1 Timothy 3:1-13

The qualifications of the men who are to be ministers; and first (a) of the episcopus (vv.1-7) secondly (b) of the deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13) with a parenthetical instruction respecting women church-workers (1 Timothy 3:11).

εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς, κ. τ. λ.: Having given elementary directions concerning the scope of public prayer, and the ministers thereof, St. Paul now takes up the matter of Church organisation. He begins with the office of the episcopus, or presbyter, because that is of the very essence of Church order. On the question as to the terms presbyter and episcopus, it is sufficient here to state my own conclusion, that they represent slightly different aspects of the same office, pastoral and official; aspects which came naturally into prominence in the Jewish and Greek societies respectively which gave birth to the names. This seems the obvious conclusion from a comparison of Acts 20:17; Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:5; Titus 1:7; 1Ti 3:1-2; 1 Timothy 3:4-5; 1 Timothy 5:17; 1 Peter 5:1-2; Clem. Romans 1 Cor. 44; Polycarp, 5; Clem. Al. Quis Dives, § 42.

ὀρέγεται … ἐπιθυμεῖ : The R.V. (seeketh … desireth) indicates to the English reader that two distinct Greek words are used; a fact which is concealed in the A.V. (desire … desireth). So Vulg. has desiderat in both places; but [263] 47, cupit … desiderat. ὀρέγεσθαι, which occurs again in 1 Timothy 6:10 of reaching after money, is not used in any depreciatory sense. Field (in loc.) notes that “it has a special application to such objects as a man is commonly said to aspire to ”. The sanity of St. Paul's judgment is nowhere better seen than in his commendation of lawful ambition. A man may be actuated by a variety of motives; yet it is not inevitable that those that are lower should impair the quality of the higher; they need not interpenetrate each other. In any case, St. Paul credits the aspirant with the noblest ideal: He who aspires to be an episcopus desires to perform a good work, “ Est opus; negotium, non otium. Acts 15:38; Philippians 2:30 ” (Bengel).

[263] Speculum

καλοῦ ἔργου : καλὸν ἔργον and καλὰ ἔργα (see reff.) are not peculiar to the Pastorals (Matthew 5:16; Matthew 26:10 = Mark 14:6; John 10:32-33); but, as the references show, the phrase is found in them only of the Pauline Epistles. On the other hand, ἔργα ἀγαθά occurs six times in the Pastorals. See reff. on chap. 1 Timothy 2:10. We perceive in the use of it a qualification of the earlier depreciation of the works of the Law, induced by a natural reaction from the abuse of that teaching.