Titus 1:7 (WEB)

Passage

For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;

Nearby Context

Titus 1:5 I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking, and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you;

Titus 1:6 if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of loose or unruly behavior.

Titus 1:7 For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;

Titus 1:8 but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober minded, fair, holy, self-controlled;

Titus 1:9 holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "overseer", "must", "blameless", "steward", "self-pleasing", "easily", "angered", and "given". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "overseer" and "must", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "if anyone is blameless the husband of..." into verse 8's "but given to hospitality a lover of...", so "overseer" and "must" belong inside that flow. In Titus context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "overseer" and "must" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.