Male Elders in 1Timothy 2-3

^{Andreas Köstenberger}

God’s Word calls qualified men to teach and pastor God’s flock. In discussions of this topic, 1 Timothy 2–3 are central to explaining why Paul did not permit a woman to teach or have authority in the church and why the pastoral office is grounded in creation and not culture...
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In this post, I will provide a brief introduction to 1 Timothy 2–3, a passage that clearly affirms male eldership in the household of God.

Paul’s first letter to Timothy contains vital and abiding instructions for the church and its leadership. Paul writes to his apostolic delegate, Timothy, toward the end of Paul’s life and ministry in order to leave a legacy and pass on the pattern of church leadership to his foremost disciple. These instructions are not limited to first-century Ephesus (where Timothy was at the time) but abiding principles grounded in God’s creation order (Paul writes similar instructions to Titus, who is on the island of Crete).

The Church as God’s Household

Underlying Paul’s instructions is the metaphor of the church as God’s household. While in some of his other letters Paul uses the metaphor of a body with many members and Christ at the head, here (as well as in Titus) Paul conceives of the church in terms of an ancient household. It is well-attested historical fact that in both first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman households, the father (paterfamilias) was the head. Similarly, Paul stipulates that male elders be responsible for God’s household, the church.

In the ancient world, households consisted not only of the nuclear family (parents and children) but also included relatives (such as widows) and even household servants. The head of the household had the important task of caring for all the members of his extended household and of ensuring that their needs were met. Likewise, male elders were to care for the needs of all church members.

Proper Conduct in God’s Household (1 Tim 3:14–15)

The most relevant instructions regarding church leadership in 1 Timothy are found in chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2 opens with the words, “First of all, then, I urge that ….” (ESV). Here we have the beginning of a set of instructions Paul gives to Timothy for ordering the life of the church, particularly its leadership. The unit concludes with the words, “I am writing these things to you so that … you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (3:14–15).

So here we see that chapters 2–3 are built on the metaphor of the church as God’s household. We also see that Paul thought of these instructions as general directives on “how one ought to behave” in God’s household, which he solemnly calls “the church of the living God” and, in yet another metaphor, “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” For this reason we can be sure that the instructions on church leadership in chapters 2–3 contain abiding—rather than merely culturally relative—instructions for the church.

Male Elders (1 Tim 3:1–7; 5:17)

In 1 Timothy 3:1, Paul introduces the “trustworthy saying” that, “if anyone aspires to the office of overseer (episkopē), he desires a noble task.” He stipulates that an overseer (episkopos) be “above reproach” and a faithful husband and adds several other qualifications (vv. 2–3). He adds an analogy between the natural and God’s spiritual household: “He must manage (proistēmi) his own household well, …, for if someone does not know how to manage (proistēmi) his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” (3:4–5). All of this presupposes the standard order of the ancient household with the man being in charge as the head.

In a later parallel passage, Paul elaborates, “Let the elders (presbyteroi) who rule (proistēmi) well be considered worthy of double honor [i.e., they are due both respect and financial remuneration], especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (5:17). The “elders” mentioned here are the same as the aforementioned “overseer[s]” (episkopos, 3:1–2), and the word translated “manage” in 3:4–5 is here rendered “rule,” that is, exercising authority by virtue of one’s office (NASB: “lead”; NIV: “direct the affairs”). Also, there is a plurality of elders (presbyteroi is plural). And while all elders “rule,” not all preach and teach (though all must be “able to teach,” didaktikos, 3:2). This was the responsibility of “pastor-teachers” (Eph 4:11: poimēn/didaskalos).

It is therefore clear both historically and contextually that Paul holds qualified, spiritually mature men responsible for the care of God’s household. If there were any doubt, the fact that he refers to “faithful husbands” (anēr) underscores that Paul had men, not women, in mind.
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