1 Timothy 3:1-7

(b) III. 1 Timothy 3:1.

Church Officials. 1 Timothy 3:1. The Bishops. Not only public worship, but also the appointment of officials, must be regulated. He who exercises oversight a good work, as is generally admitted must possess moral qualifications which place him beyond reproach. He must be (a) of disciplined life: e.g. he must not marry a second time, or indulge in the drunken riots prevalent around him (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 11:21); (b) hospitable, since Christians, especially teachers, frequently travelled from church to church; (c) successful in giving instruction a function usually assigned at this period to particular teachers; (d) untempted by money, thus reproving a dangerous error (cf. 65); (e) a proved ruler; (f) not too recent a convert, lest he suffer condemnation for pride, as did the devil; and, finally, (g) of honourable reputation among his heathen neighbours. (The writer is not enumerating the bishop's functions, but insisting that the man elected shall be of the right moral quality.) Cf. p. 646.

vv. 1 Timothy 3:1. Faithful, etc.: 1 Timothy 1:15 *. bishop: not in the sense of a monarchical, much less in that of a modern diocesan, bishop. The translation bishop, indeed, is misleading. In NT the word indicates one who exercises oversight, and the alternative title elder (possibly a different function within the same office, cf. Titus 1:5) is applied to the same person.

1 Timothy 3:2. Cf. Titus 1:6 ff. husband, etc.: sometimes wrongly interpreted as alluding to polygamy or adultery, or as forbidding celibacy.