1 Timothy Episode 3: Qualifications for Overseers

Paul gives detailed qualifications for elders in the local church. He emphasizes that overseers should have a good reputation, blameless, and above reproach.

- Podcast Transcript -

Wes

Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you're interested in learning more, just head over to twojourneys.org. Now, on to today's episode. This is episode three in our 1 Timothy Bible Study podcast. This episode is entitled Qualifications for Overseers, where we'll discuss 1 Timothy 3:1-7. I'm Wes Treadway, and I'm here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we're looking at today? 

Andy

Well, this is a vital passage for the plurality of elders, which is the polity or church government in our church and in many churches, and what I would advocate is healthy church government. And fundamental to the idea of a group of plural elders leading the church is this filtering passage here in 1 Timothy 3, also it's parallel in Titus 1. And by the qualifications that are laid out in those two passages, we are able to discern what men God raises up to lead in a local church. Big picture, I believe that 1 Timothy was given based on the end of this same chapter, 1 Timothy 3:15, so that people would know how they ought to conduct themselves in God's church, the local church. And so fundamental to that are godly men who are filtered by the qualifications here in 1 Timothy 3 leading the church.

Wes

Let me go ahead and read the passage, and then we'll discuss it together: 

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Andy, the first verse of this section speaks of a holy ambition. How could a young man's desire for being an overseer spur him on to spiritual maturity? And is there any harm in someone who will never be an elder aspiring to the attributes we'll discuss in this passage?

Andy

Well, the last part, no, definitely. There's no harm in it. Even if the individual, the young man, never becomes an elder, still, the qualifications here are generally, except for able to teach, true of all Christians, a desire that we should have to be blameless and to have our family lives in good order, et cetera. So no, it won't do them any harm at all. And I don't think there's anything wrong with having godly ambition to Christian maturity. Obviously, there's a way that you can have a sinful ambition that's very selfish and prideful, and people do have that with leadership positions, so that would be the danger. But the verse itself says if they set their heart on being an overseer, they're desiring a beautiful thing. It's really, the Greek word here, implies virtue or moral beauty. So it's a beautiful task to want to be an overseer in a church. And before that, to have these qualities that are described here, they will do you no harm at all.

Wes 

Now, seminaries have traditionally had a significant role in the preparation of pastors. How should we think about the relationship between training in the local church toward this kind of character, and training in a seminary context, and how can they best partner together?

Andy

Right. I think throughout church history, we've seen both the local church instituted by God and then societies which come together to achieve certain functions, specifically missions often, but also seminaries, as being both of them valid expressions of healthy Christian life. Now the one is openly taught and established in scripture. The other one is not and is more a matter of Christian freedom, although there are indications that those types of linkings are biblical. And so I would say a mission agency, a society that's focused on a certain moral issue, alleviation of poverty, and then seminaries, they are arranged to achieve a certain function, a certain purpose, and I think if they're done right by biblical principles can be very, very helpful.

However, the Bible does seem to imply that the training of young men up for leadership in the local church can be solely done by a local church, that you don't have to have seminaries. I think you could argue if you had to have them, they would've been mentioned and described in great detail in the New Testament. So I look on seminaries as helpful, but not essential, but the local church absolutely is. And all good seminaries see themselves in partnership with local churches and making certain not just to filter the candidates that come into the seminaries, but in ongoing partnership, knowing that when they are done with their academic training and certain other aspects of their practical training, they're going to be sent back to local churches to lead them. And so fundamentally, there should be a good relationship between seminaries and local churches.

Wes

Now, we alluded to the beauty of this task of being an overseer, but what does it mean that if anyone aspires to the office of overseer that he desires a noble task? How is it a beautiful work to be a pastor?

Andy

Yeah, it is a beautiful thing because you're following in the footsteps of Christ. Christ raised up apostles, and apostles were at least pastors, elders, overseers, but they were more than that. They were, I think, unique in redemptive history. But they are definitely (Peter calls himself a shepherd, under shepherd) under Christ. And so it's beautiful because it's an imitation of Christ in his shepherding aspect. Jesus was the good shepherd, and they entrust some shepherding functions to us. The word here, overseer, episkopos, literally comes over in the English, overseer. That's the prefix and then the verb form. So you get the picture of somebody who is - there's a flock of sheep and a shepherd is up a little bit higher than the sheep physically - maybe on a hill, so that he can gain perspective and see the entire flock at once as his eyes scan over, and he can see that, oh, a few of those over on the far right are starting to get a little closer to the cliff, and he needs to go over there and pull them back in.

And so the idea then is of perspective, an overseer, not of superiority as lording it over, which Peter says is a sin. The elders should not lord it over those entrusted to their care. It's not that, but it's more we're in a position to be able to see what's happening big picture with the flock. So it is a beautiful thing because it's an imitation of Christ and his role as Good Shepherd.

Wes

Now, you mentioned in the introduction that verses two through seven really serve as a filter that's essential to establishing the right kind of leadership in a church. And the first requirement is that the elder should be above reproach. This requirement speaks to both the man's personal holiness and his reputation for holiness. Why are both of those so essential to his ministry as an elder?

Andy

Yeah, I think they're both important because, and first of all, the reputation is how we know each other. We really can't know what's truly going on in someone's heart, in their soul. We can't read minds. All we can do is read their bodies, what they do, the words they speak, their behavior patterns, facial expressions, how we see them in certain situations. It's all we can do. Jesus alone had that ability to read someone's mind, to know their heart, to know them as they truly were. As it says in John 2, Jesus did not need testimony about man because he knows what was in a man. Well, we're not like that.

So reputation is vital for Christians, that we would have a good reputation among the Christians and indeed out in the community, as it mentions later, that the individual is seen to be a holy man or a godly man. That's important. But it's also important that he not be a whitewashed tomb or a hypocrite, as Jesus talks about, that there be reality behind the appearance. And so it's right away very, very challenging, blameless or above reproach. It cannot mean sinless perfection. And I think we should talk about that. It's not a matter of sinless perfection. For then, there could be no overseers, there could be no elders, there could be no pastors. It'd be impossible. No one is sinless, as 1 John says, if anyone claims to be without sin, he's a liar and he's deceiving himself. So that's not true.

What does it mean? Well, there's nothing that would disqualify him from the office. There's nothing that anyone, as soon as they hear that individual's name, would say, "No, they can't serve." "Why?" "Let me tell you. This happened, that happened. Then the other time this happened," et cetera. There's actually a case against the person. So the elder has to be someone for whom no one can think of any reason why they couldn't serve. So I think that's what the issue is, the reputation.

Furthermore, the leadership that an elder, an overseer, exercises is mostly persuasive. It's not so much the power of position like in the military. "Because I'm the captain, that's why. Just do what I say. You don't need to understand anything." That's just not how it works with church leadership. It's more we're able to reason from scripture and by our role-modeling example, people then follow what it is we're saying. If you have a bad reputation, people won't follow you. They won't listen to what you have to say. Even if it's biblically true, they won't listen to it from you. And so it's very important for the elder to be blameless or above reproach.

Wes

Now, the next requirement has to do with the man's marriage. Why is this also vital and what does it mean to be the husband of one wife?

Andy

The husband of one wife, literally in the Greek, a one-woman man, it zeroes in on the man's marriage. The man's marriage, the state of his marriage, is relevant to whether he should serve as an overseer or not. And that's because it's by far the most significant human relationship he has. We have the two great commandments, the vertical commandment to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Martin Luther said, "Your wife is your nearest neighbor, and if you're not loving her well, why would you love anyone else well?" She's the one that you've covenanted with. You have promised before God to love her and cherish her and care for her in the Ephesians 5 pattern - Ephesians 5[:25], "Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her," et cetera.

All of that's an unfolding of the second great commandment that Jesus did for us. And so a husband should do that for his wife. And so I think a man who cannot do that at home, I don't know how he could do it in the church. And so fundamentally, his marriage needs to be healthy. Now, this brings up a question that has troubled churches, and it troubled ours as well. We had to work through it. On the issue of divorce, divorced men. Can a divorced man serve as an elder? And our answer has been yes, that having gotten a divorce is not what we would call an unforgivable sin, like blasphemy against the Spirit. Once that's happened, you can forever not serve as an overseer.

The problem with that interpretation is that divorce is not mentioned here in the passage. It says he is a one-woman man. That's the requirement. So there's more of a traditional interpretation that says, "Oh, therefore divorced men can't serve." We looked hard at the tradition and set it aside. We were looking at the scripture, and the issue is, the point is, is the man carrying on his marriage now in a healthy way? Now, it's obviously significant if in the past he had a divorce, it's very important to look at why, what happened, and if he was at fault in any way. And sometimes there are individuals that are not at fault in any way. They're not perfect spouses, but their spouse left them for another person, and they are what we call the innocent party in that. We don't see why that would disqualify a man from serving as an elder or an overseer.

But suppose even if he was at fault in some way, the question is, has he repented, and has he produced fruit in keeping with repentance? So I think at that point, practically speaking, we looked for a longstanding faithfulness in his present marriage, years and years of faithfulness, having learned from that sin and speaking accurately and rightly and biblically about it, not minimizing it, et cetera, if he was at fault. If he was innocent, there's nothing to say, other than if somebody really asks, but I don't think he's under obligation to say the painful circumstances of having been so greatly sinned against. So that's how we work that through. At any rate, that's the question of divorce. Going back to the actual text, the fact is individuals, husbands need to be loving their wives as Christ loved the church, and they need to live it out at home before they ever can serve in this function in the church.

Wes

Now, the next three are character traits, sober-mindedness, self-control, and respectability, similar to the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. How are each of these beneficial for elder ministry?

Andy

Yeah, those are vital characteristics. And again, all of these, I think, are goals. They're aspirational goals. They're stars by which we navigate our moral lives. Same thing with the fruit of the Spirit. No one can ever say they've arrived in these areas. So to be a sober-minded individual is somebody who takes life seriously. They have reasonable responses to things. The Bible is a reasonable book. God is a reasonable being. And these individuals reason things out. They think about circumstances rightly and carefully and moderately. So that's what I think sober-minded means.

Self-control means that the inner drives of the body are held in check. Probably the clearest passage on this, actually, there's a couple of them, but in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain the prize. I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not fight like a man beating the air. Actually, I beat my body and make it my slave..." is one translation, or "... I keep myself under strict subjection, lest after I have preached to others, I myself may be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:24,26-27, paraphrase) So that's strong self-control. Of what? Those drives. The drives toward food, toward drink, toward sex, toward esteem and power and other things that are drives that lead people to sin. A self-controlled individual keeps those drives in check.

It's interesting that one of the fruits of the Spirit or aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, which is interesting because is it Holy Spirit control or self-control? Well, the Holy Spirit moves you to control yourself and to say no to yourself. So that's self-control. And so an overseer must be a self-controlled man. He's not dominated by any of his natural drives.

"Is it Holy Spirit control or self-control? Well, the Holy Spirit moves you to control yourself and to say no to yourself. That's self-control."

So also it says respectable. And so that means having a good reputation among others. He carries himself with dignity and honor. I mean, you're setting yourself up as an overseer to make a significant contribution, a word of wisdom, a word of counsel, a word of rebuke maybe, a word of instruction. Well, if you're a frivolous like standup comedian kind of guy that's constantly saying ridiculous things, then it's like, "All right, now I'm going to get serious. Let me tell you what you ought to do with your marriage, your parenting, or your money," or whatever, that person is not going to listen to you. But somebody who is respectable, they carry themselves with a certain gravity. Jesus was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. This is also, we need to realize life is serious. There's death here, there's sorrow, there's sin. We're at war with the world of flesh and the devil. And so an overseer has to realize that and carry himself accordingly.

Wes

Now, how is hospitality essential to the pastor's life and ministry and what role does it play in the two journeys?

Andy

Yeah, it's a beautiful thing, this idea of hospitality, and I think the idea is opening your home and making your home a base of ministry. If you look at the New Testament, there's no evidence of New Testament churches, New Testament church buildings, I mean. Architecture, it comes later. I don't think it's a sin, but it's not even mentioned. There are a lot of house churches. There were churches that met in the home of Priscilla and Aquila or other places. So those house churches made the home a base of ministry. We have also Lydia, who was a dealer in purple cloth and invited Paul and Silas and his team to stay with her. And so that hospitality was essential to the establishment of the gospel in Philippi. So I think it's just foundational that the home should be a place of evangelism where you're welcoming in lost people and having meals with them and sharing the gospel with them, and also discipleship, where you're bringing in people and having Bible studies and other things. So hospitable means we're glad to have you here in our home. We're welcoming you.

Wes

Now, what makes the requirement that an elder be able to teach unique in this list, and how does this show that a man might be godly and mature but not an elder?

Andy

Yeah, so able to teach is one different requirement here that we could not say is expected of every Christian. If you look at the idea of being blameless or above reproach, I don't think any Christian would say, "I'm exempt from that. It doesn't matter whether I have reproach on me. It doesn't matter what's going on in my marriage. Jesus has forgiven my sins." It's just not true. And you could walk through each of these attributes except this one. It is not true that every Christian should be able to teach or will be able to teach. It's a spiritual gift, and not everyone has it. And as a matter of fact, James 3:1 says, "Not many should be teachers." (paraphrase) And so fundamentally, most Christians will not be teachers. Therefore, it is no mark against somebody if they're not an overseer. Overseers should not consider themselves superior to others. It's a gifting.

However, the overseer must be able to teach. Now, what does that mean? I think when it comes to spiritual gifts, as we discussed in the 1Corinthians podcast, the concept of spiritual gifts is the difference between functioning and flourishing. Every normal man can articulate ideas, put them into thoughts and put his thoughts into words. And that has to do with scripture as well. Any normal adult Christian can articulate doctrine to some degree. That doesn't mean they have a gift. The gift is that they flourish in that area. They bring clarity where there was murkiness. They bring light where there was darkness. They are able, they're gifted to take out the scriptures and make them plain and clear. Now, we've noted as we've filtered candidates for elder, overseer, and by the way, I keep doing that, I want you to know we consider elder/overseer/pastor to be equivalent titles. So in this text, it's overseer. Other texts, you have elder, et cetera.

Anyway, to get back to the issue of teaching, there are different ways this gift manifests itself. It's different to preach than it is to lead a Bible study than it is to do counseling than it is to share the gospel out on the street. All of those require skill in handling scripture, wielding the sword of the Spirit. If you can do, I think, any of those well, then you're qualified to be an elder. It doesn't mean you have to be able to preach. So I think it's wrong to go so far as to say able to preach. Those are different things. But just you do have that spiritual gift of making scripture clear and applying it powerfully and poignantly to people.

Wes

The list in verse three is mostly negative. It shows some sins that would disqualify a man from ministry. How is purity in these key areas vital for elders, and why is gentleness important for an elder's ministry?

Andy

Well, this to some degree goes back to the issue of self-control, but now he's really making it clear. There have been some areas that have been problematic to some men in the past. So he lists some here in the negative qualifications that you've given here. So drunkenness. The Bible does not teach complete abstinence from fermented beverages, but it does put up a lot of warnings and boundaries about fermented beverages. It has a lot of examples of drunkenness and the damage that came from drunkenness. And so it is vital both in Ezekiel and also in the passage with Nadab and Abihu, there's a clear requirement that priests not drink alcohol when they are offering sacrifices to the Lord. And so the indication when Nadab and Abihu offered strange fires is that they were drunk, that they were just carrying on with irreverence.

And so drunkenness is clearly a sin. And so this individual doesn't drink to the point where the alcohol is affecting him. Some Christians choose not to drink at all, and that's certainly their freedom to do that as long as they're not judgmental of others that do. But there's a clear boundary for all Christians on the issue of drunkenness, but especially for this man, he must not be given to drunkenness.

And then the issue of violence. He's not a violent man, but he's a gentle man. He's not a quarrelsome man. He's not a fighter. And we all have pride. We have sinful anger in our hearts. And so it's important for overseers to have that under control. They have strong convictions, they have strong beliefs, they have strong doctrinal approaches. But they're not violent about them. They're gentle. There's a gentleness. And Paul talks about this in 2 Timothy where he says concerning people that oppose him, "Those who oppose him, he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." (2 Timothy 2:25-26) 

A gentle persuasion. That's a pastor's teaching. So he's not a violent man. He's not quarrelsome, he doesn't argue. Again, 2 Timothy 2, Paul talks about that as well, "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful." (2 Timothy 2:23-24) This man's not a quarrelsome man, and he's not a lover of money. He uses money, he's not addicted to it, et cetera. So these are all issues where people sometimes go into problems, and this is a self-controlled man.

Wes

Andy, when I think of this idea of gentleness, I always think of 1 Thessalonians 5:14 where it says, "We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." So I know patience and gentleness are not equivalents, but this idea that we're going to deal gently with God's people as we seek to see them grow in Christlikeness.

Andy

Praise God. And I want to give you another verse that definitely comes to mind, and that is from the description given by Matthew, from Isaiah originally, of Jesus. "A bruised reed, he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out…." (Isaiah 42:3, Matthew 12:20) Those are pictures of skillful gentleness. Jesus is skillful at binding up broken-hearted sinners. He's skillful at taking a flickering ember and nursing it back into a roaring flame. He's able to take a piece of reed that's hanging by a slender green thread, bind it up gently and get it back to strength again. That's a picture of how pastors should be. They also are skillfully gentle men. They're able to deal with people who are broken by sin and to talk to them in ways that give them hope, give them courage, help them to move on. So that's a picture also. "A bruised reed he will not break. A smoldering wick he will not snuff out."

"Jesus is skillful at binding up broken-hearted sinners. He's skillful at taking a flickering ember and nursing it back into a roaring flame."

Wes

Andy, before we move on from verse 3, is there anymore that we should say about why a healthy view of money is essential for pastoral ministry?

Andy

Yeah. Randy Alcorn, in his book, Money, Possessions, and Eternity, argues that money is one of the number one barometers of the health of the soul. It's mentioned many times, and I think it's true. It's one of the central idols there is in this world. And so this is an individual that has conquered that idolatry. Just as Job says in Job 31, "I didn't make silver or gold my god." (Job 31:24 paraphrase) I didn't bow down to my silver and gold. I didn't trust in it. I didn't make silver and gold my trust. And so this is an individual who uses money. He doesn't love it. "For the love of money..." it says later in the same book, "... is the root of all kinds of evil." (1 Timothy 6:10) And so to be able to be self-controlled in the area of money is vital.

And so yeah, we've talked about how in Corinthians, it's right for churches to support pastors financially and to make certain that pastors' needs are met. And so there's nothing wrong with the pastor making certain that his family needs are met. He really shouldn't have to advocate for himself. Others should advocate on his behalf. But when all is said and done, he's not doing it for the money. It's really apples and oranges. We serve, Wes, you and I, we serve because we love the Lord and his people. We wouldn't serve better if we got paid more, or worse if we got paid less. It's not got anything to do with it. It's two different things. So it's not out of love for money that we serve.

Wes

Verses 4 and 5 deal with how this potential elder deals with managing his children and his household. How is the way that a man manages these two aspects of his life such a training ground for a future elder, and why is it significant here in these two verses?

Andy

Sure. It is a training ground. And so, we look at, Puritans said it this way, "Every family is a little church and the husband, the father, is a pastor." And so how he's running things at home is vital. And whether he ever becomes an elder in the church, he's an elder in his own family. And fundamental to that is the ability to make Joshua's statement, "…As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) And his family knows that. And they're going to follow, they're not pushing back on it.

And so this is a man who knows how to manage his family. He knows how to win the respect of his children. He doesn't exasperate them or provoke them to anger. He disciplines them wisely and lovingly. He's not overbearing. He doesn't tyrannize them, but neither is he permissive, just letting them go, where sometimes the father never interfered with his sons, asking, "Why do you behave the way you do?" I think Eli was like that. He didn't interfere with his sons. I think David was permissive with his sons and just let them run amuck. Absalom ended up literally wanting to kill him and take his throne.

And so the idea is he is wise enough to know how to manage his children as they grow and develop. They have sin natures. He is wise enough to address their sin natures without breaking their little spirits, their little hearts, and they love him, and they cherish him, and they want to follow him. And when the time comes, they cross over from death to life through faith in the gospel. They're not unbelievers. Now, he can't control that, but he and his wife have so set up the gospel as a beautiful, desirable, attractive thing. And God in his kindness also has worked salvation in his children. And so his family is on display for the church to see.

Wes

What issues do verses 6 and 7 address? And what do the statements, "the condemnation of the devil” and “the snare of the devil," have to do with these issues?

Andy

Yeah, I think they deal with pride. I think the issue, it says in verse 6, why don't you read your version of verse 6?

Wes

Yeah, verse 6 says, "He must not be a recent convert or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil."

Andy

That's overtly about pride. And so there is a certain pride that could come at being an overseer in the church. Not many are going to be overseers. And so you are one of those. So first of all, let's make certain that he's not a recent convert. He needs some time. He needs some time to get mature. And because foundational, absolutely foundational to our sanctification journey is slaughtering our pride. Everything in the gospel, everything in salvation is meant to humble us.

Eternal predestination before the foundation of the world, before you were born or had done anything good or bad, not based on anything you've done, just because God chose you, is humbling. The fact that Jesus died on the cross under the wrath of God for you long before you were born is humbling. The fact that other Christians had to suffer and die to deliver the gospel safely to your generation and eventually safely to your ears is humbling. Justification by faith alone apart from works is humbling. Sanctification by a cooperation between you and the Holy Spirit is daily humbling because we fail in many ways. The very thing that we hate we do, and the good things we want to do, we do not do, and we cry out against ourselves, "What a wretched man I am. Who will rescue me?" (Romans 7:24)

Sanctification is humbling. And guess what? Glorification will be humbling because God will do in an instant, in a twinkling of an eye what we spent our whole lifetime trying to do, and he will make us perfect. All of that's humbling. And if you don't see how pride is the enemy at every step of the way, you need to grow. And so recent converts don't fully understand the depth and breadth of their sin. They know they're sinners, but they haven't been fully educated yet on just how bad it is so they can minister out of humility and gentleness. As Hebrews 5 says, "The priests are able to deal gently with others because they're under the same weakness themselves." (Hebrews 5:2 paraphrase) That implies a certain maturity that comes only with some experience.

So fundamentally, the issue is conceit. Also gives us some insight into the devil. He's a prideful being. He's extremely proud of himself. I think that's where the king of Tyre vision comes in in Ezekiel 20:28 and also the king of Babylon vision in Isaiah 14. In both of those, it's pride: pride of his own beauty, his own perfection in Ezekiel 28, and pride of power where he thinks he can rise up and topple God from his throne. What folly. The infinite gap between Satan and God cannot be measured, but he thought he could do it. He's a prideful being.

And so Paul says, "Look, let's not be like the devil. Let's make certain we have been suitably humbled." You think about the work that God did, that Jesus did on Simon Peter. Wouldn't you say that that work was a humbling work? He's humbling that man so that he could minister better. So I would say fundamentally, this guy needs to have some losses, frankly. He needs to have his sin rise up and win, and he's humbled by it. He's broken, he cries bitterly, cries out against himself, ask God for forgiveness. That guy's getting qualified to be an overseer.

Wes

It seems like that idea is continued then in verse 7 when it says, "Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders." So the work of the gospel is evident in his life, and he's been humbled by it. He's carried himself in a way that exhibits the work of Christ and the Spirit in him.

Andy

He's boldly preaching the gospel, but you know very well that the lost people know he's not doing it arrogantly, the lost people know he considers himself every bit as in need of God's grace as they are. He's just, like someone once said, he's a beggar telling other beggars where he found bread. He's like, "Look, we're all beggars." I mean, by the way, that was Martin Luther's last words. It was his dying words, spoken in two languages, German and then Latin. He says, "We are all beggars, ‘Wir sind Bettler.’" And then, "This is true, ‘Hoc est verum.’" So he spoke German, Latin, died. I mean, his last words are, "I'm a beggar." This is a great man who achieved great things, "I'm a beggar. I hope God will accept me." And I know it's not like he doubted his faith, but he is saying that's it. So I would say that's a man who can serve as an overseer.

Wes

Andy, these are powerful verses as we think about filtering those who would serve in this office in the local church. How might church members use this passage to pray for their church and for their leaders? And what final thoughts do you have for us today?

Andy

I've presented this, and we elders here at FBC have presented this as open instruction. We're not a secret society like the Mormons or the Masons where it's all secret how anybody ever gets to be an overseer. It's like, no, everything's open. It's in the Bible. Be rooting for our men. Be rooting for each other. Be praying for them. So women, be praying for your husbands. Children, be praying for your dads. Young boys, grow up reading these things and say, "This is the kind of person I'd like to be. Even if I'm never an elder, I want to be this kind of a man, this kind of a husband, this kind of a father, this kind of reputation with outsiders. I want to be like this."

So it actually just sets men's ministry up well in a church to make this kind of a central focus for prayer and for growth. And so I think every church should pursue these virtues in its men, and the women, the children, all of them should be on board saying, "Yeah, we want to see this happen."

Final words would be, if you're a man listening to this, and you're not an elder, read these verses and say, "Lord, would you transform me by the truths here? I want to be this kind of a man. Even if I'm never an elder, I know it would be a beautiful thing for me to serve in that way." If you are an overseer, I find these things convicting. It's very convicting. I don't think I've arrived in any of these areas. So, it reminds me again to redouble my effort in sanctification.

Wes

This has been Episode three in our 1 Timothy Bible Study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for Episode four entitled Deacons and the Church, where we'll discuss 1 Timothy 3:8-16. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.