Titus 1:5-9

⁵The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint [or ordain] elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷Since an overseer [or bishop, or elder, or presbyter] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Paul begins in v5 by reminding Titus (but more likely the Cretans, of Titus’ Paul-given authority to administrate their local congregations) of the reason he left him in Crete: that he “might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint [or ordain] elders in every town.” Paul is concerned for these Cretan Christians to grow in grace, to be discipled, to become mature in the faith, to resist the worldliness and the immorality of the culture around them, to be distinct, to be in the world but not of it; so he says, “Go to every city where there’s a church and appoint elders.” There was unfinished work to do on the island of Crete to get the Cretan Christian congregations in right order, such that they would be self-administered to a degree, something that takes a lot of time. Paul humbly and modestly yields a task he liked to do (Acts 14:23) and encourages Titus to complete that work so they could meet up in Nicopolis (Titus 3:12).

It might seem strange that Paul would urge the ordinance of elder to get the believers to reach maturity. You might think he’d just teach them, but instead he’s planning to teach others to teach them. The local church is God’s place for growing His people; thus elders (plural, not singular) are for discipleship, to lead others through the sanctification process, to bring Christians to an ever-increasing intimacy with the Lord. Elders’ work is essentially discipleship, and it’s accomplished in two ways: direction, both in terms of lifestyle application (outward behavior) and personal character (inward attitudes), and doctrine, both in terms of promoting sound teaching and refuting erroneous teaching. “Elder” in v5 and “overseer” (presbyter or bishop) in v7 is the same office (Acts 20:17,28). “Elder” speaks of internal character, spiritual maturity, especially concerning doctrine, while “overseer” speaks of the external lifestyle, and specifically the role the elder plays, the task he has in leading others to a practical, thoroughly Biblical lifestyle. Men who hold this title and work to fulfill this role must be able to teach truth and refute error (v9), but also patient to learn through admonishment and good advice.

George Grant wrote an article in Tabletalk Magazine (May 2008, Volume 32, Number 5) called “The High Call of Service” (pgs. 68-69). He says, “Talk is cheap. Promises are a dime a dozen. Most of us have had about all we of the spin-controlled sound bites we can stand. We’ve heard just about all the hollow rhetoric we can tolerate. We all know that actions speak louder than words. That is a universal truth…(1 John 3:18)… Our orthodoxy (right doctrine) must be matched by orthopraxy (right action). This does not by any means minimize the primacy of the word of God in the Christian life [It magnifies it]. It is simply a recognition that God’s truth will always bear incarnational, tangible, and demonstrable fruit… From the earliest days of the apostolic church congregations were purposefully structured for word [elder] and deed [deacon] ministry.” But here Paul seems to put the whole burden on elders, until the responsibility reaches beyond their ability, at which time deacons are to be elected (Acts 6).

The qualifications Paul gives, which takes any blame of failure away from Titus, do not make up an exhaustive list (compare 1 Timothy 3:2-7); but let’s look at them. First, in v6, Paul seems to be most concerned with an elder’s home life, for a man incapable of managing and leading his household certainly cannot steward the affairs of a congregation. This concern includes his own reputation (blameless), his marital fidelity (the husband of but one wife), and both the spiritual condition of his children (a man whose children believe, or are faithful) and their physical obedience, temperance, frugality, and reverence (not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient). These qualifications speak to his ability to lead and command respect from his inward character. In v7-8, the qualifications mentioned speak to his outward behavior, revealing how he would handle various situations that arise within the local congregation. These traits include negative vices – being above reproach (blameless), being meek or servant-hearted (not overbearing or self-willed), being calm or steady (not quick-tempered), being sober and sober-minded (not given to drunkenness), being (not violent), and being (not pursuing dishonest gain) – and positive virtues – being hospitable, loving what is good (kindness), being self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. So the elder is not described or controlled by pride and anger, the desire for drink, the desire for dominance, or the desire for wealth; instead the elder is characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, loving people, virtue, and truth (v9).

Learning what God wants from His elders, His shepherds of His flock, we ought to do two things: pray for elders that they would exhibit these traits by God’s grace, and since it is a good thing to covet eldership (1 Timothy 3:1 says, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.”), we ought to strive to exhibit elder’s traits.

The final, and arguably most important, trait of an elder is that of not only knowledge and understanding of Biblical doctrine (v9), for the sake of teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, using the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The elder is to be zealous for truth, not merely know it satisfactorily, but hunger and pant after the truth of God’s word. All the previous traits listed should flow from this foundation. “Doctrine unto godliness” is Paul’s cry here. He wants knowledge of God and His word to be practically applied for godly living. Edification is important to Paul and to God, and it should be the elder’s priority as well. Edification comes through hearing, learning, and understanding the sufficient truth of God’s word – growing in applicable knowledge. We’ll talk more about “sound doctrine” as we look at Titus 2:1, which says, “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine,” in the next chapter.