1 Timothy 3:2

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; The existence of church organization, presbyters, and presbyteresses at Ephesus is presupposed (1 Timothy 5:17; 1 Timothy 5:19). The directions here to Timothy, the apostolic delegate, are as to filling up vacancies among the bishops and deacons, or adding to their number. Fresh churches in the neighbourhood also would require presbyters and deacons. Episcopacy was adopted in apostolic times as the most expedient government, being most like Jewish institutions, and so offering less obstruction through Jewish prejudices to the progress of Christianity. The synagogue was governed by presbyters, "elders" ...

2_A bishop, therefore, must be blameless _The particle _therefore _confirms the exposition which I have given; for, on account of the dignity of the office, he concludes that it is requisite that he be a man endowed with rare gifts, and not any person taken out of the crowd. (48) If the expression used had been “a good work,” as the ordinary translation has it, or “an honorable work,” (_honestam _,) as Erasmus has translated it, the inference would not have been suitable. He wishes a bishop to be _blameless_, (49) instead of which, in the Epistle to Titus, He has used (Titus 1:7) the word ἀνέγκλητον, meaning by both words, that he must not be marked by any infamy that would lessen his authority. There will be no one found among men that is free from every vice;

1-7 If a man desired the pastoral office, and from love to Christ, and the souls of men, was ready to deny himself, and undergo hardships by devoting himself to that service, he sought to be employed in a good work, and his desire should be approved, provided he was qualified for the office. A minister must give as little occasion for blame as can be, lest he bring reproach upon his office. He must be sober, temperate, moderate in all his actions, and in the use of all creature-comforts. Sobriety and watchfulness are put together in Scripture, they assist one the other. The families of ministers ought to be examples of good to all other families. We should take heed of pride; it is a sin that turned angels into devils. He must be of good repute among his neighbours, and under no reproach from his former life. To encourage all faithful ministers, we have Christ's gracious word of promise...

Verse 1 Timothy 3:2. _A BISHOP THEN MUST BE BLAMELESS_] Our term _bishop_ comes from the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.], which is a mere corruption of the Greek επισκοπος, and the Latin _episcopus_; the former being compounded of επι, _over_, and σκεπτομαι, to _look_ or _inspect_, signifies one who has the _inspection_ or _oversight_ of a place, persons, or business; what we commonly term a _superintendent_. The New Testament writers have borrowed the term from the _Septuagint_, it being the word by which they translate the _pakid_ of the Hebrew text, which signifies a _visiter_, one that _personally inspects_ the people or business over which he presides. It is given by St. Paul to the elders at Ephesus, who had the _oversight_ of Christ's flock, Acts 20...

A BISHOP - A minister of religion, according to the foregoing remarks, who has the charge or oversight of any Christian church. The reference here is doubtless to one who had the government of the church entrusted to him 1 Timothy 3:4, and who was also a preacher of the gospel. MUST BE BLAMELESS - This is a different word (ἀνεπίλημπτον anepilēmpton) from that rendered “blameless” in Luke 1:6; Philippians 2:15; Philippians 3:6 (ἄμεμπτος amemptos); com

EXPOSITION 1 TIMOTHY 3:1 _Faithful is the saying _for _this is a true saying_,_ _A.V.; _seeketh _for _desire_,_ _A.V. FAITHFUL IS THE SAYING (see above, 1 Timothy 1:15, note). This manifestly refers to what follows, not, as Chrysostom and others, and margin of the R.V., to the saying which precedes, in 1 Timothy 2:15. SEEKETH (ὀρέγεται); literally, _stretches out his hands after_._ It _is peculiar in the New Testament to the pastoral Epistles and the Epistle to the Hebrews, though common in classical Greek (see...

A BISHOP THEN MUST BE BLAMELESS,.... Or "an elder", as the Syriac version renders it; not that it can be expected that such an one should be entirely free from sin, or be blameless in the sight of God; but that he should be one, who is so before men, and has not been guilty of any notorious and flagitious crime; and particularly, is not chargeable with the vices hereafter mentioned or hinted at. So the priests under the law were to be without blemish, even in their bodies, Leviticus 21:17 to which the apostle may here allude. THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE; which is not to be understood in a mystical and allegorical sense of his being the pastor of one church, since the apostle afterwards speaks of his house and children, that are to be ruled and kept in good order by him, in distinction from the church of God; but in a literal sense of his conjugal estate; though this rule

III. CONCERNING THE HOUSE OF GOD CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The overseer (1 Timothy 3:1)_ 2. The deacon (1 Timothy 3:8) 3. The house of God and the mystery of Godliness (1 Timothy 3:14) 1 Timothy 3:1 As stated before, the Church is viewed in these pastoral Epistles as the house of God. The holiness which becomes this house is to be maintained and expressed in a practical way. The different directions given as to overseers and deacons demonstrate what God esteems highly, and what He expects of those who are saved by grace, and who constitute His House. Paul wrote these instructions to his son Timot

(_b_) III. 1 TIMOTHY 3:1. Church Officials. 1 Timothy 3:1. The Bishops. Not only public worship, but also the appointment of officials, must be regulated. He who exercises oversight a good work, as is generally admitted must possess moral qualifications which place him beyond reproach. He must be (_a)_ of disciplined life: _e.g._ he must not marry a second time, or indulge in the drunken riots prevalent around him (_cf._ 1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 11:21); (_b)_ hospitable, since Christians, especially teachers, frequently travelled from church to church; (_c)_ succe

There is a saying which everyone must believe--if a man aspires to the office of overseer in the Church, it is a fine work on which his heart is set. An overseer must be a man against whom no criticism can be made; he must have been married only once; he must be sober, prudent, well-behaved, hospitable and possessed of an aptitude for teaching. He must not over-indulge in wine, nor must he be the kind of man who assaults others, but he must be gentle and peaceable, and free from the love of money. He must manage his own house well, keeping his children under control with complete dignity. (If a man does not know how to manage his own house, how can he take charge of the congregation of God?) He must not be a recent convert, in case he becomes inflated with a sense of his own importance, and so fall into the same condemnation as the devil did. He must have earned the respect of those outs...