Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (25.4)

The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy

1 Timothy 3:1-7 - Read this Bible passage once through before referring to the notes below.

The office of Bishop/Elder

v1   Having placed the conduct and responsibility of congregational worship squarely in the hands of men, Paul now describes the positions of the men who should oversee such worship and other church activities, and their qualifications. 

First, he speaks of an office in the church called Bishop. By cross-referencing with Titus 1:5-7, we see that this office called Bishop is the same as the office of an Elder. Biblically speaking, a Pastor is an Elder (although the reverse is not necessarily true). In a Christian church, there are basically only two offices – Elders and Deacons. 

The term Elder is of Jewish origin while Bishop came from the Greeks. Note that Paul here equates the office of the Bishop to a good work. This office is not a title to be bought with money or other favours.  In some organizations, a person can be appointed to a position of honour by making a significant cash donation.  This may happen also in some churches.  But Paul says this office is not a reward for doing a good deed.  No, this office is good work itself.  There is work to be done in this office, labouring in the Word and doctrine. The work is good because it is for the glory of God and for the welfare of men.  It is hard work, a laborious office indeed, and therefore not for all men. Rather it is an office to be desired by those who are truly called of God.

Qualifications for Bishops/Elders

v2-7  Paul here sets out the qualifications for those who desire the office of Bishop.  These qualifications can be subdivided into positive and negative qualifications. There are 10 positive and 6 negative qualifications for this office.  Heading the list of positive qualifications is that the person seeking this office must be blameless.  This simply means he must have a high moral reputation in the community.  There should be no scandals involving him, and no vices listed in the negative qualifications. 

Next, he has to be the husband of one wife.   Taken in its literal and natural sense, it means this office is for men only, for how else can a female claim this office when she is not a husband?  Yet today there are female pastors and elders ordained in churches worldwide, including churches in mainline denominations.  One wife here prohibits a polygamous relationship, but some commentators also argue that this effectively bars such a person from remarrying if his wife has died.  The counter argument is that God intended marriage to be life-long, and death dissolves the marriage.  Therefore in such an instance, the remarriage is valid in God’s eyes. 

The next 3 positive qualifications are that the person must be vigilant, sober, of good behaviour.   He must be vigilant, meaning he must have control of his desires and his temper.  Nothing can be worse than seeing a minister of God losing self-control in these areas.  Moreover he has to be sober-minded.  He must bring good logic and sound reasoning to all matters under consideration.  And he must discharge his duties with good behaviour. Good behaviour implies orderly conduct, and so it must be, for God is not the author of confusion, but of order.  Love and respect for good orders lead to good behaviour. Then also, he has to be given to hospitality.  This is to be expected, for how else can he talk of the generosity of God if he can’t reciprocate that by way of hospitality to others? 

Next there is a special qualification, called apt to teach.  So far all the qualifications mentioned pertain to personal character.  But no matter how excellent a character he has, he cannot be a minister of God if he can’t teach the word of God!  It is not enough that he has the knowledge; he must be able to teach others the truth about God.  Moreover, he has to be patient (or gentle), not contentious.

Next he is one that ruleth well his own house. The reason given is that if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?  A Bishop, as a minister of God, has to manage people in his church, which is a spiritual family.  Therefore he has to know how to manage his spiritual house, and the best indication of his success in this direction is by looking at how he manages his own house.  The true test is to look at his children.  Paul says that he should have his children in subjection with all gravity.  The key word is all gravity.  It describes a kind of obedience not out of fear or pretence.  Rather it is an obedience borne out of Christian principles and character.  Children who are well taught these biblical principles will be in subjection with all gravity.  Likewise Christians who are well grounded in the truth of the Bible will themselves be in subjection to higher authorities in the churches. 

The last positive qualification is that he must have a good report of them which are without.  Just as he must have a good moral reputation in the community, he must also be able to command the respects of non-Christians outside the church.  How else can he reach out to the unsaved if they do not respect him as a minister of God?  So it is not just his testimony, but his acceptance by the community that is also important. That means he has to interact with the community, and so it must be, for the New Testament Church is always an outgoing church, reaching out to the communities around it and beyond.

Now let’s look at the negative qualifications for the office of Bishop.  First, the aspirant to this office is one who is not given to wine. This obviously refers to the result of drunkenness from alcoholic drinking.  But it also includes the bad behaviour associated with drinking alcoholic drinks, such as the noisy and quarrelsome temper that inevitably follow around the drinking table. So even if one were to argue that a little drinking does no harm, the truth is that one’s Christian testimony in the community will be harmed by the noisy and quarrelsome temper of the drinkers around the same table.  Following from this, a Bishop must be no striker.  That is to say he should not lose his temper and lift up his hands to hit others in anger or violence as a result.  

Next he must be not greedy of filthy lucre. The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10), and therefore the Bishop must be no lover of money.  But today, there are pastors who will, without shame, call for more giving from the congregations, and this include pastors from mainline denominations churches as well as the tele-evangelists with their toll-free numbers and they will accept money by credit cards as well. 

Another negative qualification is that he must not be a brawler.  This simply means he is not a quarrelsome person.  This does not mean he will not take a stand for the truth.  No, that he must do, but he will do so in love, not in a combative or quarrelsome manner.  Next he is not covetous.  This is a natural flow from being not greedy of filthy lucre. The last negative qualification is that he be not a novice. The reason is that a novice ordained to this high office may be lifted up with pride, and in so doing, fall into the condemnation of the devil.