A Leaders Knowledge of the Scripture

Leadership is a call to be students of Scripture and mighty in the Word.  Without this qualification, we are unprepared for shepherding and ministering to the people of God.  It is insufficient to merely love the flock, and possess a servant's heart.  These are essentials but our love and service must be informed by a real understanding of the revealed will of God.

The Scriptures require that an elder be "apt to teach" (KJV; I Tim. 3:2). The Greek word "Didakikos" means "skillful in teaching," or "a qualified teacher." Our word "didactics" (the art or science of teaching) is derived from this word. It is not so much "apt to teach" (KJV), as "apt at teaching." The English Standard Version translates "able to teach." It conveys the idea of ability more than desire. It appears only twice in the New Testament (see II Tim. 2:24).  Teaching may not be a gift but it must be a skill developed by every leader.

Titus 1:9 says elders are to be "holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict." We are to be men who hold fast to the Word of God in understanding and practice. We must be able to discern and reject unscriptural doctrines or viewpoints. The skill of an elder is such that he should be able both to persuade believers by the Word and to refute those who contradict the Word.

Deacons are qualified only if they "hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience." The expression "mystery of the faith" is a beautiful way of referring to Christian doctrine. The word "mystery" does not refer to the mysterious, but that which has been made known by divine revelation. Faith defines the content of the mystery; so, "the mystery of the faith" means the entire body of Christian doctrine. The New English Bible renders the phrase "the deep truths of our faith." Therefore deacons are to be men who hold steadfastly to the Scriptures in mind and conscience. Holding to doctrine implies a grip on the specifics truths of God's Word. 

Leadership requires more than just a general knowledge of the Scriptures. Leaders must be so thoroughly familiar with their Bibles that they are able to call to mind the specific passages that underscore the doctrines we profess as a church.  They must also be able to explain them in such a way as to be persuasive.

I am stressing this because although there are many men who possess a measure of Christian character and maturity, there is still a great need for skillfulness in the Word of God.  The discipline of study and meditation is beyond merely reading and listening or even memorizing God's Word.  Our flesh despises the diligent focus upon the thoughts of God.  We would much rather serve, or involve ourselves in some other wholesome activity.  But only diligence in the Word will produce the kinds of leaders needed by the local church.

Our prayer is that God will give us men who are competent in Bible knowledge, skillful in doctrinal matters, humble and holy in their practical walk, and marked by spirituality in all they do.