Question: "What is a bishop, biblically
speaking?"
Answer: In the New Testament, a bishop is a
person who functions as a teaching leader
among a local group of Christians. The Greek
term episkapos has also been translated as
“episcopal,” “elder,” “overseer,” or “pastor.” All
refer to the same office and are therefore
synonyms.
In the earliest churches, their leaders were
simply referred to as “elders.” For example, in
Acts 20:17 we read, “Now from Miletus he sent
to Ephesus and called the elders of the church
to come to him.” In Philippians 1:1 , Paul
introduces his letter “to all the saints in Christ
Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers
and deacons.” Apparently, there were originally
only two leadership positions in the church:
elders (or bishops) and deacons.
In the Pastoral Epistles, Paul speaks twice
regarding the qualifications of elders/bishops ,
those he considered the leaders of the local
church (also notice that these elders generally
served as teams rather than as single leaders).
In 1 Timothy 3:1–7 we read,
“The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to
the office of overseer [bishop], he desires a
noble task. Therefore an overseer must be
above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-
minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,
able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but
gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
He must manage his own household well, with
all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if
someone does not know how to manage his
own household, how will he care for God's
church? He must not be a recent convert, or he
may become puffed up with conceit and fall into
the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he
must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he
may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the
devil.”
From this list, we conclude several things. First,
the job of bishop is a noble task. Second, the
job is a limited task (male pronouns and
references are used throughout). Third, integrity
is critical (above reproach, committed to his
spouse, clear-thinking, self-controlled, well-
respected, friendly, not influenced by alcoholic
drinks, not violent or argumentative, not greedy,
caring for his children, and having a good
reputation among the unchurched). Fourth, he
must have the ability to teach. (Deacons, whose
requirements are listed in the next verses, are
not required to have teaching ability.) Titus
1:5–7 shares a similar list for elders, but it adds
the ability to rebuke false teaching. When Peter
wrote to this group of church leaders, he called
himself a “fellow elder” ( 1 Peter 5:1 ).
The earliest writings of the church fathers also
seem to confirm this role of bishops as the
teaching leaders who served alongside deacons
to oversee the church. Both Clement of Rome
(c. 95) and the Didache referred to elders and
deacons from the late first century to the early
second century as the church’s leaders.
Over time, additional layers of leadership were
added to the church. Eventually, the term
bishop came to be applied to a regional church
leader who administered many churches. At the
Council of Nicea in AD 325, the church leader of
each city or area represented his region’s
churches. These leaders were referred to as
“bishops.” Many Christian traditions continue to
embrace this role of bishops today.
However, the biblical teaching is that elders and
deacons lead local churches. The elder was also
known as a bishop or pastor and functioned in
that role. This does not make additional church
leadership roles wrong (to meet important
needs for regional or national leadership among
groups of churches), but indicates that
Scripture points to elders and deacons as the
local church leaders.
