Our studies in 1 Timothy have taught us that Church structure and organization are essential.  In fact, Paul makes it clear to Timothy that apart from a structure of leadership and care by elders and deacons there really is no true Church at all!  This is why our Reformed forefathers in the faith insisted that there is no salvation outside of the Church. By such a strong claim, they meant that the New Testament never envisions a Christian who is not a member of a local New Testament Church.

Does it matter how a local church is organized?  In other words, is it really necessary for a church like ours to have elders and deacons?  Does the New Testament set forth a definite structure that every church must conform to in order to be counted as a healthy and faithful body of believers?

“Some have swerved from the faith.” These are the frightening words of 1 Timothy 6:21.  They are frightening because they strike a most sensitive nerve in us when we realize that the Apostle Paul is speaking of professing Christians in a local congregation.  In this case, it has reference to “some” within the membership of the first-century Ephesian Church who have embraced a false gospel, “and thus gone astray from the faith” (New American Standard Translation).