I Timothy 3:4-5Does the plural word “children” exclude the man with one child?Greek: teknaCompare the same word in:I Timothy 5:4Matthew 22:24I Corinthians 7:14Old Testament: Genesis 21:7Modern usage“Do you have children?”“You must supervise your children.”What about children who are grown and gone?Titus 1:6“keeping his children under control”“one who manages his own household well”I Timothy 3:12I Thessalonians 5:12Once the children are grown and gone, is that father still “managing” / “ruling” them?Is he still charged with keeping his children “under control” / “in subjection”?ConsiderationsHow would you rate a man who is already an elder?How long, and for how much, is one accountable before God as a parent?What if the grown children die?What about Proverbs 22:6? “Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”Proverbs gives us general truths but they have exceptions (Proverbs 18:22.Example: Jehoiada and Joash (II Chronicles 24:2Contrast with: Eli (I Samuel 2:29The reason God wants us to look at the children is for what it reveals about the man himself. I Timothy 3:2Opposite example: What about a bad dad whose kids leave hom and then turn good?What if the wife did virtually all of the training?We’re not interested in the kids per se. We’re interested in what we learn about the man from looking at the kids.Is Titus 1:6?Greek: pistaI Timothy 6:2Matthew 24:4
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