1 Timothy 3:1-7

GOD’S WORD Translation

Guidelines for Leaders in the Church

3 This is a statement that can be trusted: If anyone sets his heart on being a bishop, he desires something excellent. ² A bishop must have a good reputation. He must have only one wife, be sober, use good judgment, be respectable, be hospitable, and be able to teach. ³ He must not drink excessively or be a violent person, but he must be gentle. He must not be quarrelsome or love money. ⁴ He must manage his own family well. His children should respectfully obey him. ⁵ (If a man doesn’t know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) ⁶ He must not be a new Christian, or he might become arrogant like the devil and be condemned. ⁷ People who are not Christians must speak well of him, or he might become the victim of disgraceful insults that the devil sets as traps for him.