Qualifications for elder

Those of you who have been following my website for the last three or four years know that my writing has been a cross between exegetical comments and practical applications. When writing on the teachings of Jesus it was fairy easy to apply the truth of a simple story. With Paul in the Pastorals it’s a different story. There is nothing quite like the challenge of an exegetical problem to draw me into that other world in search of clarity and understanding of the Greek text. Having said that, you’ll understand my excitement that in the first 7 verses of 1 Timothy 3 Paul lists 17 qualities required of the man who desires to become and elder (1st century Christianity did not have women elders). Let’s take a look at some of the necessary qualifications.
       A prospective elder must be anepilemptos, “irreproachable,” a word that occurs only 3 times in the New Testament and always in 1 Timothy. Certainly this is the main qualification for the role of “overseer” in the church. It pictures a man whose life has been so open and true that there existed no opportunity for someone to question his integrity. One of the beauties of mature Christians is that their walk is so free from intentional error that it can be lived openly without fear of doing or saying the wrong thing. Purity of life sets as person unashamedly free to share the good news with others.
       Obviously, the man above reproach would be a man in whom you would expect to see such qualities as Paul goes on to enumerate: “faithful to his one wife, clear-minded”. . . now there’s an interesting word, nephalios – it carries the idea of “being very moderate in the drinking of an alcoholic beverage” (BDAG), hence as some translations have it, “sober.” It is possible that the following words, “self-controlled, dignified” reflect the same setting. An elder must also be “hospitable,” philoxenos, a Greek word that combines philia (deep friendship) and xenos (a sojourner). And isn’t that exactly what hospitality is! – genuine concern for the stranger who happens by (so necessary in a world without many places to stay and certainly no motels). 
       Then, the elder must be “skilled in teaching,” a very important ability for the role of teacher. It used to be held, and still is, that the ability to teach was a gift not a skill to be learned. It is an art. Anyone who has been around higher education knows that the really good teacher is in love with his subject, gives unsparingly of himself for the student, and can summarize a difficult subject and effectively share it with those whose understanding is still limited. That unique gift needs to be characteristic of the one who will serve the local church as an elder.
       Tune in the day after tomorrow for the rest of the list. Hopefully our little classroom today has convinced you of the pleasure associated with words and etymology.