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April 19, 2006 By Andreas Köstenberger

Children of Elders: What Are the Requirements?

In 1 Timothy 3:4, it is stipulated that an overseer’s children must “obey him with proper respect.” In Titus 1:6, the bar appears to be raised higher when it says that “[a]n elder must be . . . a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient” (NIV). The question, then, is this: Is it sufficient for an elder’s children to be generally obedient, whether or not they are born-again believers, or must they, as the NIV and many other translations have it, “believe,” that is, be Christians? If the latter, this would seem to rule out quite a few otherwise qualified candidates for church leadership.

The answer to the question hinges largely on the meaning of the Greek word pistos, which can mean either “faithful” or “believing.” While “believing” is the more common meaning of the two, there are instances in the Pastoral Epistles where pistos means “faithful” (cf. 1 Tim. 3:11; 2 Tim. 2:2, 13; see also the possible inclusion with Titus 1:9: “trustworthy message”). As always, therefore, context must be the determining factor. The context of Titus 1:6, in turn, includes both the larger context of the teaching of the Pastorals and the immediately following phrase “not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.”

(1) In the larger context of the teaching of the Pastoral Epistles, it would be unusual if the author had two separate standards, a more lenient one in 1 Timothy 3:4 (obedient) and a more stringent one in Titus 1:6 (believing). This creates a presumption of reading pistos in Titus 1:6 as conveying the sense “faithful” or “obedient” in keeping with the requirement stated in 1 Timothy 3:4. This would also create a contrast between the mention of “not open to the charge of being . . . disobedient” later in Titus 1:6.

(2) What does the meaning of the words “wild” and “disobedient” in the immediately following context contribute to a better understanding of the word pistos in Titus 1:6? Interestingly, the two other New Testament instances of “wild” in Ephesians 5:18 and 1 Peter 4:4 relate to orgies of drunkenness, and the two other instances of “disobedient” refer to outright rebellion (Titus 1:10; 1 Tim. 1:9). This suggests that what is in view is not occasional disobedience but deep-seated rebellion against parental authority.

The conclusion to be drawn from the above evidence is that, most likely, the word pistos in Titus 1:6 is to be understood as conveying the sense “faithful” or “obedient” but not “believing” in the sense that only men whose children are born-again believers are eligible to serve in positions of church leadership. Anyone chosen as an elder in the church, which entails the exercise of authority in the congregation (e.g., 1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 3:4; 5:17; Heb. 13:17), must properly exercise authority at home, with his children responding in obedient and submission.

For further details on the subject, see my commentary, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 12 (rev. ed.; Zondervan). See also Chapter 12 in God, Marriage, and Family (2d ed,; Crossway, 2010).

Filed Under: Blog, Marriage & Family Tagged With: Church, Elders, Family

Comments

  1. Gary says

    April 27, 2006 at 8:52 pm

    Hi, thanks for the helpful article. I have a friend who believes that the commands regarding an elder and family necessitates that he has family (i.e., every elder must be married, and have kids). If he is not married with children, how can he be the husband of one wife, manage his household well, and have faithful children? That is his logic at least. Any thoughts on this view?

  2. Beverly Hess says

    January 30, 2008 at 5:25 pm

    Do you believe then that elders must be men?

  3. Andreas Köstenberger says

    January 31, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    Yes, because, to go no further, it is impossible for women to be “faithful husbands” (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6).

  4. Lou says

    March 19, 2008 at 9:48 pm

    Please address the situation where a man who has been a elder for many years has adult children who live out of state and have periods of drunkenss and immorality and live a great distance from him. Should he step down?

Trackbacks

  1. Children of Elders: What Are the Requirements? » THE CAPRANICA says:
    April 19, 2006 at 6:13 pm

    […] Biblical Foundations » Children of Elders: What Are the Requirements? […]

  2. “Children who Believe” in Titus 1:6 (Part 2) « Expository Thoughts says:
    February 28, 2007 at 3:19 pm

    […] Feb 28th, 2007 by Matt Waymeyer Third, if pistos means “believing” in Titus 1:6, it is difficult to explain the absence of this qualification (“having children who believe”) from Paul’s list in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Was this a requirement in Crete but not in Ephesus? As Andreas Kostenberger writes, “In the larger context of the teaching of the Pastoral Epistles, it would be unusual if the author had two separate standards, a more lenient one in 1 Tim. 3:4 (obedient) and a more stringent one in Titus 1:6 (believing)” (Kostenberger, “Children of Elders: What are the Requirements?”). At least one commentator has responded to this by stating that Christianity was established more firmly in Ephesus at the time than in Crete, and therefore Paul did not think it necessary to include this requirement in 1 Timothy 3 (White, “The Epistle to Titus,” 187). […]

  3. Unbelief in an Elder's Children says:
    January 11, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    […] in keeping with the requirement stated in 1 Timothy 3:4.” See “Children of Elders: What Are the Requirements?“, along with his treatments in 1-2 Timothy, Titus, in the Expositor’s Bible […]

  4. Titus 1:6 – “Faithful” or “Believing” Children? - PeterGoeman.com says:
    June 30, 2016 at 11:46 am

    […] Andreas Kostenberger, “Children of Elders” […]

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Andreas Köstenberger

Andreas Köstenberger

Dr. Andreas Köstenberger is Founder of Biblical Foundations™ and Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology and Director of the Center for Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author, editor, or translator of over 50 books on a large variety of topics. He is also the editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society and several series on New Testament Greek (EGGNT) and biblical theology (BTNT, BTCP). Dr. Kostenberger and his wife Margaret have four children.
Andreas Köstenberger

@akostenberger

Andreas Köstenberger
Andreas Köstenberger

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