Titus 1.6-8.

Pray Psalm 82.5-7.
They do not know, nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are unstable.
I said, “You are gods,
And all of you are children of the Most High.
But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes.”

Read Titus 1.6-8

Prepare.
1. Paul uses two different words to describe the shepherds of the local church (vv. 5, 7). Why?

2. From the description here, what seems to be the work these men (v. 6) are supposed to do?

Meditate.
In the Kingdom era, when Christ is building His Church and fulfilling His covenant, special leaders are required to ensure that the churches receive the full blessing of the Lord and carry out their mission effectively. In the New Testament these men are “elders” or “overseers” (Greek: “bishops”). 

An elder must first be a particular kind of person before he can do the work for which he has been appointed to lead the church. The attributes Paul describes underscore the importance of the elder’s example. The qualities required in an elder are, first of all, spiritual(blameless, lover of what is good, holy, self-controlled); then personal (steward, not self-willed or quick-tempered, etc.); then moral (self-controlled, faithful to the Word,); relational (hospitable, just, loving his wife and raising faithful children); and practical (teach, exhort, etc.). 

The elder must also be a good manager of his household, or else he will not be able to “oversee” the household of faith (1 Tim. 3.5). Not everyone is qualified for the important work of leading and building the Church of Christ. Paul wants Titus to be sure he seeks the right kind of men for this great calling.

The practice of appointing elders to lead in the churches was carried over from the Old Testament, where elders were both judges and caretakers of the communities of the Lord. The word, “elder,” suggests long experience in the Lord more than chronological age, as Paul suggests here. We note also that Paul writes in terms of one church per town in Crete. While there were undoubtedly many house churches in each of those towns (v. 11, “households”), it was the duty of elders (plural) to oversee the development of the entire Body of Christ in any community. 

We do well to remember that the structure of the Church and the qualifications of its leaders have not been left to our own devising. God knows what He wants, and He will bestow His grace and peace where that order is established and faithfully maintained. 

Reflect.
1. Meditate on the verses for today, together with Hebrews 11.17 and 1 Thessalonians 5.12, 13. How important is the work of elders to a local church? Why?

2. How should a local church make sure it has the elders it needs, both for the present and for the future?

3. What can the members of a local church do to help ensure they have the kind of elders God wants them to have?

To Titus he gives commandment that among a bishop’s other virtues [which he briefly describes] he should be careful to seek a knowledge of the Scriptures. Jerome (347-420), Letters 53.3

Lord, let me be an agent of Your grace and peace today as I…

Pray Psalm 82.1-7.
God charges His judges (“the gods”, v. 1) with not knowing their job and thus not doing it well. He warns them that His judgment awaits them. We’re all judges in God’s Kingdom, as are those who lead our churches. Intercede for yourself and your church’s leaders, that you might know your calling and do it well.

Sing Psalm 82.1-7.
Psalm 82.1-7 (Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation)
God stands amid His people to judge their rulers all.
How long will they oppress those who on His favor call?
How long will they the wicked show partiality,
And treat with scorn the meek who their proper care should be?

Behold the weak and orphaned in need of loving care;
The destitute and smitten are with you everywhere.
Do justice, then, you rulers, to all God’s needy lambs.
Redeem, revive, retrieve them from wicked, sinful hands.

They do not understand, they in darkness walk around,
While Zion’s walls are shaken  and scattered on the ground.
God says to them, “My children, the sons of God Most High,
Though you be high exalted, like all men you shall die.”

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).