1 Timothy 3:3

Contextual Overview

¹ Here is a statement you can trust: anyone aspiring to be a congregation leader is seeking worthwhile work. ¹ The word [is] faithful: if any one aspires to exercise oversight, he desires a good work. ¹ This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer, he desires a good work. ¹ This saying is trustworthy:[fn]Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:12; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:15;">[xr] The one who would an elder be, A noble task desires he. ¹ 1 This saying is faithful, that if a man desire the presbyterate, [fn] a good work he desireth. ¹ It is a faithful saying, that if a man desireth the eldership, he desireth a good work. ¹ Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. ¹ This is a true saying, A man desiring the position of a Bishop has a desire for a good work. ¹ The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ¹ This is a true saying, If any man desire the office of a Bishop, he desireth a worthie worke.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

Not given to wine or, Not ready to quarrel, and offer wrong, as one in wine.

8; Leviticus 10:9; Isaiah 5:11,12; 28:1,7; 56:12; Ezekiel 44:21; Micah 2:11; Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-46; 21:34-36; Ephesians 5:18; Titus 1:7; 2:3

no

2 Timothy 2:24,25; Titus 1:7

not greedy

Proverbs 1:19; 15:27; Isaiah 56:11; Jude 1:11

filthy

8; 1 Samuel 8:3; Titus 1:7,11; 1 Peter 5:2

patient

6:11; Ecclesiastes 7:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Timothy 2:24; Revelation 1:9

a brawler

Titus 3:2; James 4:1; *marg:

not covetous

1 Samuel 2:15-17; 2 Kings 5:20-27; Jeremiah 6:13; 8:10; Micah 3:5,11; Malachi 1:10; Matthew 21:13; John 10:12,13; 12:5,6; Acts 8:18-21; 20:33; Romans 16:18; 2 Peter 2:3,14,15; Revelation 18:11-13

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:21 - hating;  Leviticus 21:18 - a blind man;  Judges 18:4 - hired me;  Nehemiah 6:12 - hired him;  Isaiah 23:17 - and she shall;  Ezekiel 22:12 - greedily;  Ezekiel 44:15 - the sons;  Matthew 26:15 - What;  1 Corinthians 5:11 - or covetous;  Ephesians 4:31 - clamour;  Ephesians 5:3 - covetousness;  Philippians 4:17 - because;  1 Thessalonians 2:5 - a cloak;  1 Timothy 5:23 - General;  1 Timothy 6:5 - supposing;  Hebrews 13:5 - conversation

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
And Man said, The woman, whom thou hast given [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.

Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman you put here with me gave me fruit from that tree. So I ate it."

Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

Genesis 3:12
And the man said: 'The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.'

Genesis 3:12
And the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree and I took it.

Genesis 3:12
And Adam said: The woman whom thou gauest [to be] with me, she gaue me of the tree, and I dyd eate.

Genesis 3:12
Then the man saide, The woman which thou gauest to be with me, she gaue me of the tree, and I did eate.

Genesis 3:12
And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I did eat.

Genesis 3:12
The man answered, "The woman you put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it."

Genesis 3:12
And God said to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Not given to wine,.... One that does not sit at it, or is continually drinking it, and is intemperate in the use of it; otherwise it is lawful for persons in such an office to drink wine, and sometimes absolutely necessary; see 1 Timothy 5:23 it signifies one that is not given to much wine, as in 1 Timothy 3:8 is not addicted to it, or a follower of it; the Syriac version renders it, "who does not transgress over wine", or go beyond due bounds in the use of it, who is not immoderate in it; the Arabic version renders it, "not insolent through wine", as one that is heated with it is fierce and furious, and wrangling and quarrelsome, and often very mischievous and injurious; and this sense is followed by some.

No striker; either with his hands, so the Syriac version, "whose hand is not swift to strike"; not one who is nimble and ready at it, who no sooner is abused or injured, but he lifts up his hands and strikes; is but a word and a blow: or with his tongue; so the Arabic version, "not wounding with his tongue"; being too sharp and severe in the admonitions and reproofs of weak brethren, or fallen believers; and especially, he ought not to use scurrilous, reproachful, and contumelious language to any; see Jeremiah 18:18.

Not greedy of filthy lucre; not covetous of getting money, of amassing wealth and riches together; or desirous of popular applause and glory from men. This clause is not in the Alexandrian copy, nor in five of Beza's manuscripts and other copies, nor is it in the Vulgate Latin version, nor in any of the Oriental versions; it seems to be transcribed from Titus 1:7. And indeed it is unnecessary here; since the same is expressed by the word "covetous", at the end of the verse, and makes that a tautology; and moreover, by leaving out this clause, the opposition appears more manifest, between "no striker" and what follows,

but patient; one who patiently bears all reproaches and injuries, puts up with affronts, and gives up what is his right and due, rather than contend, quarrel, and strike; who is patient towards all men, and does not bear hard on those that have offended, but is moderate and mild, and gentle in his censures, reproofs, and admonitions:

not a brawler; not a quarrelsome litigious person, given to fighting, either with the fist or sword, or any other weapon:

not covetous; or a lover of money in an immoderate way, greedy of worldly substance and riches, and insatiable in his desires after them; niggardly, sordid, and illiberal; acting a mercenary part; seeking his own things, and not the things of Christ; his gain from his quarter, and not the good of souls; and withholding from himself, from his family, and the poor, what ought to be enjoyed by them. Whereas, on the other hand, he ought to be generous and liberal, hospitable and charitable, and ready to communicate on all occasions, according to his abilities.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Not given to wine - Margin, “Not ready to quarrel and offer wrong, as one in wine.” The Greek word ( πάροινος paroinos) occurs in the New Testament only here and in Titus 1:7. It means, properly, “by wine;” i. e., spoken of what takes place “by” or “over” wine, as revelry, drinking songs, etc. Then it denotes, as it does here, one who sits “by” wine; that is, who is in the habit of drinking it. It cannot be inferred, from the use of the word here, that wine was absolutely and entirely prohibited; for the word does not properly express that idea. It means that one who is in the habit of drinking wine, or who is accustomed to sit with those who indulge in it, should not be admitted to the ministry. The way in which the apostle mentions the subject here would lead us fairly to suppose that he did not mean to commend its use in any sense; that he regarded its use as dangerous, and that he would wish the ministers of religion to avoid it altogether. In regard to its use at all, except at the communion or as a medicine, it may be remarked, that a minister will do no injury to himself or others by letting it entirely alone; he may do injury by indulging in it. No man is under any “obligation” of courtesy or Christian duty to use it; thousands of ministers of the gospel have brought ruin on themselves, and disgrace on the ministry, by its use; compare Matthew 11:9 note, and 1 Timothy 5:23 note.

No striker - He must be a peaceable, not a quarrelsome man. This is connected with the caution about the use of wine, probably, because that is commonly found to produce a spirit of contention and strife.

Not greedy of filthy lucre - Not contentious or avaricious. Greek, Not desirous of base gain. The desire of this is condemned everywhere in the New Testament; but it is especially the duty of a minister of the gospel to be free from it. He has a right to a support (see the notes on Philippians 4:5; Titus 3:2; James 3:17, and 1 Peter 2:18, where it is rendered “gentle.” The word means that the minister of the gospel should be a man of mild and kind demeanor, such as his Master was.

Not a brawler - compare 2 Timothy 2:24. That is, he should not be a man given to contention, or apt to take up a quarrel. The Greek is, literally, “Not disposed to fight.”

Not covetous - Greek, “Not a lover of silver;” that is, of money. A man should not be put into the ministry who is characteristically a lover of money. Such a one, no matter what his talents may be, has no proper qualification for the office, and will do more harm than good.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

An eighth article in his character is, he must not be given to wine; μη παροινον . This word not only signifies one who is inordinately attached to wine, a winebibber or tippler, but also one who is imperious, abusive, insolent, whether through wine or otherwise. Kypke contends for this latter acceptation here. See his proofs and examples.

Ninth - He must be no striker; μη πληκτην, not quarrelsome; not ready to strike a person who may displease him; no persecutor of those who may differ from him; not prone, as one wittily said,

"To prove his doctrine orthodox

By apostolic blows and knocks."

It is said of Bishop Bonner, of infamous memory, that, when examining the poor Protestants whom he termed heretics, when worsted by them in argument he was used to smite them with his fists, and sometimes scourge and whip them. But though he was a most ignorant and consummate savage, yet from such a scripture as this he might have seen the necessity of surrendering his mitre.

Tenth - He must not be greedy of filthy lucre; μη αισχροκερδη, not desirous of base gain; not using base and unjustifiable methods to raise and increase his revenues; not trading or trafficking; for what would be honorable in a secular character, would be base and dishonorable in a bishop. Though such a trait should never appear in the character of a Christian prelate, yet there is much reason to suspect that the words above are not authentic; they are omitted by ADFG, many others, the Syriac, all the Arabic, Coptic, (and Sahidic), Ethiopic, Armenian, later Syriac, (but it appears in the margin), the Vulgate and Itala, and by most of the Greek fathers. Griesbach has left it out of the text, in which it does not appear that it ever had a legitimate place. The word covetous, which we have below, expresses all the meaning of this; and it is not likely that the apostle would insert in the same sentence two words of the same meaning, because they were different in sound. It appears to have been borrowed from 1 Timothy 3:8.

Eleventh - He must be patient; επιεικη, meek, gentle; the opposite to πληκτην, a quarrelsome person, which it immediately follows when the spurious word αισχροκερδη is removed. Where meekness and patience do not reign, gravity cannot exist, and the love of God cannot dwell.

Twelfth - He must not be a brawler; αμαχον, not contentious or litigious, but quiet and peaceable.

Thirteenth - He must not be covetous; αφιλαργυρον, not a lover of money; not desiring the office for the sake of its emoluments. He who loves money will stick at nothing in order to get it. Fair and foul methods are to him alike, provided they may be equally productive. For the sake of reputation he may wish to get all honourably; but if that cannot be, he will not scruple to adopt other methods. A brother heathen gives him this counsel: "Get money if thou canst by fair means; if not, get it by hook and by crook."