Who can serve as elders? Considering what we have already seen and examined, we can know that elders need to have a few qualities. They need to know the Bible. If their fundamental role is to help us stay faithful to Christ, then they need to know the Bible and be committed to the Bible, to the instruction of God’s word.
Secondly, since elders are going to be over the congregation, they need to be men who have the heart of Jesus Christ. When you look at these men, they need to reflect Christ in their lives: they love people, they are humble, they are not over-bearing, they want what is good for others around them. They want to see people saved. They want to see people faithful to Jesus Christ.
When we choose men to be shepherds, to be bishops over us, as a congregation, then they need to reflect the qualities that we want and need in shepherds, in bishops. In other words, have they already shown character traits that suggest they would make good shepherds, good bishops. The proving ground for these qualities is in the home. That’s where it all starts and that’s where we see the best qualities, the best character traits of men who would be godly shepherds, godly bishops. By and large, the qualities God expects out of elders are qualities He expects of all faithful, mature Christians. There are only a few I have found that are really unique to elders themselves and we’ll point those out as we go through our study.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the qualifications that Paul gives us in 1 Timothy 3…
THE NEED FOR DESIRE – 3:1:
The word “aspire” means “to eagerly desire to accomplish some goal or purpose.” The connotation is that of reaching out your hand to grasp. But, of course, we’re not talking about the kind of aspiring to leadership that you would find in the corporate world. We’re not talking about being a leader so that you can force people to do things your way. That’s not godly leadership. The office of elder is a leadership position but he is a servant leader.
A LEADER IN HIS MORAL BEHAVIOR – 3:2-3:
First, let us point out the word “must” (dei), showing that these are not optional or recommendations. You must be able to say, “Yes, this man meets these qualifications.”
To understand these different qualifications, it is helpful to just look at how they are translated in various translations. Compare the versions you have on hand and see how different language scholars translated these words.
A LEADER IN THE HOME – 3:4-5:
A shepherd and a bishop start in the home. If a man is going to shepherd God’s flock, if he is going to “rule” God’s people, how has he done in his home? Has he shepherded his children to Christ and can he rule or manage his family with the right balance of authority and humility?
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The verb “manage” is also used in 5:17 as we saw last week, where it is translated “rule”. It is a strong word that also shows that elders are the ones with authority in the congregation. He must manage or rule his household, having the respect, the submission, and the obedience of his children. He should be such a leader “with all dignity.”
The reason he needs to be a family man in order to be an elder is given in verse 5. How can he manage a congregation of believers from diverse backgrounds if he cannot manage his own children who have similar backgrounds? Moss comments (72): “Leading a church is like leading a family, and church members frequently behave like children.”
So, the home is the laboratory for leadership in the church. There is a fine line between demanding obedience and earning it through respect and trust. Remember the principle of Jesus in Matt. 25:23: “You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.” This is that same principle.
A LEADER OF EXPERIENCE – 3:6:
The church in Ephesus had been in existence for about a dozen years by the time Paul writes Timothy. These may be replacing some of those elders. Observe that none of these qualifications have anything to do with Paul or the apostles. There is not an “unbroken line of succession” from elder to elder. These qualifications have to do with their relationship with Jesus Christ.
An elder should not be a “new convert.” The word means “newly planted.” The position of an elder can give one a sense of superiority and dominance over the congregation and if a man is not mature and experienced in his Christianity, he may fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. The word “conceited” can also mean “blind” and here, it would mean “blind” in the sense of full of pride.
A LEADER IN THE COMMUNITY – 3:7:
Finally, a man who is to be a leader in the church ought to also have the respect of men in the community. He is to have a good reputation with those outside the church. With a bad reputation, coupled with pride and arrogance, such a man would wreck havoc on the church of Christ. It would cause him, and perhaps the church itself, to fall into the reproach and snare of the devil. Also, if a man has a bad reputation in the community, how could he be a spiritual leader in the community if men do not respect him?
Tomorrow, we’ll take a quick look at Paul’s list of qualifications of elders from the list given to Titus in chapter 1…
Paul Holland
