1 Timothy

3:7-13

3. Qualifications for church leaders, 3:1-13

ii] Deacons

This passage lists qualities which should be present in a person seeking to perform the task of a deacon / minister in the church. The list consists of qualities, not duties. The list is similar to those for overseers / bishops, bishop's wives and also for presbyters in Titus 1:6-9. The word diakonoV is rarely used in the NT in a technical sense, as here, and so we are unsure of the actual function of this person in the NT church. The word simply means "servant / one who serves / one who ministers / one who cares", so there is little to indicate that this person performs anything more than an assisting role to the overseer in matters such as financial support, social care, .... ie. the deacon exercises "a variety of specific activities that are linked primarily by their practical character", Johnson, cf. Rom.16:1, Phil.1:1. The Acts 6 reference to deacons is most likely not technical. It is clear that these ministering functionaries were soon given a specific role in the early church, cf. Ignatius, The Didache, Polycarp.

In this passage Paul continues to deal with organizational matters in the church, or as Barrett calls it, "the ordering of Christian life", 2:1 to 6:21.

diakonouV (oV) "deacons" - Again, Paul does not describe the office itself, but rather lists qualifications for the office. So, as with "overseer", we are left with little knowledge of this first century church order. Whereas an "overseer" seems to function as a teaching elder exercising both oversight and instruction, the function of a "deacon" is less clear. A teaching role is not mentioned, but they must "keep hold" of Biblical truth and be "tested", which requirements would surely apply to an overseer as well. It would be nice if the appointment of "the seven" for "the service of the word" in Acts 6 recorded the foundation of the office, or even Paul's use of "servant/minister" to describe members of his missionary team, but in the end we will never know. "Helpers", Johnson.

wJsautwV adv. "likewise" - in the same way, in like manner. "Deacons in the same way must be", Cassirer.

"are to be" - Although a new sentence, the following adjective is still controlled by dei .... einai, v2, "to be respectable is necessary for deacons."

semnouV (oV) "men worthy of respect" - respectable, serious, worthy. "Men" is assumed "Deacons in the same way must be dignified", Cassirer.

mh dilogous (oV) "sincere" - not two-faced, double-tonged. This is the first of thee negative qualities to be avoided which probably explain what being "respectable" means.

prosecontaV (prosecw) pres. part. "[not] indulging [in much wine]" - paying attention to, devoting oneself to, occupying oneself with. The participial phrase stands in the place of an infinitival phrase, subject of the verb "is necessary", v2; "to not indolge in much wine is necssary for deacons." Possibly "addicted", BAGD, so "not enslaved to much wine", Tit.2:3.

aiscrokerdeiV adj. "pursuing dishonest gain" - greedy. Not greedy, content, not into ministry for financial gain.

Added to the qualification of "worthy of respect" is a Christian responsibility, namely "holding the mystery of the faith."

econtaV (ecw) pres. part. "they must keep hold of" - having, keeping, preserving. The participle has the same function as "indulging" in v8. The force of the present continuous, "keeping hold of", and the imperatival context, produces the injunction, "they must keep hold of / preserve."

to musthrion (on) "deep truths" - mystery. The mystery is a truth hidden and now revealed, namely "the gospel", "the mystery of (which consists of) the gospel", Eph.6:19, "the revelation of Christ ...... the Christ who is proclaimed", Marshall, The NIV "deep truths" is an unfortunate stab in the dark, so better "the unique mystery of the faith", Junkins, or better still just "the gospel."

thV pistewV (iV ewV) "of the faith" - It is likely that the genitive is adjectival, appositional, "the mystery (gospel) that is faith", Johnson, such that "faith / the faith" is "the content of what is believed", Marshall, also Mounce, Towner. This seems more likely than "faithfulness" or "faith as an act of believing". The presence, or otherwise, of the article seems to be arbitrary in the Pastorals and so does not help with our understanding of the intended sense. So, the sense is "the revealed truth of (which consists of) the Christian faith (that which is believed)", Knight. Conzelmann is probably right when he notes that the phrase "mystery of the faith" simply means "a Christian / a believer". Paul is not saying that Deacons should be Christians, such is obvious, but rather, they should be "Christians of good conscience", Conzelmann.

en "with" - in, on. The preposition here is best translated in the sense of an attending circumstance. The deacon must hold onto the gospel "with" a life lived out in accord with the ethical principles of the gospel.

suneidhsei (iV ewV) "conscience" - Here a moral self-consciousness which accords with the deacon's profession of the faith.

kai "-" - and. Possibly "also", referring back to the overseers, thus NEB, "no less than bishops ..." ie. as we would test an overseer's qualifications, so we should test the qualifications of a deacon.

ou|toi pro. "they" - these ones.

dokimazesqwsan (dokimazw) pres. imp. pas. "must [first] be tested" - let them be tested, checked-out, evaluated. Rather than "put on probation", the sense is more likely "they are first to be examined", NJB. o[nteV (eimi) pres. part. "if there is" - being. The participle is adverbial, usually treated as conditional, as NIV.

anegklhtoi (oV) "nothing against them" - blameless. The purpose of the examination is to determine whether they are "beyond reproach", "blameless", probably in a moral sense. Paul may also be thinking of the required qualification set out in v9. Are they really in the faith, gospel focused, cf. 2Cor.13:5?

eita "then" - then.

diakoneitwsan (diakonew) pres. imp. "let them serve as deacons" - let them serve. The present tense, being durative, may express the sense "let them continue to serve." Having proved worthy in their service to the brotherhood, let them continue to so serve; "they can carry out their service", Johnson.

This verse has caused some difficulty. Although often translated "their wives" ("their" is not in the Gk. and if Paul intended "their wives" it is more than likely that he would have used either a possessive pronoun, or an article), the word diakonoV, "deacon", has no feminine form and so if Paul wanted to refer to female deacons he would simple use the word gunh meaning "woman" (but also used of "a wife"). There are references to woman exercising a practical ministry in the NT (eg. Phoebe, Priscilla) and therefore it seems likely that "deacon" encompasses both males and females, with Paul, at this point, identifying some specific qualities that should be evident in a female deacon. The matter is anything but resolved. "Deaconesses", NEB margin, "Women in this office", REB.

wJsautwV "in the same way" - likewise. A word that both compares, but also distinguishes from what has gone before. Since this adverb was used to introduce this unit, "likewise deacons", its use here further supports the view that Paul intends "Likewise deaconesses."

gunaikoV (h aikoV) "their wives" - women. As noted above, the NIV takes a punt with "their wives". These "women" may be the wives of the deacons or deacons in their own right.

"are to be" - Although a new sentence, the following adjective is still controlled by dei .... einai, v2, "to be respectable is necessary for deaconesses."

semnaV adj. "women of respect" - respectable. Again we may have a notable quality which is then defined by the following qualifying adjectives.

mh diabolouV adj. "not malicious talkers" - slanderers. When singular, the word is used as a substantive "the slanderer" = "the devil". Here in the plural, it is best taken as an adjective probably meaning "malicious gossipers"

nhfaliouV adj. "temperate" - Possibly temperate in the intake of alcohol, but better with a figurative sense, "self-controlled."

pistaV adj. "trustworthy [in everything]" - faithful [in all things]. "Dependable".

Note v2 and v4 where the marriage to one wife and the capacity to manage one's family is required of an overseer.

diakonoi "a deacon" - deacons, ministers, servants. This verse reads as an afterthought, a kind of "Oh yes, and also, deacons should be able to demonstrate marital fidelity and the good management of their children and household", just like the overseer. Those wanting to include "the woman" in the deaconate, have to accept that Paul's language here assumes that "deacons" are male and so from a grammatical standpoint it is not easy to argue that women are included in the deaconate as it existed in the New Testament. None-the-less, given that the deaconate in the Pastorals is expressed in the terms of a technical ministry appointment it is more than likely that married women would not be deaconesses. Of course, there would be no theological reason for reading this arrangement as anything more than an expression of first century culture.

gar "for" - Usually expressing cause/reason, although not the reason for the instructions covering the "deacons", but rather their "ground", Marshall. Also possibly indicating the reason for the good service of "those who have served well", Knight, ie. reading forward, rather than back. The NIV understands this verse as expressing the consequence of the good service; they "gain ...." With this approach gar is taken as emphatic. This verse then serves to summarize the instructions in v8-12, so Mounce.

oiJ ....... diakonhsanteV (diakonew) aor. part. "those who have served" - the ones having served [good]. The participle functions as a substantive. Most likely referring to the deacons, "the deacons/ministers who serve in the right way."

peripoiountai (peripoiew) "gain" - purchase, acquire. "Win for themselves a high standing in the church", Barclay.

eJautoiV "-" - Reflexive pronoun, "themselves". "Gain for themselves an ......"

baqmon (oV) "an [excellent] standing" - a [good] step, threshold / grade, rank (a hapax legomenon - once only use in NT). Obviously, figurative of "good/improved standing." Possibly before God, but more likely before the Christian fellowship.

parrhsian (a) "[great] assurance" - [much] boldness, confidence. Is this an assurance before God, or in line with "standing", is it a confidence before the Christian fellowship, or even the wider secular society? The sense of boldness, confidence, openness, .... before others seems best.

en pistei (iV ewV) "in their faith" - in faith. The preposition possibly takes a spherical sense, the standing and assurance operates in the sphere of, or within the influence of, faith in Christ, but may also be causal, "because of their faith in Christ Jesus." "Standing" may not be covered by the prepositional phrase "in their faith", but most likely is. "Faith" is most likely "their faith in Christ Jesus", not "the faith" as in "the Christian faith." So, "faith" in the "sense of confidence in God and assurance of salvation", and "in Christ" expressing "the sphere of this sense of confidence", Marshall.

1 Timothy Introduction

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