Verse 6
‘If any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly.’
Compare 1 Timothy 3:2 for similar instructions concerning the appointment of overseers (bishops), and 1 Timothy 3:10 for the application of the term ‘blameless’ to deacons. The word means to be beyond reproach, unable to be accused of anything unsatisfactory. Being the husband of one wife excludes polygamists, divorced persons, adulterers, those engaged in sexual misbehaviour and probably, but not necessarily, single men (the point might be not more than one wife). What is required is that the men have exercised sexual restraint successfully within a stable marriage. Their children must also reveal that there is good family discipline. They must be believers, and not open to an accusation of prodigality (literally ‘inability to save’, thus wastefulness or extravagance) or of open misbehaviour. In other words the influence of the proposed elders over their families must be seen to be such that they follow their lead. By this they will have proved their leadership capabilities.
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