Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

Paul 's Instruction to Timothy

possibly unfit men had become elders since Paul had left the church, and some of the elders may have become false teachers. It is obvious that the elders weren’t able to stop the false teachers, which is why Timothy had to remain in Ephesus. Even for Timothy, stopping these strong-minded men and women was difficult. Therefore, Paul felt the church needed fresh instruction on eldership, particularly on the char acter and discipline of elders. The fact that the elders at Ephesus had failed should not surprise us, however. It is not easy to stop determined and energetic false teachers. The elders of the churches of Galatia were also unable to stop the invasion of false teachers. The tragic history of Christianity demon strates the inability of many Christian leaders to keep churches pure from doctrinal error. The desperate need for sound teaching leads Paul to address one of the most important issues of the local church—the moral and spiritual qualifications of its elders. Paul sets the stage for his catalog of elder requirements with what he calls a “trustworthy statement.” This is one of five tmstworthy say ings in Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus (1 Tim. 1215; 321; 429; 2 Tim. 2211; Titus 328). Each saying is given special attention by the formula, “a trustworthy statement” (or “faithful is the saying”). This quotation formula both emphasizes and makes a positive commenda tion about the saying with which it is associated. In effect, it says that what is stated is indeed true and deserves constant repeating among the Lord’s people: “It is a trustworthy statement; if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do” (1 Tim. 321). Although we don’t know whether this saying originated with Paul or within the collective body of early Christians, the “trustworthy state ment” indicates a widely accepted view that the work of the office of overseer is a fine work. The phrase, “the office of overseer,” represents one word in Greek, episkopé, which can be literally rendered “overseership.” It represents the position and function of the church official called the overseer (episkopos) who is mentioned in verse 2. The overseer of verse 2 is not someone different from the elders of 1 Timothy 5:17-25 who lead and teach the church. Paul plainly demonstrates that overseer is used THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR AN OVERSEER

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