1 Timothy 3.3-Paul Lists Five More Qualifications That Must Be Met By Those Men Who Aspire To The Office Of Overseer
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday April 19, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 3:3-Paul Lists Five More Qualifications That Must BE Met By Those Men Who Aspire To The Office Of Overseer
Lesson # 55
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 3:1.
The apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3:3 continues to add to his list of qualifications for those men with the spiritual gift of teaching and who aspire to the office of overseer.
In this verse he presents five more qualifications.
1 Timothy 3:1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. (NASU)
“Not addicted to wine” is composed of the negative particle me (μή) (me), “not” and the accusative masculine singular form of the adjective paroinos (πάροινος) (paree-noce), “addicted to wine.”
Paroinos is made up of the words para, “beside,” and oinos, “wine” and describes a person who “sits long over his wine” thus, the adjective refers to a person who is an alcoholic.
The term occurs only twice in the New Testament (1 Tim. 3:3; Titus 1:7) and in each instance it is used in a list of qualifications that the man with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher must consistently manifest in his life over a significant period of time before he can be promoted to the position of overseer in a local assembly.
In 1 Timothy 3:3, the adjective paroinos means “alcoholic” and its meaning is negated by the negative particle me, which denies any idea of a man with the gift of pastor-teacher being promoted to the office of overseer if he is an alcoholic.
This expression is the first negative characteristic that appears in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, which means that this characteristic must not be manifested in the life of the man with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher if he is to assume the office of overseer.
It is also one of two characteristics that address the pastor’s relationship to things and the other is being free from the love of money, which is listed at the end of verse 3.
The Bible has a lot to say about alcohol and its abuse and proper use.
A number of passages warn against the dangers of drunkenness since it causes people to stagger (Ps. 107:27; Prov. 23:34), it makes them sick (Is. 28:8; Jer. 25:27), it makes the eyes red (Prov. 23:29), it puts a person into a stupor (Jer. 51:39, 57), it makes a person poor (Prov. 23:21), it interferes with a leader’s work (Prov. 31:4f).
The foolishness of drunkenness is shown by the examples of Noah (Gen. 9:21), Lot (Gen. 19:31-38), Nabal (1 Sam. 25:36-39), David (2 Sam. 11:13), Absalom (2 Sam. 13:28) and Belshazzar (Dan. 5:2).
The Bible does “not” prohibit drinking alcohol but it “does” prohibit drunkenness.
Ephesians 5:18 And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit. (My Translation)
Believers are not to associate with believers who are alcoholics (1 Cor. 5:9-11).
Drunkenness is a manifestation of the old Adamic sin nature (Gal. 5:19-21).
The apostle Paul in Romans 13:13 exhorts the Roman believers to unite with him in conducting their lives properly as those who exist in the day, not by means of drunken parties, licentious promiscuity and jealous contention.
Romans 13:13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. (NASU)
1 Timothy 3:3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. (NASU)
“Not pugnacious” is composed of the negative particle me (μή) (me), “not” and the accusative masculine singular form of the noun plektes (πλήκτης) (pleek-teece), “pugnacious.”
In 1 Timothy 3:3, the noun plektes means “violent” and its meaning is negated by the negative particle me, which denies any idea of a man with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher being promoted to the office of overseer if he is violent.
This expression emphasizes that a pastor can not succumb to anger and express that anger with violence.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 and 2 Timothy 2:23-24 indicate that those pastors in Ephesus who were teaching false doctrine and attempting to be teachers of the Law rather than the gospel were involved in angry disputes and abusive language.
“But gentle” is composed of the adversative conjunction alla (ἀλλά) (ah-lah), “but” and the adjective epieikes (ἐπιεικής) (ehpee-ee-keece), “gentle.”
The adversative conjunction alla is a marker of an emphatic contrast and is introducing a statement that stands in direct contrast with the previous prohibition.
Therefore, Paul is emphatically contrasting the overseer being violent with that of his being magnanimous.
The adjective epieikes denotes one who is magnanimous in their behavior since the word speaks of a wise man who remains meek in the face of insults and of a judge who is lenient in judgment, and the king who is kind in his rule.
It means magnanimous because the word speaks of someone who is considerate, thoughtful in legal relationships and does not demand his own rights at all costs.
The term denotes that the pastor must be: (1) Generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness especially towards one’s enemies. (2) High-minded; noble (3) Possessing nobility of mind, character, having a magnanimous love of justice.
“Peaceable” is the accusative masculine singular form of the adjective amachos (ἄμαχος) (ahmah-hose), which means “not a fighter, not contentious, not combative, not argumentative.”
It indicates that the overseer must not be a contentious person.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 and 2 Timothy 2:22-26 indicates that the pastors in Ephesus who were teaching false doctrine as a result of falling victim to the Judaizers’ teaching were often involved with quarrels and arguments and were contentious.
J. Hampton Keathley commenting on this word in 1 Timothy 3:3, writes that the word speaks of the man who “is not a quarrelsome person who struggles against others for self-seeking reasons such as jealousy or selfish ambition. He may strongly disagree, but he will state his case without being contentious.” (Qualifications for the Evaluation of Elders and Deacons, page 8; Bible Studies Press, 1996; www.bible.org)
Swindoll writes that the word describes a man who “walks away from physical altercations. While he may have the strength and skill to fight, he is known as a peacemaker, a man willing to keep a loose grip on his rights.” (Swindoll, Charles R., Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus; Zondervan; page 58; 2010)
“Free from the love of money” is the accusative masculine singular form of the adjective aphilarguros (ἀφιλάργυρος) (ahfee-lahren-yearoce).
This term is a double compound word composed of the alpha privative and the noun philos, “love” and the noun arguros, “silver,” thus the word literally means “not a lover of silver.”
This word appears only twice in the new Testament (1 Timothy 3:3; Hebrews 13:5) and in 1 Timothy 3:3, it means “not a lover of money” and speaks of the love of money and materialism.
It indicates that the pastor can never be in the ministry for the money or because it pays well and also denotes that he is to serve in the ministry regardless even if he is not making a great salary.
Some don’t serve because the ministry does not pay well.
The adjective aphilarguros teaches that the pastor must be known for the love of his work for its own sake and not for the material wealth that his work can provide him.
This term indicates that the man with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher must possess an attitude toward material wealth that is one of healthy detachment but of course not irresponsibility.
It refers to the fact that the man who aspires to the office of pastor-teacher must not be involved in always making “deals” outside of the church since these activities erode his character and hinder his ministry.
Also, many times pastors are woefully underpaid and at times at poverty level, thus there is a great temptation to attempt to supplement one’s salary by outside means or endeavors which take the pastor away from his duties of studying and teaching and prayer.
The sin of loving money is thus not relegated to the rich but the poor who don’t have it.
Commenting on this word in 1 Timothy 3:3 J. Hampton Keathley III writes, “Does he have his priorities straight? Is he seeking his significance, security, and primary satisfaction from material wealth? Is he involved in dishonest business practices? Is the amount of salary he receives the most important thing about his occupation? Is he seeking the office of elder for personal gain?” (Ibid., page 8)
Paul warns of the consequences of loving money in 1 Timothy 6:7-11.
In 1 Peter 5:2, Peter also warns pastors about sordid gain.