c. The identity of the specific gifts requisite for the pastoral office
1) Those gifts which find expression in the disposition, capabilities, and acquisitions of the mind
disposition
capabilities
acquisitions
a) A mind which is reverently and lovingly submissive to the absolute authority of the Scriptures as the inerrant Word of God
Titus 1:9
1 Cor. 14:37
1 Thess. 2:13
1 Cor. 2:12-13
Jn. 17:8
Jer. 15:16
2 Tim. 2:2
1 Tim. 4:6, 11
2 Tim. 4:2
Is. 66:2
b) A mind furnished with a grasp upon the basic contents of Scripture, i.e., a general familiarity with the substance of the Bible in one’s native language
2 Tim. 2:15
Acts 18:24
c) A mind furnished with a basic understanding of and a love for the meaning, interrelatedness, and self-consistency of Scripture
2 Pet. 3:16
2 Cor. 4:2
2 Tim. 1:13
John Owen, The Church and the Bible, vol. 16 of The Works of John Owen (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), pp. 81-82.
Robert L. Dabney, “Uses and Results of Church History,” in Discussions: Evangelical and Theological, vol. 2 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), pp. 12-13.
This principle shows the necessity of a fundamental grasp of the various theological disciplines such as Biblical Theology, Systematic Theology, Historical Theology, and Experimental Theology.
d) A mind furnished with the necessary tools and spiritual dexterity to discover and make plain the meaning and application of Scripture
2 Tim. 3:16-17
2 Tim. 2:7
1 Tim. 3:2
Titus 1:9
e) A mind disposed to and furnished with sound practical judgment
1 Tim. 3:2
Titus 1:8
Samuel Miller, The Duty of the Church to Take Measures for Providing an Able and Faithful Ministry (Dallas: Presbyterian Heritage Publications, 1984), pp. 7, 8-9. See also John Owen, The Church and the Bible, vol. 16 of The Works of John Owen, p. 86.