“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2)

The Elder/Bishop is a man of many qualifications; our attention here is drawn to the words “able to teach.” Before examining these words, we look back to Judges 2:7-10, “… another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work He had done for Israel” (v. 10).

Under the faithful leadership of Joshua God had blessed Israel greatly. Joshua 21:43-45 says that all the land that God had sworn to give to Israel was given and possession was taken. The Lord gave them rest from their enemies and “not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” This was a wonderful time of peace, prosperity, and blessing for the people of Israel. But then Joshua died and all the elders who outlived Joshua died and another generation arose. The sad thing about this next generation was that they did not know the Lord or the “…works which he had done for Israel” (Jdg. 2:10). Due to their lack of knowledge “…the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD…” (Jdg. 21:11). In just one generation Israel went from blessing and prosperity in Joshua’s day to a time of sin and oppression as reflected in the book of Judges.

The problem in Israel might be attributed to Israel being a “stiff-necked” and “hardhearted” people, but there was also a problem with the teaching of the people. The people did not know the LORD nor the work He had done. This is not to say there was a problem with God’s plan for teaching. There was, however, a problem with the implementation of God’s plan.

Teaching was a fundamental part of the spiritual life of Israel. God had told Moses “…I will…teach you what you shall say” (Ex. 4:12). Then in Exodus 24:12 God promised to give Moses “…the law and commandments…that you may teach them.” Moses was to be a teacher.

This role of teaching was passed on to successive leaders in Israel. In Joshua 8:35 we read,    “There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.” The Word of God was to be publicly read before all Israel. In Nehemiah 8:8, we read of Ezra and his fellow teachers reading “…distinctly from the book, in the Law of God and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.”

In the realm of the family, parents were also to be teachers. Exodus 12:26-27 says, “And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean[?]…’that you shall say…”

In Deuteronomy 6:7, we read, “You shall teach them diligently to your children…”  An elder is expected to have carried out this teaching in his own home. Teaching of children was carried out both privately in the home by the parents and publicly by the leading teachers of Israel. Deuteronomy 31:12-13 says, “Gather the people together, men and women and little ones…that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD…” Teaching was a major function of the leaders of the congregation of Israel. We note that men, women, and children all learned together in public.

When Jesus came, He came teaching. “He opened His mouth and taught them” (Mt. 5:2). “He taught them as one having authority” (Mt. 7:29). The apostles taught: they entered the temple “…and taught….” (Acts 5:21); Saul and Barnabas “…assembled with the church and taught…” (Acts 11:26); Paul taught “…publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20). Concerning the young evangelist Timothy, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:24, “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach…” As with other leaders the evangelist must be “able to teach.” Also, Timothy is told, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

In Ephesians 4:11, the leadership of the church is listed as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. One thing all these works of service have in common is the ability to teach. Apostles were teachers, prophets were teachers, evangelists are teachers, pastors/elders are teachers, and clearly, teachers are teachers.

There are several words in the Greek New Testament translated “teach.” The most common is didasko (Strong’s 1321)— “to give instruction” (Vine). Didasko is a verb expressing action. The related adjective didaktikos (Strong’s 1317) is found twice in the New Testament. First, this adjective is used to describe a part of Timothy’s duty as a servant of the Lord— “able to teach” (2 Tim. 2:24). It is also used in 1 Timothy 3:2 concerning the bishop/elder. He, too, must be “able to teach.” The verb in 1 Timothy 3:2 is “must be,” and it is in the present tense, describing continuous action. The bishop/elder must be, and continue to be, “able to teach.” We should recognize here that should any of life’s circumstances cause the bishop/elder to no longer be able to teach, then the man would no longer qualify as an elder/bishop. He “must be” “able to teach” or he is not qualified to be a bishop/elder.

The word didaktikos is defined by Thayer as “apt or skillful in teaching.” It is defined by Baur, Arndt and Gingrich as “skillful in teaching”; by W. E. Vine as “skillful in teaching.” A common part of this definition is “skillful.” It does not mean “adequate” or “will do in a pinch.” We note that in 2 Timothy 2:2, the word “able” is not didaktikos, it is hikanos (Strong’s 2425) which might be translated “competent, or enough, or sufficient” (Vine). Not every man who is taught will become didaktikos, “skillful in teaching,” as this word is used in 1 Timothy 3:2 and 2 Timothy 2:24.

There is a gift aspect of teaching according to Romans 12:6-7.

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching…

While teaching does not necessarily involve a miraculous gift, it does involve natural gifts. We have all known and listened to those with the wonderful gift to communicate knowledge in an interesting manner. We may say they have the “gift.” The gift is likely a gift of intelligence, creativity, and desire; maybe some vocal ability, combined with the willingness to spend time working at teaching.

A man may have intelligence, creativity, and a desire, to be a carpenter, or an equipment operator, or a computer programmer. If he works hard, he will become skillful in his chosen trade. So it is with the one who wants to be “able,” that is, “skillful in teaching”— he will have to combine the natural gifts he has with a willingness to work at teaching the Word of God.

The man appointed as an elder/bishop in the Lord’s church will be a man who has applied himself to attaining the “skill of teaching.” He is not a novice (1 Tim. 3:6). Further, 1 Timothy 3:4-5 implies he has taught his own household well, “…for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?” A good part of his skill in teaching comes from teaching and studying the Bible with his wife and children in the home.

We might ask, “What does it mean to be skillful in teaching?” Paul seems to answer this question in his instructions to Titus about the appointment of elders (Tit. 1:5-9). The character of an elder in Titus is like the character attributes of the bishop in 1 Timothy 3, but not exactly the same. In Titus 1, Paul does not say that an elder must be able to teach, instead he says in Titus 1:9 of an elder— “holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” Ability or skill in teaching will mean that the elder, with the Word of God, will be able to exhort and convict those who disagree. When considering a man for the work of an elder we might ask, “Who has he, with the Word of God, exhorted and convicted?” Those whom he has exhorted and convicted become the evidence of his skill in teaching.

Article by: Roger Boone | rnboone56@gmail.com