The Work of the Minister of the Word*

"Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." I Timothy 4:13 Introduction In this section of I Timothy, the apostle treats of the offices in the church. Chapter three lays down the qualifications of bishops and deacons. In chapter four, attention is given to the pastoral office. This is the office described in I Timothy 5:7 as that of the teaching elder: "the elders…who labor in the word and doctrine." That chapter four concerns the office of the pastor, or minister of the...