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NASB | 1 Timothy 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 3:2 Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, |
Subject: What does 1 Tim 3:2 mean? |
Bible Note: I have been divorced. Perhaps my testimony on this will be of assistance. At the time I felt some anger toward my ex-wife because it had always been my aspiration to be an elder in the church. In my understanding at the time I believed my divorce now prevented me from that great work. My divorce might have been considered "scriptural" because my ex-wife committed adultery, yet I was treated by some in the church as if I had committed the unforgivable sin. My divorce was difficult not only for me but for my parents as well. I grew up with a strong belief that you do not get divorced. In the closing years of my marriage I went out of my way to please my ex and this only seemed to rouse her disdain. Her conviction of my weakness. When I found out about her infidelity (I had no choice, she and her boyfriend came to my house to get her things so they could move in with each other), I went the next day to see a lawyer. This was not a hasty thing, I had known about the boyfriend for some time and had tried several times to get my wife to go with me for counseling. I only managed to get her to go 2 times but clearly she was defiant and unrepentant at that point. She told me later that she was also surprised that I went and filed for divorce at all. She didn't think I had it in me. Now, many years later, we are both remarried and I hear that she has returned to the church (which she also left at the time of our separation). I have also looked at the scriptures again because a divorced friend of mine suggested I should be nominated as an elder in my congregation. Most people in my congregation do not even know of my divorce since it happened long ago and in another city. It is not that I keep is secret but it just usually does not come up in conversation. However the point that my friend made is that Paul does not say "one wife ever" but rather "one wife now". It is my commitment to my wife and my marriage that is important. At this point I am not assuming the position of elder, but, along with several other men, I strive to the best of my ability to do the duties and works of an elder anyway. I preach and teach, I counsel, I visit and pray for the sick, I give to my brethren who are in hardship, I do not get drunk, I do not brawl, I welcome strangers into my home. Lest I boast, though, I also sin in ways I am ashamed of. I often marvel that I am what I am today even though I have so often strayed from the straight and narrow and can only believe it the grace of God that keeps bringing me back. Was I guilty of sin against my first wife? Probably, I cannot concieve of a relationship where neither party never sins against the other. But if commitment is there, and love is there, then that sin can be forgiven. Can I serve as an elder? Perhaps. And perhaps only if my congregation accepts me in that position. I still desire the office and whether my brethren believe me qualified or not I believe that it is the duty of every Christian to try live up to the qualifications of an elder anyway. I pray God will help me to do that. "Above reproach" may be against me -- but that is something that is in the eyes of the congregation and community in which I work. It is for them to determine that aspect of my life. Tim Sheasby |