“Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;”
King James Version (KJV)
3:1 He desireth a good work - An excellent, but laborious, employment.
3:2 Therefore - That he may be capable of it. A bishop - Or pastor of a congregation. Must be blameless - Without fault or just suspicion. The husband of one wife - This neither means that a bishop must be married, nor that he may not marry a second wife; which it is just as lawful for him to do as to marry a first, and may in some cases be his bounden duty. But whereas polygamy and divorce on slight occasions were common both among the Jews and heathens, it teaches us that ministers, of all others, ought to stand clear of those sins. Vigilant, prudent - Lively and zealous, yet calm and wise. Of good behaviour - Naturally flowing from that vigilance and prudence.
3:4 Having his children in subjection with all seriousness - For levity undermines all domestic authority; and this direction, by a parity of reason, belongs to all parents.
1Ti 3:3 Not given to wine. Not a drunken brawler is the idea of the Greek. We must always bear in mind that the church had been formed of Gentiles whose morals had been at a very low standard.