The Office of a Bishop: 1 Timothy V

INTRODUCTION:

Given the nature of the Church, and the message we have been given, it is important for the leadership of the Church to evidence in their lives the fact that the gospel works. In Christ we are proclaiming a new way of “being human,” and because this is true, we take all comers, all refugees from the old way of being human. But if we do that and nothing changes, then it would be reasonable for our message to be rejected. And this means that we have to keep a sharp distinction in our minds between the qualifications for fellowship and the qualifications for leadership.

THE TEXT:

“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Timothy3:1-7).

OVERVIEW:

This is a true saying. It is a good thing to want to be an overseer (v. 1). It is noble work, beautiful work. In order to do the good work, he must be a good man, and the qualifications follow. He is to be blameless, a one-woman-man, vigilant, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable, and a capable teacher (v. 2). He is not to be long at his drink, and not violent but gentle. He can’t be quarrelsome and a lover of money (v. 3). He has to manage his own household well, with all dignity, keeping the children in submission (v. 4). The reason for this qualification is then given—if a man can’t handle the pressing duties of a father, then how will he manage with the church (v. 5)? He can’t be a recent convert, otherwise he might become puffed up and fall the same way the devil did (v. 6). And last, he needs to have a good reputation with those outside the church—in order that he not fall in disgrace, into the snare of the devil (v. 7).

WHAT IS A BISHOP?

The word bishop is translated from the Greek word episkopos, which we obviously get episcopal from. It is important for us to refrain from projecting two thousand years of subsequent history back onto the first century use of the word. The word means overseer, and it comes from Greek secular usage. A good equivalent would be something like manager or foreman. In the New Testament it is used interchangeably with presbyteros, which comes from the Hebrew usage, and means elder.

These are two titles for the same office. Here are some examples. St. Paul sent for the elders of the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17), and in the course of his talk to them he said that they were all bishops (Acts 20:28). The apostle Peter wrote to his “fellow elders,” and he  mentioned them “serving as bishops” (1 Pet. 5:1-2). The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Philippi and he addressed the congregation together with the “bishops and deacons” (Phil. 1:1). And last, in the book of Titus, Paul told Titus to appoint “elders.” And he hastens to add that a bishop must be blameless (Tit. 1:5-7). If words mean anything, the New Testament never applies the word bishop to a ruler over area churches. That has to wait for Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 110).

TEN CHARACTERISTICS:

There are a number of characteristics mentioned here that we might cluster under the first one mentioned, which is the general one of blamelessness. This does not mean “without sin,” because, if it did, we would all be up a creek without a book of church order. But, he must be (or have):

            1. A one-woman-man (v. 2): the history of the church has seen a great deal of debate over this one. Some have seen it as a requirement to marry, others hold that it excludes polygamists, others that it excludes those who have divorced and remarried, others that it excludes those who have been widowed and remarried, and others that it excludes those who are unfaithful to their marriage vows. The last is the most likely, although some of the others are picked up by this.

            2. Self-controlled (v. 2): we can take three words together here. He must be sober and vigilant, he must be sensible, and he must be respectable. He is sensible and sober within, and dignified without.

            3. Hospitable (v. 2): the word here literally means a “lover of strangers.”

            4. A capable teacher (v. 2): there are two possibilities here. One is that this word (didaktikon) means an apt teacher, and this is placed in a list of moral qualifications to contextualize it properly. The other option is a rarer definition of the word, which means teachable.

            5. Sane drinking habits (v. 3): he is not to be “alongside the wine.” In the Old Testament, priests were forbidden to drink on duty (Lev. 10: 1ff). Drinking interfered with the prophetic office as well (Is. 28:7ff). This does not require him to be a teetotaler.

            6. A reasonable temperament (v. 3): he will not be a bully, either with hand or tongue. He will not be violent, not quarrelsome. In contrast, he will be gentle.

            7. A good attitude to money (v. 3): later in this letter, Paul says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (6: 10). Keep that particular evil off the session. False teachers were lovers of money (6: 5; 2 Tim. 3: 2). Micah prophesied against those who peddled the word of God for a fee (Micah 3:11). And consider how both Samuel and Paul considered this important (1 Sam. 12:1ff; Acts 20: 32ff; 1 Thess. 2:5ff)

            8. Household authority (vv. 4-5): the man who would receive the natural respect of the church household (v. 15) must first be seen to have the respect of his natural household (vv. 4-5). In Titus, we see that this includes the children being believers (Tit. 1: 6).

            9. Spiritually mature (v. 6): the word here is neophyte, and probably refers to time as a Christian and not age proper. The danger that comes when promotion is rapid is that of conceit. The verb here is a striking one, and means to “be-smoke.” Pride as a smudge pot in the heart ensures that the head will fill up with smoke.

            10. A good outside reputation (v. 7): the outsiders are the non-believers. Paul obviously does not mean every last pagan (or he, Paul, would not be qualified), but he does mean that there is value in the “word on the street.”

BALANCE:

There is a balance between wooden perfectionism on the one hand, and a refusal to obey the plain teaching of these requirements on the other. The best way to proceed is to seek to establish a Christian culture in which all this is simply assumed, and when reasonable questions about qualifications arise, to have the elder in question either seek a sabbatical to get things in order, or to step down.

The lives of those who lead the congregation are set forth as examples (Heb. 13:7, 17), and should therefore be exemplary.