1 TIMOTHY CHAPTER 3

I) [1 Tim 3:1-7]:

(v. 1) "Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.

(v. 2) Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

(v. 3) not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

(v. 4) He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

(v. 5) (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)

(v. 6) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.

(v. 7) He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap."

A) THE DEVIL FELL FROM HIS HIGH POSITION AS A CHERUB ANGEL IN DISGRACE

"fall under the same judgment as the devil" =

Scripture indicates that Lucifer (= the Devil, ref. Lk 10:18), became conceited and fell from his position of the most supreme angel to one of disgrace:

1) [Compare Isa 14:12-15]:

(v. 12) '''How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

"Lucifer" = heylel (Str 01966) = "light-bearer"

Literally, shining one, morning star, Lucifer, the name for a Roman god with the characteristic of light bearer. "Heylel" is rendered Lucifer" in the KJV here to point to a supernatural character with those characteristics represented by the Roman god Lucifer or light bearer]

(v. 13) You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

(v. 14) I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.

(v. 15) But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit."

[Verses 12 to 14 point indirectly to a supernatural being named light bearer = Lucifer. For no natural man has 'been cast down to earth', nor had the ambition to 'ascend to heaven... and to raise his throne above the stars of God', etc. Hence this passage is referring to a personification of the 'morning star or son of the dawn' who in one translation, (KJV) is rendered as Lucifer = light bearer, the influence behind the evil leaders of the world.

[Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol 6; Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pp. 105-106]:

"This passage itself seems to be echoed by the Lord Jesus in Luke 10:18, where language applied here to the king of Babylon was truly satanic. When satan works his malign will through rulers of this world, he reproduces his own wicked qualities in them, so that they become virtual shadows of which he is the substance.

To interpret v. 12 and the following verses in this way means that the passage points to Satan, not directly, but indirectly, much like the way the kings of the line of David point to Christ. All rulers of international significance whose overweening pride and arrogance bring them to ruin under the hand of God's judgment illustrate both the satanic and the Antichrist principles."]

2) [Compare Ezekiel 28:11-17]:

(v. 11) '''The word of the LORD came to me:

(v. 12) "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

(v. 13) You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

[Note that this cannot be refering to the King of Tyre who never took residence in the garden of Eden, nor was adorned with every precioius stone prepared at the moemnt of his creation, nor was a guardian cherub angel. Hence a supernatural angelic being of great power is in view]

(v. 14) You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

[Note that a cherub angel was one of supreme authority and importance]

(v. 15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.

[Notice that Lucifer was perfect in his ways from the day that he was created, until sin was found in him. Also note that the King of Tyre was not blameless from the day he was created, but born in sin]

(v. 16) Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

(v. 17) Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings." '''

[Expositors, cont.]

'''[This passage] tells us that Lucifer was perfect in his ways from the day that he was created, until iniquity was found in him. Lucifer was a created being. He was perfect until iniquity (lawlessness) was found in him. Lucifer had free moral agency. He would think and reason but somewhere along the line his reasoning became dark and twisted. He thought he could rule better than his Creator. How long after his creation did the seed of rebellion and disloyalty to his Maker take root in Lucifer's mind? How long did it take him to act on his dark thoughts? God doesn't tell us. We do know that Lucifer and the angels were in existence at the creation of the earth and that, apparently, Lucifer, before he turned to evil, had some type of office, or rulership." '''

[Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord Zuck, Eds, Victor Books, 1988, p. 1283-4]:

"Ezekiel was not describing an ideal man or a false god in verses 11-26. But his switch from 'ruler' to 'king' and his allusions to the Garden of Eden do imply that the individual being described was more than human. The best explanation is that Ezekiel was describing Satan who was the true 'king' of Tyre, the one motivating the human 'ruler' of Tyre. Satan was in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-7), and his chief sin was pride (1 Tim 3:6). He also had access to God's presence (cf. Job 1:6-12). Speaking of God's judging the human 'ruler' of Tyre for his pride (Ezek 28:1-10), the prophet lamented the satanic 'king' of Tyre who was also judged for his pride (vv. 11-19). Tyre was motivated by the same sin as Satan, and would suffer the same fate.

Ezekiel described the beauty and perfection of Satan as God originally created him (vv. 12-15a). He was 'the model of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.' God did not create Satan as some prime minister of evil. As with all God's Creation, Satan was a perfectly created being - one of the crowning achievements in God's angelic realm.

Satan was given an exalted place; he was 'in Eden, the garden of 'God.' Eden was the epitome of God's beautiful Creation on earth (cf. Gen. 2:8-14). Satan's beauty matched that of Eden: 'every precious stone adorned' him. Ezekiel listed nine gemstones in describing Satan's beauty. These were 9 of the 12 kinds of stones worn in the breastplate of Israel's high priest (cf. Ex 28:15-20; 39:10-13). The precious stones probably symbolized Satan's beauty and high position. God had 'anointed' Satan 'as a guardian cherub' (Ezek 28:14). The cherubim (pl. of cherub) were the 'inner circle' of angels who had the closest access to God and guarded His holiness (cf. 10:1-14). Satan also had free access to God's 'holy mount' (28:14), heaven, and he 'walked among the fiery stones' (cf v. 16). Some associate 'the fiery stones' with the precious gems (v. 13), but the stones there were part of Satan's attire whereas the stones in verses 14 and 16 were part of the abode where Satan dwelt. Others have identified the 'fiery stones' with God's fiery wall of protection (cf. Zech 2:5). They see Satan dwelling inside or behind God's outer defenses in the 'inner courts' of heaven itself. This view is possible, and the word translated 'among' (mitok) can have the idea of 'between' or 'inside.' Whatever the exact identification, Ezekiel was stating that Satan had access to God's presence.

As originally created by God, Satan was 'blameless...till wickedness was found in' him (Ezek 28:15) 'and' he 'sinned' (v. 16). The sin that corrupted Satan was self-generated. Created blameless, his sin was pride (1 Tim 3:6) because of his 'beauty.' Satan spoiled his 'wisdom because of' his 'splendor' (cf Ethbaal's similar problem, Ezek 28:1-2, 5, 7). Satan's pride led to his fall and judgment.

Though Ezekiel presented the fall of Satan as a single act, it actually occurred in stages. Satan's initial judgment was his expulsion from the position of God's anointed cherub before His throne. God expelled him 'from the mount of God' (heaven, v. 16; cf. v. 14). Satan was cast from God's government in heaven (cf. Luke 10:18) but was still allowed access to God (cf. Job 1:6-12; Zech. 3:1-2). In the Tribulation Satan will be cast from heaven and restricted to the earth (Rev 12:7-13); in the Millennium he will be in the bottomless pit (Rev 20:1-3); and after his brief release at the end of the Millennium (Rev 20:7-9) he will be cast into the lake of fire forever (Rev 20:10).

B) IN THE SAME WAY A RECENT CONVERT MAY BECOME CONCEITED AND FALL UNDER THE SAME JUDGMENT AS THE DEVIL AND LOSE HIS POSITION OF AUTHORITY AND POWER

"a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil" =

Satan's initial judgment was expulstion from the position of God's anointed cherub before his throne which is what would be in view as a parallel to the judgment a recent convert would receive if he became conceited, namely, expusltion from the position of deacon. The other judgments of Satan are not applicable in this case since the offense which is in view is conceit and no human being goes to hell for being conceited. Furthermore, no judgment of Satan into the Lake of Fire is in view in the light of the believer's eternal security, conceit or not.