Survey of the Letters of Paul:  1 Timothy 3:3

1 Timothy 3:3
Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

Let us begin with another segment from the Barclay commentary on the first three verses of 1 Timothy 3.

THIS passage is also interesting in that it tells us something of the appointment and the duties of the leaders of the Church.

(1) They were formally set apart for their office. Titus was to ordain elders in every church (Titus 1:5). The office-bearer of the church is not made an office-bearer in secret but is publicly set apart; the honour of the church is delivered into his hands in public.

Quoted verse:
Titus 1:5
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

(2) They had to undergo a period of testing. They had first to be proved (1 Timothy 3:10). No one builds a bridge or a piece of machinery with metal which has not been tested. The Church might do well to be stricter than it is in the testing of those chosen for leadership.

Quoted verse:
1 Timothy 3:10
And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.

(3) They were paid for the work which they had to do. The labourer deserved to be paid (1 Timothy 5:18). The Christian leader does not work for pay; but, on the other hand, the duty of the church which chose him for the work is to supply him with the means to live.

Quoted verse:
1 Timothy 5:18
For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

(4) They could be reprimanded (1 Timothy 5:19–22). In the early Church, the office-bearer had a double function. He was a leader of the church, but he was also the servant of the church. He had to answer for his stewardship. Christian office-bearers must never think themselves answerable to no one; they are answerable to God and to the people over whom God gave them the task of presiding.

Quoted verse:
1 Timothy 5:19-22
19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.
22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.

(5) They had the duty of presiding over the Christian assembly and of teaching the Christian congregation (1 Timothy 5:17). The Christian office-bearer has the double duty of administration and instruction. It may well be that one of the tragedies of the modern Church is that the administrative function of the office-bearer has almost entirely taken the place of the teaching function. It is, for instance, sad to see how few elders of the Church are actively engaged in the teaching work of Sunday Schools.

Quoted verse:
1 Timothy 5:17
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

(6) The office-bearer was not to be a recent convert. Two reasons are given for this advice. The first is quite clear. It is ‘in case he becomes inflated with a sense of his own importance’. The second is not so clear. It is, as the Revised Standard Version has it, ‘lest he fall into the condemnation of the devil’. There are three possible explanations of that strange phrase.

(a) It was through his pride that Lucifer rebelled against God and was expelled from heaven. And this may simply be a second warning against the danger of pride.

(b) It may mean that, if the convert who makes progress too rapidly becomes guilty of pride, he gives the devil a chance to level his charges against him. A conceited church office bearer gives the devil a chance to say to critics of the Church: ‘Look! There’s your Christian! There’s your church member! That’s what an office-bearer is like!’

(c) The word diabolos has two meanings. It means devil, and that is the way in which the Revised Standard Version has taken it here; but it also means slanderer. It is in fact the word used for slanderer in verse 11, where the women are forbidden to be slanderers. So, this phrase may mean that the recent convert, who has been appointed to office and has become, as we say, big headed, gives opportunity to the slanderers. His unworthy conduct is ammunition for those who are ill-disposed to the Church. No matter how we take it, the point is that the conceited church official is a liability to the Church. But, as the early Church saw it, the responsibility of the office-bearer did not begin and end in the church. He had two other spheres of responsibility, and if he failed in them he was bound also to fail in the church.

(1) His first sphere of duty was his own home. If a man did not know how to rule his own household, how could he engage upon the task of ruling the congregation of the church (1 Timothy 3:5)? A man who had not succeeded in making a Christian home could hardly be expected to succeed in making a Christian congregation. A man who had not instructed his own family could hardly be the right man to instruct the family of the church.

Quoted verse:
1 Timothy 3:5
(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?).

(2) The second sphere of responsibility was the world. He must be ‘well thought of by outsiders’ (1 Timothy 3:7).

Quoted verse:
1 Timothy 3:7
Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

He must be a man who has gained the respect of others in the day-to-day business of life. Nothing has hurt the Church more than the sight of people who are active in it but whose business and social life contradicts the faith which they claim and the principles which they teach. The Christian office-bearer must first of all be a good person. ~Barclay commentary

Now to the commentaries

Not given to wine - Margin, “Not ready to quarrel and offer wrong, as one in wine.” The Greek word (paroinos) occurs in the New Testament only here and in Titus 1:7. It means, properly, “by wine;” i. e., spoken of what takes place “by” or “over” wine, as revelry, drinking songs, etc. Then it denotes, as it does here, one who sits “by” wine; that is, who is in the habit of drinking it. It cannot be inferred, from the use of the word here, that wine was absolutely and entirely prohibited; for the word does not properly express that idea. It means that one who is in the habit of drinking wine, or who is accustomed to sit with those who indulge in it, should not be admitted to the ministry. The way in which the apostle mentions the subject here would lead us fairly to suppose that he did not mean to commend its use in any sense; that he regarded its use as dangerous, and that he would wish the ministers of religion to avoid it altogether. In regard to its use at all, except at the [Passover/Lord's Supper] or as a medicine, it may be remarked, that a minister will do no injury to himself or others by letting it entirely alone; he may do injury by indulging in it. No man is under any “obligation” of courtesy or Christian duty to use it; thousands of ministers of the gospel have brought ruin on themselves, and disgrace on the ministry, by its use; compare Matthew 11:9 note, and 1 Timothy 5:23 note. ~Barnes Notes

Quoted verse where the word paroinos--not given to wine occurs:
Titus 1:7
For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

Quoted verses the commentary wants the reader to compare:
Matthew 11:9
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

1 Timothy 5:23
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

Notice the same phrase -Not given to wine - from the John Gill:

Not given to wine,.... One that does not sit at it, or is continually drinking it, and is intemperate in the use of it; otherwise it is lawful for persons in such an office to drink wine, and sometimes absolutely necessary; see 1Timothy 5:23 it signifies one that is not given to much wine, as in 1Timothy 3:8 is not addicted to it, or a follower of it; the Syriac version renders it, "who does not transgress over wine", or go beyond due bounds in the use of it, who is not immoderate in it; the Arabic version renders it, "not insolent through wine", as one that is heated with it is fierce and furious, and wrangling and quarrelsome, and often very mischievous and injurious; and this sense is followed by some. ~John Gill

Quoted verses:
1 Timothy 5:23
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

1 Timothy 3:8
Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

No striker - He must be a peaceable, not a quarrelsome man. This is connected with the caution about the use of wine, probably, because that is commonly found to produce a spirit of contention and strife. ~Barnes Notes

 Now from the John Gill:

No striker - either with his hands, so the Syriac version, "whose hand is not swift to strike"; not one who is nimble and ready at it, who no sooner is abused or injured, but he lifts up his hands and strikes; is but a word and a blow: or with his tongue; so the Arabic version, "not wounding with his tongue"; being too sharp and severe in the admonitions and reproofs of weak brethren, or fallen believers; and especially, he ought not to use scurrilous, reproachful, and contumelious language to any; see Jeremiah 18:18. ~John Gill

Quoted verse:
Jeremiah 18:18
Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

Not greedy of filthy lucre - Not contentious or avaricious. Greek, Not desirous of base gain. The desire of this is condemned everywhere in the New Testament; but it is especially the duty of a minister of the gospel to be free from it. He has a right to a support (see the notes on 1 Corinthians 9); but there is nothing that more certainly paralyzes the usefulness of a minister of the gospel than the love of money. There is an instinctive feeling in the human bosom that such a man ought to be actuated by a nobler and a purer principle. As avarice, moreover, is the great sin of the world - the sin that sways more hearts, and does more to hinder the progress of the gospel, than all others combined - it is important in the highest degree that the minister of religion should be an example of what men “should” be, and that he, by his whole life, should set his face against that which is the main obstruction to the progress of that gospel which he is appointed to preach. ~Barnes Notes

Let's look at this in the John Gill:

Not greedy of filthy lucre - not covetous of getting money, of amassing wealth and riches together; or desirous of popular applause and glory from men. This clause is not in the Alexandrian copy, nor in five of Beza's manuscripts and other copies, nor is it in the Vulgate Latin version, nor in any of the Oriental versions; it seems to be transcribed from Titus 1:7. And indeed it is unnecessary here; since the same is expressed by the word "covetous", at the end of the verse, and makes that a tautology; and moreover, by leaving out this clause, the opposition appears more manifest, between "no striker" and what follows, ~John Gill

But patient - Modest, mild, gentle. See the word (Greek) in Philippians 4:5; Titus 3:2; James 3:17, and 1 Peter 2:18, where it is rendered “gentle.” The word means that the minister of the gospel should be a man of mild and kind demeanor, such as his Master was. ~Barnes Notes

Quoted verse:
Philippians 4:5
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Let us look at the commentary on this verse.
 

Now back to the quoted verses in our commentary on 1 Timothy 3:2 and phrase, "be patient."  The commentary wants us to see the word for "be patient" in these other verses.  The word "be patient" also meaning, "modest, mild, gentle."

Titus 3:2
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

James 3:17
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

1 Peter 2:18
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Notice the John Gill on this phrase:

but patient - one who patiently bears all reproaches and injuries, puts up with affronts, and gives up what is his right and due, rather than contend, quarrel, and strike; who is patient towards all men, and does not bear hard on those that have offended, but is moderate and mild, and gentle in his censures, reproofs, and admonitions: ~John Gill

Not a brawler - compare 2 Timothy 2:24. That is, he should not be a man given to contention, or apt to take up a quarrel. The Greek is, literally, “Not disposed to fight.” ~Barnes Notes
 
Quoted verse:
2 Timothy 2:24
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

Again to the John Gill:

not a brawler - not a quarrelsome litigious person, given to fighting, either with the fist or sword, or any other weapon: ~John Gill

Not covetous - Greek, “Not a lover of silver;” that is, of money. A man should not be put into the ministry who is characteristically a lover of money. Such a one, no matter what his talents may be, has no proper qualification for the office, and will do more harm than good. ~Barnes Notes

Contrast with the John Gill:

not covetous - or a lover of money in an immoderate way, greedy of worldly substance and riches, and insatiable in his desires after them; niggardly [reluctant to give; miserly], sordid [self-seeking, or mercenary], and illiberal [not generous in giving, stingy]; acting a mercenary part; seeking his own things, and not the things of Christ; his gain from his quarter, and not the good of souls; and withholding from himself, from his family, and the poor, what ought to be enjoyed by them. Whereas, on the other hand, he ought to be generous and liberal, hospitable and charitable, and ready to communicate on all occasions, according to his abilities. ~John Gill

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