Titus 1:7

For the bishop must be blameless, as God's steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;

The bishop ... Paul's use of the singular noun here has given rise to all kinds of speculations; but Paul never intended to imply by this that only one bishop was needed for the oversight of a church or churches. The meaning here is "any bishop." As Hendriksen said, "The hierarchical idea of several `priests' and their `parishes' being outranked and governed by the bishop and his `diocese' is foreign to the Pastorals."[19] A comparison will show that exactly the same qualifications are given for a bishop as are given for an elder, Paul, in fact, using the terms interchangeably. The seven words in the New Testament which are applied to this office are: bishop, overseer, presbyter, elder, pastor, shepherd and steward, the latter being found only in this verse.

As God's steward ... The term "steward" in English derives from an old Anglo-Saxon word, stig-ward or `keeper of the pigs, or sty.' Of course, this was a key position of very great authority and importance in the feudal culture. Survival of the lord and his serfs depended upon honest and faithful management of the principal meat supply. Just so, a faithful administration of the Lord's congregations is required.

Not self-willed ... This has to be one of the most important qualifications enumerated, despite the fact of so little attention being paid to it; once a self-willed, opinionated elder is appointed, then his prejudices, his opinions, his judgments and his vision become the automatic boundaries of the church's progress.

Not soon angry, no brawler, no striker ... All of these are negative qualifications related to the essential self-control and sober judgment of men capable of serving as elders. The word `striker' at the time of the publication of the King James Bible, whence it made its way into our version, referred to a person who went around thumping other people on the head with a quarterstaff. It has no reference to labor disputes.

Not greedy of filthy lucre ... This means `dirty money,' that is, money acquired through questionable or dishonest means; but more than that is meant. Any man whose chief end in life is the acquisition of wealth, or whose affections are primarily set upon the things of this life, or who has any inordinate love of material possessions - any such person should not be named as an elder of the Lord's church.