Titus 1:5-6

Titus 1:5-6

5  For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,  6  namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. 

Qualifications of Elders

Having finished his greeting Paul gets right down to business.  Paul gives these qualifications for elders.  The New Testament Church was ruled by Elders.  Of the word elders appears multiple times to describe these people.  Only one time (Ephesians 4:11) is the term “pastor” used in a sense that could be called a title.  The rest of the time it is used as a verb.  Elder, being the office the words “pastor” and “overseer” describing what the elder is to be doing in function.  This is quite different from most Churches today that may have an “elder board” but are really run by one controlling Pastor or Elder.  This is not the Biblical model.  The Biblical Model found in Acts, Ephesians, 1&2 Timothy and Titus all confirm the idea that there are a number of elders working together to govern the Church at all times.

Why is it important?

The question then comes:  “If I don’t want to be a pastor or an elder; then why should I study these verses?”  There are many reasons!  The primary reason is that this list is not just a check list for elders, it is a picture of Spiritual Maturity.  This is the goal that we should all be striving towards.  This is one of the primary goals of the function of the Church in the life of the believer (Eph. 4:13-16).  So we should be applying these things to our lives.  It shows us the kind of people that God is making us into, and the kind of people that we want to cleave to and model ourselves after.  This is not an impossible list.  It is the character of a person who is surrendered to Jesus and abiding in Him.  Believing on Him, and studying and applying God’s Word to reach maturity will exhibit these qualities by the grace of God.  This is the good work that Christ is carrying on to completion in you!

When is all this happening?

It is important to say that all of the verbs in this section are in the present tense.  This list is not to be used as a law to forbid people the position of elder based on their sordid past.  Many arguments have been made that a person cannot be an elder if he was divorced years ago.  That is not found in the text here.  These questions are about who this person is NOW, not who they were years ago.  Furthermore, this list of character qualifications does not mean we chase our church leadership around with these lists disqualifying them at any imperfection.   Notice that our character is what is important before the Lord.

Verse 5

For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

left you

Paul shows his confidence in Titus here, reminding him that he left him here with a task.  This task was entrusted to Titus alone which is saying a lot about the character of Titus given the nature of the island of Crete.  It also made Titus Paul’s special Apostolic Delegate to appoint elders as an authority, not merely making suggestions.

set in order

This is an aorist middle subjunctive.  The “aorist” tense would suggest the idea Titus was to “start setting in order” suggesting that getting the ball rolling in the right direction in each of these cities should set the Churches there up for success.  The “middle” voice suggests that Titus was supposed to do this himself.  It gives the idea that responsibility for this task was solely on his shoulders.  The “subjunctive”, just as in English, is almost an imperative.  Paul is saying “this is what you should do.”

appoint elders

Titus is given the responsibility of appointing elders.  This is important.  Paul meant for Titus to seek out men of this certain character and appoint them as Elders over the rest of the people.  This was a pattern that was intended to be continued by the elders, then choosing the next generations of elders.  The idea being that the Elders would have the wisdom to govern the Church body, as well as identify the people who would be able to lead after them. 

every city

The fact that he was told to appoint elders (plural) in every city gives further support to the idea that the Church body is meant to be led by a number of elders, not by any one person. 

Verse 6

namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.

The Big List

This is the list of 17 qualifications that Paul puts forth for eldership of the local church.  It is important to keep in mind that we are all still broken, sinful people in the hands of God.  There will be none among us who are without flaw and imperfection, thus we should not take this list to our church council for every minor flaw of an elder.  This is not a law that we should be judging people by.  At the same time it is not an impossible list and should not be viewed as lofty ideals that are completely unattainable. 

man is above reproach

This has also been translated “un-accused” or “blameless.”  It means that he is currently, right now, above any accusation that could be laid before him.  This is the type of person that is not going to be blamed, or accused of anything, or reproached by his fellow church members, or others outside of the Church.

husband of one wife

This phrase has given the Church a great deal of problems in the past.  Some people want to interpret this to mean that he must only have been married to one wife, ever.  This would mean that anyone who had ever had a divorce of any kind would be disqualified from eldership.  This is one interpretation. 

            However, the present tense in this suggests more the quality of the man.  It gives the sense of a “one woman kind of guy.”  It doesn’t say anything about what he was years and years ago, or what he had done, but says that his current, lasting character was faithful to his wife.  In this culture it was perfectly legitimate to visit prostitutes.  One quote from around this era was “We have our wives to bear our legitimate heirs, and our concubines for our own entertainment.”  So Paul was seeking men who were living in contrast to the culture in this way.  He was not doubting the grace of God to forgive mistakes made years before, nor was he questioning God’s ability to make a new and wonderful elder out of someone who was once a weak and sinful man.

children who believe

There is already a bit of interpretation built into this translation of the verse.  This verse could be translated “having children who believe” or possibly “having children who are faithful.”  The difference being that one focuses on the children as saved believers and the other focuses on their faithfulness and obedience to their parents.  The second makes more sense because it does not make sense for adults to be held responsible for the salvation of their children. 

            The second option also makes more sense when compared to the next statement.  The phrase “not accused of dissipation or rebellion” seems to imply their outward actions more than their faith in the Lord Jesus.  It also places the focus for the elder: on his family.  The man who is going to lead the church must be first be a leader of his family.  Many men have destroyed their families in the name of “ministry” and I believe that God weeps over this tragedy.  The first and primary ministry of any man is his family.