Paul’s letter to Titus begins right away with a description of what a godly church leader looks like. His letter is a brief one, so he wastes no time getting right to the heart of the matter. As mentioned last week, the letter to Titus can be broken into three sections: Godliness when it comes to church leaders, godliness when it comes to church life, and godliness in the life of the individual believer.

You can see the continuing description of the elder in Titus 1:7-9:

At first glance, it seems like Paul is repeating himself here; he tells Titus that an elder must be blameless twice within the span of two sentences. Paul’s writing is usually very intentional. Why would he carelessly repeat what he just stated in the previous sentence?

The answer is that it was not a careless repetition. Here is a rule to live by when reading Paul’s letters, or any of the rest of the New Testament: When something is repeated, that means it is being emphasized. We need to pay closer attention. If Paul feels it bears stating twice, then we need to hear it. In this case, he is going to describe what being blameless looks like for the elder.

It’s worth noting that Paul switches words here from elder (presbuteros) in verse 5 to overseer (episkopos) in verse 7, however, the meaning behind both is the same. These words are both used to describe the same office in the church.

Paul’s instructions here state that the leaders of the church must be blameless, since they are entrusted with God’s work. In other words, the elders are stewards of God’s household. Just as they are to manage their own households well, they must do the same with God’s.

With this repeated call to be blameless, Paul lists a series of descriptive terms that bear a strong similarity to the list found in 1 Timothy 3:2-3. Here, he lists five negative attributes, followed by six positive descriptors.

The Negative

• Not overbearing – This means to control one’s self-will. This word always communicates a negative idea, such as stubbornness or harshness. This quality is focused on self, not on others, and the leader must be a servant above all else.
• Not quick-tempered – This quality goes hand in hand with the first one. A short fuse will leave the elder in a position where he cannot lead, making him ineffective. However, the word is closely tied to a Greek root that means to carry or nurture a grudge. Such a smoldering anger leaves one unqualified to be an elder.
• Not given to drunkenness – This indicates a lack of self-control. Hardly a quality to be desired for an elder.
• Not violent – Whether displayed in violence of action or violence of speech, this is another quality to be avoided.
• Not pursuing dishonest gain – This quality is used to describe the false teachers in verse 11, and is wholly inappropriate for a leader of the church. Paul used this same description when writing to Timothy on the role of the deacon in 1 Timothy 3:8.

The Positive

• Hospitable – The elder should have a strong desire to care for others. This is repeated in 1 Timothy 3:2.
• One who loves what is good – This is frequently listed in those who have noble character. The elder chooses those things which reflect such character consistently.
• Self-controlled – In direct opposition to the drunkenness and violence previously mentioned, being self controlled means to be sensible and prudent.
• Upright – This word conveys the idea of being just. This is displayed by how the elder treats others, and his character displayed through such actions.
• Holy – Where the previous word describes the elder’s relationship with his fellow man, this word describes his relationship with God. This is a moral purity, simply because God is pure.
• Disciplined – This word is very closely tied to the phrase listed above as self-controlled. In fact, some translations render this word as “self-controlled,” and the earlier quality as “sensible.” However, this word carries more of the idea of self-discipline. It’s the same word as listed in the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23.

The Most Important

Finally, Paul wraps up this list of the good and bad with the most critical aspect of all. The elder must by solidly entrenched in the Word of God, holding firm to the message of the Gospel.

Paul started something similar in regards to elders in 1 Timothy 3:2, and for deacons in 1 Timothy 3:9, but here he elaborates much more for Titus. He gives two reasons.

• To encourage others by sound doctrine – Titus’ elders are to be men who are able to exhort others, encouraging them in the truth of God’s Word, and sound doctrine, moving people to action in response to God’s work in their lives.
• To refute those who oppose it – In order to oppose those who teach a false message, the elder needs to know well the truth. The idea here is not to “tell off” those who are in error, but to rebuke them in such a way that they can see the error in their thinking and take steps to correct it.

This final phrase paves the way for Paul to address the false teachers who have managed to become very vocal in some of the Cretan communities. Paul turns to them in the next paragraph.

Question: Which of these qualities stands out to you? Are any of them displayed in your life? You can leave a comment by clicking here.