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The Qualifications of Christian Pastors.
v. 5. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee;
v. 6. if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
v. 7. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
v. 8. but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temper ate;
v. 9. holding fast the faithful Word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
See 1Ti_3:1-7. The Lord of the Church wants all things to be done decently and in order, and the precepts which He here lays down should be observed in every well-established congregation. We here find out what special field had been assigned to Timothy at this time: For this reason I left thee in Crete, in order that thou shouldest set in order what remained, and appoint presbyters in every city, as I had given thee directions. The island of Crete, or Candia, is the largest island in the eastern Mediterranean, one which in olden times had had a large population, some ninety to a hundred cities being ascribed to it. It had been conquered by the Romans in 69 B. C. and united with Cyrene as a Roman province. It may be that the first Christian congregations had been founded on the island through the efforts of some of the men that had been converted on the great Day of Pentecost, Act_2:1-47; Act_11:1-30. Paul visited the island after his first Roman imprisonment, and, together with Titus, extended the preaching of the Gospel throughout the length and breadth of it. When his office demanded his presence elsewhere, he left Titus behind, at least temporarily, as his representative, with orders to set matters right, to see to it that a decent order of worship and of conducting the business of the congregations be introduced everywhere. This included, among others, that all the congregations should choose presbyters or bishops under his direction and with his help. Nothing is said of an archbishop or of some supreme presbyter over the entire island; it is clear that every congregation had its own bishop or minister. These directions Paul had given, these things he had explained to Titus. With this letter of the apostle to back up his words, Titus might hope to have success in his efforts. A hierarchy in the Christian Church cannot be defended or upheld on the basis of Scriptures.
The apostle now names some of the qualifications, largely of a moral nature, which should be found in a Christian minister. He should be blameless, beyond the reach of an accusation which would be apt to bring disgrace upon the holy office: no man should be able to prove anything against him which would place the stigma of immorality upon him. This demand holds true especially with regard to the Sixth Commandment, for he should be the husband of only one wife, his married life should be without a blemish. To this end it is good and advisable that the bishop have a wife; for there are comparatively few men that possess the gift of absolute chastity and continence in such a degree as to remain pure without entering into the holy estate of matrimony. But if the pastor be in that holy state, then the apostle assumes, by virtue of the blessing of creation, that he have children, and such children as are believers and cannot come under the suspicion and accusation of being addicted to profligacy or insubordination. Of a man that holds such an important position it is expected that he show his ability in this regard first of all in his own house, in the midst of his own family. True, he cannot work faith in the hearts of his children, but he can and should provide adequate training and instruction in the Christian doctrine for them, that he at least, so far as his own person is concerned, has done his duty in leading them to Christ, in showing them the value of a true Christian life. At any rate, he can hinder any attempt on the part of the children to indulge in luxury, profligacy, and dissipation, and he must be able to quell and quench disobedience and insubordination. If the children are persistently unruly and refractory, this condition of affairs reflects upon the training of the parents, especially of the father.
The apostle gives a reason why he feels obliged to insist upon a pastor's blameless reputation in this respect: For it is necessary that a bishop be irreprehensible as an administrator of God. As one commentator remarks: "Blameless, not absolutely without fault, or unblamed; but not grossly or scandalously guilty. " The steward of God, that has charge of His affairs in the Church, cannot afford to have the reputation of being guilty of some act that would defame him before men. A feeling of reverence for the holy office is out of the question when the pastor is not beyond the reproach of being guilty of gross sins. For this reason he should not be arrogant, self-assertive, presumptuous; for such a person is apt to think himself better than others, to look down upon those not holding the office as below his dignity. Since this, however, often results in proud obstinacy in insisting upon one's own opinion, and thus leads to the cultivation of a supercilious temper, the apostle adds that a minister must not be hot-tempered, that he must be able to control himself at all times, even when he meets with foolish opposition, with objections that are positively silly in the light of the Word of God. A pastor that cannot keep his temper may also not be able to observe temperance. Therefore St. Paul writes that he must not be addicted to wine, not be a striker, making use of violence. If a minister has so little control over his own appetites that he becomes a habitual drinker, thus permitting his senses to become muddled with drink, if, in addition, he is always ready to resort to violent measures, even to fisticuffs, in trying to uphold his opinion, then he lacks the firmness of character which is necessary in the holy office. A servant of the Lord must also not be eager for base gain, not desirous of making his ministry a means of making money. The Lord expects, instead, that a pastor be hospitable, not with that false hospitality which encourages loafing, but which is always ready to share with others. There is a hint to all Christian congregations in these words to provide for their pastors in such a way that the latter are not compelled to make the gaining of filthy lucre an object in life, and always have enough to enable them to practice hospitality.
A further qualification of a true pastor is to love everything that is good, to acknowledge the good qualities of his neighbor whenever and wherever they are in evidence, even if he should thereby renounce some of the honor that might rightfully belong to himself. Over against the lack of self-command the apostle mentions the necessity of self-mastery, according to which a person has full control of all his passions and desires, thus possessing true strength of character. A servant of God will finally he righteous, pious, and temperate, or just, holy, and abstemious; he will exercise the proper righteousness of life toward all men, but at the same time not neglect the demands of sanctification over against the perfect God. As a person consecrated to the service of the Lord he will abstain from all that is unholy and profane, guarding especially against all fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Thus the bishop, in showing himself an example in all Christian virtues before his entire flock, will encourage and stimulate his members to exercise themselves likewise in a life which is well-pleasing to the Lord.
But in addition to such qualities and attributes which should be found in all Christians, the apostle also mentions one that is peculiar to the office of bishop: Firmly holding to the faithful Word according to the doctrine, that he may be able as well to admonish in the wholesome teaching as to refute objectors. Of a Christian teacher it may be expected above all that he be so firmly grounded in the truth as to stand unmoved against all attacks. If this is the case, then such a person will hold firmly to the Word which he knows to be faithful, worthy of absolute trust, concerning which he has the conviction that it is the truth of God and is in full agreement with the doctrine of Christ and the apostles, 2Ti_3:14; he should hold fast the faithful Word as he has been taught. Such a teacher will be able both to defend the truth and to teach. The earnest admonition and exhortation which he practices continually includes a careful and detailed instruction in the wholesome words of divine knowledge as well as the invitation to live a consecrated life in accordance with this doctrine. Only he can control and direct this power properly that is thoroughly familiar with the doctrine. Such a pastor will, however, also be able to show the objectors the errors of their opinion, to convince the gainsayers, a use of the Word which requires the greatest wisdom. In our days, indeed, when teachers of the Church, for the sake of a dubious union, are willing to sacrifice true unity, this passage is not very welcome. But the fact remains that no man should consider himself qualified to teach, nor should he be given the position of a teacher in the Church unless he can satisfy the requirements as here stated.