Who is qualified?
-by rory moore
1Timothy 3:1 Faithful is the saying, If a man seeks the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.
A "bishop" is defined by the scriptures as an "overseer", and is one who watches over the "called out ones".
The modern church has perverted the term "bishop" into a titled position in an ecclesiastical structure unknown in scripture. The apostles never ordained solo pastors or a priest over the churches. There is no "office".
A "bishop" is not a pastor overseeing other pastors in a pyramid shaped organizational structure. He was an elder and most often supported himself as he ministered..
We will look at who and how God calls and qualifies with the responsibility of an overseer; that is, to watch over and tend the flock of God. 1Tim. 3:1-7
1 Faithful is the saying, If a man desires the *office of a bishop, he desires a good work. (bishop means simply "overseer" and is not a pastor over pastors, nor is the word "office" in the correct text. The KJV is incorrect on that. )
2 The bishop therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money
4 one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (but if a man knows not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) (ouch)
6 not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
7 Moreover he must have good testimony from them that are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
In Titus 1, he wrote a second time regarding elders:
Titus 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are lacking, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed you:
Here are the qualifications for those elders that are to be "overseers" of the churches:
6) if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly.
7) For the bishop must be blameless, as God`s steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;
8)) but given to hospitality, as lover of good, sober-minded, just,holy, self-controlled;
9) holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict the opposers.
Did you notice the ordained "elders" in "every city" are called "bishops"?
1Peter 5
1) The elders among you I exhort, who am a fellow-elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2) *Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; (*tend means "feed")
3) neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. "lording": means subjugating, domineering, controlling)
Although this may upset a few people, the most often repeated qualification use the nouns "man" and "he", a total of 14 times. 11 in 1Timothy and 3 more in Titus.
Masculine nouns are used repeatedly in multiple verses. The first qualification specified and is referenced 14x times. The office itself "bishop", Greek "episkopos", is also a masculine noun. (Strongs 1985).
When the Scriptures speak in terms of an overseer and the elders that rule, it always does so with men. Even the word "pastor" (poimen in Greek), is a masculine noun, and there is no such thing as a wife being "co-pastor" or "pastor" over an assembly.
Having seen that, let us now look at the points Paul gave in 1Timothy 3.
In our 24 years of church involvement and leadership, we never heard these taught or reviewed in regard to the people who were appointed or put in places of leadership.
Church leaders are usually those who demonstrate loyalty, financial support, natural gifts for speaking, or a willingness to support and volunteer.
We also see that among the scriptural elders that ministered, no one office such as the pastor, prophet, or apostle, is given pre-eminence above the rest.
Nor are Formal Titles are assigned for those exercising oversight of the churches in these qualifications which apply equally to all ministries and the elders.
In 1Timothy 3
1. without reproach:
not open to censure, irreproachable. He is honest and his word and motive is good. He is not hiding or practicing any sin.
2. Husband of one wife:
He is a "husband" of one wife. He does not divorce and remarry another, unless the first wife committed adultery, or she died.
3. temperate;
sober, not given to alcoholic drinks and not a food glutton.
4. sober-minded:
curbing one's desires and impulses, self-controlled, temperate, prudent , sensible
5 orderly:
well arranged, modest. This speaks of his life not being disorderly or out of control.
6. given to hospitality:
He is hospitable and generous to guests. Their home is made comfortable to others and they are made to feel welcome.
7. able to teach:
He is ready and skilled in teaching in order to benefit and spiritually mature others in the Scriptures.
8. not a brawler:
Not ready for a blow, not a pugnacious, contentious, or quarrelsome person. "Not" means not. Contentious means argumentative. He is peaceable.
9. no striker: He does not hit others, nor his wife, nor his children. seemingly, suitable
equitable, fair, mild, gentle
10. gentle:
He is reasonable, listens and considers the words of others. He is equitable, fair, mild, and gentle. He is not over-powering, a bully, overbearing, stubborn, or hard.
11. not contentious:
Right after "gentle" comes not contentious again.
That is posturing as not to be withstood, acting as invincible, and abstaining from fighting whether it be with WORDS or ACTIONS.
12. not greedy of money:
He is free from the love of money, and not given to deals and scams. He does not give to get.
13. one that rules well his own house:
He manages over, superintends, presides over, provides for, and is a protector or guardian
14. children in subjection with all gravity:
His (not adult) children are under control, obedient, in subjection, submissive. With dignity: the characteristic of a thing or person which entitles to reverence and respect, dignity, majesty, sanctity, honor, purity.
15. not a novice:
He is not newly planted, a new convert, or neophyte (one who has recently become a Christian. -No matter how gifted they are, sincere, or giving of financial support. Maturity in FAITH, spiritual fruits, knowledge of God's Word and wisdom take time.
16. Lest he be puffed up.
An immature man can fall into taking satisfaction to his ego through the church. He may imagine himself to be above others, he will think those who disagree are going over his head, he will feel threatened by questions or disagreement. He will see himself as being something he is not and entitled to things by reason of his position or title.
17. having a good testimony from outsiders:
His bills are paid, his word is known to be good, he has a good name and reputation for honesty.
In Titus 1:
18. blameless:
He cannot be called into account, unreproveable, unaccused, blameless. What if he sins? If he is walking in repentence and forgiveness, he is blameless. Except from the devil.
19. husband of one wife:
He is once married unless widowed, and did not divorce for any cause other than adultery by his ex-wife.
20. children that believe and are not riotous:
His children believe in the Lord and are not those that cannot be subjected to control, disobedient, unruly. His children are not in rebellion.
21. not self-willed:
He is not self-pleasing, self-willed, arrogant.
22. not quickly angry:
He is not prone to anger, irascible, hot-headed, fiery, hot tempered.
23. not given to wine:
He is not a drunkard, given to wine, or drunken.
24. no striker:
Not ready for a blow, not a pugnacious, contentious, or quarrelsome person. "Not" means not. Contentious means argumentative. He is peacable.
25. not greedy of lucre:
He is free from the love of gain, desire for wealth and substance, eager for base gain, or greedy for money.
26. given to hospitality:
He is hospitable and generous to guests.
27. as lover of good,
He is of a sound mind, sane, in one's senses,
curbing one's desires and impulses, self-controlled, temperate.
28. sober-minded:
He is safe (sound) in mind, that is, self controlled (moderate as to opinion or passion): - discreet, sober, temperate.
29. just:
In a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God
of those who seem to themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves in their virtues, whether real or imagined
innocent, faultless, guiltless
30. holy: undefiled by sin, free from wickedness, religiously observing every moral obligation, pure holy, pious.
30.self-controlled: strong, robust, having power over, possessed of (a thing) mastering, controlling, curbing, restraining, controlling one's self, temperate. He can control his apetite.
31. holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching: He cleaves hard to the Word, the sayings of God, not just in head knowledge, but in action. He speaks as an oracle of God.
32. able to exhort in the sound doctrine: To refute, comfort, establish, correct, reprove, to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to comfort
In 1Peter 5:1
"The elders among you I exhort, who am a fellow-elder", the elders are to:
33. tend the flock: to feed, to tend a flock, to rule, govern, shepherd
of rulers (overseers)
to furnish pasture for food
to nourish
to cherish one's body, to serve the body
to supply the requisites for the soul's need
34. exercising the oversight: to look upon, inspect, oversee, look after, take care of the church which rested upon the elders, to look carefully after, beware in regard to protect
35. not by constraint:
not to shepherd and tend by using compulsion or force of title or position. (carnal authority)
36. willingly:
of one's own accord, voluntarily. -not as a hireling, but as a volunteer.
37. according to the will of God.
As a man sent from God, according to and from the Will of God, not by men or a Bible College Certificate.
38. nor yet for filthy lucre.
To do so NOT for gain, i.e. money. How plain that is. No tithes or salary
39. of a ready mind.
eagerness, willingly. Ready to help, work, and of the faith, fully persuaded.
40. neither as lording it.
Not as to lord against, that is, control,subjugate: - exercise dominion over (lordship), be lord over, overcome.
41. ensamples to the flock
an example to be imitated, of men worthy of imitation.
In 1Tim 3, Paul also brings up deacon qualifications and likens them to those of the elders. 8 Deacons in like manner must be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9 holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.10 And let these also first be proved; then let them serve as deacons, if they be blameless.11 Women in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.12 Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
13 For they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Can you imagine the typical church reading these scriptures from the pulpit?
Deacons were not the titled, name tagged folks with offering plates in the original church. They were more typically the hosts of the people who met in their homes and they were servants to the church.
Do you want to see a deacon's role model? You have the church selecting seven of them in Acts 6, one of whom was Stephen. "seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom",
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch;
And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people.
-Now there's some real deacons, full of FAITH and the Holy Ghost. No wonder the early church did not go to doctors.
In Summary: we have given the direct instructions and meanings from the scriptures for those holding "positions" in the church. It is very convicting to realize how far our old churches had departed from God's Word on this. Do you realize a pastor is not above correction? Pastors were only one ministry among God's people, they were never singled out as the head of the church.
What is presented here should make it obvious that the church structure around us is hopelessly departed from the Word of God. It is as it was at the time of Christ when Jesus called His disciples to follow him, as He exposed the false shepherds..
Does this list sound like what any elders do that you know?
This is not a life of managing, giving orders, adjusting the thermostat, making announcements, CEO'ing ... as many of our brothers practice today.
If we set aside the traditions we learned and look just at scripture, we can see an elder as a self-sacrificing, humble, giving, working servant of the flock. He might be an apostle, he might be a prophet, he might be a teacher, he might be a pastor. He might just be an older seasoned veteran in life and spiritual experience.
These older ones should recognize a wolf even when it looked like another shepherd. These older ones knew how to love, to care for and to feed God's sheep. It was not a job for the power-hungry or for those who like to manage others nor those who crave the pre-eminence.
The church at Ephesus Paul spoke to in Acts 20, was overseen by elders, not men ruling as "kings". Elders-bishops who were told to work and help the weak and needy.
The pre-eminent pastors and Nicolaitanes Paul warned about would come later.
He called them "wolves", and they would do the very things Paul and Jesus told them not to do in regard to Titles and position. They would seek to have followers.
In contrast, spiritual "fathers" are to lovingly and sacrificially oversee the fellowship as they set an example, teach, and ministry gifts they are given.
