Exhortation and Instruction for Bishops

 

For a bishop must be blameless[1], as the steward of God[1a]; not selfwilled[2], not soon angry[3], not given to wine[4], no striker[5], not given to filthy lucre[6]; But a lover of hospitality[7], a lover of good men[8], sober[9], just[10], holy[11], temperate[12]; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught[13], that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers[14].  TITUS 1:7,8,9

 

The following 'bishop outline' is given in a manner as to inherit eternal life upon the first resurrection of the dead. Each instruction is numbered as to bring clarity to bishops' callings and ministries in private and in public : 

[1] -- blameless :: He(a bishop) is without fault to those he speaks with, both public and private; this is to cover his teaching and evangelist ministries also. 

[1a] -- as the steward of God :: He stewards the grace of God in accordance with God in his spirit as to call and lead others to Christ.  This affects his ministry at home and in public as his conscience bears witness to his manner of life.

[2] -- not selfwilled :: His life is not lived unto himself but rather is lived unto the Lord of glory.  His will is surrendered to God's will; this specific witness is birthed from a deep place of humility before God as witnessed in the Messiah's crucifixion.

[3] -- not soon angry :: Things of this world do not quickly get him angry for he acknowledges the preeminance of Christ in everything.  He is willing to exercise judgment and justice as partnering with Christ in manifesting his mercies here on earth.

[4] -- not given to wine :: A bishop must be sober-minded.  His witness at home and in public are to mirror one another.  His strength received at home will manifest the power of his evangelism in public.

[5] -- no striker :: This is not an opposition to godly chastising of children.  A husband is to bear rule of his spirit in excellence and godly submission to the Father in heaven.  His witness here on earth is to be seen and understood as existing first before the most high God.

[6] -- not given to filthy lucre :: Lustful behavior is to be at enmity with a bishop's witness and life.  His whole manner of life is to be lived in the fear of the Lord.

[7] -- a lover of hospitality :: He is to love the company of fellow saints, both him and his family.  Fellow saints is to be understood as bearing common doctrine together.  His public ministry is to find ground in the midst of his more private fellowship with the saints.

[8] -- a lover of good men :: This is more of a public witness when compared to his graces of hospitality.  Good men is a very general, nationally-understood manner of life without greed, filthy lucre, or lasciviousness.

[9] -- sober :: A bishop is to be sober.  Seasons of seeking the Lord disciples him and his wife to endure through the coming chastisements of God upon the earth.  As his soberity of the particular time and season we are living in grows, he is strengthened in the deep things of God, also in the graces of God.

[10] -- just :: He is to weigh things in righteousness as seeing and perceiving them as trials and also coming forth from God.  His exercised justice in matters is to mirror that of Christ in godly stewardship of God in his family as birthing ministries into the world; this manner of life is that of the cross of Christ Jesus.

[11] -- holy :: A bishop and his family are to be set apart from this world; the spirit of holiness is to be guarded in a bishop's home as to become a dwelling place for the fear of the Lord.

[12] -- temperate :: Life lived in the world is to be 'pressed down' in Christ as to form a temperate behaviour in the earthen vessel of a given bishop.  A bishop's family is to freely receive from his temperate formation of christ within his home.

[13] -- Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught :: The apostles' teaching and impartation ministry that a bishop receives from is to be honoured, respected, and guarded as stewarding the word in his own soul, hence giving growth in his family.

[14] -- That he be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers :: The manner of life that a bishops owns and proves over time is to mirror the doctrine stewarded in his spirit.  Gainsayers, those with lustful appetites, and crude speeches are to be won upon a bishop's ministry and witness of the coming kingdom of Christ Jesus.