http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1208
Elders, Deacons, Timothy, and Wine
Paul’s instructions pertaining to the qualifications of elders and
deacons have created misunderstanding regarding the use of alcoholic
beverages. Elders are not to be “given to wine” (1 Timothy 3:3), while
deacons are not to be “given to much wine” (1 Timothy 3:8). Translations
further obscure the matter by their variety of terminology. The
ASV has “no brawler” (vs. 3) and “not given to much wine” (vs. 8). The
NIV has “not given to much wine” (vs. 3) and “not indulging in much wine” (vs. 8). The
NASB
has “not addicted to wine” (vs. 3) and “not addicted to much wine” (vs.
8). So the question is: does 1 Timothy 3:8 sanction moderate alcohol
use?
The phrase in verse three consists of two Greek words (
me paroinos)
and, literally translated, means “not beside, by, or at wine” (Vine,
1966, p. 146; Robertson, 1934, p. 613). The phrase is enjoining
abstinence, and perhaps even the act of situating oneself in the
presence of people and places where the consumption of alcoholic
beverages is occurring. The
ASV translated the
expression “brawler” to emphasize the violent behavior that proceeds
from the use of alcohol. Calling for elders to be abstinent is
consistent with other terms used in the same listing:
nephalion (1 Timothy 3:2)—“free from intoxicants” and “abstinent in respect to wine” (Perschbacher, 1990, p. 284), and
sophrona
(Titus 1:8)—“of a sound mind, temperate” (Perschbacher, p. 400),
“soberminded” (Moulton and Milligan, 1930, p. 622), “self-controlled”
(Arndt and Gingrich, 1957, p. 810). Elders must refrain from the use of
intoxicants, and they must not associate with places and people who do
use them.
In verse eight, the four words used to qualify deacons on this point (
me oino pollo prosechontas)
are literally translated “not wine much occupied with” (cf.
Perschbacher, p. 352; Spain, 1970, p. 64). Does the use of the word
“much” mean that deacons may imbibe a
moderate amount of wine? At least three alternative interpretations are possible.
First, when Solomon said, “Do not be overly wicked” (Ecclesiastes 7:17—
NKJV [“overwicked”—
NIV; “overmuch wicked”—
ASV]), did he mean to imply that a person can, with God’s approval, be
moderately
wicked? When Peter noted that pagans do not understand why Christians
do not engage in the “same excess of riot” (1 Peter 4:4), did he mean
moderate rioting was appropriate? In other words, language can forthrightly condemn an
excessive indulgence or great amount of an action without implying that the action is permissible in a
lesser
amount or to a lesser degree. One cannot assume that what is unlawful
in excess is lawful in smaller amounts. We can refer to a person’s
frequent
involvement in a certain activity (e.g., adultery) without intending to
leave the impression that a more moderate participation in the action
would be proper. Albert Barnes addressed this point succinctly:
It is not affirmed that it would be proper for the deacon, any more
than the bishop, to indulge in the use of wine in small quantities, but
it is affirmed that a man who is much given to the use of wine ought
not, on any consideration, to be a deacon (1977, p. 148).
The word in verse eight translated “given to” (
KJV, NKJV, ASV), or “indulging in” (
NIV), or “addicted to” (
RSV), is
prosecho. It is used elsewhere in 1 Timothy (1:4) and in Titus (1:14) to refer to those who “give heed to” (
KJV), or “occupy themselves with” (
RSV), or “pay attention to” (
NASB) Jewish myths. Who would draw the conclusion that Paul intended to encourage Christians to give
some attention to Jewish myths, just not
too much attention?
Consequently, Paul was spotlighting an individual who is known for
drinking freely of alcoholic beverages. He was saying that no such
person should be put into the eldership. A parallel would be to make an
observation about a person who carouses and parties
every night—“do not put such a man into the eldership!” But the speaker hardly would mean that one who parties less frequently, say
on weekends only,
would be acceptable. Paul no more intended to suggest that leaders in
the church who use small amounts of alcohol are suited to their role
than Mosaic law would have permitted priests to do so (Leviticus 10:9).
Barnes commented: “The way in which the apostle mentions the subject
here would lead us fairly to suppose that he did not mean to commend its
use in any sense” (1977, p. 144).
A second possibility is that the terminology that Paul used was a loose
form of speech (Bacchiocchi, 1989, p. 250). Both Greek and Hebrew
manifest such tendencies. For example, “three days and three nights” was
a loose form of speech used in antiquity to refer to two days and a
portion of a third (Bullinger, 1898, pp. 845-847; Robertson, 1922, pp.
289-291). Later in the same letter, Paul instructed Timothy to “use a
little wine” for his stomach and infirmities (5:23). It is not a
foregone conclusion that the “wine” Paul commended to Timothy was
inebriating, since evidence from antiquity exists to suggest that he was
referring to the addition of grape juice to Timothy’s drinking water
for medicinal purposes (see Lees, 1870, p. 374). Even if, however, Paul
meant for Timothy to add
fermented (i.e., intoxicating) juice to
his diet, he nevertheless implied: (1) that Timothy had been abstinent
up to that point; (2) that the quantity he was now to add to his diet
was to be “
a little”; (3) that the juice was to be
diluted with water; (4) that its use was strictly
medicinal in nature—not social, casual, or recreational; and (5) that it took the directive of an
apostle
for Timothy to introduce its use into his life and body. [Incidentally,
one must not automatically assume that it was the wine that possessed
medicinal properties. The wine may have simply been the antiseptic means
to purify the polluted water that Timothy had been drinking by killing
germs and bacterial organisms, thereby reducing their ill effect on
Timothy’s fragile stomach—in which case, Paul was not commending wine;
he was commending a method for cleansing contaminated water]. If Paul
sanctioned the use of alcohol only on the qualifications that it was in
small quantities, and that it was for medicinal purposes, why would he
then turn right around and sanction deacons drinking alcohol in larger
amounts—avoiding only
excess?
The inconsistency of this viewpoint becomes exceedingly apparent when one compares Paul’s instructions to different Christians:
Elders (1 Timothy 3:2-3)—abstain (nephalios); don’t even be near it (me paroinon)
Deacons (1 Timothy 3:8)—drink moderately (me oino pollo)
Wives (1 Timothy 3:11)—abstain (nephalious)
Aged men (Titus 2:2)—abstain (nephalious)
Aged women (Titus 2:3)—drink moderately (me oino pollo)
In view of these inconsistencies, “much wine” must be a loose form of
speech intended to express complete restraint in the use of wine.
A third possible interpretation of this verse concerns the meaning of the term “wine.” Unlike the English word (which
always connotes an alcoholic beverage), the Greek word
oinos is a
generic term that includes
all forms of the grape (cf. Lees, 1870, pp. 431ff.). The term
oinos was used by the Greeks to refer to
unfermented
grape juice every bit as much as fermented juice. Consequently, the
interpreter must examine the biblical context in order to determine
whether fermented or unfermented liquid is intended. In light of this
realization, some have suggested that Paul instructed the elders to
refrain completely from alcoholic beverages, while deacons, on the other
hand, were being instructed to engage in a moderate use of
nonalcoholic grape juice. At least three lines of argumentation are evident for this interpretation.
First, in the Old Testament, the generic Hebrew term that is equivalent to
oinos is
yayin. Some passages praise the ingestion of
yayin
(Song of Solomon 5:1; Psalm 104:15; Ecclesiastes 9:7), while others
condemn it (Proverbs 20:1; 31:4). The only plausible explanation is that
the former is a reference to grape juice, while the latter is a
reference to grape juice that has been transformed into an alcoholic
beverage.
Second, only in Timothy and Titus is the word “much” used—as if the secret to pleasing God lies in the
quantity
of liquid ingested. If fermented juice were intended, the same
distinction surely would have been made in the Old Testament. No such
distinction is made. But if
nonalcoholic grape juice is intended in Timothy and Titus, the intent of the qualification shifts from the
level of intoxication to the matter of
liquid gluttony. In that case, Paul intended to require moderation in the intake of
nonalcoholic liquids.
Third, biblical warnings against the excessive intake of food and
liquid are legion (e.g., Deuteronomy 21:20; Proverbs 23:20; 1
Corinthians 11:21-22; Titus 1:12). Solomon even applied the principle to
honey (Proverbs 25:27). To understand Paul to be enjoining moderate use
of a good gift from God (i.e., grape juice) is consistent with the
context that is riddled with references to self-control, temperance, and
moderation (e.g., 1 Timothy 3:2,11). It also fits the social conditions
extant in Greco-Roman culture in which intemperance was rampant.
In addition to the above considerations, one must keep in mind that
even if it could be proved that God sanctioned moderate drinking of
alcoholic beverages in the Bible, it does not follow that God sanctions
drinking modern “wine,” since the wine referred to in the Bible was
unlike the wine of our day. Wine in antiquity was
far less potent.
One would have had to ingest large quantities in order to receive even
minimal alcoholic content. The ancients typically had to add drugs to
their drinks to increase their intoxicating potency. In light of all
these considerations, the view that maintains that deacons may drink
moderate amounts of alcoholic beverages is precarious, dangerous, and
biblically unsubstantiated.
REFERENCES
Arndt, William and F.W. Gingrich (1957),
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press).
Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1989),
Wine in the Bible (Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical Perspectives).
Barnes, Albert (1977 reprint),
Notes on the New Testament: Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus and Philemon (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
Bullinger, E.W. (1898),
Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1968 reprint).
Lees, Frederic R. (1870),
The Temperance Bible-Commentary (New York: Weed, Parsons, and Co.).
Moulton, James and George Milligan (1930),
Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and Other Non-literary Sources (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982 reprint).
Perschbacher, Wesley J., ed. (1990),
The New Analytical Greek Lexicon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).
Robertson, A.T. (1922),
A Harmony of the Gospels (New York: Harper and Row).
Robertson, A.T. (1934),
A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville, TN: Broadman).
Spain, Carl (1970),
The Letters of Paul to Timothy and Titus (Austin, TX: Sweet).
Vine, W.E. (1966 reprint),
An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell).
