The biblical requirements for ordination as bishop are found in which passage?

• A. Titus 1:3-9
• B. Romans 12:3-8
• C. 1 Timothy 3:1-7
• D. Deuteronomy 6:5

Answer: (C)

The passage that directly sets the standards for who may be ordained as an overseer (bishop) is Paul’s letter to Timothy. It opens by noting that if someone desires the office of overseer, he desires a noble task, signaling the seriousness of this leadership role. It then provides a clear, practical checklist covering character, family life, and doctrinal reliability: the person should be above reproach and faithful in marriage and family, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, and able to teach. He must not be given to drunkenness or violence, but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not greedy. He must manage his own household well, with children who are obedient, and he must not be a recent convert. A good reputation with outsiders is also required, and he must hold firmly to the trustworthy message so he can exhort with sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

This combination—the office designation and the specific qualifications—makes this passage the clearest biblical basis for ordination as a bishop. Other passages touch related ideas or contexts (for example, Titus 1:3-9 addresses similar qualifications in a different setting, Romans 12:3-8 speaks to gifts and functioning in the body, and Deuteronomy 6:5 is an Old Testament command about love for God), but the Timothy text directly defines the office and the standards for eligibility.