Scriptual Qualifications for Ministry

Time is short - it is time for all the church "game playing" to be exposed for what it is - these "works of man" must be exposed to cause the people of God to choose whether they will follow God or man.

We MUST have true Godly leadership in the Body of Christ if we are to enter in to all that God desires to release in the earth today.

"not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit sayeth the Lord"

THE VISION AND THE WORD

In 1976 God spoke to me that the day would soon come,

when we would see the men in the pulpit that pervert, corrupt,

defile, and otherwise use the Word of God for personal gain, or

other unscriptural purposes, DROP DEAD IN THE PULPIT, by

the Hand of God in judgement. I have seen this come to pass.

It is my prayer that this Study will cause those that are

headed in that direction to take another look at their lives and

ministries, and REPENT and CHANGE, so that they will not corrupt

and mislead God's people and that they may be be saved from this

hand of judgement. The day of the Judgement of God is surely

upon us, as the big public ministries have been dropping like

flies. I believe the next thing we will see, is this dropping

dead in the pulpit on TV, radio and in churches.

Somehow many men will assume the responsibility of

leading God's people without understanding the scripture and the

awesome responsibility it places on us. It seems that somehow,

even the "ministry" has lost the awesome reverential fear of God

that all of God's people are to have.. Prov.8:13, 10:27 & 16:6.

It is time that we who assume leadership in God's church , "the

body of Christ", understand and prepare for the judgement of God.

As scripture says "Judgement comes first to the house of God."

If we cannot adjust our lives and ministries so that we measure

up to the scriptural pattern, then the least we can do, for

ourselves and the body of Christ is to step down, get out of the

way and let someone else, who IS qualified, take the place of

leadership.

The qualifications for leadership in God's church are

found clearly laid out in the Bible. There are two areas that I

will address in this study, the qualifications for ministry as

found in ITimothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-9, and the things that

disqualify ministry as found in Leviticus 21:16-23.

THE LOCATION

First I would like to turn your attention to where God

would have His ministry take place. Everything I can find in

scripture about this subject shows that the ministry of God is

to take place in THE LOCAL AUTONOMOUS CHURCH.

I cannot find anyplace in the Word of God for "Para-Church"

ministries, bible colleges, denominations of men or the new so called

"apostolic movement". Yes I believe in apostles, but not this new "non-

denominational" denomination. See our booklet "the five fold

ministry". I can only find local churches, establishing people

in the Word of God (the local church is the bible college of

God's choice) and then sending them out from THE LOCAL CHURCH to

plant, build and help other local churches to do the work of the

ministry. These unscriptural "ministries" have led God's people astray and siphoned off money belonging to the local church long enough. It is time a

stand is made against these false ministries leading God's people

away from the local church where they can be refined, shaped,

polished, and matured. The day of "THE LOCAL CHURCH" is here. God

is moving in the Local church like never before. It is ONLY here

that the true ministry of God to His people can take place.

I am not talking about a specific building, or type of building, but

the local body of believers that are being led by God ordained,

God anointed and Holy Spirit led men. You don't have to own a

building, but it is ok if you do, you can meet in a tent, a

rented room, a home, it doesn't matter where you meet, the church

is the people. The important thing is that you meet as a local

new testament church, called and led by the Holy Spirit of God.

Now let's look at the qualifications of the leaders of these

local churches and the things that will disqualify one that may

appear to otherwise be qualified.

THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR LEADERSHIP ACCORDING TO I TIMOTHY 3:2-7.

We will be looking at the Greek words that have been

translated, as well as the scripture as translated. We will

start with the Amplified translation, as it does an excellent

job of explaining these qualifications. "Now a bishop (elder)

(superintendent, overseer) must give no grounds for accusation

but must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, circumspect

and temperate and self controlled;(he must be) sensible and well

behaved and dignified and lead an orderly (disciplined) life;

(he must be) hospitable (showing love for and being a friend to

the believers, especially strangers or foreigners, and be) a

capable and qualified teacher, not given to wine, not combative

but gentle and considerate, not quarrelsome but forbearing and

peaceable, and not a lover of money (insatiable for wealth and

ready to obtain it by questionable means). He must rule his own

household well, keeping his children under control, with true

dignity, commanding their respect in every way and keeping them

respectful. For if a man does not know how to rule his own

household, how is he to take care of the church of God? He must

not be a new convert, or he may (develop a beclouded and stupid

state of mind) as the result of pride (be blinded by conceit,

and) fall into the condemnation that the devil (once) did.

Furthermore, he must have a good reputation and be well thought

of by those outside (the church), lest he become involved in

slander and incur reproach and fall into the devil's trap."

HE MUST:

Be blameless - 423 - Anepileptos - Blameless, unrebukeable. An

elder must live his life (all areas) in such a way that no one

can righteously dispute, refuse, contradict, or deny anything he

says or does because of a flaw in his lifestyle. An elder (even

more than any other Christian) does not have a personal or

secular portion of his life. His entire life is subject to the

rules of Christianity.

Be the husband of ONE wife - husband - 435 - Aner - Man, husband,

one. Wife - 1135 - Gune - woman, wife. Many interpretations

have been given to this qualification, but only one can be found

in the proper interpretation of the Word of God. He must have

only one wife, cannot have more than one lawful wife. If we

search the scriptures we find that he must have the only wife he

had at the time of his conversion or if not married at time of

conversion, that he has married since being born again.

The only exception is if his wife was an unbeliever and decided to leave

him, in which case scripture says he is free. He may have only

one lawful wife, the first since his conversion. See Eph 6.

Contrary to the teaching of some men, the bible does not

disqualify a man who has been divorced prior to his conversion.

According to scripture when a man is converted to Christianity

old things have passed away, ALL things have become new. This

means that the past is forgiven and when God forgives it is as if

it never happened so how can this disqualify a man?

Be Vigilant - 3524 - Nephaleos - Sober, circumspect Be Sober -

4998 - Sophron - Safe, sound in mind, self controlled, moderate

as to opinion/ , discreet, sober, temperate. He must exhibit

stability in all areas of his life. He must be sound of mind,

self controlled, moderate in all things except his devotion to

God. He must be discreet as he will be privy to information that

could be very damaging if revealed.

Be of Good Behavior - Good - 2579 - Kalos - Good, beautiful,

valuable, worthy, chiefly good, virtuous.

Behavior - 2887 - Kosmios - orderly, decorous, of good behavior,

modest. His behavior must be orderly & modest in appearance and

reality. He must realize that he is not intrinsically "good", but

that he must as an example to God's people be on the alert,

watching and maintaining that his behavior is Christlike at all times..

Be given to Hospitality - 5382 - Philoxenos - fond of guests,

hospitable, given to/lover of hospitality. He must be fond of

the brethren and enjoy their company. He must freely have them

stay at his home as they may have the need.

Be Apt to Teach - 1317 - Didaktikos - instructive, apt to teach,

apt & skillful in teaching. He should be able to teach in a

manner that all who are listening may understand. He should like

to teach because of the changes that are effected in the lives of

those who listen and learn.

Not be Given to Wine - 3943 - Paroinos - staying near wine, given

to wine, drunken. Wine must not be a necessity in his life.

Note that scripture does not say (tho many men do) that he cannot

drink wine, only that he not be given to wine. He must control

all things that are in his life, none of them can control him.

Not be a Striker - 4131 - Plektes - a smiter, pugnacious,

quarrelsome, a striker (fighter). He is not to be easily

offended or upset so as to become quarrelsome. No-one should be

able to cause him to loose control and retaliate.

Not be Greedy of Filthy Lucre - 146 - Alschrokeroes - without

covetousness, unavaricious, not greedy of filthy lucre. Filthy -

148 - Aischrologia - vile conversation, filthy conversation.

Money can not move him. Money should never be a controlling

factor in his decisions or actions.

Be Patient - 1933 - Epieikes - appropriate, mild, gentle,

moderate, patient, equitable, fair. Patience is a virtue that

must of necessity be an intricate part of his life.

Not be a Brawler - 269 - Amachos - peaceable, not a brawler.

He must never allow himself to be enticed into an out of control

physical situation.

Be not Covetous - 866 - Aphilarguros - without covetousness

He must not covet ANYTHING except more of God's Spirit and

annointing.

Be one that rules his Own House Well - Ruleth - 4291 - Proistemi -

ruler, to preside, be over, stand before. House - 3624 - Oikos

family, home, dwelling. He must be in control of his home.

Not by force but by being worthy of and receiving the respect due

him as a man of God and the head of the home.

Not be a Novice - 3504 - Neophutos - novice, young convert,

newly planted. He must be a man that has been in the Lord long

enough to know and understand scripture. He must have developed

a measure of maturity that is consistent with the calling of

elder.

Have a Good Report by those Without - Good - 2570 - Kalos - Good,

worthy, virtuous. Report - 3141 - Marturia - report, witness,

record, testimony, evidence given. Without - 1855 - Exothen -

From without, outside, external. His lifestyle outside the

church must equal his lifestyle inside the church. All who know

him must find no room for righteous accusation against him.

THE DISQUALIFING FACTORS

In the old testament, Lev.21:16-23, we find physical

characteristics that prevent one that is called to the priesthood

from filling the office of the priest. In other words, those of

the priestly family that had these disqualifying physical

characteristics could not minister before the Lord or the people.

He is still a member of the family. He could be "saved", he

could eat of the Holy and Most Holy things, He could partake of

the benefits of the priestly family, BUT he was disqualified for

the MINISTRY. He could not be a priest(minister), He COULD NOT

REPRESENT GOD to the people. Nor could he stand before God on

behalf of the people. If the old testament priesthood who were

born by natural birth into their priesthood could be

disqualified, how can we who are "appointed" be so arrogant as

to assume that we can do things our way, and not have to repent

of and change things in our lives that displease God ,or be

disqualified.

Since the old testament speaks in types and shadows, and

scripture says first the natural then the spiritual, let's look

at these physically disqualifying characteristics from a

spiritual view. As we all know, physical deformities do not

disqualify a man from today's priesthood, but spiritual

deformities will keep a man from being acceptable to stand before

God and His people.

Lev.21:5-8,17-23. NKJ (KJV) "They shall not make any bald place

on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards

nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy to

their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer

the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their

God; therefore they shall be holy. They shall not take a wife

who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman

divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God.

Therefore you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your

God. He shall be holy to you, for I the Lord who sanctifies you,

am holy."

"Speak to Aaron, saying; No man of your descendants in succeeding

generations, who has ANY defect, may approach to offer the bread

of his God. For any man who has a defect (blemish) shall not

approach; a man blind or lame, who has a marred face (flat nose)

or any limb too long (or anything superfluous), a man who has a

broken foot or broken hand, or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a

man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab (scurvy), or

is a eunuch (hath his stones broken). No man of the descendants

of Aaron the priest, who has a defect (blemish), shall come near

to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect;

he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat

the bread of his God, both the holy and the most holy; only he

shall not go near the veil or approach the alter, because he has

a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the Lord sanctify

them."

HE MUST NOT SERVE FALSE GODS

Shaving the corner of the beard, making cuttings in the

hair and "letting blood" cutting the flesh were all forms of

worship to false gods. In other words the man of God must be

very careful that he does not follow in doing things whose real

meaning is the worship of false gods. An example of this might

be the easter sunrise service, a practice which many churches

follow, but that is actually rooted in the worship of the false

god ra (Egyptian sun god).

HE MUST MARRY A PURE WOMAN.

A man of God is married first to God then to his wife. He

cannot mix the holy with the profane, and a woman who is a

harlot, has been defiled, or divorced from her husband is not

pure, she cannot be part of the priests life. A man who is a

priest of God cannot have other doctrines other than those found

in the Word of God, he cannot mix the profane with the holy. His

relationship with the Word of God (God) is to be the same as his

relationship to his wife "in sickness, in health, for better or

for worse, til death do us part". He must be loyal to the Word

of God and not deviate from it whether he likes what it says or

not, he cannot add to or take from the Word of God.

He must keep his life , his teaching, his understanding, everything he says,

does and is, in perfect alignment with the written Word of God.

THE BLIND MAN.

While the man who is physically blind is not disqualified

from the ministry. the man who is spiritually blind is surely not

qualified to minister to the children of God. Unfortunately,

many who are spiritually blind continue to {try} to feed God's

people, bringing them sickness, confusion, error and even eternal

damnation. The blind man brings what he and his friends find to

be the most advantageous usage of scripture, the interpretation

that brings in the most money, the biggest crowd, the most

chances to travel, the greatest acceptance of the "Charismatic "

crowd, or whatever he is looking for. He may even take the

"traditional" approach, accepting doctrines that are given to him

by those he trusts instead of studying, asking God and finding

the truth for himself in the scriptures. Many common

interpretations of scripture simply DO NOT LINE UP WITH

SCRIPTURE. But the man who is spiritually blind cannot see this, he

accepts and feeds polluted bread to God's people. The people he

leads will also become blind, then we have the scriptural

principle, "the blind lead the blind and they both fall in the

ditch". HE IS DISQUALIFIED, he should not minister until he is

healed, he should step down UNTIL HE CAN SEE.

THE LAME MAN.

The man who is physically lame is not able to walk

properly, but he is not disqualified from the present day

ministry because of this. However, the spiritually lame man,

the man who professes to be one of God's ministers, who cannot

walk right is surely disqualified from ministering to God's

people. He may be perfect in health, he may may be able to

stand straight and tall, he may be able to correctly interpret

and understand every area of scripture, he may understand every

doctrine and principle of scripture, he may be able to paint you

a beautiful word picture of the character of Christ, so exact, so

clear, so powerful that it can make you cry. BUT, if he can not

live it,if he can not stand up straight in his spirit man and

WALK IT OUT, he is DISQUALIFIED from the ministry.

Yet so many continue to{try} to lead "God's people",

giving them their LAME EXAMPLE to follow. It is no wonder that

so many of God's people are not able to walk straight, their

lives are a crooked mess, they constantly stumble and fall. They

are simply doing as their leaders are doing, they are playing

follow the leader as they are taught , they are not following

Christ.

THE MARRED (DISFIGURED) FACE.

The disfigured face can take many forms. KJV speaks of

the flat nose, so we will start with this part of the face. The

nose speaks of our discernment, it smell goodness and rottenness,

it can tell what is good to eat and it can tell what is not good

to eat. But the man with the spiritually deformed nose cannot

distinguish between good food and bad, he is unable to discern

which spirits are of God and which spirits are not of God. He

will feed and will allow others to feed those he is responsible

for, food that is not fit to eat. The man with the broken (non-

working) nose is disqualified.

The disfigured ear cannot hear properly, or it may not

be able to hear at all, it may be deaf. The ear speaks of

hearing. The ear that is disfigured (broken) can not function

properly, it may cause what it hears to be garbled, so that it is

unable to recognize whose voice is speaking. It may cause all

voices to sound the same and be unable to discern any one voice.

It will not be able to distinguish between the voice of God and

the voices of the devil. The man who cannot hear and clearly

discern the voice of the Lord is surely disqualified,as he will

lead God's people astray following after voices other than that

of God.

The disfigured mouth cannot speak clearly, it will cause

what is said to be misunderstood. he will misinterpret scripture

and bring confusion.

The man whose spiritual face is disfigured is UGLY in

God's sight and he is disqualified from the ministry.

THE LIMB TOO LONG.

The limb too long speaks of excess growth in one area of

the body. A man with a leg, a finger, an arm etc. too long is

not disqualified. But looking at the spiritual meaning of this,

we see many ministries today that grow only in one area, they are

out of shape,they teach one area of the Gospel to an excess and

other areas that are equally important are not even considered.

An example of this is the "faith" movement, which has left out

most of the essential parts of the message in order to expand

"lengthen" the "faith" leg out of proportion. The Hebrew word

used here might also mean excess limbs - for example; six

fingers, six toes etc, in other words, something extra, something

added. The minister with the extra toe or finger is adding to

the Word of God something that does not belong there, a

distortion of the truth. Usually, like in the "Charismatic

Movement", what is added makes people relax, it "feels good" to

their flesh, but it is not normal(scriptural), it is something

extra, something added, something that is not of God. Scripture

says that "he who adds to the scripture will be accursed". He

with the limb too long or the extra extremity is Disqualified.

THE BROKEN (FRACTURED) FOOT.

The foot again speaks of his walk with God. The man

with the spiritually broken foot cannot get around like he

should. His ability to walk has been hampered, he can not keep

up with others in his group that are not hampered. He is not

able to enjoy normal fellowship as he will lag behind dragging

his broken foot, his hurt may cause him to withdraw altogether,

ending up alone and even more hurt. He may learn to walk alone,

losing the protection that is found in a close walk with his

brethren. He is afraid someone will step on his foot again,

afraid that everyone is out to hurt him. He never allows his

foot to be healed, he never learns to get back in step. He is

disqualified.

THE BROKEN (FRACTURED) HAND.

The hand speaks of God's ministry on the earth. The man

with the broken hand is unable to properly handle the things of

God. He is not able to gently touch those with a need, because of

the pain to his broken hand. He can not properly handle the cup

and the bread, he will not be able to pick up the bread to share

it or pick up and pass along the cup of wine. He spends his time

protecting his hand instead of using it as a means of protection

for those for whom he is responsible. It will shrink back from

performing the duties required of it so that it will not be hurt

again. He is unable to properly clothe himself so how can he

cover the chidden of God? The man with the broken hand will

desire to be served, instead of being the servant that he has

been called by God to be. He is disqualified.

THE HUNCHBACK (CROOKBACKT).

The hunchback has a defect in his spine, his Backbone is

deformed, his character is not straight, it is crooked. He

cannot stand up straight. If you question his stand on the

Gospel, he will agree with you, he will allow the straightway of

the Lord to be bent like his backbone. Because his backbone is

deformed he will not stand straight on the principles of God. He

takes a crooked path in all that he does, he becomes involved in

the doctrines that are "today's revelation", and changes his

stand as often as these current "revelations" change. His walk

(doctrine) is like his backbone, crooked, he can not straighten

it, he floats from doctrine to doctrine. He is disqualified.

THE DWARF.

The dwarf is a little man. He is not fully grown, even

though his features may look fine, he never finished growing up,

his body quit on him. This physical quality would not

disqualify a man, but when we look at the spiritual dwarf, we see

a man who stopped growing before he was of full stature,

He is an immature Christian,he is unable to eat a full size meal.

He may not even be able to eat meat at all, his stomach may only

be mature enough to drink milk. He has stopped growing, he is

not continuing to mature, how can he bring the saints to

maturity? He is disqualified.

THE DEFECT (BLEMISH) IN THE EYE.

Unlike the blind man, this man can see - he just cannot

see properly. He may have trouble with focus, the things of God

may be fuzzy to him, he may see double, he may not be able to

distinguish colors, he may not have proper depth perception, he

sees but not clearly. This minister sees many things, but he

sees all of them from a defective point of view. He can not

communicate the things of God clearly and properly because his

vision is defective. Because he can see he tries to make people

understand what he sees, but all he does is bring a distorted

picture, he brings confusion, he can only bring what he sees, a

defective picture. He is disqualified.

THE MAN WITH SCURVY (ECXEMA).

Scurvy is caused by a lack of vitamin C. Lack of

vitamin C is caused by eating canned goods, dried food, salt

food etc., in other words it is the lack of fresh food. Fresh

food has plenty of vitamins and minerals, a balanced diet would

provide enough fresh food and thereby sufficient vitamin C to

prevent scurvy. The man with scurvy will not eat fresh food, he

exists on the old books, sermons, lessons, understandings from

the past. This man with scurvy is not willing to let God show

him his ever unfolding, expanding understanding of God's word.

He is afraid of eating fresh food because he is unable to tell

where it has come from. He is unable to hear God or understand

the scriptures for himself so he just refuses to eat fresh food.

How many times do you read a scripture you know and understand so

well and yet God gives you a new and expanded understanding of

it. It doesn't take anything away from your previous

understanding, it just supplies the vitamin C, it keeps you

healthy and in touch with God. This man usually has other

defects that keep him from being able to hear God so he just

stays with the old canned goods that he knows and trusts. He is

disqualified.

THE MAN WITH THE ITCH.

Spiritual itch can be found among other places in

II Tim.4:3 (Amp.) "For the time is coming when (people) will not

tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having

ears itching (for something pleasing and gratifying), they will

gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable

number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the

errors they hold, and will turn aside from hearing the truth and

wander off into myths and man-made fictions". The man with

itch will always be looking for new revelations, doctrines,

teachings that please his flesh, that agree with him regardless

of what the Word of God says. He will lead God's people astray.

He is disqualified.

SCABS.

Festering sores (NIV) best describes this disqualifying

factor. A festering sore is a hurt (wound) that just will not

heal. It keeps on being opened up again. This speaks of

bitterness and unforgiveness, a wound that has not been properly

taken care of so that it may be healed. A wound that has not

been forgiven just keeps on festering and getting in the way.

This type of unforgiveness brings with it a deep bitterness which

keeps the wound open and festering for all to see. A man with

this spiritual defect that tries to feed God's people will

minister a bitter word. He is disqualified.

SKIN TROUBLE.

Skin trouble causes itching and many times sores develop

from it, but it also makes a man irritable. He is uneasy, he

can not sit still and listen to others, he can only give his

story and move along. He does not give anyone else the

opportunity to express themselves so that he can see where they

are. He is only interested in taking care of his itch, his

sores, his skin irritation. He does not care about others first.

He is disqualified.

THE EUNUCH (Man with BROKEN STONES)

Broken stones means damaged testicles. Testicles, the

key to life, the reproductive glands of a man. That, without

the proper function of which, it is impossible to give life.

Again let's look at the spiritual connotation. This talks of

the man who cannot bring the Word of God in the manner in which

lives are changed and new life is brought to those who listen to

and follow him. Many men can preach fancy sounding sermons,

they can preach about Jesus, but they do not preach Jesus with

the strength and power that changes lives, because they do not

know HIM and believe that He can and will change lives. They

know about Him but they DO NOT KNOW HIM. They do not have the

"stones" to preach Jesus and His word without compromise, in

purity, in truth, in deed, because they do not walk with Him

themselves. Their stones are broken, they cannot bring life.

They are disqualified.

This teaching is not meant to bring discouragement, but it is

meant to open the eyes of the men that are responsible for

leading and teaching God's people.

Do you have any of these defects? If you do it is easy

to correct, go to God, REPENT, CHANGE, then go on. There are too

many men in the "ministry" who are disqualified by spiritual

defects. It is time that these men repent and change before God

brings judgement on them and then it will be too late. If you

are one of those who is disqualified, repent and change or STEP

DOWN - it may save your life. If you are doing the job God's way

then God is blessing you. Reach out to those that are not and

help them to get it right. Gal.6:1 "Brethren, if a man is

overtaken in any trespass (disqualification), you who are

spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness,

considering yourself lest you also be tempted".

Lev.22:9 "The priest's (ministers) therefore shall observe My

ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby if they

profane it. I am the Lord, Who sanctifies them."

Mark 16:17-20 "and these attesting signs will accompany those who

believe; in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak

in new languages; they will pick up serpents; and (even) if they

drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their

hands on the sick, and they will get well. So then the Lord

Jesus, after He was taken up into heaven and He sat down at the

right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere,

while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message

by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied

(it). Amen.

If the signs mentioned above are not clearly visible when YOU

minister then you should check in with your Father and find out

why they are not.

This is not an option it is a requirement for EVERY CHRISTIAN. ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO LEAD GOD'S PEOPLE .

Repent, get right with God (remove the disqualifying areas from your life and then these SIGNS WILL FOLLOW.

May God bless you as you follow Him.

Charles LaFoe