<p>3:5 <i>For if a man does not know how to rule his own family, how shall he take care of the church of God?</i>- Maybe the stress is on 'know <i>how</i>'. Timothy as a young parent and husband needed to realize that family life doesn't just happen; there must be a conscious learning <i>how</i> to conduct family life and operationalizing it, rather than just allowing life to take its natural course; which is a frequent reason for the failure of spiritual development in family life.</p><p>Perhaps it should be noted that the bishop&rsquo;s qualification is that he <i>knows</i> how to rule his own house (1 Tim. 3:5). It may be that as with Samuel and other elders, their children or converts do not &lsquo;turn out&rsquo; well. If this is because there was a lack of spiritual leadership, this disqualifies a brother. But if he <i>knew</i> how to rule, but they rebelled, then he is not thereby disqualified. Fathers cannot be held responsible for the spiritual failure of their children in all cases (Jer. 31:29,30; Ez. 18- and the example of Yahweh with Israel). Likewise, Paul was clearly a bishop and yet was single. &ldquo;A bishop <i>must be</i> the husband of one wife&rdquo; therefore requires us to again read in an ellipsis: &lsquo;If he is married he must be&hellip; the husband of one wife&rsquo;.</p>