In this second episode of a two-part series, pastors Derek and Cliff continue their discussion of the biblical qualifications for elders.
Transcript
Derek: Welcome to the With All Wisdom podcast where we are applying biblical truth to everyday life. My name is Derek Brown and I’m here today with Cliff McManis. We are both pastors and elders at Creekside Bible Church in Cupertino, California, and professors of theology at the Cornerstone Bible College and Seminary in Vallejo, California. And today we want to continue our conversation on elders, specifically on the qualifications for elders. And so we’re going to pick up from last time, the episode just before this was starting that conversation on the qualifications for being an elder. And now we’re going to continue that as we walk through 1 Timothy 3 and also going into Titus and we want to continue talking about it. Just to encourage you to check out withallwisdom.org. That’s where you’ll find the other podcasts along with many written resources, even some video resources, and also all of our books are there as well. You can check those out. You can read them all for free, actually. All of our books are available in PDF form to read for free. We want to make sure all of those things are accessible to you. So you can check that out at withallwisdom.org. Let’s pick it back up, Cliff, where we left off. Great conversation. You had just started talking about how one of the qualifications at the very beginning, verse 2, is that this man must be a one-woman man. He only has eyes for his wife. That’s where we left off. So let’s pick it up there.
Cliff: Yeah. And so we’ve got 22 qualifications we’re walking through, covered the first three. Just a literary observation that I didn’t make on the last for those that might be interested. In your Greek text, 1 Timothy 3, 1 through 7 are the qualifications, but it’s interesting. Verses 2 through 6, 1 Timothy 3, verses 2 through 6, exactly just one sentence in the Greek.
Derek: Hmm.
Cliff: That is a long sentence.
Derek: Ephesians 1 as an example.
Cliff: Exactly. So for those who are looking at the literary layout here, 1 Timothy 3, verses 2 through 6 is actually one long compound sentence.
Derek: Wow.
Cliff: And then verse 7 is an independent, separate, complete sentence, which is significant because the content of verse 7 is different than the previous verses 2 to 6. And Paul begins his very long sentence with an introductory statement in verse 1, and the first qualification in verse 2 actually is above reproach. So that’s an umbrella term. So that’s the general consideration. If you’re picking a man to be an elder or pastor, he needs to be above reproach, well, what do you mean by that, Paul? Well, consider all of the following details of what it means to be above reproach. And so the next 13, 14 descriptions define what it means to be above reproach. So above reproach in verse 2 is a general term, and then he follows with about 14 specific terms to define what it means to be above reproach. So it’s just important to keep that in mind. So we’re in the details now. After being a one-woman man, if you’re considering an elder, pastor, bishop in your church or if you are a pastor yourself, reviewing these qualifications for yourself, the next one after one-woman man is the New American Standard says temperate. The ESV says sober-minded, it’s the same word, temperate, sober-minded. The Greek word literally means sober or wine-less in terms of the graphic concrete term, but it can be used metaphorically. And it is here because it refers to how a person, elder thinks. And that thinking will play itself out in how he acts and how he speaks. You’re not clouded in your thinking. In other words, you’re a clear, level-headed, balanced, rational thinker. That’s what it means. Temperate, sober-minded. I actually like the ESV’s translation better because it’s more specific of what Paul’s getting at here. Sober-minded. Because the emphasis is on the mind and how you think, which is very important as an elder. Wouldn’t you say, Derek, when you’ve got to think through very difficult issues with the finest of nuance and those kind of things, and you’ve got to be objective, balanced, level-headed, rational. So this is a very specific qualification for an elder.
Derek: It is. And you can’t be overwhelmed by emotion, clouded by emotion. And that’s not to reject emotion as something bad. It’s not. But your emotions have to be driven by the truth. And truth is going to come through having a clear mind on what’s going on. And it takes some real intellectual rigor to think through these issues. These are church issues. Theological issues are hard. You have to really pound your brain at times. And you can’t be persuaded by things that are not relevant. You can’t be overwhelmed by emotion. You have to be sober-minded, level-headed, steady. Even objective, I think, is a word that you used. I remember reading a story about George Washington. He wasn’t a believer, but I just remember reading about him, and one of the comments that the author made about him was that he never looked at things the way he wanted them to be, but the way things really were. And I thought that’s a great example of just being sober-minded. You may want things to be different in your church or in this particular situation. But being sober-minded means, no, you look at things the way they really are. You make decisions based on the way things really are, according to the truth, according to the facts. And this is crucial. And honestly, it’s hard work, it’s tiring work, but it’s absolutely essential. And a man needs to have intellectual clarity, spiritual clarity, and without that, you can’t be sober-minded. And honestly, I’ve had some conversations with men who are otherwise godly men, but this is one of the qualifications they couldn’t, there’s just not a clarity there. And there are certain things where they just can’t articulate things with clarity. So it’s an important piece, and just to press at home how important this is, this is not something that you can just dismiss. A man, if he’s going to be an effective leader, needs to be a clear thinker, a sober-minded thinker.
Cliff: Yeah, objective, clear thinking. I know men, some godly men, who have literally told me, I’m an emotional thinker. I’m thinking, well, then maybe you might not be gifted at being an elder, because you can’t do that.
Derek: Right. That’s quite possible. That’s a really good point. And again, I think what needs to be said is that we’re not advocating for loveless, compassionless leadership. If that’s what you’re inferring from this, then we want to make clear that that’s not what we mean. Because what we’re talking about is judging things according to the way they are, judging things according to the truth, thinking clearly, and then letting the appropriate emotions follow that. So if a person is in need of compassion, we should be able to judge that objectively, truly, really, and then give compassion to that person. If a person is in need not of compassion, but actually of a rebuke, then we need to be able to get to that point clearly in our thinking and bring about the appropriate emotion or response. And so, boy, we could just, I think, do a whole podcast on this, because our society is so caught up in emotionalism, and a lot of Christians are as well. So just to make that point.
Cliff: Yeah. And that brother or Christian who admits and says, I’m an emotional thinker, they’re probably very gifted in other areas, other spiritual gifts, whether it’s counseling or exhortation, compassion, those kind of things, mercy. That’s totally legitimate and needed in the church. But this word, it’s only used three times in the New Testament, it is used in reference to women, which is interesting in 1 Timothy 3, 11, in the same chapter, same word, where women who are either the wives of deacons or just women workers, whatever they are in the church, they are exhorted with this word. They needed to be sober-minded, and it’s in contrast to being a slanderer. So Paul’s emphasizing their speech there, and that speech issues out based on your thinking. So that’s temperate, sober-minded, objective, clear thinker. After being temperate, an elder is to be prudent, says the New American Standard. The ESV says self-controlled. The New King James says sober-minded, which is confusing.
Derek: Right.
Cliff: So I’m going to go with the ESV, self-controlled, and the New American Standard, using an older word, prudent, whatever that means. I think the self-control of the ESV gets it because of the word, which is also used in Titus 1:8, same thing, same qualification, is sōphrōn (σώφρων), from fren, the Greek word fren, P-H-R-E-N or F-R-E-N, where we get the word diaphragm from, and diaphragm. For the Greeks, that concrete example was the diaphragm, which was an inner muscle in your chest area cavity that controlled all the inner workings of a person, their breathing, their heart. It gave regulation to the whole body from the inside. So it’s inner control of your whole being. And so that’s why I think the ESV does a great job of self-controlled, is what it’s getting at metaphorically here. So inner control, well-balanced, well-regulated life from within. So yes, self-control. So a man who got an elder needs to have self-control from the inside, regulating his passions and everything else that don’t get the best of him.
Derek: Those being sexual desire. I mean, really just any desire, any legitimate desire, food, drink, fun, sex.
Cliff: Too much sleep, too much entertainment, all of it.
Derek: And controlling of the tongue. Although I think there’s going to be others that are more specific, but self-control related to how we speak.
Cliff: But inner self-control, an inner disposition. Number six, New American Standard says, respectable. The man of God needs to be respectable. New King James says, of good behavior. I like the Greek word kosmion (κόσμιον) or kosmios (κόσμιος) where the word cosmos, the order of the universe, perfectly ordered the way God created it. And that’s the idea here. Kosmios is an elder pastor, bishop needs to have an orderly life.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: As the planets are, you know, always on time in their perfect orbit, continually. So also the man of God needs to have that kind of order and regularity in his life. And it needs to be in every area of life. So, and you can see it in his behavior and how he conducts himself. As practically as, go look at his, this is what one of my professors used to say, man, I would, let me come spontaneously anytime to look at your car.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: Let me see under your bed in your bedroom. Let me see the closet in your bedroom. And I’ll tell you if you have kosmion, kosmos or not. If you have, if you were an orderly man, if you’re organized, look at somebody’s office.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: Are they keeping an order? A place for everything and everything in his place.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: I know John MacArthur routinely would give messages at the Master’s College with these basic principles of, this is a fundamental principle for him, is maintaining an orderly life at the most fundamental and simplest level. It’ll help you in doing the harder things in life.
Derek: And he is right. I went to the Master’s College. You did too. And I heard a lot of chapel messages. Some of them by MacArthur, very, real practical like that. And I just remember those kinds of things just hit me. And he’s right. He would say things like, you know, yeah, keep an orderly bedroom, keep an orderly desk.
Cliff: Yep.
Derek: And man, it pays off.
Cliff: Yeah. I better go clean up my car.
Derek: Thinking of that. How’s my office?
Cliff: Great. Clean up my garage. Got to be orderly. Number seven, hospitable. This is a familiar word. It’s a compound word, the love of strangers, the love of strangers. This qualification is in 1 Timothy 3, but also in Titus 1, Titus 1:8. And one commentator specifically says this is to welcome strangers or to love strangers, literally, but specifically he said to welcome and love believing strangers.
Derek: Yeah. Can you comment on that because I’m not sure everybody’s clear on that.
Cliff: This comes right out of the Old Testament mosaic law.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: That’s where it comes from. From Genesis 18, even before Moses, but specifically and explicitly in the mosaic law was this command to love fellow believers, to love strangers who are fellow believers, fellow pilgrims. Not just love anybody off the street.
Derek: Right.
Cliff: And it’s taken that way by some people. That’s what some people… A lot of Christians think the love of strangers means love unbelievers. That is not what it means. It’s in Hebrews. It’s here. It’s in Peter. And it is, first and foremost, loving those in the household of God who are foreign to your area and need accommodations and need care. And the greatest example of this was when Joseph and Mary came down to Bethlehem so that Mary could do the census, but Mary had to give birth, and they couldn’t find a place in the inn. No one extended them hospitality as fellow Jews.
Derek: Yeah, in Israel.
Cliff: Yeah, which was commanded in the mosaic law.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: And of all people you should accommodate as a fellow Jew would be the Messiah, Savior of the world. By the way. And nobody did except for the place they found at the horse’s trough. So this is not an obligation for Christians to invite or to… They’re not obligated to have just anybody into their home because it’s sometimes framed that way so that you can’t make a distinction between someone who might think is maybe dangerous because, well, they’re a stranger and I need to love strangers. But you’re not obligated to invite dangerous people into your home. Is that what we’re saying? That is exactly what we’re saying. It’s the love of first the household of God, Paul said. Take care of the household of God first. The strangers are believers first and foremost, primarily. And that’s the way it should be in the church. This is God’s family. Take care of your own family members first. He who doesn’t take care of his own family is worse than a reprobate, 1 Timothy 5. So we take care of the family first. And that’s what it’s talking about. Because I’ve seen this where people say, oh, well, we need to love strangers. So I need to give $10 to the guy on the freeway that has a sign that says, we’ll work for food. And I give them a $10 bill. Or like you said, just let any random guy in your house off the street and put your family at risk. That’s not what God’s saying at all. So welcoming fellow believers that are strangers is being an elder and pastor at your church. And you are receiving believers from abroad for whatever reason. As they’re passing through, through the holidays, whatever. You find out, do they know Christ? And you welcome them and embrace them as a family member. Able to teach, chapter 3 verse 2. This is where we get the word didactic. That’s almost literally the Greek word didactic. Able to teach. And it means, this was interesting, willingness and ability to teach. So not just the ability to teach, but willing to teach. I’ve actually met pastors, Derek, who didn’t like to teach. They didn’t prefer preaching.
Derek: Yikes.
Cliff: I’ve worked with pastors. They shouldn’t have been a pastor. Because that’s what this word means.
Derek: Yeah. And that, I mean, it’s okay. You can be a Christian and a godly man and not have a desire to teach in a formal way. That’s, let’s just make that clear. But you cannot be a pastor. And you should not be a pastor.
Cliff: I just talked to a Presbyterian brother. He was telling me about the elders at their church, where they make distinctions between elders. They have three categories of elders at their church. They have teaching elders, small group shepherding elders, and then some other, and then lay elders. And only the category of teaching elders actually teach and preach. The other two categories of elders don’t even need to have the ability to teach or want to teach. As a matter of fact, one of the three categories, those elders never teach, aren’t expected to teach, can’t teach. But they call them elders. This is a Presbyterian church.
Derek: Yeah. They’re not elders.
Cliff: They’re not, but they call them that. If you’re going to be an elder, you have to have this gift.
Derek: That’s right.
Cliff: The ability to teach. By the way, that word is always used with respect to dispensing the knowledge of the written scriptures in the New Testament, teaching the scriptures. You can be a good math teacher and a lousy Bible teacher.
Derek: It’s true.
Cliff: I’ve seen it in action.
Derek: Yep.
Cliff: That doesn’t transfer necessarily if you don’t have the gift.
Derek: That’s right.
Cliff: Number nine, an elder is to not be addicted to wine, says the New American Standard. The ESV says he’s not a drunkard. And then New King James says not given to wine. And then the Greek phrase is open to those variances in terms of sitting alongside wine. But basically the idea is addicted. It doesn’t control you.
Derek: Right.
Cliff: You can say no to it. You don’t need it.
Derek: Right.
Cliff: Some churches would say this means you should never drink alcohol ever. That’s the standard at Grace Community Church from John MacArthur and has been. Ever since he’s been pastored there. If you were to be an elder there, you had to commit to this that you will never drink alcohol. I knew that from when I was a member there. I don’t think that’s what this is saying.
Derek: Right.
Cliff: I’ve been to churches in Russia and other places where when we did communion, and they had real wine on a regular basis. These are godly biblical churches, real wine, alcohol. And I think they’re warranted in doing that.
Derek: Yep.
Cliff: Right.
Derek: The issue is not being controlled by it, not being drunk, able to say no.
Cliff: Yeah, you need to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and not by alcohol. Number 10, New American Center says not pugnacious. The literal word is not a fighter, not a striker, not a physically violent person. Pugnacious, I don’t know if people know what that means.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: So I prefer the ESV here. I don’t even use the ESV, but I’m going with the ESV in a lot of these, Derek.
Derek: Yeah, I see that. You use the NASB and here we are.
Cliff: So this is literally, ESV says not a physically violent person. And I think that’s exactly what it’s talking about. It plays into the attitude also, not quick tempered.
Derek: Yep.
Cliff: So I know pastors who have been physically violent and they shouldn’t be. Out on the golf course, unfortunately, getting angry and throwing the golf club about 40 feet in the air across, right there in public in front of everybody.
Derek: Oh boy.
Cliff: Yeah, I know of a pastor locally here that got so angry at church, in his church, he threw the computer through the front window of the church during workday, as a pastor of the church. So this is what it’s talking about, this physical, can’t control your temper.
Derek: I haven’t heard these stories before.
Cliff: These are true stories, Derek. These are people you would probably know if I mentioned, I won’t mention their names.
Derek: Okay. All right. Wow.
Cliff: But not a fighter or violent, but rather number 11, gentle.
Derek: Yep.
Cliff: Mild, this means mild. This also implies that you’re sensitive to others’ feelings. You can be a strong leader, but still have this gentle demeanor when required, especially when you’re dealing with the sheep. You got to be gentle with the sheep. Especially when they’re hurting, when they’re afraid, when they don’t trust anybody. You have to proceed slowly and gently. This comes across even in your tone. I’ve learned that, even how you talk to somebody.
Derek: Yeah, that’s true.
Cliff: So we’ve got to be gentle. And then fellow elders can remind us when we’re not being gentle, right, Derek?
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: I’ve had that happen.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: And it’s a good reminder. Yeah, we need it. Peaceable, number 12, ESV says not quarrelsome.
Derek: Yep.
Cliff: Another translation says not contentious, so not argumentative. This is clear in Scripture. Not only are we not quarrelsome ourselves, but we’re able to mediate peace between two fighting Christians in our church. So we’re a peacemaker, and we teach them how to be peacemakers. Got to be peaceful.
Derek: Now, this one here, is this, would you say that the distinction between this one and the pugnacious is, the pugnacious is literally referring to physical violence. This one is talking about argumentative, wanting to have verbal sparring matches with people.
Cliff: Yeah, because you can be prone to verbal arguing and debating without being a physically violent person, and we should be neither. 13, free from the love of money. ESV says not a lover of money. New King James says not covetous. All pretty much saying the same thing.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: Which is interesting that Paul would say this, because people were abusing the ministry to get money, even in Paul and Peter’s day. They were doing it for filthy lucre or something. They were manipulating the people to get money, and unfortunately that goes on today.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: You shouldn’t go into ministry with the idea of wanting to get rich or famous, but to be a servant. Number 14 qualification is the elder pastor. Bishop needs to be someone who manages his own household well, or rules his house well, says the New King James, manages his household well. Then he gives an example of how to do that. Specifically, by keeping your children, if you have children, by keeping your children under control or in submission, says the ESV.
Derek: Right.
Cliff: With all dignity or reverence, says the New King James. So if you have children, so you’re managing your household well, not perfectly.
Derek: Right.
Cliff: You have sin in your house. Every person living in your house is a sinner, including yourself and all of your kids. If you have two kids, you have sinners. If you have seven kids, you have even more sinners. So it gets more difficult to manage.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: I remember Johnny Mac did a sermon, John MacArthur, back in the 90s. It surprised me because that word dysfunctional was becoming popular. And he said that everyone’s dysfunctional. Everyone lives in a dysfunctional home, including me and you. I was like, oh, wow, thank you. So we’re not looking for perfect homes, but are you managing the chaos?
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: In a dignified manner, too. Not with a heavy hand, legalism, or being a control freak, but with dignity and reference.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: Keeping your children under control. Because if a man, and this is the argument from the lesser to the greater, because if a man can’t even control or manage his own household, how is he expected to not rule or manage the church, but take care of the church and God? Beautiful phrase, very specific. Take care of the church. And that word, take care, is the same word used in the story of the Good Samaritan, when he took care of the injured man for providing care for. And that’s what elders need to care for. Number 15. The elder is not to be a new convert. The Greek word is literally not a neophyte or a novice. He’s not to be green, a little plantling that’s two inches high, that’s very vulnerable, can be crushed very easily, needs to grow and mature and develop its own strength and deep roots and some stamina. So you can’t call a new convert a young inexperienced Christian and make him an elder. You’ll crush him.
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: The ministry will crush him.
Derek: That’s exactly right.
Cliff: And he will fall vulnerable also maybe to pride because he’ll think he’s too big for his britches because of the authority and power that he has that will go to his head and he’ll be like Satan and he will fall into sin, the sin of pride. Too much power, too quick.
Derek: Yeah. And this happens more often than one would like to think, but that’s exactly right. The young new believer just doesn’t have the spiritual resources to be handling something as massive and profound as leading the church as an elder. He needs to focus on growing spiritually, growing in maturity, caring for his own walk with the Lord and going through the rigor of life and maturing. And you’re right, this will destroy a man if he’s placed in leadership like that before his time.
Cliff: Yep. Number 16, an elder pastor or bishop needs to have a good reputation with those outside of the church. Literally, Paul just says those outside. I like King James because it says the elder must have a good testimony. And literally, that’s the word marturion, testimony with unbelievers, your testimony. It doesn’t mean that you appease or please unbelievers to their satisfaction in every area because unbelievers are critical of Christians in the church, but it’s talking about your testimony. Do you have a legitimate testimony that is intact and above reproach and with integrity regarding those around you who know you and see you and observe you, whether it’s your neighbors, your work colleagues, or even the government?
Derek: Yeah.
Cliff: How you live your life, so what the world thinks is important. Number 17, this is in Titus 1:6. I’m going with the New King James on this and not the New American Standard. The New King James says that an elder pastor or bishop needs to have faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination. And a qualified elder is one having faithful children. I don’t like the New American Standard here because the New American Standard says having children who believe, having children who are saved, having children who are born again, because it doesn’t say that. It literally says, so the New King James gets it right, having faithful children. I need to comment on that because for the word faithful in the New King James, it’s Pista, P-I-S-T-A. It’s not Pistis, which is a different word. It’s not the verb Pistuo, to believe. The New American Standard translates it as it was the verb to believe or a participle. Believing, that’s not legitimate. It’s an adjective, Pista. This word is used 67 times in the New Testament, Pista, P-I-S-T-A. 46 times the New American Standard, it is translated as faithful, 46 out of 67. As a matter of fact, a couple examples. In Titus 1:9, it is translated as faithful, the faithful word. So I don’t know why New American Standard translation has Titus 1:6 as believing children when in Titus 1:9, it’s the faithful word, and then in Titus chapter 3, a faithful word as well. So faithful two times in the book of Titus accurately. So it’s an adjective, it’s not a verb, and so New King James gets it right. Faithful children, meaning they honor their parents, they follow the rules. They’re not perfect. They’re not sinless. They might even not be saved. Now, the problem here is I grew up, I went to a seminary, I went to a church that took the New American Standard literal on this qualification and said, if you want to be a pastor and elder, all of your children have to be saved. And John MacArthur gave a chapel message at Masters College and seminary. When I was there, said that, and a lot of people had a problem with that. At seminary, he gave the sermon. Then in the class after my theology class, the theology professor took issue with what Pastor John just said, said that’s not correct. It’s having faithful children. It’s not saved children. Then he gave several reasons why. Say you’re a pastor, you have five kids, and then your wife gives birth to a sixth child, and you’ve been a pastor for 20 years, but you’ve got a sixth child that’s two months old now. Do you know if your two-month-old is saved? Are you disqualified every time you have a new child? Because the child must be born again. Do you really know if your three-year-old is saved? And is that really God’s qualification, that all of your children have to be saved in order to be a faithful shepherd? As though the child’s salvation is contingent or dependent upon you as a human father? Who’s the greatest father there ever was? That’s God in the Old Testament, Yahweh, and his children were wayward, and they were called Israel, pathetically disobedient and not saved. So that just seems like a no-brainer. But I know that pastors that I studied with, and they had this hanging over their head. And I saw it at churches where I’ve served where this was the standard by the pastor. And if you had a child that went wayward, then you had to retire and resign as an elder, effective immediately, because your 13-year-old was acting like a knucklehead. So it’s faithful, not perfect, not saved, faithful.
Derek: Yeah, that’s an important word.
Cliff: You’re managing your household well. 18. We’re almost done, Derek. There’s a lot of qualifications. I know, a lot. These ones are self-explanatory. Number 18. An elder should not be self-willed. Titus 1:7. This word is used only two times in the New Testament. The other time is 2 Peter 2:10. It’s a compound word. Outtos, self, hedomai, where we get hedonism, which means please. This means please, self, self-pleasing. The elder should not be self-pleasing. And we translate it as self-willed. I want what I want. I want my agenda. I don’t defer to the other elders on the team. I’ve seen this at elder meetings at previous churches. It’s not good. Can’t be self-willed. Next one, number 19. Titus 1:7. You cannot be quick-tempered if you’re an elder. This is used only here in the New Testament. Titus 1:7. Not quick-tempered. Which gives, if you’re quick-tempered, you have a short fuse. And then you are quick to aggressive anger and actions.
Derek: And violating two of the qualifications you’ve already seen, being pugnacious.
Cliff: Yes, exactly. Qualification number 20. An elder needs to philagathon (φιλάγαθον). Love the good. Loving the good. Titus 1:8. You love good things. You love truth. You love Christian virtue. And all things that God says are good. 21. That’s why pastors shouldn’t love the LGBTQ movement or wokeness or anything that violates Scripture. We love the good as God has revealed it. 21 needs to be upright. Titus 1:8. Literally translated as righteous most often in the New Testament. And it’s referring to your standing before God. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous before God or righteous able. You have a right standing with God. You’re a believer. You’re Christian. And there’s no denying it. It’s obvious. 22. The elder needs to be holy. This is a rare word used eight times in the New Testament. Hosion. Translated as godly. Pious, in that phrase, lifting up holy hands. Most often refers to describe Jesus as the holy one of God in Revelation. So this is the inner disposition of a man of God pursuing holiness, godliness and piety in his life. He takes the faith seriously. And then number 23, Titus 1:8. The man of God needs to be disciplined. Disciplined in his life. Used only one time in the New Testament. Compound word by Paul. In plus kratos, which is strength, inner strength. So this is similar to another qualification we mentioned earlier. But again, it’s that inner self-control over all of your passions. And then 24, sorry, I keep saying 22. You got the desire, so that’s 23. And then finally, it would just add to all these qualifications. You need to be gifted as a pastor. Ephesians 4:11. In addition to being qualified, you need to be gifted. I prefer, am I called to ministry? I don’t like the word called because that usually refers to like election by the apostle Paul in the New Testament. So it’s not am I called? It’s am I qualified in light of the 22, 23 qualifications? And am I gifted? Those are really the questions. Not am I called? Am I gifted? And am I qualified?
Derek: And those of us who believe that we are, we need to meet these qualifications. And I think, importantly, all of these qualifications are viewed within the church. And we’ve already talked about that with how you’ve shared how at our church we go through the elder qualification process and vetting elders. And this all happens within the local church. And that’s where these qualifications have to be seen and where your teaching has to be viewed as edifying and where the people themselves are going to judge whether or not you have the gift of teaching and the other leaders are going to recognize and the church itself is going to recognize that you meet these character qualifications. You yourself can’t determine these things. And you can’t determine, hey, I want to be an elder. Hey, I’m qualified to be an elder. No, these things have to be determined by the church. And that’s God’s design. And that’s the context that Paul is giving these qualifications. And so, just to encourage you, men who are listening, who are pastors, to keep striving to maintain your qualification by God’s grace, by God’s help. For those of you who are not elders that desire to be, put these qualifications at the forefront of your mind. Put them in front of you every day. Strive towards them by God’s grace. Work towards them. Get together with other qualified men and ask them to help you. And if you desire to serve in this way and you continue to grow in these qualifications, we would hope that you would find a place to serve and serve faithfully and fruitfully. But these are the qualifications. We don’t want to water it down. Serving as an elder and a pastor in a local church is so important. It’s important for the health of that church. It’s a high and high important role. You are charged with caring for Christ’s sheep, preaching the Word of God. These are very heavy and weighty responsibilities. We want to carry them out diligently, and we can only do that if we are qualified. So, we trust that this has been helpful for you. We encourage you to check out WithAllWisdom.org. You’ll find the rest of our podcasts there along with books that we’ve written that are all free to read in PDF form. We also have articles in video resources. Until next time, keep seeking the Lord in his Word.
