“For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;”
For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach — he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain — the episkopos (overseer/bishop) is explicitly characterized as God's steward (oikonomos theou), emphasizing fiduciary responsibility before the divine master. The vices catalogued (arrogance, anger, drunkenness, violence, greed) represent failures of self-control contrary to the eusebeia the letter promotes. The stewardship language implies the elder holds Christ's household in trust.
Church Fathers on Titus 1:7
For a ruler without, as he rules by law and compulsion, perhaps does not consult the wishes of those under his rule. But he who ought to rule men with their own consent, and who will be thankful for his rule, if he so conduct himself as to do everything of his own will, and share counsels with no one, makes his presidency tyrannical rather than popular. For he must be “blameless, as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry.” For how shall he instruct others to rule…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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