father, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what our age, or the difference in our age.

In Chapter 3 of his letter to the Galatians Paul reminds us how we are all one in Christ Jesus. How we are all equal in God’s eyes. So, when we treat each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reinforcing that oneness – that equality.

Now before we move on, Paul gives an additional instruction to Timothy which concerns the younger women in the church. He writes, ‘Treat … younger women as sisters, with absolute purity’.

As I said, the church is both the Body of Christ and the family of God, which means there should not be even a hint of sexual impurity or inappropriate relationships within the church family.

In their actions and their thoughts, men of all ages should treat every woman as if they were their mother or their sister. And in their actions and thoughts, women of all ages should treat every man as if they were their father or their brother. The church is a family, and we should treat each other as family.

The next principle we can draw from Paul’s instructions is we are to take care of those who are older AND WHO ARE IN NEED. In verse 3 Paul writes: ‘Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need’.

The phrase “give proper recognition to” is a single word in the Greek which translates as ‘to honour; to provide support’. The word “honour” reminds us of the fifth commandment which tells us how we are to, ‘Honour our father and mother’.

So not only are we to treat older women within the church as mothers, but we are to also ‘honour’ them – which includes providing for their physical needs.

Now as we heard from our reading, Paul’s focus is primarily upon caring for widows within the church, and the Bible has much to say about HOW God’s people are to care for widows. In Exodus Chapter 22 verses 22 to 23 we read: ‘You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry’.

In Deuteronomy Chapter 24 verses 17 – 21 we read: ‘Therefore I command you to do this: When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands’.

In Isaiah Chapter 1 verse 17 we read: ‘Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widows cause’. And in James Chapter 1 verse 27 we read: ‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world’.

Because widows back in Paul’s day often had no other means of support and were very vulnerable in society, God’s people were to ensure they were cared for and provided for. Now here in our reading, Paul distinguishes between widows in general, and “widows who are really in need.”

Whilst any woman whose husband has died is a widow, Paul recognised that when it comes to them being cared for and provided for, some widows were better off than others. Whilst some widows had children and other family members who could provide for them and look after them, other widows had no body.

Paul’s concern therefore was for those widows who were all alone, and who were in desperate need. It was those widows who were left with nothing, and who had no one to care for them and provide for them, that the church were required to help and support.

And in verses 5, 9 & 10, Paul sets out the criteria that will enable Timothy to identify widows who ‘are really in need’. In verse 5 he writes: ‘The widow who is really in need AND LEFT ALL ALONE puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help’.

And in verses 9 & 10 he writes: ‘No widow may be put on the list of widows UNLESS she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up her children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds’.

So the criteria Timothy was to use in order to identify a ‘widow in need’ was:

–  She had no living relatives to care for her.

–  She was prayerfully dependent upon God.

–  She lives for God rather than for pleasure.

–  She is over sixty years of age.

–  She remained faithful throughout her marriage.

–  She was well known for her good deeds

Now again, whilst these were Paul’s specific instructions to Timothy as the Pastor, the principle we can draw from these instructions, is that as the church, we have a duty of care of those who are older, who are all alone, and who are in need – not just materially, but also practically and financially. If they are without, and if we are their only family, then as their family we are to ensure they don’t remain without.

Having set out the criteria for ‘widows who are really in need’, Paul then breaks this one main principle down into three smaller principles which again, we are required to observe in the church. And the first is ‘children should provide for their elderly parents’ – verse 4.

In verse 4 Paul writes: ‘But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God’.

What Paul is saying is that not only do children have a responsibility to look after their parents and grandparents in their old age, but they are to also regard it as repaying a debt. Because the children’s parents and grandparents invested themselves into their lives when they were young, as adults, they were to repay their investment by doing the same.

In fact, for Paul, such was the importance of ensuring elderly parents and grandparents were cared for and looked after by their children, it was something the children ‘should learn first’ by which he means they were to make it their No 1 priority. They were to place the well-being of their parents before all other things.

And Paul goes onto add that if they did make their elderly parents their ‘number one priority’                       not only will they be putting their ‘religion’ in action, but it will also be ‘pleasing to God’. Now I acknowledge that, particularly in this day and age, one of the most difficult decisions for adult children is how to best care for their elderly parents, especially if they are suffering from diseases like Dementia.

When our parents are still able to live independently, we should certainly visit as often as we can to make sure that things are okay. We should make sure that they have enough food, proper health care, and are looking after themselves properly.

However, when they can no longer live independently, we may need to make difficult decisions concerning long-term care. Sometimes the right decision is to care for our parents within our own homes, and sometimes professional supervised care within a nursing home or care home may be the only option.

Whatever the decision, we should first pray about it, seek God’s will, and make sure we are seeking what is best for our parents rather than what is most convenient for us. Friends, because our parents gave us life and raised us, we are required by God to practice our faith by caring for them and providing for them in their twilight years.

We have a debt to repay them. And when we repay that debt in the way God has set out through Paul, it will give God great pleasure which, ultimately, should be at the heart of everything we do as the family of God.

The second principle is ‘those that are able should provide for themselves’. Now as we saw earlier, Paul gave Timothy the criteria for identifying a ‘widow in need’ within the church, which included how she needed to be over 60 years of age.

Back in Paul’s day, the Jews considered 60 years of age as being old. That when men and women hit 60, they were classed as OAP’s.

And with regard to widows aged 60 years and over, the Jews also believed it was highly unlikely they would remarry due to them being ‘too old’ to remarry, and ‘too old’ to bear children – which is why only those widows aged 60 and over were eligible to go on the list.

However, and as we also heard earlier, another criteria widows who were eligible for the list were required to meet, was they were required to live godly lives, which included them having remained faithful to her husband when he was still alive, and having a reputation for good deeds which included bringing up her children in a godly way, showing hospitality to others, caring for the needs of her Christian brothers and sisters, and helping other believers in distress.

Now whilst Paul’s criteria gives the impression that Paul discriminated between widows over 60 and widows who were younger, we need to remember that similar to many churches today, Timothy’s church in Ephesus would have had limited resources, which meant they were not in a position to help everyone.

Because Timothy and the leadership team only had a limited number of resources they could call upon, they needed to choose between those widows who still had family to care for them and provide for them, and those who were all alone without any provisions – hence Paul’s instruction on how eligible widows needed to be aged 60 and who were ‘really in need’.

Unlike older widows, younger widows often had greater resources to take care of themselves. They had better health, better strength, better family support, PLUS they had a better chance of remarrying and having children.

For Paul therefore, because the younger widows were in a far better position personally and materially than older widows, it was necessary that the church ensured the older widows were not overlooked and were given the same family care and support as the younger widows.

Having given instructions to Timothy on how elderly widows were to be cared for, Paul turns his attention TO the younger widows, and in verse 12 he talks about them remarrying, and breaking “their first pledge.”

Now some commentators have interpreted ‘their first pledge’ as being their initial wedding vow to their dead husband, but having looked further into it, I don’t believe that is what it means.

First, the Bible clearly allows remarriage after the death of a spouse which in verse 14 Paul also encourages. And second, when a husband or wife dies, the wedding vow is no longer legally binding on the grounds the surviving spouse is no longer married.

The “first pledge” therefore seems to be some type of binding ‘vow’ widows made when they were placed on the widow list which most likely centred around them vowing to remain single, and vowing to serve Christ within the church.

A vow is a serious thing, and because younger widows would have continued to experience ‘sensual desires’ which in turn would ‘overcome their dedication to Christ’ – verse 11, it was better if they re-married whereupon they could satisfy their ‘sensual desires’ in a godly way. So the first reason younger widows should not be placed on the list is because it could lead to the breaking of the vow they made.

And another reason younger widows should not be put on the list, is because it could lead to them becoming unproductive. If the church continued to provide for all their needs, instead of them working to provide for their own needs and the needs of others, they might ‘get into the habit of being idle – of being lazy – and going about from house to house, gossiping and interfering in people’s lives’ – verse 13.

Now from what Paul writes in verse 15 which says, ‘Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan’, some of the younger widows within the church were already doing what Paul cautioned against.

Some had already fallen into the trap of thinking only about themselves instead of others, and were bringing ‘slander upon the church through their laziness and gossiping’. So from this, we can now understand why Paul cautioned Timothy against adding younger widows to the list.

They presented a threat to the credibility of the church and also to the witness of the church concerning Jesus, so by Timothy NOT adding them to the list, nullified that threat.

In saying all that however, the overriding principle Paul wants the church to grasp, is that those who are able should endeavour to provide for themselves.

That those who are in a position to do so, are to utilise any resources that are available to them, which in turn will free up the church to focus their attention upon those within the church who don’t have any resources – which leads me neatly onto Paul’s third and final principle which again centres upon how ‘the church is to help those who are really in need’.

Having opened his instructions to Timothy by telling him how the church is to ‘give recognition to those widows who are really in need’, Paul closes by repeating his opening instruction. In verse 16 He writes:

‘If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need’.

As I said a moment ago, when people within the church are able to provide for themselves or they have family to support them, the church is then able to help those who are really in need. Once again, because the church has limited resources, the church must use its resources wisely.

However, if there are people within the church who are REALLY IN NEED – especially those who are all alone and who are unable to provide for themselves – then our resources, which I would remind you have been given to us by God, must be used to meet their need. We have a duty of care to them, and we must fulfil that duty to the glory of God.

Friends, as I finish Paul’s message to us this morning could not be any clearer. Not only are we the Body of Christ, but we are also the family of God. And as the family of God, we are to love one another, care for one another, support one another, and provide for one another, especially those within the church family who are alone and who are in need.

Families look out for one another, and families look after one another. May that always be true of God’s family that is Hadleigh Baptist. AMEN.