“1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 3:1-13).

     A critical aspect of spiritual maturity is being able to recognize and confront the issues of selfishness in one’s life and deal with those issues in very practical ways. Recognizing the issues, symptoms and cause of selfishness comes with spiritual maturity and acquiring spiritual discernment. However, merely being able to discern the presence of the problem does not necessarily translate into the maturity necessary to effectively address the problem or correct the problem in the lives of people. This is why being “a novice” disqualifies immature believers from spiritual leadership positions within a local church.

     We notice in I Timothy 3:8 and 11 that both “deacons” and their “wives” “must” be “grave.” The word “grave” is from the Greek word semnos (sem-nos'). It refers to someone who commands respect because of great age or impressive dignity; or someone worthy of veneration or reverence because of high position or noble character. Both “deacons” and their “wives” “must” be this kind of person. The word “likewise” that introduces I Timothy 3:8 means that Pastors are supposed to be this kind of person

     Having spiritual maturity, as manifested by the listed character traits along with a history of a consistent lifestyle in dealing with the issues of life common to all sinners, is necessary to qualify for the primary leadership roles within a local church. The evidence of this kind of spiritual maturity is required for Pastors, their wives (not mentioned, but presumed), Deacons, and Deacons’ wives.

     Sadly, selfish people seek positions of prominence for purposes of self-exaltation of which they are not qualified to hold because of spiritual immaturity. The problem compounds itself when a selfish person uses a position of leadership prominence for purposes of self importance. In doing so, this person provides a leadership models that is contrary to the Servant Model of true spiritual maturity. For the selfish person, the motivation behind wanting a leadership position is receiving glory from people rather than bringing glory to God. The fact is, as soon as the responsibilities of the position costs the selfish person more than he receives in return, he will abandon or compromise his leadership responsibilities to maintain whatever is needed to keep the praises coming to him.

     Spiritual leadership positions are doxological in their scope of responsibilities. What this means is that a spiritually mature person in a leadership position within a local church understands that his/her primary responsibility in their position is to lead people in bringing God glory by bringing God glory through living the Servant Model of the Christian life. The Servant Model is a life of self-sacrifice to the benefit and spiritual fulfillment of others.

     The spiritual maturity of the Servant Model glorifies God by revealing this attribute of God (sacrificial love) practically through a living model just as Christ modeled the love of God through His life, death, burial, and resurrection. The is the extreme example of the Servant Model that God puts before us. This extreme Servant Model is to be lived by those in leadership positions within local churches and within the broader community of the scope of their immediate daily influence.

“31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; {just or even} as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:31-35).

     The word “love” as used in John 13:34-35 is the Greek word agapao (ag-ap-ah'-o). It is a verb describing an action manifesting, through that action, who were the real, genuine disciples of Jesus Christ. The word agapao (ag-ap-ah'-o) cannot be separated from its meaning of benevolence (giving). We might assume a degree of ambivalence about what Christ means by the use of this word if we did not also have the phrase “as I have loved you.” Christ defined the degree of intended benevolence (giving) by what He did in giving His life a ransom for their souls. Anything less is a contradiction against the Servant Model Christ intends all true believers to be.

“20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. 23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. 24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. 25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:20-28; bolding and underlining added).

     The mother of John and James, the son’s of Zebedee, came before the Lord in faith and worship. However, she also came with a very selfish request. Whether or not this request came solely from the mother or if she was prompted by her sons to make the request, we are not told. We do know from verse 24 that, when the other ten heard the selfish request, they reacted with a selfish response. This is the way sinners normally respond to selfishness. They respond with more selfishness. Christ responds to both expressions of selfishness with corrective admonishment. This is always the spiritual response to selfishness when ever it is expressed or exhibited in any form. Corrective admonishment will always be the response of spiritually mature people when the Seed of Satan raises its viper’s head from out of the darkness. There can be no toleration of a viper in the midst of God’s children. As we see in Matthew 20:20-28, it will bite quickly and it will bite in multiple directions at once.

     Spiritual leaders must understand the destructive nature of selfishness when it is allowed to express itself within a congregation. It cannot be tolerated. The Viper of selfishness must be grabbed and cast out of the camp. If the person bringing that Viper of selfishness into the family of faith will not relinquish it by repentance and confession, that individual must be cast out along with the Viper of selfishness. Spiritual leaders understand that there must be zero toleration. Vipers are not pets to be toyed with.

     Again, in Matthew 20:28, Christ established Himself as the model of selflessness with the words “even as.” He established the degree of this selflessness with the phrase “to give his life a ransom for many.” The Servant Model of ministry is a model of extreme selflessness where a disciple puts the needs of others before his own needs to the degree of willingness to die for others.

     Christ was (and is) absolutely intolerant of any degree of selflessness below the standard He established through His life and death. In Mark 8:31-35 we are told of an incident where Christ began to teach His disciples about the necessity (“must,” verse 31) of His rejection, persecution, death, burial, and resurrection, Peter “took Him” aside and began “to rebuke Him” for such an attitude of selfless resignation.

“31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. 34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:31-35).

     Notice in verse 33 that Christ does not rebuke Peter to Peter’s face. Christ turned away from Peter, putting Peter behind Him, and spoke to Peter in the direction of the other disciples. Peter had allowed Satan’s Seed of selfishness to speak with his voice. Although Peter was speaking, Christ knew it was really Satan speaking through Peter’s fallen nature. Peter had loosed the Viper amongst the disciples once again. I am sure that Peter thought he was making a noble and wise gesture. Nonetheless, it was an expression intent upon condoning and cultivating selfish thinking. Christ rebukes Satan’s seed of selfishness within Peter that was loosed by Peter’s attempt at rebuking the Lord. Christ’s statement, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men,” is a statement of condemnation on any form of selfish thinking.

      Then, Jesus says to His disciples, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Denying the selfish ambitions and desires of the fallen nature is an absolute prerequisite to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. A person can call himself a disciple of Jesus Christ, but actually being a disciple and being considered a disciple of Jesus Christ by Jesus is defined by one major criterion before any other: a person MUST deny personal ambitions, desires, and self-promotion. If this primary decision has not been made and manifested through proven history within a Christian’s life, that individual should not be give ANY position of spiritual leadership within a local church. He/she is a “novice.” The warning is that the person lacking this initial level of extreme commitment is not proven. The warning is about the strong possibility of programming the “novice” (the unproven believer) for failure in being “lifted up with pride” (I Timothy 3:6).

     The idea of being “lifted up with pride” is that of being inflated by his own ego and self-worth. This individual now lives in conceit and with a vision of his own self-importance. When a preacher, or any spiritual leader, stands in the limelight of center-stage, it is a very dangerous place to be. However, the greatest danger, when a person is placed at the center of attention within the church, is when they think the attention is really on them because of their importance. True spiritual leaders are quick to escape the focus of attention when glory is brought to them. Spiritual maturity understands the Satanic Seed of selfishness within all of us and understands the immediate necessity in returning glory to Whom it belongs, i.e., GOD! Spiritually mature believers do not wallow in self-glory or the glory heaped upon them for what God’s grace has bestowed. They are quick to proclaim, “To God be the Glory!”

     Secondly, true spiritual leaders do not Lord. They lead. The authority of spiritual leadership does not lie with the person in authority. The authority of spiritual leadership lies within the transposition of the authority of Jesus Christ through the Word of God proclaimed by the Ambassador.

“1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (I Peter 5:1-4).

     Spiritual leadership is a grave responsibility that cannot tolerate selfish motives to any degree. Spiritual leadership must be willing to put everything at risk in order to contend earnestly for the faith once for all deliver unto the saints. There is a culpability before the Lord involved in spiritual leadership that is almost unimaginable. Spiritual leaders will have to give account to God for every decision, everything they taught, and everything they failed to teach. People under God’s appointed and ordained leaders are also culpable for following their leadership.

“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation” (Hebrews 13:7).

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17).

     There is no place whatsoever within this dynamic for selfish people. Selfish people in spiritual leadership will produce more selfish people. God cannot use selfish people. God cannot trust selfish people with His glory, because they will steal glory for themselves. Selfishness cannot be tolerated with a local church. It must confronted, rebuked, corrected, and, if necessary, the person who is unwilling to repent must be removed (excommunicated) from the membership of a local church.

     Spiritual unity can only exist on the basis of doctrinal unity and practice. Spiritual fellowship in the work of the ministry can not be achieved when church members are playing King on the Mountain. Spiritual fellowship in the work of the ministry is achieved when every believer within a local congregation has yielded his will to the indwelling Holy Spirit of God and is united in doctrine, purpose, and practice to the glory of Jesus Christ. The main hindrance to this spiritual unity is the satanic seed of selfishness within everyone of us.

“20 And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: 21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. 22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: 24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it. 25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea. 26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. 28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: 29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, 30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. 32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. 34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. 35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die” (Numbers 14:20-35).