The following is a brief paper assignment from my practical theology class. The task was to do a word study on one of the qualifications of elders. Don't put too much stock in my "scholarship," but maybe you will find it edifying as I did.

“He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.” (1 Tim 3:6)

Though I am not a particularly new convert, I believe that by nature of being a young man, the danger of being “puffed up with conceit” is a very real pitfall to which I am prone. As I make slow progress in my walk with the Lord and personal sanctification, I find every gain and triumph to be accompanied with a corresponding arrogance. For example, as of late, the depth of my prayer life has grown, and I have felt a nearness to the Lord that I have not had before with such consistency. However, the correlation to this is that I find within me a dark tendency to gauge the spirituality of others, and deem myself the greater Christian. I believe this is precisely what the apostle Paul is warning Timothy of.

The Greek verb tuphow carries two meanings. The first meaning is that of being puffed up, or conceited. A second is to be blind or to become foolish. The verb occurs three times in the New Testament, all within Paul’s letters to Timothy.

Here in 1 Timothy 3:6, the meaning is probably best understood as the primary meaning; that of being puffed up with conceit. Similarly, in 2 Timothy 3:4, the verb is used, but here is applied to describing the character of those who will appear in the last times. These are men characterized with corrupt minds who are opposed to the truth. It is striking to note that this characteristic of conceit is shared between the hardened darkened men prophesied to come in the last times, and the men who Paul must warn Timothy about; men who will be seeking leadership within the church.

The third usage of the word occurs in 1 Timothy 6:4. Although some translations take the same meaning here as the other two occurrences, it may be better understood here in terms of the second meaning – to be blinded or to become foolish. Here it is applied to men who teach different doctrine, not in accord with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It can be seen that failing to teach the truth would certainly correspond with more than arrogance, but in fact be linked to spiritual blindness or foolishness. When Christ came to his disciples in the upper room after his resurrection in Luke 24, he “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…” The men referenced here in 1 Timothy 6:4 are blinded, with minds that have not truly been opened up to the Scriptures by the power of the Spirit, and thus they teach false doctrine.

Returning to the primary passage under consideration, I believe we may take both meanings of the word into account in order to color our understanding. The first meaning does seem to make the most sense contextually. Yet, we must ask, why is it that the recent convert is liable to becoming puffed up with conceit? Surely it is linked to the fact that though he is regenerate and the light of truth has shown, still there is blindness that remains and only fades away through year after year of the power of the gospel, creating truth in the innermost part.

In view of this deeper understanding of the term, it is apparent that the struggle in my heart against pride is not simply a struggle against conceit, but also a battle for the truth of the gospel. A seasoned saint recognizes instantly that though he is given victory in Christ over sin, yet he is still the foremost of sinners. He knows also that although he has run hard in his race, there is a host of witnesses before him who have run harder and farther, and none come close to the Champion of the race, who is Christ. He also is wise enough to know that the very people who he may be proud over are the very people whose faithful prayers on his behalf are securing the grace of God for the ground he is taking in his spiritual life!

And so, the knowledge that comes through years of life in the gospel works against the blindness of the human heart and the resulting conceit. Yet I take heart that it is not simply a matter of waiting around for the years to pass so that Godly wisdom will come to my heart, but rather I am told that if I ask I shall receive from him “who gives generously to all without reproach.” And so I must repent again and again, fighting the good fight of faith against conceit, and learning with Paul to say “Wretched man that I am!” and yet “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”