not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
Almost every word in this verse is a negative. It names four things an overseer must not be: drunken, violent, quarrelsome, greedy for money. Why does God describe the men who care for His people by what they refuse to do?
The wording of the verse
Older English translations carry an extra clause here. One writer explains where it came from. He also asks whether the Greek word behind "brawler" points back to wine:
William KellyIn 1 Timothy 3:3 the revisers of the English Bible rightly leave out "not greedy of filthy lucre," which came in from Titus 1. The caution here follows in "no lover of money." But is there no intended reference to disorder through too much wine in paroinos, which they give simply as "brawler," especially as "striker" comes next?
Self-control comes first
The negatives are not random. Each one marks a place where a man must first control himself:
Leslie M. GrantIf a man did not control himself in the matter of wine, he could have no place in the control of the assembly. The same was true of being "a striker," which involves a lack of control over his own temper. In the same way, he must not be a lover of money, for this shows a lack of control over his own selfishness. Patience, on the other hand, involves having rule over one's spirit. A contentious attitude is the destruction of such things.
Why would anyone need to tell an overseer not to get drunk? One writer points to where these believers had come from:
W. T. P. WolstonI need not dwell on what he was not to be. I dare say many will think it a strange instruction to tell such a man that he was not to be a drunkard. We forget that the assembly had only just been formed. These believers had only just been delivered from the degrading and demoralising conditions of the pagan world around them.
"Gentle" — not standing on your rights
The ESV word here is "gentle." Older translations say "patient." Neither one carries the whole Greek word:
J. A. TrenchEpieikes (from epi and eiko, to yield) is the word translated "patient" in 1 Timothy 3:3. It stands there next to amachos, "not a brawler," or "not addicted to contention"… No single English word can carry it. It means fairness, as against the strict letter of the law. So it is a readiness to give up all strictness and severity, even where the law would justly be on your side. It is the opposite of standing on one's rights: "mild," "gentle." … The Greek Old Testament uses epieikes of the Lord in Psalm 86:5 for what answers to our "ready to forgive."
Why patience is the working qualification
Why does this list matter in daily practice? Because caring for people wears patience thin:
The Bible TreasuryIt is a good work to care for the well-being of God's people. But qualifications are needed, and among them we find "no striker but patient, not a brawler." And why? Because such men will find that serving God's people taxes their patience greatly. If the spirit of meekness does not keep them, they soon become irritated, and the result is striking or brawling. Then, instead of winning back anyone who needs restoring, they only make bad worse.
"Not a lover of money"
One writer shows what happens when money gets a grip on the service of God:
F. B. HoleAgain people have turned religion into a money-making concern, so much so that it has often driven away the very person who wanted to seek God… Paul's first letter to Timothy gives us the instructions we need. Words like these stand out in that letter: "not a lover of money"… "godliness with contentment is great gain." If words like these govern us, they will keep us from this snare.
Who fits this description now
Does the list still apply, when no apostle is appointing anyone today?
A J PollockThere is no provision for appointing bishops or elders after the days of the apostles. Yet Scripture carefully gives us the moral and spiritual qualifications for such men. That shows that, while no one can make an official appointment today, men with these qualifications may still be found. In an assembly with serious and godly older brothers, who have the qualities listed in 1 Timothy and Titus, they should be gladly recognised, and their words and advice should carry weight and be helpful.
Summary
- Control. Wine, temper, and money each test whether a man governs himself. A man who cannot rule his own appetites has no place in the care of others.
- Control tested. Serving people wears patience thin. That is where the ban on striking and brawling proves itself.
- Control's fruit. The word behind "gentle" (epieikes) means yielding instead of insisting on your rights. Psalm 86:5 uses it of the Lord, who is "ready to forgive."
- Control's failure. When patience breaks, the man who meant to restore only makes bad worse. Where money rules, it drives away the very people seeking God.
- Control recognised. No one appoints elders today. But where these qualities show, own such men gladly and let their counsel carry weight.