{"id":4690,"date":"2024-10-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-06T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/reading-plan\/october-6\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T17:57:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T22:57:37","slug":"october-6","status":"publish","type":"reading-plan","link":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/reading-plan\/october-6\/","title":{"rendered":"October 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

Insight from 1 Timothy 3:<\/p>\n

The long list of requirements for an elder in 1 Timothy 3 may be broken down into two categories:<\/p>\n

1<\/b> The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2<\/b> Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3<\/b> not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4<\/b> He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5<\/b> for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6<\/b> He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7<\/b> Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (ESV)<\/p>\n

While it may appear that \u201cthe overseer must be above reproach\u201d is but the first in a list of fifteen requirements the elder must meet, it seems better to see this first clause in verse two (\u201cTherefore an overseer must be above reproach\u201d) as the umbrella under which the requirements in verses two through six fall. These requirements (which rely on the verb from the first clause in verse two) explain what is meant by the phrase \u201cabove reproach\u201d. The requirements for an \u201cabove reproach\u201d elder are as follows:<\/p>\n

He must be \u2026<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The husband of one wife (v. 2)<\/li>\n
  2. Sober-minded (v. 2)<\/li>\n
  3. Self-controlled (v. 2)<\/li>\n
  4. Respectable (v. 2)<\/li>\n
  5. Hospitable (v. 2)<\/li>\n
  6. Able to teach (v. 2)<\/li>\n
  7. Not a drunkard (v. 3)<\/li>\n
  8. Not violent (v. 3)<\/li>\n
  9. Gentle (v. 3)<\/li>\n
  10. Not quarrelsome (v. 3)<\/li>\n
  11. Not a lover of money (v. 3)<\/li>\n
  12. He must manage his own household well (vs. 4\u20135)<\/li>\n
  13. He must not be a recent convert (v. 6)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In verse seven another umbrella statement appears: \u201cMoreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil\u201d. This umbrella statement includes its own verb (and, thus, does not rely on the verb from the first clause of verse two), but does not include any explanatory definitions.<\/p>\n

    Thus, the requirements of the elder are broken into two main categories (and not a list of fifteen separate items): Category 1\u2014what the elder is to be (verses 2\u20136), and Category 2\u2014how the elder is to be thought of by those outside the church (verse 7).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

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