For a bishop must be
blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given
to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,
Titus 1:7
Dear Heavenly
Father, thank you for an awesome men's conference this weekend. I know that I've learned a lot. I hope the rest of the men did as well. Please Lord work in those men's lives that
are feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Please continue to be with my family.
Lord, thank you for Your grace, I'm so unworthy. Please be with me on my study. In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.
We are in the body
portion of the letter which focuses on doctrine and encouragement. In verse 7, Paul continues to outline
requirements for elders. To bring deeper
understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion
or similar verses.
"Bishop"
in the Greek is episkopos which means
superintendent, overseer, supervisor, ruler, a man called by God to keep his
eye on the church, care and protection, responsible to care for others,
curator, guardian. It is made of the
word epi which means on or fitting
contact which is intensified by the word skopos
which means look intently. A bishop
passionately watches over the church. A
bishop is a guardian, protector, defender, champion, keeper of the faith.
"Blameless"
in the Greek is anegkletos which means
not to be called in account, unreproveable, irreproachable, not convictable
when a person is properly scrutinized.
When all the eyes of the world attempt to tear apart the life of a
bishop, the world cannot find a shred of sensational gossip or crime.
"Steward"
in the Greek is oikonomos which means
manager of a household, guardian, head and master of Christian theocracy. It is made up of the word oikos which means household and nemo which means to allot or apportion. Luke 12:42 states "And the Lord said,
“Who then is that faithful and wise steward,
whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion
of food in due season?" 1
Corinthians 4:1 states "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God."
1 Peter 4:10 states "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one
another, as good stewards of the manifold grace
of God." A bishop is a custodian of the mysteries of God (God's
plan) and the many different ways that God shows us His grace and mercy. His responsibility and duty is to manage
God's household.
"Self-willed"
in the Greek is authades which means
self pleasing, self satisfied, arrogant, exaggerated sense of one's importance
or abilities, stubborn, fixed in self pleasure, self interest. It is made of the word auto which means self and hedomai which is to gratify self or be
indulgent. Hedomai
is where we get the word hedonism which means a school of thought that argues
that the pursuit of pleasure and intrinsic goods are the primary or most
important goals of human life. 2 Peter
2:10 states "and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the
lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil
of dignitaries." A bishop cannot be
consumed in the pursuit and lust of pleasure which is an empty promise of fulfillment.
"Quick-tempered"
in the Greek is orgilos which means
inclined to anger, passionate, prone to anger, harbor resentment, prejudice,
bitterness, nurturing long standing anger.
This word only appears in Titus.
A bishop cannot be bitter, resentful, inclined to anger. A bishop cannot be easily baited by the
world.
"Given to
wine" in the Greek is paroinos
which means drunken, quarrelsome, addicted to wine, one who sits long at his
wine, quarrelsome over wine, brawling, abusive, staying near wine. This gives a picture of not only displacing
the Holy Spirit with alcohol but someone whose alcoholic trip turns them
abusive, angry, and confrontational.
"Violent"
in the Greek is plektes which means a
striker, contentious person, brawler, pugnacious, eager or quick to
argue/quarrel/fight, causing or likely to cause an argument, bruiser, ready
with a blow. This is a person whose
first inclination when the world attacks them is to attack back physically
immediately without thought.
"Greedy for
money" in the Greek is aischrokerdes
which means greedy for base gain, fond of base gain, sordid gain, distaste and
contemptable gain, eager for base gain, greedy for filthy lucre (money gained
in a dishonorable way). 1 Timothy 3:8
states " Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given
to much wine, not greedy for money." 1 Peter 5:2 states "Shepherd the flock
of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but
willingly, not for dishonest gain but
eagerly." This person not only
loves money but is willing to get money any way possible even if it is
dishonorably.
Based on this verse,
you may think being bishop is
unattainable. Let's look at the
requirements at a different angle.
Fathers think of the man your daughter will marry. Think of minimum requirements that you expect
for the man who will be taking your little girl away. You would want this man to not be a criminal,
not be lustful for pleasure any way he can get it, not abusive, not an
alcoholic, and not have money as his god.
You'd want him to be your daughter's guardian and protector of her
heart. As father, this doesn't seem
unreasonable. God is no different. A bishop is the caretaker of the church, the
bride of Christ. These requirements should be expected. The church must demand nothing less.
For the overseer, as
God’s steward, must be blameless, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not
addicted to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain [but financially
ethical].
Amplified Bible
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