DUNCAN/What God wants in elders

Please turn to 1 Timothy 3:1-7. In this letter, Paul is addressing the priorities of a healthy church. As such, he is telling us about what our lives and our ministry ought to look like in the local congregation. Specifically, in this passage, Paul addresses the qualifications of those who lead in the local church, the elders. First, in verse 1, he addresses the desire of the man who aspires to be an elder. Then, in verses 2-3, Paul speaks about the person's character and his ability to teach. Next, in verses 4-5, he addresses family leadership. Then, in verse 6, Paul speaks about spiritual maturity. Finally, in verse 7, he addresses the moral reputation of an elder.

I. God Wants Elders Who Desire the Work of an Elder.

In verse 1, Paul says, "if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do." Paul is saying that the first qualification of the eldership is that a man would desire to do the spiritual work of a shepherd in the church. In other words, he has to desire to shepherd the people of God. And you can see those desires expressed outwardly in a man who desires to shepherd the people of God. For example, you can see that in the way a man studies his Bible. You can see that in the way a man studies to teach the Word of God. You can see that in the way a man commits himself to the life of a local congregation, in the way he attends church Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night. You can see that in the way he is involved in evangelism and discipleship. So there is the first qualification. He has a desire for the work of ministry that is entailed in being an elder.

II. God Wants Men of Godly Character Who Are Able to Teach.

In verses 2-3, Paul says, "An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money." Paul expects elders to be godly. They are men who are involved in a lifelong pursuit of holiness. Therefore, Paul gives you a glorious and practical description of what holiness looks like in verses two and three. Specifically, a godly man is free from scandalous sins and offensive habits that would lay him open to public criticism. He is a man marked by the strictest marital fidelity. His marriage is biblical, heterosexual, monogamous, and pure. He is a temperate, or sober-minded man. He is possessed of a wakeful, alert, vigilant habit of mind, and he is opposed to all sorts of excess. He is prudent and has mastery over his natural reactions. He shows self-control. He is respectable. He lives a life that bears up under public scrutiny. He is hospitable. He is peaceable. He is not quarrelsome in his patterns of speaking. He is able to teach and gently instruct others. That does not mean that he has to be great behind the podium. However, it does mean that he is able to disciple the people of God in sound doctrine and living. Lastly, an elder is free from the love of money. He does not pursue dishonest gain. He does not love things and use God. Instead, he loves God and he uses things.

III. God Wants Elders With Godly Homes and Families.

In verses 4-5, Paul says, "He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?)" Paul says one way you can tell whether a man will be a good shepherd in the church of God is to look at how he shepherds his own family. If he is a good shepherd of his family, chances are he will be a wise and good shepherd of the flock. And so look at how he shepherds the souls of his wife and children. Look at how he practices spiritual leadership in his home. Look at how he leads his family in growth in grace, and attendance at the means of grace, in the support of the church. God wants elders with godly homes and families.

IV. God Wants Elders Who Are Spiritually Mature.

In verse 6, Paul says, "and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil." Paul wants elders who are spiritually mature, not recent converts. The elder must be mature in the faith, in view of the unique pressures and temptations that elders must face. They are to be mature in the faith, even if they are not that mature chronologically. Remember all those qualifications listed in verses two and three, you have to know somebody for a while before you can tell whether those qualifications are there. All of those qualifications and character qualities take time to cultivate. You are not born with those qualifications. You have to cultivate those things. And so Paul says, do not put someone who is a new convert into the office of elder. We need spiritual maturity in those who are the shepherds and guides and guards of the church.

V. God Wants Elders Whose Moral Reputation is Good.

In verse 7, Paul says, "And he must have a good reputation, with those outside the church, so that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." God wants elders whose moral reputation is good with local non-Christians. Elders, you see, are to be men of integrity, especially in the eyes of non-Christians, the non-church community. The front line of evangelism is our holiness. The thing that we lead with in our witness to the world is our holiness. The thing which causes our message to be most credible to the world is holiness, and so discipleship is the most important thing you can do to foster evangelism in a local congregation. Because it is when the church is most distinct from the world that the church has most to say to the world, and where the world has the most respect for what the church has to say. If we go out into the world, different from the world, yet concerned and caring and loving towards the world, Jesus promises that the world will stand up and take notice. And so, Paul is concerned for holiness in the lives of the local congregation as it is deployed in evangelism and missions. May God continue to bless His church with godly elders and increase our witness in this world so that we may make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in His name and instructing them in His Word.