The passage
      v1. Paul begins by quoting a saying common in the early church. If anyone aspires to a high office in the church, they aspire to a noble position.
      v2-7. Paul now lists the qualifications of the senior pastor. This person was later given the title of "bishop", but in the New Testament church they were often called "elders". This person, the episkopos, probably aligns with today's senior minister/priest. The list of qualifications touches on personal morality, even the perception of morality ie. being of good reputation, as well as possessing people skills, particularly the ability to teach. The list of qualifications is as follows:
        i] Irreproachable - beyond criticism; ii] A person faithful to their marriage vows. This injunction has many different interpretations, but "not sleeping around" is probably the gist of it; iii] Self controlled. Literally meaning "temperate"; iv] Thoughtful; v] Well behaved, virtuous; vi] Hospitable; vii] Able to teach. cf. Tit.2:24, 2Tim.2:24;
        viii] Not abrasive. Literally meaning not "overindulging in wine"; ix] Not pugnacious, violent; x] Peaceable, not quarrelsome; xi] Content, not a lover of money, not greedy;
        xii] The person must show that they can manage their own family, because if they can't, then they have no place managing the church.
        xiii] Mature in the faith. A new convert is liable to be puffed up with their importance and this could undermine their faith in Christ.
        xiv] Beyond reproach in the eyes of the wider secular society. A prominent person with "history" will inevitably be harshly judged.
      v8-12. The next office, for which Paul lists qualifications, although without a description of the office itself, is the deaconos, deacon, minister, or servant. Paul uses this word to describe members of his ministry team, but in the end, we are unsure of the actual function of this New Testament office. Today, we use the term to describe an assistant minister or lay minister. The list of qualifications is as follows:
        i] Respectable; ii] Sincere; iii] Temperate; iv] Content;
        v] A person who continues to hold firmly to the gospel ("deep truths") and expresses this reliance in godly living ("a clear conscience").
        vi] As with a senior pastor, it is necessary to confirm that those who minister are morally beyond reproach.
        vii] In a special note to women who minister, Paul underlines four particular qualities: respectable, not gossipers, self-controled and dependable.
        viii] As an afterthought he adds the qualification on marital fidelity and the good management of the home already demanded of the senior pastor.
      v13. Those who minister well improve their standing and boldness in ministry.

Ministry qualifications
      It would be a fascinating exercise gathering together the types of questions asked candidates for full-time ministry. Each denomination has its selection committee with its own particular set of questions. Imagine the variety! Mind you, when I was a student minister we always said that as long as you didn't fail Greek in the first year of theological college you were "home and hosed." I remember that in my interview I was asked when I had last led someone to Christ. This seemed to be the most important qualification. I had to admit failure, although one of my friends claimed he told the committee that the business of leading people to Christ was a function of the Holy Spirit and not something he was authorized to do; his job was to tell people about Jesus. Too smart by a yard!!!
      In our passage for study, Paul identifies the qualifications necessary for a person who wishes to minister in the church. He doesn't actually define the office as such, so we are not exactly sure what positions the episkopos and deaconos held in the New Testament church. Our guess is that Paul is speaking about roles similar to our senior ordained pastor, or priest, and assistant ministers, both ordained and lay.
      The qualifications are quite interesting and are obviously the ones a selection committee should use when interviewing people who have offered themselves for ministry in the church.
      What we need to do now is take the time to go through the list of qualifications and consider each one individually. Note how the moral qualifications for the person the NIV calls "the overseer", the person we would call the senior pastor or priest, are somewhat more stringent than the "deacons", the assistant ministers. Observe the expectation that the senior minister be able to teach and note also the weight given to their public profile; they must be above reproach. Note also the personal-faith, gospel orientation, management skills and people-person qualities necessary for those who wish to exercise a ministry in the Christian church.
      So there we have it, the right questions for a selection committee.

v2
      oun "now" - therefore. Given that the task of overseer is a noble one, "therefore" the overseer/bishop must.....
      dei "must" - it necessary. A necessary consequence flowing from v1, "must of necessity be ....."
      episkopon (oV) sing. "overseer" - elder, bishop, overseer, guardian. In secular society the word is used of a civil functionary. The singular use here may indicate a class of administrators/overseers.
      anepilhmpton adj. "above reproach" - blameless, irreproachable. Not open to criticism. Probably referring to a past history that would offend. Possessing a bit of history does not bar a person from the Christian fellowship, nor even the exercise of some particular ministry, but it does bar someone from a "headship" role in the church.
      miaV gunaikoV andra "the husband of one wife" - a man of one woman. Numerous possible meanings are proposed: he must be married, not a polygamist, not divorced, or remarried, or as Theodore of Mopseustia said "a man who having contracted a monogamous marriage is faithful to his marriage vows." Given the high ethical standard demanded of the office, the last option is probably Paul's intention. There is a question as to the commencement of these high expectations and most commentators assume they apply from conversion onward. This does seem rather arbitrary, given that stupidity is not unilaterally excised by the Holy Spirit at conversion, or that God does not make a distinction between the forgiveness of sins pre or post conversion. Anyway, if a persecutor of the church can become an apostle, then there is hope for all of us.
      nhfalion adj. "temperate" - Normally used of temperate in the use of alcohol, but here probably in a figurative sense, "self-controlled."
      swfrona adj. "self-controlled" - An aspect of "self-controlled", so possibly "thoughtful".
      kosmion adj. "respectable" - respectable, modest, well-behaved, virtuous.
      didaktikon adj. "able to teach" - Obviously an important ability for an overseer, cf. Tit.2:24, 2Tim.2:24.

v3
      mh paroinon "not given to drunkenness" - Probably "not given to too much wine" rather than drunkenness, but also possibly figurative, eg. "abrasive"
      amacon adj. "not quarrelsome" - peaceable, uncontentious
      afilarguron adj. "not a lover of money" - content, not greedy

v4
      proistamenon (proisthmi) pres. part. "manage" - managing. The word takes two meanings, "direct/lead" and "care". Both meanings may be present here. Some argue that pastoral care is more likely the sense here than administration.
      oikou (oV) gen. "household" - of house = family
      kalwV adv. "well" - The overseer must be able to show that he can manage/care for his family "well", that he does a good job of it. When done well, his children respect him. If he can handle his family, he can handle the church.
      tekna (on) "children" - The presence of children is presumed, here young children still under the authority of their parents, but their presence is surely not a requirement.
      en uJpotogh/ (h) "obey" - in subjection, subordination, obedience. The actual sense of the word is conveyed in the following phrase, lit. "with all respect" - the dignity, seriousness, respectfulness, probity... the children show their father (although the phrase can refer to the two-way aspect of the relationship).

v5
      ei + ind. "if" - Introducing a conditional sentence where the condition is assumed to be true. The apodosis is in the form of a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer. "If a person is unable to manage/care for their own family, how could they expect to be allowed to care for the church family?"
      epimelhsetai (epimeleomai) fut. "can he take care of" - will he care for? The only other use of this verb in the New Testament is found in the parable of the Good Samaritan and is used of the care given by the Good Samaritan. This rather powerful linkage gives weight to the sense of "care", rather than "leadership", as the quality required of the overseer.

v6
      mh neofuton adj. "he must not be a recent convert" - not newly planted. Not a new convert to the faith.
      iJna mh + subj. - Introducing a purpose clause expecting a negative intention, "lest .... he might fall ...."
      tufwqeiV (tufow) pas. part. "he may become conceited" - having become conceited, puffed up. Referring to the danger of power going to the head of a young person.
      empesh/ (empiptw) aor. subj. "fall under" - he might fall. Figuratively used of coming under the influence of sin, falling into temptation.
      eiV krima (a atoV) "the same judgment [as the devil]" - into judgment, condemnation, judicial verdict [of the devil]. It is possible that "of the devil" is a subjective genitive, ie. the judgment is administered by the devil, it is the devil's judgment, possibly "slander". Yet, it is more likely objective; the judgment has already been received by the devil. NIV has "the same judgment", given that the word "judgment" does not carry a definite article. The timing of the devils judgment carries the typical "now / not yet" eschatology of the New Testament. The devil is judged, condemned and defeated, but we still experience his death-throws.

v7
      marturian kalhn "a good reputation" - a testimony good. "Beyond reproach." The meaning of "testimony" here is that which is said of a person on the basis of an evaluation of their conduct*.
      apo twn exwqen "with outsiders" - from the ones outside. The overseer must be regarded highly by non Christians.
      iJna mh + subj. "so that" - lest. The use again of a negated purpose clause. The overseer is to be of "good reputation" lest so and so happens.
      oneidismon (oV) "disgrace" - reproach, disgrace, insult. If the overseer is not of the highest moral standing in the eyes of the wider community, then that community will inevitably judge everything he does harshly. Grammatically, the "reproach" could be "of the devil", but is more likely from the secular community.
      pagida tou diabolou "the devil's trap" - the snare of the evil one. The unfavorable onslaught of a secular community will inevitably tempt an overseer to handle the truth lightly, lose his head, and so follow the devil's lead.

v8
      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 used of "servant/minister" to describe members of his missionary team, but in the end we will never know.
      wJsautwV adv. "likewise, [are to be]" - The "it is necessary", along with the verb to-be in v2, carries to this verse.
      semnouV (oV) "men worthy of respect" - respectable, serious, worthy. "Men" is assumed.
      mh dilogous (oV) "sincere" - not two-faced, double-tonged. This is the first of thee negative qualities to be avoided.
      prosecontaV (prosecw) pres. part. "[not] indulging [in much wine]" - paying attention to, devoting oneself to, occupying oneself with. "Not enslaved to much wine", Tit.2:3.
      aiscrokerdeiV adj. "pursuing dishonest gain" - greedy. Not greedy, content, not into ministry for financial gain.

v9
      econtaV (ecw) pres. part. "they must keep hold of" - having, keeping, preserving. Although a statement that the deacons possess the gospel, 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 NIV "deep truths" is an unfortunate stab in the dark.
      thV pistewV (iV ewV) "of the faith" - An objective genitive: the gospel is the content of "the faith" (the Christian faith).
      en "with" - in. The preposition here is best translated in the sense of attending circumstances. 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.

v10
      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 test the qualifications of a deacon.
      dokimazesqwsan (dokimazw) pas. imp. "they must [first] be tested" - let them be tested, checked-out, evaluated
      anegklhtoi (oV) "nothing against them" - blameless. The purpose of the test 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?

v11
      wJsautwV "in the same way" - likewise. A word that both compares, but also distinguishes from what has gone before.
      gunaikoV (h aikoV) "their wives" - women. The NIV takes a punt with "their wives" with the "their" not in the Greek. These "women" may be the wives of the deacons or a ministry order in their own right, either assisting a male deaconate or independent of it, eg. deaconesses. Of course, it can be argued that the reference is simply an additional note to those deacons who are female (horror or horrors!!!). Given the cultural setting, it would be unlikely that these women were married, although they could be widows.
      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" - temperate in the intake of alcohol. Probably figurative here, "self-controlled."
      pistaV adj. "trustworthy [in everything]" - faithful [in all things]. "Dependable".

v12
      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. At best it reads as if they are a sub group, although there is no theological reason for reading this arrangement as anything more than an expression of first century culture.