God's Word: Learn It, Love It, Live It, Teach It

1 Timothy 3:2- An overseer then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach.

An elder must also be able to teach God's Word clearly and accurately.  How can you as a wife help your husband in this area of his ministry?

In order to teach the Word of God, you must know the Word.  In order to know the Word, you must spend time in the Word.  So, again, you’ll need to allow your husband the time to do this.  God has given him the responsibility of “rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) so that he can feed the flock, give direction to those who need spiritual counsel, and be able to refute those who would teach false doctrine.  This does not mean that he needs to be a gifted public speaker, but that he does need to understand and be able to clearly articulate truths found in the Scriptures. 

Your husband also needs your encouragement to hold fast to the Word of truth.  There are some issues where emotions can run high: the woman’s role, divorce and remarriage, church discipline.  Your husband will face pressure not only from the world, but from Christendom in general- as well as people in your own local church- to compromise on God’s Word.  They will pressure him not to take such a firm stand if that stand affects what they want to do.   

I talked with three young men in our local church who all have a heart to honor the Lord.  I asked them why they had made the choice to be there.  All three told me it was because the Person of the Lord Jesus was honored and the Word of God was upheld as the authority- that it wasn’t just given lip service, but put into practice.  These are the kind of people you want in your local church.  So, let your husband study, listen to him as he talks through what he’s learning, and most of all, pray for him- that he would understand the truth from God’s Word, hold fast to it, and clearly share it with others.  

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it,

 and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel."

(Ezra 7:10)