D. What kind of a man is needed to insure such cohesion in the Body of Christ? 6-9
“If any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”
1. The gender argument
Arguments are often made on the supposed strength of the rendering here of the word τίς as 'man' in a number of translations. But, the gender for an elder cannot be defined on the strength of τίς because τίς is an interrogative or indefinite pronoun (which is determined by the use of the accent) and can be both masculine and feminine. The best rendering of τίς is 'anyone' or someone'.
As in all cases where τίς is used, it is the context that supplies the gender; For example, in Luke 22:56 we see τις (Here in the indefinite spelling) used as a feminine were it says, “a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire....” Gender is supplied by the subject 'maid'. So, the gender of an elder is not defined by the use of τίς but by what follows. The 'anyone' referred to here must be the husband of one wife. This defines the gender of τίς as masculine in this particular verse.
2. What are the qualities of such men?
In 1Timothy 3:2 we see that the qualities of such men are given as an absolute represented by Paul in the word 'must'. Δεῖ properly suggests something that is absolutely necessary and binding. These are not qualities that are subject to human approval, human compromise, or human dismissal. The man who serves in this capacity MUST possess all of thee qualities. “A steward of God” defines the focus of his loyalties. His loyalties belong to God. God lays down the standards by which such men must care for the Church of God.
Paul tells Titus that such men must be blameless – ἀνέγκλητος – is given the negative prefix ἀ signifying 'not' and the root word έγκλητος meaning to make a legal charge against someone in a court of law. So properly, it refers to one who is unconvictable when properly scrutinized. An elder must be of such character that no one can bring a reasonable accusation against him. This is the man whose life is so ordered that he is above any reasonable charge against him in any area of his life either public or private. This is the man whose life is ordered according to every revealed standard of moral integrity to such a degree that he cannot legitimately be called into question. All of the qualifications that follow are simply a reflection of a man of such character. Paul lists four areas in which the elder must be blameless.
a. He must be blameless in his domestic life.
* He must be the husband of one wife – This says two things:
> He cannot be single. He must be a married man.
> He must have only one wife. In other words, he cannot be guilty of having divorced his wife or being a polygamist.
* He must have children who believe.
He must have children of sufficient age to have become believers – children who are also Christians. This is the man who has instructed his children well in the ways of the Lord. Question: Does this mean all of his children or only some of his children? The answer is in what follows.
* His children cannot be accused of dissipation or rebellion.
> Dissipation – From ἀσωτίας meaning 'unsavable'. This ends the question of whether or not “having believing children” refers to all of his children or only some. None of his children can be of this type. He cannot have children who are unredeemable.
> Rebellion – From ἀνυπότακτα – Strong's offers this definition. From ἀ meaning “not” and ὑποκριτήςmeaning “under God's arrangement.” This properly describes one who is unsubmissive, disobedient, unruly, one who is unwilling to submit to God's rule, one who is uncooperative having a defiant attitude towards duly-appointed authority. This is one who is uncontrollable and rebellious.
The man who would serve as an elder of the Lord's body cannot have children that are of such character. An elder must have children who reflect the character of their father. This gives strength to the charge, “having believing children.” This means ALL of his children. The Elder stands as a reflection of Christ. His relationship to his family must reflect the relationship of Christ to his Church.
b. He must be blameless in how he leads the Body of Christ. He must be above reproach as God’s steward. Paul gives us a list of character traits that an elder is not permitted to possess.
* He cannot be self-willed – αὐθάδη – Literally, self-pleasing, also suggests one who is assuming or arrogant. This is the exact opposite of the humble man. This is the man who has a higher regard for himself than for others. This is the man who has a high opinion of himself, who thinks more highly of himself that he ought to think. Such a man cannot properly care for the Body of Christ.
The danger of such a man would be to have a Church that becomes conformed to this man's will rather than that of Christ, a Church that takes on the image of this man rather that the image of Christ. An elder's will must be governed by the will of another – the will of God, not the will of the Church. Elders bear their office by divine approval and are not appointed to appease the ever changing pleasure of those by whom they were appointed. Elders are not permitted to compromise eternal principles simply because the opinions or attitudes of the Church change.
* He cannot be quick-tempered – ὀργίλον – One who is prone to anger or who harbors resentment. An impatient man. A man easily provoked. An elder must be able to deal gently with the erring, the ignorant, and the unlearned. This is priestly function according to Hebrews 5:2.
This too mirrors the character of the Lord in how he must respond to personal attack. “While being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.” 1Peter 2:23.
* He cannot be addicted to wine – From Strong's, παροίνιος from παρά meaning very “close beside” and οἶνος meaning wine. Thus one who sits long at his wine, one who is given to wine and drunkenness. Others give it the secondary sense meaning one who is 'quarrelsome over wine' hence, brawling or abusive. The suggestion is that his abuse of strong drink induces this negative and irresponsible behavior.
This same accusation was made against the Lord, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'” Matthew 11:19. Like the Lord, when such an accusation is made of him, he must be innocent of the charge.
* He cannot be pugnacious – πλήκτην – a striker, contentious, quarrelsome, a brawler.
* He cannot be fond of sordid gain – αἰσχροκερδῆ – one who is given to being greedy for money.
All of the are negative traits, personal character flaws that cannot be tolerated in one who serves as an elder. All of these are opportunities for blame against him. An elder's leadership of the Church must reflect the leadership Christ.
c. He must be blameless in judgment. This is yet another reason he cannot be one who “sits long over his wine.” These are character traits he MUST possess.
* What he must be is hospitable – φιλόξενον – Literally, one who loves strangers thus, one who extends hospitality to the stranger.
* Love what is good – φιλάγαθον – A lover of what is intrinsically good. This is one who is a promoter of virtue. By necessary implication, he is one who hates what is evil. This is the character of Christ we find in Hebrews 1:9, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.”
* Sensible – σώφρονα – From Strong's – One who is of sound mind as opposed to one who is insane. This is the man who is self-controlled, temperate, sober-minded, modest, chaste, self-moderated, referring to what is prudent, a man who is correctly balanced by divine standards. This describes “a man who does not command himself, but rather is commanded by God.”
* Just – δίκαιον – just, righteous, impartial, especially in the eyes of God. According to Thayer, one who is “approved by God, righteous in the eyes of God. This relates to conformity to God's standard of justice.”
* Devout – ὅσιόν, meaning righteous, pure, holy, devout. This is a state of moral character that regulates thought, speech, and behavior. This man must bear the same character as his God. He must be holy in every aspect of his life. How can a man who does not reflect holiness in his life instruct others in how to live holy and godly lives?
* Self-controlled – σώφρονα – The same word is used for sensible, one who is not self-controlled is one who does not have sound judgment. The elder's judgment must reflect the judgment of the Lord.
d. He must be blameless in his teaching. “He must hold fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching.” An elder's teaching must reflect the teaching of the Lord as well as courage in dealing with the dangerous elements.
* He must be able both to exhort in sound doctrine. This is gentle instruction and encouragement.
* He must be able to refute those who contradict. He cannot be a coward or timid about defending against those who would teach error. This is not the same thing as being gentile with the erring, the ignorant, and the unlearned. This is dealing decisively with those who would destroy the Church through false teaching. Thus, challenging and silencing those “who are defiled and unbelieving” whowould cause division by “upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.” This does not require gentleness but strength and boldness. These people are not simply misguided, they are enemies of the Body of Christ and must be dealt with accordingly. This requires men who are solidly rooted in the word of God to sufficiently answer error with sound doctrine.
In all of these areas, the elder must be blameless. This is a mighty tall order for any man to fill but, considering the awesome nature of the responsibility with which such a one is charged and what is at stake, how could he be anything less and be expected to fulfill such a charge. All of this is to protect the cohesion of the Body of Christ.
