Paul does not use the word elder in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Instead, he uses the word overseer, which in Greek is episkopos. This word is sometimes translated “bishop.” However, the word bishop has been misused to describe a hierarchical position. An elder is an overseer (Acts 20:17, 28). Humanly speaking, to be such an overseer requires some ability, but Paul instead emphasizes character, disposition, conduct, and being. In order to be an overseer in the church, a brother must be the right kind of person, not in what he can do but in what he is. This means that a brother must be right in life before he can be a proper overseer in the church.
According to human history and our own experiences, we know that in most situations what we can or cannot do does not mean as much as what we are or are not. The condition of people’s family life is not determined by their ability as much as by their character, disposition, conduct, and being. We should not be concerned about how much we can or cannot do. We should not be proud of our ability, nor should we be disappointed in our inability. We need only to be the right person in disposition, character, conduct, and being.
In 1 Timothy 3:1 Paul writes, “Faithful is the word: If anyone aspires to the overseership, he desires a good work.” To aspire does not mean to be ambitious. A man can aspire to be a good father, but this does not mean that he is ambitious. The church needs many brothers to aspire to the overseership. Not every brother with this aspiration will become an elder, but the church will have a wonderful future.
The elders need to speak to the brothers in their localities to stir up their aspiration to be elders. If an elder is afraid of others’ aspiration, this may indicate that he is trying to hold on to his personal kingdom. If we do not want our own kingdom, we will stir up the aspiration in others to be elders. We will like to see many in the younger generation aspiring to be elders. Such aspiration is very good, but we condemn ambition. To have the ambition to be a great leader is devilish (cf. Isa. 14:12-15).
Paul begins 1 Timothy 3:1 by writing, “Faithful is the word.” This probably indicates that the second part of the verse was a well-known saying among the churches at that time, and Paul was confirming the saying. Ambition and competition should be condemned, but we need to stir up in the saints a holy aspiration for the Lord’s interests and the spreading of the church. Because we desire that the churches would spread, and every church needs elders, many young brothers should pray, “Lord, if it is Your will, I would like to be one of the elders to take care of Your testimony in a locality.” This is not ambition. If circumstances never allow a brother to be an elder, he should not be dissatisfied. There should be no ambition or competition but a proper, holy aspiration.
After confirming that the overseership is a good work in verse 1, Paul goes on to give certain requirements of the overseers, which are qualifications of the elders. Verse 2 says, “The overseer then must be without reproach.” To be without reproach does not mean to be perfect or blameless in the eyes of God; rather, it means to be irreproachable in the eyes of man. None of us are perfect or blameless in the eyes of God, but the elders must be without reproach before man. This qualification implies that we must be very careful and considerate in speaking, acting, contacting people, and handling matters so that others will not have cause to reproach us. If we do these things carelessly, we may become reproachable in others’ eyes. What we say and do may be right but still cause others to think poorly of us. Therefore, this qualification implies not blamelessness but carefulness in all that we say and do. This first requirement seems to cover all the following requirements. If a brother is without reproach, he should also meet all the other qualifications as well.
The second qualification is “the husband of one wife” (v. 2). The matter of marriage indicates much about a person. To be the husband of one wife indicates that a brother has self-control. Anyone who has more than one wife cannot or does not bridle his lust. Such a person cannot be an overseer. Lust is very much related to temper. If someone can control his temper, he is more likely to be able to bridle his lust. An overseer must be one who can control himself. If a brother cannot control his temper and his lust, he cannot be an overseer.
The third qualification of an overseer is “temperate” (v. 2). The word temperate denotes “moderate, not going to extremes, balanced, and self-controlled.” In other words, an overseer must be just right—not too quick or too slow, not too high or too low, not laughing excessively or weeping excessively. An overseer has to balance himself. When he hates, he also has to love. If someone often goes to extremes, he cannot be irreproachable. Thus, being without reproach, which is the first qualification, includes being temperate.
The following qualification is “of a sober mind” (v. 2). Temperate and sober are very close in meaning. However, to be sober is mainly a matter of the mind, and to be temperate is a matter of the emotion and will. In order to be temperate, we cannot allow our likes and dislikes to direct our behavior. An elder must be without strong preferences. Our emotion affects our will. A person who likes to talk will decide to talk. If a person does not like to talk, he decides not to talk. Our likes and dislikes affect our decisions. Thus, an elder must be temperate in his emotion and will.
An elder must be of a sober mind. Most people’s minds are not sober. They are often confused, complicated, and sometimes peculiar or strange. To be of a sober mind means to think clearly and have a pure and clear discernment. In reading the Bible some believers do not see the proper light but instead pick up peculiar thoughts. For instance, to practice leg lengthening is to not be soberminded. In 1968 a dear brother with whom I stayed for a short time told me, “Recently, there was news that creatures have come from other planets, and someone in this area has spoken with them.” To heed such rumors is to not be soberminded. Sometimes we are all like this. Rumors spread easily among the saints when they do not have a sober mind to discern what they hear. We especially should not listen to those who speak negatively about the church.
Few Christians today are able to receive light from the Bible because their minds are not sober and are quite complicated. In order to receive light from the Word of God, a mind must be pure, clean, and straight, without any peculiar thinking. In order to be an overseer in a local church, a brother needs such a mind so that he can accurately understand the situation of the church and of individual saints. The overseers’ thinking must be practical, based in reality, pure, clean, and straight, because they are responsible for keeping strange, polluted, and damaging things out of the church. The church will be protected if the overseers have a sober mind to discern and see through such things. Moreover, if a brother is soberminded, he will also be temperate. In order to be without reproach in all that he says and does, an overseer must be temperate and soberminded.