1. What is the main thrust of 1 Timothy 3?
2. Throughout the New Testament, several synonyms are used to describe the position of an elder. List four of those synonyms.
3. Paul told Timothy that a man who serves as an elder must first “desire” the work. In your estimation, why is that included in the list of qualifications for an elder?
4. What did Paul mean when he told Timothy that an elder had to be “blameless” (1 Tim. 3:2)?
5. What is one definitive qualification for an elder that would prevent women from serving in that capacity?
6. Paul said that an elder must be “hospitable.” That word is composed of two root words in the Greek. What is the meaning of those two words?
7. Explain what Paul meant when he told Timothy that an elder must be “temperate” (1 Tim. 3:2), and when he told Titus that an elder must not be “quick tempered” (Tit. 1:7).
8. An elder is to be sober-minded (1 Tim. 3:2). What does that mean?
9. What is the main point of Titus 1:9-11 (in regard to an elder)?
10. What is the connection between 1 Timothy 3:3 and 1 Thessalonians 5:22?
11. Explain how Proverbs 20:1 applies to Paul’s instructions about the qualifications of an elder as listed in 1 Timothy 3:3.
12. What is the purpose behind the qualification for an elder which states that he must be a man who “rules his own house well” (1 Tim. 3:4)?
13. In summarizing the qualifications of an elder, we might say that such a man should focus not on earthly things, but on something else. What is that “something else”?
14. What did Paul mean when he told Timothy that an elder must “not be a novice”?
15. What is the connection between Proverbs 29:15 and Proverbs 13:24?
16. How do Proverbs 29:15 and Proverbs 13:24 apply to the man who wants to be an elder?
17. Explain the statement found in Hebrews 5:12.
18. What was the writer of Hebrews trying to get across in Hebrews 13:17?
19. According to Hebrews 13:17, what is the responsibility of a Christian toward elders?
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