CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
1 Timothy 3:8. Deacons.—Originally dispensers of the Church’s bounty, they came to be regarded as the subordinates of the presbyters. Not greedy.—Like the first purser of the Church.
1 Timothy 3:10. First be proved.—In allusion to what is said of the bishop in 1 Timothy 3:6. Their qualifications for the office must be self-evident.
1 Timothy 3:11. Even so must their wives.—As “their” is entirely imported and the original does not distinguish them as wives, the R.V. gives “Women in like manner.” More probably they were deaconesses.
1 Timothy 3:13. Used the office of a deacon well.—R.V. “served well as deacons.” Purchase to themselves a good degree.—R.V. “gain to themselves a good standing”—not simply preferment; the gain is spiritual, as is intimated by the next phrase.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 1 Timothy 3:8-13
Qualifications of New Testament Deacons.
I. They must be men of good character and behaviour (1 Timothy 3:8).—The deacons answer to the chazzan of the synagogue—the attendant ministers or subordinate coadjutors of the presbyter. Their duty was to read the Scriptures in the Church, to instruct the catechumens in Christian truths, to assist the presbyters at the sacraments, to receive oblations, and to preach and instruct. To the other qualifications belonging to the bishops, the deacons were required to be circumspect in speech. “Not double-tongued”—not saying one thing to this person and another to that person. The extensive personal intercourse that deacons would have with members of the Church might prove a temptation to such a fault. “Not given to much wine.” He who would not merely aid poverty, but as far as possible heal it, must be himself a pattern of temperance. “Not greedy of filthy lucre.” Any who was capable of this would soon appropriate dishonestly the gifts entrusted to him for the poor. All gain is base which is set before a man as a by-end in his work for God. The deacon’s office of collecting and distributing alms would render this uncovetous spirit a necessary qualification.
II. They must be men holding clear and conscientious views of Divine truth.—“Holding the mystery of the faith in a good conscience” (1 Timothy 3:9). The mystery of the faith is like a treasure in the actual possession of the deacons, and the coffer in which it is best preserved is a good conscience. Having a firm hold of the truth themselves and realising its power in their hearts, they must illustrate it in their lives and actions.
III. They must be men whose fidelity has been tested.—“And let these also first be proved” (1 Timothy 3:10). Their character is to be carefully inquired into, and the investigation being favourable, they are then to be appointed deacons. In this way the unworthy were kept from office. The office required one of tried and well-ascertained fidelity.
IV. They must be men whose married and family life is without reproach (1 Timothy 3:11-12).—The character not only of the wives of the deacons, but also of deaconesses, is referred to here. The same qualifications are required in female deacons as in deacons, only with such modifications as the difference of sex suggested. “Not slanderers”—not devils, as they undoubtedly would be if guilty of lying and slander. “Sober”—answering to “not given to much wine.” “Faithful in all things”—in little as well as great. The deacons must be husbands of one wife—not marrying a second time; and must show competency for their duty in the Church by ruling their own households well. The domestic virtues of deacons must not be inferior to that of presbyters. Care of their own children was doubtless the best preparatory school for care of the poor and sick.
V. Fidelity in their office will ensure their advancement and stability in the truth.—“For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ” (1 Timothy 3:13). Those who faithfully discharge the duties of the diaconate acquire for themselves a good standing-place, a well-founded hope of salvation against the day of judgment. A faithful fulfilment of our calling in the Church of Christ is the means blessed by Him to win here as in eternity a good degree of growth and of salvation (Lange, Fausset). It seems most agreeable to our conceptions of justice, and is consonant enough to the language of Scripture, to suppose that there are prepared for us rewards and punishments of all possible degrees, from the most exalted happiness to the extremest misery, so that our labour is never in vain: whatever our advancement in virtue, we procure a proportionable accession of future happiness (Paley).
Lessons.—
1. Church work affords spheres of special usefulness.
2. Work for God demands the highest moral qualifications.
3. Work done for the Church helps the growth of personal godliness.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Timothy 3:8-13. Church Officers—
I. Should be sedate in behaviour (1 Timothy 3:8; 1 Timothy 3:11).
II. Irreproachable in life (1 Timothy 3:8; 1 Timothy 3:11)
III. Conscientious in maintaining the faith (1 Timothy 3:9).
IV. Should be submitted to preparatory tests (1 Timothy 3:10).
V. Exemplary in home life (1 Timothy 3:12).
VI. Are rewarded for their fidelity (1 Timothy 3:13).