The Local Church: Elders
Sunday, August 16, 2026
Jojo Ma
Weekly Bulletin | Song Lyrics | Nicene Creed
1 Timothy 3:1-7
1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
Pastor John MacArthur: “As the apostolic era came to a close, the office of elder emerged as the highest level of local church leadership. Thus it carried a great amount of responsibility. The elders were charged with the care and feeding, as well as the spiritual guidance, of the entire church…Biblically, the focal point of all church leadership is the elder. It is the elders who are charged with teaching, feeding, and protecting the church, and it is the elders who are accountable to God on behalf of the church.”
I. An elder must want to be an elder. [v1]
II. An elder must be godly. [vv2-3]
III. An elder must be able to teach and disciple. [v2]
IV. An elder must be a family man. [vv4-5]
V. An elder must be spiritually mature. [v6]
VI. An elder must have a good reputation. [v7]
I. An elder must want to be an elder. [v1]
1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.
Before any examination, before any evaluation, and before any affirmation, there has to be aspiration.
1 Thes 5:12 We ask you, brothers [congregation], to respect those [elders] who labor among you and are over [overseers] you in the Lord and admonish you.
II. An elder must be godly. [vv2-3]
2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
Alexander Strauch: “In a letter to a young presbyter named Nepotian, dated 394 AD, Jerome (345-419 AD) rebukes the churches of his day for their hypocrisy in showing more concern for the appearance of their church buildings than the careful selection of their church leaders: ‘Many build churches nowadays; their walls and pillars of glowing marble, their ceilings glittering with gold, their altars studded with jewels. Yet to the choice of Christ’s ministers no heed is paid.’”
2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
D.A. Carson: “The most extraordinary things about the biblical prerequisites for elders is that they are not all that extraordinary.”
III. An elder must be able to teach and disciple. [v2]
v2 …able to teach.
IV. An elder must be a family man. [vv4-5]
4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?
V. An elder must be spiritually mature. [v6]
6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
VI. An elder must have a good reputation. [v7]
7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
Please be praying that God would give us shepherds as 1 Timothy 3 describes. Not men who people-please, not men who are timid, not men who are contentious or quarrelsome, but men who are godly, spiritually mature men with good reputations. Might the Lord give us elders like this.
Heb 13:7,17 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith...17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
I. An elder must want to be an elder. [v1]
II. An elder must be godly. [vv2-3]
III. An elder must be able to teach and disciple. [v2]
IV. An elder must be a family man. [vv4-5]
V. An elder must be spiritually mature. [v6]
VI. An elder must have a good reputation. [v7]