1 Timothy & Titus: Qualifications of Overseers Pt2

I. Introduction

A. Today I would like to return to where we left off in our last study in 1 Timothy in the qualifications of overseers.

II. Other words used to describe an overseer

A. Overseer/bishop, depending on your translation, is the word Paul uses in , but there are other words used to describe the roles of the overseer, such as shepherd/pastor, or elder/presbyter.

B. The word ‘overseer’ speaks of his role of supervision and authority; ‘elder’ of his maturity and experience, and ‘pastor/shepherd’ refers to his feeding and caring for the sheep/the church they watch over. All of these words are talking about the same position

III. Preliminary Observations

A. THESE CHARACTER TRAITS DO NOT APPEAR “OVERNIGHT”. It takes time to mature in many of these areas. Some Christian men may need to work harder on some compared to others, but for the most part, someone is appointed an elder because they spent their whole life as a Christian working on growing and building their character. It doesn’t come immediately

B. MANY OF THESE CHARACTER TRAITS ARE EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL CHRISTIANS. No Christian should be greedy or covetous. All Christians are commanded to be hospitable, temperate, and sober-minded. These qualifications for the most part are things we all must be working on and growing in

C. THIS IS A PORTRAIT OF A MATURE CHRISTIAN HUSBAND AND FATHER. Husbands and fathers, there is a standard in this passage that we need to be working to imitate. We need to interact with our wives and/or children as these men described in this passage do. We are commanded to love our wives. We are commanded to bring up our children in the teaching and admonition of the Lord.

D. THESE ARE “MUST BE’S” TO BE QUALIFIED. These two words show us that these qualifications are absolute necessities. The men who desire this noble task must meet all of these qualifications at the present time to be appointed. And they must continue to display them to be qualified for this good work..

IV. The Qualifications: 4 Categories

A. For these lessons, I have divided the qualifications into 4 categories

1. Reputation Qualifications

2. Household Qualifications

3. Maturity Qualifications

4. Moral Qualifications

B. “Reputation” Qualifications: This passage is book-ended with qualifications that in general talk about the reputation that a man has before the church and those outside of the church.

1. MUST BE ABOVE REPROACH (NASB)/BLAMELESS (ESV) (v2).

2. GOOD REPUTATION AMONG OUTSIDERS (v7).

3. RESPECTABLE (NASB) (v2) A man who is who is viewed as respectable or honorable by those inside and outside of the body of Christ…

C. “Household” Qualifications:

1. MUST BE THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE (V2)

2. A LOVER OF HOSPITALITY (V2)

3. MUST RULE HIS HOUSEHOLD WELL (V4)

4. How this man rules his household is the test to how he will lead God’s people.

D. “Maturity” Qualifications:

1. TEMPERATE (NASB, NKJV; ESV – SOBER-MINDED) (V2). This word is often used in reference to the practice of abstaining from alcohol and its effects on the mind, but since Paul mentions use of alcohol in verse 3, it seems that he is using this word in a different sense here, possibly figuratively in regards to being “free from every form of excess, passion, or rashness.” This word would have a lot of similarities with the idea of being sober-minded. The idea is that of self-control in using one’s emotions or not being unstable in one’s emotions…

a) The qualifications in add to this idea.

(1) “He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered.” This is not the type of guy who if he disagrees with you or if you need to talk to him, you are afraid that he is going to get angry with you treat you like you are stupid and know nothing… He can control his emotions, will be slow to speak.

2. PRUDENT – NASB (SOBER-MINDED – NKJV; SELF CONTROLLED – ESV) (V2). of sound mind… The same word is used in 2:9 regarding how a woman should cloth herself. The idea there was putting foresight into how your clothing can affect others and showing you have set this boundary for yourself to serve others with what you wear and not be a stumbling block… In this passage it is the same kind of idea. It is the idea of being able to clearly think things through with good judgment, being able to be observant of things around you and using wisdom to make good assessments about what is best for the souls under your care…

3. ABLE TO TEACH (V2). This is something that comes from experience and maturity. When the Hebrews writer in says that at that point many of them should have been able to teach at that time, he is showing that with maturity in Christ comes the ability to open up God’s word and to serve others with it. It should get to the point where we get beyond just being fed and are able to feed and serve others with the word.

a) This does not necessitate that he preaches sermons or teaches Bible classes. I do think these things will be done by an elder, but are not necessary based on this passage. Teaching and feeding the flock can be done anywhere, and often will be done outside of the assemblies. does show though that elders can labor in preaching and be supported to do so.

b) This qualification also does not necessitate that he is a “good speaker,” but in general, this man is able to use God’s word to teach and to counsel Christians who are struggling with sin and need spiritual help, as well as be able to deal with false teachers who are threatening the flock. This is brought out more in the qualifications in Titus. “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” He can skillfully use God’s word to serve others.

c) It is important to understand this qualification because I do think we miss this at times: the elder’s primary role in scripture is to teach/feed the flock. Elders are often looked at as “business managers” who only make decisions about the building, pay the bills, decide what all of the money will be used on, etc. Biblically, elders are primarily feeders of the flock and watch over the souls that are entrusted to them by the Spirit.

4. NOT A NOVICE/ NEW CONVERT (V6). The Greek word used here comes from two words that brought together literally mean “new plant.” An elder must not be one who is newly planted in the faith. A recent convert will not have the spiritual maturity and experience necessary to be a good elder who uses Biblical wisdom to make decisions for the flock. Paul also says a novice may be “lifted up with pride” if he were put into such a position because of his lack of experience in the faith.

E. Moral Qualifications:

1. NOT GIVEN TO WINE (V3). At first glance, it may seem that Paul is saying that he should not be addicted to wine or ever get drunk. I think there is more to it than this. The words used here are a combination of the Greek preposition ‘para’ (at, by the side of, near) and ‘oinos’ (wine). Thus, paroinos would literally mean that an elder must not be at, by the side of, or near wine. I believe Paul is saying here to stay away from it. Besides, there were common words especially for intoxication and drunkenness that Paul does not use here. You certainly don’t have to agree with this.

2. NOT VIOLENT, BUT GENTLE (V3). Literally, a striker. This may just be referring to the idea that he does not become physically violent, but also could include the idea of acting like a bully or threatening physical violence. It could also be that Paul is referring to fights resulting from the consumption of intoxicating drinks in this context. Intoxicating drinks as well as uncontrolled emotions can result in physical violence. An elder must be in control of both.

3. NOT QUARRELSOME, BUT PEACEABLE (V3). He should not be one who wants to start a fight, but instead, seek peace. This is a man, who because of his character, the flock feels he is easy to approach with concerns, differences of opinion, struggles with sin, etc. The sheep should not feel like they are going to get attacked or that it is just going to turn into a fight over differences in opinion. The elder is not someone who just wants to win an argument or debate. They want to instead be helpful to those who are under their care.

4. NOT GREEDY OR COVETOUS (V3). An elder must not be a lover of money. This word occurs only here and in where it is translated “without covetousness” or “free from the love of money.” And of course, this one not only applies to being qualified to be an elder, but also being a Christian. Money is not something that we love or devote ourselves to. This is especially the case with an overseer who will have access to a lot of funds from collections. They need to have the right attitudes towards material possessions and wealth.

5. A LOVER OF GOOD (). He loves to do God’s will and see others dong it also. I believe the opposite would apply here also. If one loves good, they would “abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Ram. 12:9).

6. JUST & DEVOUT (). In both of these words, we are talking about a man who is seeking to be pleasing and right with God. This is the focus of his life. They want to be seen as servants of God who have devoted their lives to His purposes

V. Conclusion Observations

A. So as we bring this lesson to a close, let’s ask some questions:

1. Men, are these things that we are working on maturing with?

2. If we have wives and children, are we being faithful to the Lord in loving our wives and bringing our children in a way that teaches them to obey and submit to you and the Lord

3. Shepherds, I already know you all agree with this… just because you are a shepherd, does not mean that there is not more work you can do on building your character. Don’t stop seeking wisdom from God’s word and allowing it to challenge you to grow and mature more in these qualifications and in your service to God’s people.