Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
This verse lists the kind of man who may take oversight, and every item is about character and home life rather than platform ability. So what does "overseer" mean, and why does the test fall on a man's character instead of his gifts?
The word itself
The word itself is simple. One writer takes it back to its parts and counts where it appears:
A. J. PollockThe meaning of the word bishop is — one who looks on, one who oversees, one who exercises a practical care for the spiritual welfare of the saints. The Greek word for bishop is episkopos (epi, on; skopos, look on or consider). It occurs five times in the Scriptures, once referring to our Lord (1 Peter 2:25), three times translated bishop (Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:7), and once translated overseer (Acts 20:28).
Another writer prefers a plainer English word, and notes how many held the role in one place:
William Kelly"Bishopric," or "office of a bishop," misleads here. The modern office, which most people know, is very different from what it was at the start. Each assembly had several overseers, and their governing duties were shared and limited — however valuable those duties were, and worthy of honour in their place. So it seems best and wisest, as well as most consistent, to call the function "oversight" and the man an "overseer."
Character, not gift
Nothing on the list is a talent. The difference separates two kinds of men God uses:
William KellyMoral qualities, not gifts, are the requirement, along with personal or family circumstances of good report. So being husband of one wife was looked for, as well as a character free from reproach. God has been pleased to bless many evangelists who were once shameless sinners in violence or in corruption! The overseer could not be such a man.
Husband of one wife
The phrase spoke straight into a world where a convert might arrive with more than one wife. Commentators read the clause against that background, and one draws out its long effect:
William KellyTo dismiss his wives would be wrong. But the Holy Spirit, by such an instruction, applied a principle that was bound to undermine polygamy in every form — and in fact it did. A man with two or more wives could not be put in charge as elder or deacon, and that carried a clear censure. Such a man was not refused as one who confessed Christ, nor forbidden to preach the gospel, because that might be his sad situation at home.
Older translations open the list with "blameless," the ESV with "above reproach." One writer explains it, then corrects a misreading of the next phrase:
Arno C. GaebeleinHe must be blameless — his moral character must be irreproachable, with nothing whatever against him. "He must be the husband of one wife." This has been explained as excluding everyone who had been married twice. That is incorrect. It may refer to men who, as pagans, had married more than one woman.
Sober, orderly, hospitable
The ESV says "sober-minded, self-controlled." Older translations say "vigilant" and "sober." One writer sorts the words out:
Leslie M. GrantThe word for "vigilant" here is better rendered sober, or careful. The word for "sober" in the Authorized Version has the force of "a sound mind." His behaviour is to be orderly, and in his home he is to practise hospitality.
Hospitality sounds warm until you count what it takes:
A. J. PollockPeter gives a striking exhortation: "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling" (1 Peter 4:9). Why "without grumbling"? It may be that the apostle, as a married man, recognised that hospitality costs money and involves work and self-sacrifice. Extra food must be bought, sleeping space provided, and extra plates, knives, forks and spoons washed up. So "without grumbling" is a very happy exhortation.
Able to teach
The last item is not the gift of teaching. One writer weighs the Greek word:
The Bible TreasuryThe word didaktikos is not the gift of teaching in the strict sense. It means fit to pass on the truth he may have. It is a practical qualification like all the others, not a specific gift.
It does mean carrying the word into the daily work of caring for people:
J. N. DarbyIt was desirable, not that they should be teachers as a gift (pastor and teacher are joined under one head in Ephesians 4), but that they should be "apt to teach." They should be able to carry the word with them in their oversight and use it — to shepherd and feed, not merely supervise.
Summary
- Overseer. The title describes work, not rank. It means a man who looks on and cares for the spiritual welfare of the saints, and each assembly had several of them.
- Character. The list tests moral qualities, not gifts. A man God blesses as an evangelist may still be unfit for oversight.
- Home. "Husband of one wife" kept a man with two wives out of office, but not out of Christ. That censure undermined polygamy everywhere.
- Door. A sound mind and orderly behaviour show at the front door — and hospitality costs money, work and self-sacrifice.
- Word. "Able to teach" is fitness to pass on the truth he has, so that he shepherds and feeds rather than merely supervises.