1 Timothy 5:17-18 – Those Who Labour

Last week, we noted that while all elders have ruling authority in the church and every elder should be able to teach, some are called “teaching elders” because they labour in preaching and teaching. That is, they are supported by the church so that they may dedicate their time to preparing to preach and teach God’s Word. Paul says that all elders who rule well are worthy of double honor, and that this is especially true of those who make their living as teaching elders. We see in verse 18 that the way we honor teaching elders involves paying them fairly for their labours. He cites Deuteronomy 25:4 to point out that if even an ox deserves to receive benefits from his labor as he helps to provide food for people, certainly those who labour to feed us with the Word of God should receive a fair wage. (In fact, Deut. 25:4 is likely a Hebrew figure of speech which means the labourer must be paid a fair wage). He then quotes Jesus, who said “The labourer deserves his wages” (Matt. 10:10; Luke 10:7). From these statements we learn that it is important that churches pay their pastors adequate wages on which to live while they labour to feed the Church from the Word of God, and those who do well deserve to be paid well.

Another thing of note in verse 18 is that Paul quotes both the Old and New Testaments and calls them “Scripture.” Contrary to what many have been taught, it is clear that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written by the time Paul wrote this letter (in the early 60s A.D.). Furthermore, that Paul calls his quote from a New Testament book “Scripture” tells us that Christ’s Apostles considered the New Testament to be equally the Word of God with the Old (see II Peter 3:15-16; II Tim. 3:16).

Questions
1. What does Paul mean when he says we should not muzzle an ox as he treads out the grain?
2. Why should we pay our preachers/pastors?
3. Why is it significant that Paul calls both Old and New Testament writings “Scripture”?

Prayer Points
1. Pray that churches will have the means to support their pastors well.
2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
3. Pray for family matters.