MOOR of the Word with Pastor Chuck Pourciau

The last thing Paul wrote in verse 2 was that he must be “able to teach.” What we have here is the only qualification listed that has to do with his giftedness and function. The other ones have been concerned with his character. This one word translated “able to teach” is found only here and in 2 Timothy 2:24. In short, the overseer must be a highly skilled teacher of God’s Word. He works hard in his study, preparation, and proclamation. 1 Timothy 5:17: “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”

After noting that the overseer must be a one woman man, Paul noted that he must be “temperate.” This means to be alert, watchful, vigilant, or clear-headed. A leader must be one who thinks clearly. He must possess the inner strength to refrain from any excess that would dull his alertness. William Hendriksen: “His pleasures are not primarily those of the senses but of the soul.” Temperate men aren’t given to excess. The temperate man is level-headed and understands the times. He seeks, calmly, to lead his people through treacherous storms. 

The overseer first must be above reproach in regards to women. Here he is said to need to be the “husband of one wife.” The literal rendering of the Greek here is “one woman man.” Some have contended this means that the overseer must be married and that his wife must be his first. The implication is that he is the husband of one wife instead of two, three, or more. But, frankly, this, when the Greek is rightly rendered, has absolutely nothing to do with marital status. 

The issue is, rather, his moral sexual behavior. 

In this passage, Paul listed requirement of God’s overseers in the local church. He began, in verses 2 and 3 with the moral necessities of a Godly pastor. What we learn in this passage is that the most important of leadership qualities are moral. Pastoring God’s people requires not just capable leadership, but also moral and spiritual example. In the words of Paul, the overseer must be “above reproach.” The fact that he “must” be above reproach denotes the absolute necessity of this factor. A life without blame is the overarching requirement for leadership in the church. In other words, if the overseer’s conduct isn’t consistent with his teaching, it would be better that he not taught at all. 

The office of overseer is a highly responsible calling. One should “aspire” to it only if he is called. Otherwise, disaster awaits. But, if he is called, Paul declares that “it is a fine work” he desires to do. The word translated “fine” denotes noble, honorable, excellent, high quality work. It is a worthy and glorious calling. Some people are wrongly drawn to the office by noticing that it is a worthy and glorious calling. What a terrible and painful lesson awaits those who do. 

Paul writes of the men who aspire to the office of overseer. The word means to reach out after or to stretch oneself out to grasp something. Don’t you just love it when something falls behind the washing machine? Yesterday, I was fetching batteries from above the washing machine when one of them fell between the cabinet and the machine. It rolled to the point where I could just touch it with my longest finger but couldn’t retrieve it. I strained to try to pull that battery back before resorting to getting something else with which to reach it. 

The task of overall leadership and instruction in the church was not a task to be entered into lightly. The motive for seeking this kind of ministry is of profound importance. Some people are in it for the money, others for a secure job, some for the prestige they think it brings, some for the safety of working in the Christian workplace as opposed to the secular workplace, or others for different unhealthy motivations. 

There is an inseparable link between the character of the church and the character of its leadership. Leaders don’t just direct, but they must set a Godly example for the church to follow. Note the words of Paul in Philippians 4:9: “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Paul does not derive women’s role from the Fall, but he uses that event as further corroboration of God’s intention. He points out that it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. Then she gave to Adam and he ate. The order of creation was man and then woman. The order of sin was woman and then man. Paul gives these as reasons for men only in the overall teaching and leading roles of the church. 

Paul sees in God’s order of creation a teaching concerning the responsibility of man to be a leader in relationship to woman. God created man first, put him in the garden, gave him the responsibility over the garden and the moral pattern for life in the garden, and then created woman as his partner and assistant to help him carry that responsibility into action.

In other words, when Paul teaches that men should bear the primary responsibility for governance and teaching in the church, he is basing it not on any culturally temporary situation at Ephesus but on something woven into the fabric of manhood and womanhood by virtue of our creation. Not on the basis of sin, but on the basis of how God wanted it to be before there was any sin — for the good of his people, both women and men.