QUALIFICATIONS FOR LEADERS IN GOD’S CHURCH 1 Timothy 3:1-7
Pastor Dennis Bone
2-28-16
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States was asked after he left the presidency what the greatest honor had been in his life; and his answer was: “The greatest honor and privilege of my life was to be an elder in the Presbyterian Church.” The apostle Paul writes these words to Timothy in I Timothy chapter 3: “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.”
This morning we continue our study in Paul’s first letter to Timothy by moving into chapter 3, where Paul writes about leaders in God’s church, specifically the qualifications and qualities men need in order to be elders and deacons in God’s church. In chapter 2 Paul gave instructions concerning the activities that take place in the church’s worship service, ending with a passage that clarified the role of men and women when it comes to authority within the church. Paul moves on in chapter 3 to expand this discussion on authoritative leadership by addressing first the call of men to be elders or overseers; and then the character and competence of such men who take on this role of ruling and teaching in God’s church.
Not all of you are elders here this morning, even as not everyone who read or reads this letter today is an elder, but the message is for everyone, because everyone in the church should know what elders are and what elders do, in order to support God’s design and purpose for His church. So I want to begin with the first verse, which I just read a moment ago, and look at the first point: the calling of elders in the church. God calls elders, and its men who respond to this high calling.
Hear again verse 1: “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” Before we look at this calling let me clarify that when Paul writes about elders he uses two different Greek words: episkopos, the word he uses here which is translated as overseer or bishop or shepherd. Paul also uses the word presbuteros, which also refers to an elder or pastor. In Titus 1 he uses both words to talk about the same office of elder indicating the significant roles of this office within the church. The words are used interchangeably because elder is the title of the office, even as it was in the Old Testament.
God calls men to be elders because it is an authoritative office in the church, not because women can’t lead or teach or disciple or care for people. They of course can and do, but the office of elder is not first of all about one’s ability or even gifts, it’s about one’s calling. Thus the first and most important qualification is to be called by God. God gives His people gifts, spiritual gifts that empower the work and the function of the church, and these gifts operate upon the foundation of gifted leadership through the offices of elder and deacon. This is why from the beginning, churches were instructed to appoint elders and deacons; to confirm God’s call based upon the qualifications that God gives, and to do so in order for the church to run properly and effectively according to God’s Word.
This is what we have described here in our passage. The first point to see in verse 1 is that an elder must have a godly passion because this calling is a sacred trust. Paul says it’s a noble work or a noble task that a man must be “up for” and must have his heart in it. He must have a passion, not for the office itself, or for the status or the authority of the office, but for the work of ministry.
I’ve been in churches where you had to convince people or beg them to be elders, or in contrast where people want to be elders or pastors because they have a personal agenda. It’s a sacred trust because you are overseeing and shepherding God’s church, not just some club or organization; and yes Paul is saying that this is a calling that a person can aspire to or desire, but it must be for the right reason. Peter writes to fellow elders in I Peter 5 and says: “Be shepherds of God’s flock under your care, serving as overseers, not because you must but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.”
I remember a long time ago when I felt that God was calling me to go back to school and possibly be a pastor; and then I read passages like this and others, and quickly understood that I’m not qualified or ready for this. I still sometimes think this way when I consider these passages and the tremendous responsibility that God places upon this office of elder. God doesn’t call perfect people to be elders, even as He doesn’t call perfect people to be Christians, but the elder demonstrates God’s call by having a godly passion for this sacred trust. Secondly, an elder must have a godly perspective because this calling is a difficult task. It’s not only a noble task but a difficult one, as exemplified by the opposition that Paul, Timothy and the early church faced from within and from outside the church.
Throughout the book of Acts we see the elders called to address difficult situations and difficult people, thus one must not only have a passion for the work of ministry but the right perspective, especially when it comes to knowing God’s truth and standing firm upon it. Elders must not bring a worldly perspective into the church, which is why much of the qualifications for an elder are based upon spiritual character and spiritual maturity, as we will seeing going forward.
It’s elders who have a godly passion and godly perspective who will rule over and teach God’s church in godly and effective ways. And then third, an elder must have a godly patience because this calling is a challenging time. Again this goes to one’s character and the willingness to trust God’s timing to help God’s people to accomplish His calling for His church. We see Paul appointing elders throughout the book of Acts because the church needed godly leaders to face very challenging times. The same is true today. The church needs leaders who will not back down from the challenges, but leaders who speak the truth in love rather than compromising truth in order to be loved. Elders are not called to curry favor, like politicians who want to be elected to office, rather they are called to preach God’s Word in season and out of season; they are called to be examples to the flock in what they believe, and in how they live, and in the way they serve.
Paul is writing these things to the churches, through Timothy, so that the elders and those who desire to be elders know these things, but also so the church at large – most of which are not elders, nor will they be elders – will know what elders and deacons should look like and act like. Why is this important? If you are not an elder and will not be one in the future, why do you need to know this information? Is it so you can point out all the flaws that the elders in your church have? I hope not! There are two main reasons. The first one is the danger of false teachers and those who claim to be elders or pastors, yet aren’t, and seek to lead the flock astray. This is very much the context of Paul’s letter, and is very much a danger today within the church. We too, like the first century church, must deal with self-appointed leaders who are not called or qualified to be in these offices.
The second reason, and a much more positive one, is that all of the spiritual qualifications that men must have to qualify to be pastors or elders in the church are the same that every Christian in the church should strive for in their own lives. Elders have a specific role within the church and gifts that correspond to this role, but the description of spiritual character that elders are to have is one that all Christians should be developing and demonstrating as well. This then leads us to the second main point from our passage: the character of elders in the church. We find this in verses 2 – 7:
Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
So not only does God give His people gifts, which speaks to the specific calling of elders, but God also grows His people with spiritual character, which speaks to the qualifications of elders; and more broadly to way God grows all of His people spiritually. In this passage Paul talks about spiritual character, which is who a person is, and that is produced by the fruit of the Spirit, as well as spiritual competence, which is what a person does and is produced by the gifts of the Spirit. A godly leader needs the fruit and the gifts to be effective in his office, as does the godly Christian to be effective in his or her calling for their life.
Thus spiritual character is essential and crucial for everyone in the church, but absolutely necessary for the elder who teaches and models it for the church. And so do you see the connection? It’s not just elders who must pursue this spiritual character, but it is this character that elders must have to be in this office of leadership. As we look at all these qualities that Paul lists here in these verses, I broke it down into three main points. First an elder must pursue holiness – verse 2 – “The overseer must be above reproach.” This means that there are no glaring inconsistencies in his life; it doesn’t mean perfection or no mistakes, but it does mean that the elder is consistently keeping his attitudes and actions in line with God’s Word regarding how to live.
The words Paul uses in verses 2 and 3 speak to three key personal areas of holiness in their life. The elder must be monogamous, “the husband of one wife,” meaning that they are faithful to the biblical standards of marriage and sexuality. Elders must be sober-minded or temperate, meaning that they are not addicted or controlled by alcohol or anger or money. They are balanced and not given to excess in any areas of their lives. Elders must also be self-disciplined or self-controlled, so as to respect people who disagree with them, and to be gentle not quarrelsome; and to offer hospitality and teaching to all, not scorn or avoidance. This is a snapshot of holiness in action; and is a model of how others in the church should view holiness as well.
Second, an elder must have healthy interpersonal relationships. Personal holiness leads to good relationships with the people you live with, people you work with and people that you serve, in the church and outside the church. In verses 4 – 7 Paul specifically addresses relationships within the family, the church and the community.
In order to be a good leader or manager of people you have to build and maintain healthy relationships based upon your character. People need to respect who you are before they will truly respect what you do. Paul sets forth priorities in the elder’s relationships, starting with his family as the most important one, the church as second and the community – specifically outsiders or unbelievers – as third. Once again, this models for church members the kind of priorities they should have in their lives. And then third, an elder must demonstrate spiritual maturity. This maturity is specifically demonstrated through one’s speech, actions or activities, and their reputation with unbelievers.
Paul says that elders should not be novices or recent converts. Why? The modern church seems to “lay hands” on every celebrity who becomes a Christian and it’s usually not because they are spiritually mature but because they are famous. Yet Paul warns against this very thing because it leads to pride – which most people have too much of already – and temptation. This often happens when churches look only at a person’s abilities or gifts, and what they can do, rather than at a person’s spiritual maturity and character. How can you have a good reputation for spiritual maturity if you are new to the faith? Paul is not talking about people being liked or well-known; he is talking about a person’s spiritual character and spiritual competence in the Christian faith. This is demonstrated over time; and this is something that not only do people in the church see, but something that the world sees as well.
Spiritual maturity comes from the spiritual character that God grows in us over a period of time; and it’s as we grow spiritually that we begin to recognize and develop the spiritual gifts that God gives to us.
It’s this process that leads us to see a third point from this passage: the competence of elders in the church. Competence is what a person does based upon their skills and abilities and God-given gifts; and what elders do in the church must first of all be based on their calling from God and their character as men of God. Thus next week we will continue looking at this passage to understand more specifically what elders do in the church, in light of spiritual qualities they have as godly Christian leaders.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC.
Pastor Dennis Bone
2-28-16
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States was asked after he left the presidency what the greatest honor had been in his life; and his answer was: “The greatest honor and privilege of my life was to be an elder in the Presbyterian Church.” The apostle Paul writes these words to Timothy in I Timothy chapter 3: “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.”
This morning we continue our study in Paul’s first letter to Timothy by moving into chapter 3, where Paul writes about leaders in God’s church, specifically the qualifications and qualities men need in order to be elders and deacons in God’s church. In chapter 2 Paul gave instructions concerning the activities that take place in the church’s worship service, ending with a passage that clarified the role of men and women when it comes to authority within the church. Paul moves on in chapter 3 to expand this discussion on authoritative leadership by addressing first the call of men to be elders or overseers; and then the character and competence of such men who take on this role of ruling and teaching in God’s church.
Not all of you are elders here this morning, even as not everyone who read or reads this letter today is an elder, but the message is for everyone, because everyone in the church should know what elders are and what elders do, in order to support God’s design and purpose for His church. So I want to begin with the first verse, which I just read a moment ago, and look at the first point: the calling of elders in the church. God calls elders, and its men who respond to this high calling.
Hear again verse 1: “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” Before we look at this calling let me clarify that when Paul writes about elders he uses two different Greek words: episkopos, the word he uses here which is translated as overseer or bishop or shepherd. Paul also uses the word presbuteros, which also refers to an elder or pastor. In Titus 1 he uses both words to talk about the same office of elder indicating the significant roles of this office within the church. The words are used interchangeably because elder is the title of the office, even as it was in the Old Testament.
God calls men to be elders because it is an authoritative office in the church, not because women can’t lead or teach or disciple or care for people. They of course can and do, but the office of elder is not first of all about one’s ability or even gifts, it’s about one’s calling. Thus the first and most important qualification is to be called by God. God gives His people gifts, spiritual gifts that empower the work and the function of the church, and these gifts operate upon the foundation of gifted leadership through the offices of elder and deacon. This is why from the beginning, churches were instructed to appoint elders and deacons; to confirm God’s call based upon the qualifications that God gives, and to do so in order for the church to run properly and effectively according to God’s Word.
This is what we have described here in our passage. The first point to see in verse 1 is that an elder must have a godly passion because this calling is a sacred trust. Paul says it’s a noble work or a noble task that a man must be “up for” and must have his heart in it. He must have a passion, not for the office itself, or for the status or the authority of the office, but for the work of ministry.
I’ve been in churches where you had to convince people or beg them to be elders, or in contrast where people want to be elders or pastors because they have a personal agenda. It’s a sacred trust because you are overseeing and shepherding God’s church, not just some club or organization; and yes Paul is saying that this is a calling that a person can aspire to or desire, but it must be for the right reason. Peter writes to fellow elders in I Peter 5 and says: “Be shepherds of God’s flock under your care, serving as overseers, not because you must but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.”
I remember a long time ago when I felt that God was calling me to go back to school and possibly be a pastor; and then I read passages like this and others, and quickly understood that I’m not qualified or ready for this. I still sometimes think this way when I consider these passages and the tremendous responsibility that God places upon this office of elder. God doesn’t call perfect people to be elders, even as He doesn’t call perfect people to be Christians, but the elder demonstrates God’s call by having a godly passion for this sacred trust. Secondly, an elder must have a godly perspective because this calling is a difficult task. It’s not only a noble task but a difficult one, as exemplified by the opposition that Paul, Timothy and the early church faced from within and from outside the church.
Throughout the book of Acts we see the elders called to address difficult situations and difficult people, thus one must not only have a passion for the work of ministry but the right perspective, especially when it comes to knowing God’s truth and standing firm upon it. Elders must not bring a worldly perspective into the church, which is why much of the qualifications for an elder are based upon spiritual character and spiritual maturity, as we will seeing going forward.
It’s elders who have a godly passion and godly perspective who will rule over and teach God’s church in godly and effective ways. And then third, an elder must have a godly patience because this calling is a challenging time. Again this goes to one’s character and the willingness to trust God’s timing to help God’s people to accomplish His calling for His church. We see Paul appointing elders throughout the book of Acts because the church needed godly leaders to face very challenging times. The same is true today. The church needs leaders who will not back down from the challenges, but leaders who speak the truth in love rather than compromising truth in order to be loved. Elders are not called to curry favor, like politicians who want to be elected to office, rather they are called to preach God’s Word in season and out of season; they are called to be examples to the flock in what they believe, and in how they live, and in the way they serve.
Paul is writing these things to the churches, through Timothy, so that the elders and those who desire to be elders know these things, but also so the church at large – most of which are not elders, nor will they be elders – will know what elders and deacons should look like and act like. Why is this important? If you are not an elder and will not be one in the future, why do you need to know this information? Is it so you can point out all the flaws that the elders in your church have? I hope not! There are two main reasons. The first one is the danger of false teachers and those who claim to be elders or pastors, yet aren’t, and seek to lead the flock astray. This is very much the context of Paul’s letter, and is very much a danger today within the church. We too, like the first century church, must deal with self-appointed leaders who are not called or qualified to be in these offices.
The second reason, and a much more positive one, is that all of the spiritual qualifications that men must have to qualify to be pastors or elders in the church are the same that every Christian in the church should strive for in their own lives. Elders have a specific role within the church and gifts that correspond to this role, but the description of spiritual character that elders are to have is one that all Christians should be developing and demonstrating as well. This then leads us to the second main point from our passage: the character of elders in the church. We find this in verses 2 – 7:
Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
So not only does God give His people gifts, which speaks to the specific calling of elders, but God also grows His people with spiritual character, which speaks to the qualifications of elders; and more broadly to way God grows all of His people spiritually. In this passage Paul talks about spiritual character, which is who a person is, and that is produced by the fruit of the Spirit, as well as spiritual competence, which is what a person does and is produced by the gifts of the Spirit. A godly leader needs the fruit and the gifts to be effective in his office, as does the godly Christian to be effective in his or her calling for their life.
Thus spiritual character is essential and crucial for everyone in the church, but absolutely necessary for the elder who teaches and models it for the church. And so do you see the connection? It’s not just elders who must pursue this spiritual character, but it is this character that elders must have to be in this office of leadership. As we look at all these qualities that Paul lists here in these verses, I broke it down into three main points. First an elder must pursue holiness – verse 2 – “The overseer must be above reproach.” This means that there are no glaring inconsistencies in his life; it doesn’t mean perfection or no mistakes, but it does mean that the elder is consistently keeping his attitudes and actions in line with God’s Word regarding how to live.
The words Paul uses in verses 2 and 3 speak to three key personal areas of holiness in their life. The elder must be monogamous, “the husband of one wife,” meaning that they are faithful to the biblical standards of marriage and sexuality. Elders must be sober-minded or temperate, meaning that they are not addicted or controlled by alcohol or anger or money. They are balanced and not given to excess in any areas of their lives. Elders must also be self-disciplined or self-controlled, so as to respect people who disagree with them, and to be gentle not quarrelsome; and to offer hospitality and teaching to all, not scorn or avoidance. This is a snapshot of holiness in action; and is a model of how others in the church should view holiness as well.
Second, an elder must have healthy interpersonal relationships. Personal holiness leads to good relationships with the people you live with, people you work with and people that you serve, in the church and outside the church. In verses 4 – 7 Paul specifically addresses relationships within the family, the church and the community.
In order to be a good leader or manager of people you have to build and maintain healthy relationships based upon your character. People need to respect who you are before they will truly respect what you do. Paul sets forth priorities in the elder’s relationships, starting with his family as the most important one, the church as second and the community – specifically outsiders or unbelievers – as third. Once again, this models for church members the kind of priorities they should have in their lives. And then third, an elder must demonstrate spiritual maturity. This maturity is specifically demonstrated through one’s speech, actions or activities, and their reputation with unbelievers.
Paul says that elders should not be novices or recent converts. Why? The modern church seems to “lay hands” on every celebrity who becomes a Christian and it’s usually not because they are spiritually mature but because they are famous. Yet Paul warns against this very thing because it leads to pride – which most people have too much of already – and temptation. This often happens when churches look only at a person’s abilities or gifts, and what they can do, rather than at a person’s spiritual maturity and character. How can you have a good reputation for spiritual maturity if you are new to the faith? Paul is not talking about people being liked or well-known; he is talking about a person’s spiritual character and spiritual competence in the Christian faith. This is demonstrated over time; and this is something that not only do people in the church see, but something that the world sees as well.
Spiritual maturity comes from the spiritual character that God grows in us over a period of time; and it’s as we grow spiritually that we begin to recognize and develop the spiritual gifts that God gives to us.
It’s this process that leads us to see a third point from this passage: the competence of elders in the church. Competence is what a person does based upon their skills and abilities and God-given gifts; and what elders do in the church must first of all be based on their calling from God and their character as men of God. Thus next week we will continue looking at this passage to understand more specifically what elders do in the church, in light of spiritual qualities they have as godly Christian leaders.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC.
