1 Timothy 3:2, commentary and pictures

A bishop or overseer must be blameless, faithful in marriage, vigilant, sober, well behaved, hospitable, and skilled in teaching. To be blameless is to live a pure, spotless life of good reputation, free from impurity and coarseness in word and act and avoiding even the appearance of evil. Faithfulness in marriage means tender care for his wife and children, and he must govern his household well with orderly, respectful children, for one who cannot rule his own house cannot care for the church. To be apt to teach is to know Scripture and present truth clearly and intelligently, reading correctly and instructing others with ability. Such fitness is not assumed but proved by experience, testing, hard study, sound judgment and examination in union with the church, and no novice or untested person is to be placed in trust.

Qualifications for Church Leaders

A bishop or overseer must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, and apt to teach. These qualifications belong to preparation for church responsibility, which begins with faithful training and conduct in the home, so that defects in home life will also appear in the management of church duties. They are to be studied and practiced in daily life, not merely acknowledged as a list. Faithfulness in marriage calls a man to treat his wife with tenderness and to give her care, comfort and encouragement, remaining loyal and fulfilling promised duties to her and to the children.

Blamelessness includes ruling well his own house and having children in subjection with gravity, for one who does not know how to rule his own house cannot take care of the church of God. The same standard binds parents, who must do their appointed work faithfully without hypocrisy or deception, themselves be patterns of piety whom children can honor, keep their own will in subjection to the will of God while requiring obedience, and deal with children as younger members of the Lord's family without provoking them to wrath.

Those entrusted with the flock must be fit for holy work, not merely able to pray or speak well, but experienced and tested, sound in judgment, meek when reproving sin, and able to feed the flock. Their calling and fitness are to be made evident by God and recognized by chosen ministers in union with the church with clear signs of the Holy Spirit, rather than decided by private judgment. Overseers must have a good reputation, sound knowledge of Scripture, faith and patience, meekness in instructing opposers of the truth, and thorough integrity, studying Scripture intelligently so their character, words and conduct honor Christ and both teach and live the truth. They must not be novices, and local elders in particular must be proved and tested, because some are not fitted to occupy the pulpit as ministers.

The standard guides decisions about granting ministerial licenses, requiring that candidates meet what is set out for a bishop. Prospective workers in God's cause are to be closely examined in Christian experience, knowledge of Scripture, and understanding of present truth before being accepted as teachers of God's Word. Ministers must be of good repute and competent to manage the work entrusted to them so as to bring honor rather than disgrace, understanding the truth for the time and able to present Bible subjects clearly and coherently, while those not yet able should continue learning and studying Scripture before taking up ministry.

The same standard governed the choice of leaders at the beginning of sanitarium work, where no untested person may be placed in trust. The business manager must know the will of the Lord and do prayerfully what needs to be done so past mistakes are not repeated, being managed daily by the Lord and controlled by the Spirit. He must act with dignity, knowledge, wisdom and adaptability, with a clear sense of how to use authority, revealing Christ in justice, judgment and the love of God in word and act. He must be able to give religious instruction and speak the points of faith as occasion requires, exert spiritual influence, deal wisely with minds, speak encouragement to all connected with him, discern and correct mistakes, and harmonize with fellow workers.

Blameless Life and Household

To be blameless is to live a spotless, pure life of good reputation, free from anything impure in speech and actions, without coarseness and sensuality. It requires circumspect conduct that avoids even the appearance of evil and refuses situations that put moral character at risk. This is necessary because influence is always teaching others, either building them up for good or corrupting them.

Faithfulness as the husband of one wife is part of that blamelessness, calling a man to loyalty in marriage with watchfulness, self-control, respectability, hospitality, and ability to teach. It includes treating his wife with tenderness, giving her care, comfort, and encouragement. It includes fulfilling promised duties owed to her and to the children. These qualifications are to be studied and put into practice in daily life.

The bishop must rule his own house well, educating, training, and disciplining the children he has brought into the world in right habits and practices, with children in respectful subjection with all gravity and under order. That order requires children under the control of father and mother, and father and mother under the control of God. If a man does not know how to rule his own house he cannot take care of the church of God, for care of the church is compared to managing a household. A minister who fails in this home work disobeys a positive declaration of God, and neglecting home training and discipline means neglecting to set the church in order. Such neglect eclipses the light so it cannot shine in correct example in eating, dressing, and working in right lines, and refusal to see the necessity of home obedience blinds to obedience in other lines, for the minister must give power to the Word by practicing it and not merely preach it.

The same standard binds parents, who are entrusted with serious work to be done faithfully, with reverence for God, without hypocrisy or deception. They must themselves be patterns of piety, living so their children can honor them. They must require obedience while keeping their own will in subjection to the will of God. They must deal with their children as younger members of the Lord's family, without provoking them to wrath.

A man whose life is ruled by worldly things rather than the love and fear of God, and who cannot govern his household wisely in the fear of God, reveals defects that will carry into his work and is unfit even to serve as a local elder. An elder must be qualified for the responsible position, blameless in character, with proper government over himself and a good influence, and putting men who lack self-control and good influence into eldership puts a defective leader over the church and keeps the church in continual trouble. A man whose conduct is frantic and does not recommend him as an overseer and shepherd fit to care for and teach the flock should not be given influence in the church or placed in the pulpit to teach, but must be changed before he can be trusted in that role. The qualifications are equally essential for an elder and other church officers, who must remain faithful to true principles, rebuke sin, and keep themselves pure without partiality, even when faithfulness brings opposition and trial.

Apt to Teach Explained

To be apt to teach is to have sufficient knowledge of Scripture and the faith to present it clearly, intelligently and coherently, to read Scripture correctly without hesitation, mispronunciation or confusion, to understand the truth for the time, and to show excellent ability to instruct others. This fitness is not gained by merely listening to preaching but by thorough preparation through hard study and hard work, by constant cultivation of God-given gifts, by making the best use of time in study under experienced teachers, and by putting acquired knowledge into practice. Like schoolteachers who must apply themselves closely to study and pass a critical examination of capability by competent judges, those entering sacred ministry and those entrusted with teaching God's Word must be carefully examined by faithful, experienced men as to Christian experience, knowledge of Scripture and understanding of present truth before standing publicly to teach Bible truth or being accepted as workers.

Aptness to teach belongs with a meek, patient, tender and sympathetic character, with lived faith, patience, thorough integrity, tact and understanding. It enables instructing opposers of the truth with meekness and dealing wisely with different phases of character, helping learners rather than scolding, censuring, discouraging them or hindering their growth by unwarranted control of one mind over another. It is practical skill to be quick to see and make the most of opportunities to do good, to control oneself with dignity, to inspire thought, to arouse and quicken energy, and to impart courage and life. Insight into human nature, love for the work, enthusiasm, perseverance and desire to improve matter more than high literary qualifications for understanding pupils' needs and leading them to progress.

In pastoral work it means having experience and knowledge of the general workings of the cause to instruct people intelligently in what to do and how to seek the Lord. It means being able to set a disorganized church in order, to create an interest and keep things running in a lively, interested manner, to put well-planned systematic labor into operation in the city and surrounding towns, and to build a live, healthful church. It means training workers and inexperienced laborers, enlisting church members in service, and standing in defense of the truth when attacked. The same requirement extends to Sabbath-school teachers and teachers of youth, who must keep learning God's Word in order to teach it effectively, becoming unfit for their position if they do not.

Being apt to teach is not limited to older men advanced in years and experience but belongs to thoroughly converted young men who give themselves fully to God as His servants and property. Such are daily learners in the school of Christ, storing fresh knowledge with eyes opened to wondrous things in the Word and continually increasing in understanding, learning the Scriptures in their simplicity in order to make them plain to hundreds, conquering stubborn selfish will, and leading with unfeigned desire to be conformed to the divine image. For children's daily instruction the teacher chosen by parents must be a consecrated servant of Christ who increases in knowledge while imparting it, who does definite work in missionary service and instructs the children in the same lines to guide them toward salvation. Fathers and mothers are to cooperate by uniting to provide a place for this daily instruction, by laboring earnestly for the salvation of their children, and by keeping the home free from unkind and hasty speech, so that divine blessing rests on the effort and the enemy's plans for the children are largely frustrated.