I Timothy 3:1-7
"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," I Timothy 3:1-7.
We ended by looking at the word and meaning of blameless. The elder must live above reproach. This is important because the pastor is to be the example that the people follow. He is to help keep the standard high, not lower it. Any time someone compromises these qualifications to make an exception, the standard is lowered. Which gets us to the place where we are at now, no respect for elders. When it comes to trustworthiness, pastors are viewed lower than a used car salesman. We do not have the right to compromise these qualifications, nor should our traditions be taught over the Scriptures. The elder must continually be blameless. We are not to meet these qualifications one time, but continually. This is a lifelong qualifying. This means that with one action the elder can be disqualified. These qualifications that we will be looking at in the next few verses, except for apt to teach, are moral qualifications. This means he really needs your prayers because he faces the same temptations and trials that you do, maybe even with more pressure.
The next qualification is he must be the husband of one wife. Husband is a man; an individual male; an adult male person; males as distinguished from females. This is very simple. Understand that we are all one in Christ: Jew or Gentile, male or female, bond or free; we are all one in Christ, but we have different God given roles. Here we see that a qualification to be an elder is you must be a man. Husband of one wife means the elder must be a man who is totally, whole heartedly, lovingly, dedicated to his wife, all his life. Remember, this is an ongoing qualification. "Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love," Proverbs 5:18-19.
This is for every husband, not just elders. The elder must be a one woman man. One woman has his eye and his heart. He is not to be a man who flirts, and he is not to use his position to steal the hearts of women, young or old. The only love in his life that is greater than the love for his wife should be his love for God. It should be Christ, wife, children, etc…
This verse has nothing to do with divorce.
Remember, husband of one wife is a one woman man. Timothy was the pastor at the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was a morally corrupt city. You could get married and divorced and remarried in the same day. There were hardly any family unit. Every person did that which was right in their own eyes, men and women. You could not be a member of the church living this lifestyle and you surely couldn't be an elder in the church. Church discipline would have to be administered. So, we have Timothy ordaining elders in the church at Ephesus, and examining current elders in the church. These are not Jews, but are Gentiles. He would be hard-pressed to find someone who had not been divorced. Timothy would be looking for present purity. Husband of one wife stresses moral character, not marital status. To further clarify this, let us turn to I Corinthians 7.
In keeping this in context the Bible is not speaking of marital status, but a life of character. When Jesus saves someone, a radical transformation takes place and one of the fruits of true repentance is a change of character. We are to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. When Jesus saves someone that person will love Christ and others, especially their spouse. Turn again to I Corinthians 6:9-11. Guess who makes up the local church? Guess who makes up the leaders in the local church? "And such were some of you." The elder is to be a one woman man. There are pastors in our day who go from one wife to another. These men are disqualified from being a pastor. Their heart and desire is not to one woman. These men are one reason the pastor is viewed as low as he is. If the pastor loves his wife, he will nurture and care for her. This is also what he will do for the Lord's church. If he is not faithful to his wife, he will not be faithful to the Lord's church.
The next qualification is vigilant. This means to be watchful; circumspect; attentive to discover and avoid danger, or to provide for safety. The elder is to be vigilant in his own life and in the life of the church. He is to keep his guard up against sin. He is to lead in these areas so he is the example the church will be following. The church will go in the direction the pastor leads them. If the church has pastors who are not a one woman man, then more than likely the church will be the same. If the pastor lives life unrestrained, the church will follow. Think about all these prosperity preachers. Those who follow them want to be like them. Even though it is unbiblical. If the pastor is not vigilant his preaching and teaching will show it. He will even be preaching and teaching to justify his lifestyle. This means he will compromise the Scriptures and consent to unholy living.
The pastor is to be vigilant in his own life. This means he must constantly be watching for danger in his own life. He is to live a life of confessing and repenting. He is to never put himself in a situation to sin. He is to set guidelines for himself, and, be the example to the church. The elder must know his own weaknesses. He must discover them and avoid them. If he is blind to them, he will fall by them.
Pray for your pastor. These qualifications are constantly to be applied. The elder must qualify every day. Lord willing, we will get further into verse 2 next week.
Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
