1 Timothy 3:14-15

1 Timothy 3:14-15

[14] write I  hoping  to come  unto  [15] But  if  I tarry long,  that  thou mayest know  how  thou oughtest  to behave thyself  in  the house  of God,  which  the church  of the living  God,  the pillar  and  ground  of the truth. 

What does 1 Timothy 3:14-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Paul wrote that he hoped to join Timothy soon.
"A pseudonymous writer would hardly have put in this phrase. Paul"s hopes were not to be realized, but he did not know that." [1]
In view of the context, Paul evidently was thinking of the local church when he spoke of it as a household and as a pedestal. [2] The first (domestic) figure is common in Paul"s writings ( 2 Timothy 1:16; Titus 1:11; cf. Titus 1:5; cf. Titus 1:12). The local church is a family of believers (cf. 1 Timothy 5:1-2). It should, therefore, conduct its corporate life as a family rather than as a business, a country club, an entertainment center, a military group, or some other organization.
"This metaphor served to elevate the community of believers as the "location" of God"s presence on earth. The church has become His base of operation in the world." [3]
The second (architectural) figure is of a pedestal that supports something set on top of it. "Pillar and support" is a hendiadys for "supporting pillar [4]." Each local church supports the witness of each believer in it and holds that testimony up before the world in which untruth abounds. Paul did not elaborate how it does this here, though the models suggested by the terms "shepherd" ("pastor"), "elder," "overseer," and "deacon" provide some clues. [5] What the believer proclaims is the "truth," the whole truth God has revealed in His Word, but especially God"s redemptive plan.