-Not a neophyte. Neophyte. That is the word in the Greek. Someone who is new to something - in this case, new to the Christian faith. A new believer. A new believer may have lots of worldly experience, tons of wisdom, they are likely to be full of fresh enthusiasm for Jesus and may very well be at the ready to put me in coach. But they are not battle-tested. And let us understand the situation. We are going into battle, against a tough and determined enemy. Paul here in these next two verses twice mentions the devil, the adversary, reminding us that there is an enemy of our souls, and he is waging a desperate battle against God and His people, particularly against the leaders. Think about it - if you want to take down an army, you take out its leaders. They have more training, more experience, and the troops are looking to them for what to do. You concentrate a chunk of your firepower on the officers. But the fiery arrows of our enemy come in different forms. These (most likely) are not bombs bursting at my doorstep. These are whispers, dainty morsels of deceit and false accusation. Temptations to pride and self-sufficiency laced with drizzles of discouragement. Corner cutting and compromise.
-This is not about competence. The new believer may very well have the social skills and maturity and even the spiritual gifting and enough knowledge of Scripture to perform the duties of his office. But what Paul is saying is that what is apt to happen if you put a new believer into a position of leadership is that they can become conceited. The word is typhoo - in the NT we only find it in Paul’s letters to Timothy. It means to wrap something in smoke - like a typhoon. They get caught up in a whirlwind of conceit and wind up so puffed up they can’t see themselves clearly anymore. Think about it - the very reason one would put a new convert into leadership would be because of some amazing giftedness (i.e compared to others). And this will very likely blow straight to their head, puff it up with pride and self-importance. And how does that old saying go? Pride goes before you know what... True, often times, the only way someone gets cured of pride is for them to fall. But why even set a new convert up for something like that? No one actually plans to do that. But so why set them up to be targeted so soon, and put them on a path which will quite possibly have tragic consequences for both them and the flock they lead? The resulting condemnation and guilt and shame stemming from such a failure could prove to be insurmountable. Devastating. The enemy will always do his darnedest to try to take you out of the game, and then keep you on the sidelines as best he can. So why not give the neophyte time to learn and grow and mature in their faith, to take baby steps into the murky waters of ministry and to become battle tested. They are more important than the program. No need to rush here. Learn humility, a healthy and proper perspective on who God is (the Greatest) and who I am (not the greatest, not perfect, far from it in fact, and that’s perfectly okay). That is the journey of faith, the Calvary Road, is it not? It is not me, but Christ Who increasingly lives in me (Galatians 2.20). More of Jesus - He must increase, and less of me - I must decrease (John 3.30). Learning my place - and it takes time. It takes time for a newly planted tree to send down roots and grow branches which will bear lasting fruit. Give it time, Paul says...
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