What are the qualifications of elders and deacons?

Faithful [is] the word: if anyone is eager for oversight, he is desirous of a good work. 2 The overseer [or bishop] therefore must be irreproachable, husband of one wife, temperate, sober, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach, 3 not given to wine, no striker, but gentle, not contentious, not fond of money, 4 one that ruleth well his own house, having children in subjection with all gravity, 5 (but if one knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he care for God's assembly), 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into the devil's charge [or judgment]. 7 But he must also have good testimony from those without, lest he fall into reproach and a snare of the devil. 8 Deacons likewise [must be] grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of base gain, 9 holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10 And let these also be first proved, then let them serve as deacons, being blameless. 11 Women likewise [must be] grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling [their] children and their own houses well; 13 for those that have served well as deacons gain for themselves a good degree, and great boldness in faith that is in Christ Jesus. 14 These things write I to thee, hoping to come unto thee rather quickly; 15 but if I should tarry, that thou mayest know how one ought to behave in God's house, seeing it is a living God's assembly, pillar and groundwork of the truth. 16 And confessedly great is the mystery of piety: He Who was manifested in flesh, was justified in Spirit, appeared unto angels, was preached among Gentiles, was believed on in [the] world, was received up in glory.

And now he comes (1 Tim. 3), not so much to comely order as to the outside, or as to the relation of man and woman, but to the ordinary governments and helps of the saints. He takes up what was of a graver kind, and touching more on spiritual things, namely, bishops (or elders); then deacons; and this leads him naturally to the house of God. "Faithful is the word, If any one aspireth to oversight, he desireth a good work. The overseer then must be blameless, husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity." It is plain that this is not at all a question of spiritual gift. One might be endowed with a good gift and yet not have a well-regulated house. Perhaps the wife might not behave properly, or the children be unruly: no matter what his gift, if the wife, or the family were a dishonour, he could not be an overseer (for this is the simple and true meaning of bishop").

In early days persons were brought in to the confession of Christ who had been Pagans, and trained up in its habits. Some of these had more than one wife. A true and gifted Christian one might be; but if such were his unhappy position, he was precluded from exercising formal oversight. The evil of polygamy could not be corrected at that time by strong measures. (Since then in Christendom it is dealt with as criminal.) To dismiss his wives would be wrong. But the Holy Spirit by such an injunction applied a principle which was destined to undermine, as in fact it did undermine, polygamy in every form. There was a manifest censure conveyed in the fact, that a man with two or more wives could not be set in the charge of elder or deacon. A man was not refused as a confessor of Christ, nor was he forbidden to preach the gospel, because such might have been his sad circumstances at home. If the Lord called him by His grace, or gave him as a gift to the church, the church bowed. But an elder or bishop was to be one that not only had a suitable gift for his work, but also in the family or in his circumstances must be free from all appearance of scandal on the name of the Lord. He must have a good report, and be morally irreproachable in himself and his household. There might be trial or sorrow, — few families were without both; but what is spoken of here is something that damaged the public repute of the assembly. For this very reason the grand point for local oversight was moral weight. It was not only the ability to inform, counsel, or rebuke, but in order to do all this efficiently a certain godly influence proved at home and abroad. In the practical difficulties with which an elder or bishop would be called to interfere continually in an assembly, there should never be room for those whose conduct might be in question to point to flaws in his own home, or in his own open life and spirit. Thus wisely and holily did the Spirit demand that he should be a person of good report himself, that neither past ways nor present habits should in the least degree compromise the office; and again, with a stainless reputation as well as a man of some spiritual experience in his family — "one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil." These things would not apply to a man's ministry in the word. A Christian may begin to preach almost as soon as he believed the word of truth, the gospel of salvation; but for one to be clothed with a public and responsible place as elder in an assembly is another thing altogether.

The deacons, then, are to be "grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not seeking gain by base means;" and while not absolutely, as in the case of an elder, needing to be "apt to teach," yet must hold "the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience." Faith and conscience are thus to be joined together, as we have already seen. Mere orthodoxy is incompetent everywhere. If the conscience is not under the authority of the truth, the truth can only be a burden to one instead of the blessing that it should be. The deacons, also, were to be men who had been tested, and had abode the test. They were to be entrusted with things which manifestly have their power of temptation even among Christians. They are to be first proved, and then to minister as those without blame and who have approved themselves. The wives are mentioned also in a special manner here, as not in the case of the elder, which has also, no doubt, to do with the relative characters of the two offices. The wives were to be "grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things." The deacons, too, were to be "husbands of one wife, conducting their children and their own houses well." We are reminded of Philip's daughters who were prophetesses, when Philip himself had risen to a larger sphere of labor than that which was his at Jerusalem in the first place. In this way they would "acquire for themselves a good degree," they would be helped in helping, and find boldness also in the faith in Christ.

The moral character of the elder must be above reproach. He must be the husband of one wife, a qualification that would have special application to those emerging from heathenism with its polygamy. A converted man, though not to be rejected because he had more than one wife, would be unfitted for oversight. Moreover, such an one was to be sober in judgment, discreet in his words, decorous in behaviour, hospitable. He was to be apt to teach, not necessarily implying that he was gifted as a teacher, but that he had aptness to help others in their spiritual exercises. He was not to be a person given to excess in wine or violence in action; on the contrary he was to be mild, avoiding contentions and free from covetousness.

(Vv. 4, 5). Moreover, he was to be one who ruled his house well, having his children in subjection — exhortations that clearly indicate that the overseer was to be an elder, not only married and possessing a home, but having children.

Titus had been left in Crete distinctly to complete the order of the assembly there, and to appoint elders in every city. The characters required in an elder are stated much as in Timothy, especially the family character, as one may say; for the elder is to be a father in the local assembly. Thus, he must be "the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of excess, or unruly." For the character of his children he is thus distinctly accounted as responsible. As an overseer, he is to be blameless as a steward of God, with nothing that would show a lack of government in his own spirit, "not headstrong, not passionate, not given to wine, no striker, no seeker of base gain." On the other hand, not merely of a negative character, but "hospitable, a lover of good, discreet, righteous, pious;" himself "holding fast the faithful word according to the doctrine taught, so as to be able both to exhort with sound teaching and convict the gainsayers."

The word for "vigilant" here is more correctly sober or circumspect, while that for "sober" in the Authorized Version has the force of "a sound mind." His behavior is to be orderly, and in his home he is to practice hospitality. Having one wife would evidently indicate that he must be proven in family life. Doubtless many were converted in those days who had more than one wife. This would disqualify them from the place of an overseer, even though the grace of God had wrought mightily in their souls. For there had been a basic character displayed of insensibility to God's order even in creation. This was not to be ignored even after conversion, as to governmental matters. In such cases problems would no doubt arise that would call for real exercise of soul, as to what must be done, but Scripture gives no instruction as to what a man must do who had already married two wives.

For this he must be "blameless," having a character that cannot be called in question. In family life he must be basically reliable. Many had at that time, before conversion, married two or more wives. This disqualified them for such work, for it ignored God's basic order in creation, and if one is to help in maintaining order, he must be a proper example of order in his own life and in family life: his children were to evidence subjection to order.

For an overseer is the steward of God, entrusted with giving a true representation of God's order. And the negatives of verse 7 are important, just as are the positives of verse 8. Selfwill is the strong intention of having one's own way, a most destructive element in the assembly of God. Nor must an elder be one who is soon angry, apt to lose his temper: for this is sin. He is not to indulge in wine, nor to be a striker, that is, striking back against what he considers injustice. Nor is he to have such a character as seeks earthly gain by questionable means. Note in all of these things the necessity of his controlling himself, his desires, his temper, his appetite, his resentment against wrongs, his selfishness. In other words, if he is to keep the assembly in control for God, he must certainly know how to control himself.

The seven positives of verse 8 are precious. An hospitable entertainment of others is essential in caring for their welfare. A lover of goodness will so occupy himself with good that he will have little time for evil, even in fighting against it. To be sober is to use wise discretion in discernment and action. And "just" is added to this, a righteous, fair character in dealing with others. "Holy" is the character of separation to God, hating evil and loving good. "Temperate" is necessary too, the avoiding of extremes by a well-balanced moderation. And to crown all of this, an elder must be firm in holding to the pure Word of God, according to the doctrine, not according to his experience. For though experience is important, it must always give place to sound doctrine. It is only this that can be trusted in any way to meet the real need of souls, either to encourage those who need this, or to refute the gainsayers, those who tend to dispute against what is sound and dependable. Every elder should have some measure of ability in these things, by a good working knowledge of the Scriptures, and wisdom to use his knowledge rightly.

It is important, too, to see that a man, who could not rule his own house and have his children in subjection, was not fit to guide in the Church of God. There was evidently, in that case, some lack in his character, some weakness, or, it may be, inability to govern himself, that made it evident that he was unable to guide in the Church of God. It is to be feared that this plain instruction is often set aside. We have seen men prominent in overseership, whose households were entirely beyond their control and a scandal in the world. Only disaster can come from a disregard of Scripture.

Further, the overseer had not to be a novice, that is not one newly come to the faith. Such an one might be easily puffed up, become spiritually proud, and pride was the condemnation of the devil. Ability and knowledge in a young man is no substitute for the soul-history of an elder. Knowledge is not wisdom. Scripture tells us that “knowledge puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1), that is, the mere acquisition of terms of truth, but that we “increase by the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10), that is not knowledge about God, but personal heart-knowledge of Him, and this comes so largely as the result of soul-history.

Finally, the overseer must have a good report of them which are without. This speaks volumes, for it is only as a man is just and gracious, upright and benevolent, one who sets forth the character of true Christian profession that he will secure this good report. The qualities, that make an overseer of good repute in the eyes of the world, are qualities that make for peace and good government in the home circle and in the Church of God.

From the first verse it would appear that there were some at Ephesus who were aspiring to become bishops. The Apostle acknowledges that what they aimed at was a good work but he insists in this connection upon the all-importance of character. It is not that the bishop may have all the spiritual qualifications that he mentions, but that he must. Moreover, before he is appointed to take care of the church of God he must have proved his fitness for such a work by the way in which he has governed the far smaller and humbler sphere of his own household. He must not be a novice, one who though possibly well on in years is only a beginner in the things of God, else being lifted up with pride in his new-found importance he may fall into the very fault that caused the overthrow of Satan at the beginning. Diotrephes, who is spoken of in 3 John 9 and 10 would seem to be an illustration of what is meant.

In many of the primitive churches bishops or elders were officially appointed, in others they do not appear to have been. But even if duly appointed the one thing that would confer real weight upon them would be the character of Christian godliness that Paul here describes. Who would be disposed to pay attention to their exhortations otherwise, or submit themselves to their shepherd care and direction in spiritual things? Moreover there was the outside world to be considered, as verse 7 states. The world has sharp eyes and quickly hurls reproach if there is the least ground for it; and to accomplish this the devil lays his snares.

The wife and children of the deacon are, I judge, associated with him in many ways, in the carrying out of details. Hence their qualifications are so strictly laid down (1 Tim.). They live in the place; move in and out among the saints, so as to find out in the gentlest ways where need is on the one hand, and who are those that may be asked to meet it on the other. Hence he is not to be a money-lover; nor his wife a slanderer! O that we knew many of such men to-day! It would be our place to own them where we find them, and to thank God for them: but not having apostolic authority, we cannot appoint them.

A deacon, then, is one that "serves tables" — attending to the bodily needs of the poor saints at the local gathering in which he meets, and he ministers (or serves) in temporal things. (In this way, I suppose, Phoebe was a deaconess, Rom. 16:1.) The deacon may be, besides, a person gifted by the Lord to minister the word, as Stephen and Philip were; in this he would be responsible to the Lord, and to none other; in his office as deacon he is servant of the local assembly. If he removed to another place, he would be "out of office." An evangelist, or a pastor, or a teacher is a gift everywhere; a deacon is in office —and that for temporal things — in his city or town only.