The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
A. Paul’s instructions to Timothy
(1 Timothy 3:1-7).
1. “Desires the position” (vs. 1).
2. “Blameless” (vs. 2a).
3. “The husband of one wife” (vs. 2b).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
A. Paul’s instructions to Timothy
(1 Timothy 3:1-7).
4. “Temperate” (vs. 2c).
5. “Sober-minded” (vs. 2d).
6. “Of good behavior” (vs. 2e).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
A. Paul’s instructions to Timothy
(1 Timothy 3:1-7).
7. “Hospitable” (vs. 2f). Lit. “love of strangers.”
8. “Able to teach” (vs. 2g).
KJV &ASV “apt to teach.”
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
A. Paul’s instructions to Timothy
(1 Timothy 3:1-7).
9. “Not given to wine” (vs. 3a).
10. “Not violent” (vs. 3b).
11. “Not greedy for money” (vs. 3c).
(1 Timothy 5:17-19).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
A. Paul’s instructions to Timothy
(1 Timothy 3:1-7).
12. “But gentle” (vs. 3d).
13. “Not quarrelsome” (vs. 3e).
14. “Not covetous” (vs. 3f).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
A. Paul’s instructions to Timothy
(1 Timothy 3:1-7).
15. “One who rules his own house well, having
his children in submission with all reverence
(for if a man does not know how to rule his
own house, how will he take care of the
church of God?)” (vss. 4-5); (Genesis 21:7).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
A. Paul’s instructions to Timothy
(1 Timothy 3:1-7).
16. “Not a novice” (vs. 6).
17. “A good testimony among those who
are outside” (vs. 7).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
B. Paul’s instructions to Titus (Titus 1:5-9).
1. “Blameless … one wife” (vs. 6a-b).
2. “Having faithful children, not accused of
dissipation or insubordination” (vs. 6c).
3. “Blameless, as a steward of God” (vs. 7a).
“Entrusted with God’s work” (NIV).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
B. Paul’s instructions to Titus (Titus 1:5-9).
4. “Not self-willed” (vs. 7b).
5. “Not quick-tempered” (vs. 7c).
6. “Not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for
money, but hospitable” (vs. 7d-8a).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
B. Paul’s instructions to Titus (Titus 1:5-9).
7. “A lover of what is good” (vs. 8b). KJV
“lover of good men.” philoxenon “a lover of
strangers” and philagathon “a lover of good.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:10).
8. “Sober-minded” (vs. 8c) & “self-controlled”
(vs. 8e).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
B. Paul’s instructions to Titus (Titus 1:5-9).
9. “Just” (vs. 8d).
10. “Holy” (vs. 8f).
11. “Holding fast the faithful word...able
to...exhort and convict those who contradict”
(vs. 9).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
I. Qualifications for Elders.
C. Qualifications of His Wife (1 Tim. 3:11).
1. “Reverent” (vs. 11a). NASB “dignified,”
KJV & ASV “grave.”
2. “Not slanderers” (vs. 11b).
3. “Temperate” (vs. 11c).
4. “Faithful in all things” (vs. 11d).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
II. Names Associated with this
Position (1 Peter 5:1,2).
A. Bishop (Overseer). 1 Timothy 3:1 & Titus 1:7
“bishop” episcopos meaning literally
“overseer.” NKJV 1 Peter 5:2 “overseer”
(1 Peter 5:3,4).
1. 1 Timothy 3:1 episcopes “position” or
“office” of a bishop or overseer.
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
II. Names Associated with this
Position (1 Peter 5:1,2).
B. Elder (Presbyter). presbyteros “an elderly
person.” 1 Timothy 4:14 “presbytery.”
C. Shepherd (Pastor). poimen “shepherd or
feeder.” NKJV Eph. 4:11 “pastor.”
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
III. The Work of an Elder.
A. “Shepherd the church of God”
(Acts 20:17, 28-32).
1. “Being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3).
• Not “by compulsion”—“but willingly.”
• Not “for dishonest gain”—“but eagarly.”
• Not “as being lords”—“but being examples.”
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
III. The Work of an Elder.
B. “They watch out for your souls”
(Hebrews 13:17).
The Qualifications &
Work of Elders
• Choosing elders is an appointment
not an election.
• Serving as an elder is a spiritual work.
• Those who serve as elders have a
tremendous impact on the welfare of the
church (3 John 9-11).