These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly;
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. [Note: See Robert A. Carlson, "An Evaluation of 1 Timothy 3:15 as a Pauline Description of the Nature and Task of the Local Church" (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002).] 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.