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1 Timothy 3:4
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4 One that ruleth [proistemi] well [kalos] his own [idios] house, [oikos] having [echo] his children [teknon] in [en] subjection [hupotage] with [meta] all [pas] gravity; [semnotes] KJV-Interlinear
4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity NASB
No person can guarantee absolute control over the lives and destinies of his family, for they all have free will, and the right to make up their own minds about their lives, even if their choices are not good ones.
Even Jesus had siblings who rejected Him initially, as their savior. That would be a difficult position for any brother or sister to be in, knowing that your brother was God. But they eventually came around and were saved.
Paul, as we have already studied, was never married, and certainly led an unsavory life prior to his being saved. So ones past or married or single life, are not really the issue either.
Here, Paul lists some more attributes that the successful pastor, teacher, overseer, must possess.
And note that the reference to children, does not prohibit the pastor, teacher, etc. from being married.
He must have a well run home, not as home that in chaos.
And by this, the leader must have some semblance of order, respect, integrity and so forth within his household. One that pursues scriptural principles and does not tolerate anti-God sentiment.
And even though we are writing about instructors of scripture, these principles apply to all leaders, whether parents, academic teachers, government officials, coaches, etc. Anyone who has authority over others in any capacity, needs to have a sound foundation of doctrinal principles which govern his own life as well as that of his family, and he needs to practice what he/she preaches.
His lifestyle must be consistent with Biblical principles.
God warned us to not be tempted by, nor even try to imitate, evil, lest we be influenced by evil, Lev. 18:3, Deu. 18:9, Prov. 22:24-25, Prov. 29:12.
One of the greatest assets that an instructor has, is his example. And his greatest objective in instruction, is his influence.
If his content is just, then those that learn from him will have a good example and therefore will learn and adopt good habits for themselves.
With those assets, then students will have been successfully taught and will possess the tools for their own success.
It is not enough to simply go over material and then ignore what sticks and what does not. Remember that students do not know as much as the instructor, therefore it is upon the instructor to find ways of teaching such that the students will not only learn, not only comprehend, but will possess the knowledge such that they can apply it in life.
If the instructor has students that end up with A’s, B’s, and C’s, etc., than he needs to get them all to A’s. That comes only with innovation in teaching skills, and lots of repetition, and patience.
It is the same in ones home.
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