Ministers, in like manner, grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not seeking gain by base means,
The list of qualifications turns here from overseers to a second group. These are men trusted with the practical, everyday affairs of a local gathering. What character does that work demand, and why is it spelled out in such plain terms as speech, drink, and money?
(Note: older translations say "grave" for "dignified" and "filthy lucre" for "dishonest gain".)
The word "deacon" is not a title of rank. It names a job, and Acts 6 shows what that job was.
The deacon is a minister, or one who serves. From Acts 6 we learn that his special work is called "serving tables." As the passage shows, this means meeting the bodily and everyday needs of the assembly. The overseer's work is different: it deals more with spiritual needs. Even so, the deacon still needs spiritual qualifications.
Because the work is local and practical, it does not travel with the man the way a gift does.
A deacon, then, is one that "serves tables" — caring for the bodily needs of the poor believers at the local gathering where he meets, and he serves in everyday, material things... An evangelist, a pastor, or a teacher is a gift everywhere; a deacon holds office — and that for material things — only in his own city or town.
The first word asked of him is a striking one in the original, and it is not a call to gloom.
It carries the meaning of serious, stately, dignified; yet it is not sad. It speaks of kingliness and royalty; it is a word with the majesty of Deity about it. One translator renders it: "The dignity of holiness."
Handling the assembly's business puts a man's speech to the test.
Since the deacons handled the everyday business of the assembly, they needed to be careful. They were not to be double-tongued — saying one thing to a person's face, and another thing behind his back.
Drink and money come last on the list, and both matter for a plain reason.
Again, he must not be given to much wine, nor greedy for dishonest gain. Either would ruin the proper doing of his work, and the confidence he ought to inspire in others.
So the list goes on to say he must be tested first.
They were to be trusted with things that clearly carry a power to tempt, even among Christians. They are to be tested first, and then to serve as men who are blameless and have proved themselves.
The list runs on into the next verse, where the deacon must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
They were not called on to teach the mystery of the faith, but they were required to hold it, and to hold it with a good conscience. The faith had to show itself in their lives, and that was the evidence that they held it in their conscience.
A conscience is inward, but it does not stay hidden.
It is also possible for a man to hold high truth while his practice stays habitually low. That could not be so in a deacon, as it is unworthy of any Christian... Others may not be able to judge the state of his conscience directly, but an inconsistent life is the clearest proof that a man's conscience cannot be pure.
These qualities are not just for office-holders. They are listed here because people watched such men.
We must remember that overseers and deacons were to have this fine Christian character, because they were to set an example to the mass of believers who looked up to them. So all of us reading this chapter today must take these verses as showing the character God wants to see in us. Can we read them without feeling rebuked? What about that greed for money, or the slander, or even being double-tongued — saying one thing in one direction and quite another thing in another? These are searching questions!
- Servant, not rank. "Deacon" means one who serves. The work is caring for the everyday needs of a local gathering, while the overseer cares for spiritual ones.
- Dignified. The word asked of him carries stateliness and the dignity of holiness — serious, but never sad.
- Trusted with words. He moves among people's private affairs, so he must not say one thing to a person's face and another behind his back.
- Trusted with money. Drink and dishonest gain would wreck the work and destroy the confidence others place in him. So he is tested before he serves.
- Trusted with truth. He is not asked to teach the faith, only to hold it with a pure conscience. An inconsistent life is the clearest proof that a conscience is not pure.
holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
This verse asks deacons for more than good behaviour — it asks what they hold inside. Two questions follow: what is this "mystery," and why must a clear conscience hold it?
The word "mystery" here does not point to something confusing or unknowable. It means truth God once kept to Himself and has now made public. (The quotations below use an older translation, which reads "in a pure conscience.")
In Scripture "mystery" never means something that cannot be explained or understood. It means what no one could grasp until God revealed it in the New Testament... Mysteries are New Testament revelations. They are truths God kept to Himself in Old Testament times and has now revealed in the New Testament. So in verse 9 here the apostle speaks of the mystery of the faith. What God has revealed through His own Son by the Spirit is for faith to receive now.
So we can name what this secret holds, and who can see it.
Only when the risen Christ sent out the gospel did life and incorruptibility come to light. Other truths stayed secret until Christ sent His Spirit to reveal them: the place the Gentiles were to have in divine blessing, the place the Son of God was to occupy as Head over all things, the call of the church, and many more. They are still a mystery to the man of the world. Only those who have trusted Christ know the mystery of the faith; and this we are to hold, whether deacons or not, with a good conscience.
Deacons had a practical job, not a teaching one. So what does the verse require of them?
Deacons looked after the outward, practical matters of the assembly. They were not called to make the mystery of the faith known to others. But they were required to hold it, and to hold it with a good conscience. The faith had to show itself in their lives. That was the evidence that they held it in the conscience.
A man can believe the right things and live badly. That combination is what this clause rules out.
To hold correct doctrine is not enough. Right belief without a pure conscience would show how little power the truth has over the man who holds it. It would also show how little power he would have to affect others.
What happens to truth when the conscience is left out of it?
So faith and conscience belong together, as we have already seen. Mere orthodoxy is useless everywhere. Suppose the conscience is not under the authority of the truth. Then the truth can only be a burden to a person, instead of the blessing it should be.
No one can see inside another person's conscience. So how could anyone tell whether a deacon met this standard?
A person may also hold high truth while living a habitually low life. This could not be so in a deacon, since it is unworthy of any Christian. He was called to hold the mystery of the faith "in a pure conscience." Others might not be able to judge the state of his conscience directly. But a disorderly life is the clearest proof that a man's conscience cannot be pure. Where that was clear, others were allowed — indeed obliged — to judge it.
The verse also explains how people who once loved the truth let it go.
Many people seem to think of doctrinal error as a small, unimportant thing. But people do give up a line of truth they once enjoyed in the Spirit's power, truth that once controlled heart and life. Look closely, and you will usually find that moral evil of some kind was behind it. When men get out of touch with holiness, they lose their grip of the truth; or rather, the truth loses power over them. The third chapter of 1 Timothy describes the deacons as "holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience" (verse 9). This stresses that the conscience must be active if we are to keep up the testimony of the Lord and guard the good deposit.
The standard belongs to everyone; the position only raises the stakes of failing it.
Even deacons must hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. It binds every believer just as much. But if those who hold office were allowed to be slack, what would stumble the world, grieve believers, and dishonour the Lord more than that?
- Revealed — A "mystery" is not confusion. It is truth God kept back in Old Testament times and has now told out through His Son by the Spirit.
- Received — Its content is the gospel and what came with it: life and incorruptibility, blessing for the Gentiles, Christ as Head, the call of the church. Only those who trust Christ know it.
- Held — Deacons do not have to preach this truth. They have to keep it, and keep it in a clean conscience.
- Shown — No one can see another person's conscience. The life is the evidence: a disorderly life proves the conscience is not pure.
- Kept — Let the conscience go, and the doctrine goes with it. This applies to every believer, not to office-holders alone.
And let these be first proved, then let them minister, being without charge [against them].
Paul has just listed what a deacon must be; now he adds a rule about timing. A man must be tested before he serves. So what does the test look for, and how high is the bar that "blameless" sets?
One writer describes what these men handled, how the first ones were chosen, and who decides:
The deacon is simply a ministering servant, occupied particularly with the care of temporal arrangements and necessities in connection with the local assembly. In Acts 6 there were seven of these appointed to wait on tables. In this case the brethren were told to look out from among themselves seven men of honest report, and these were appointed. The apostles left the assembly free to choose these men. This was not so as to elders, who were rather appointed by apostles or by one who had been specifically delegated by an apostle.
The order matters: prove first, serve after. One commentator explains why a trial brings the wrong man to light early:
Testing them first might show that they are unfit for the work. Even among believers there are many who cannot carry a little short-lived authority. Whatever lifts such a man in the eyes of others soon drags him down morally. To walk blamelessly in the smallest of these new duties was strong evidence that he was fit to serve in all of them.
A deacon's work is about outward things, so the standard might seem lower. It is not. The same writer notes how far later church practice drifted:
The modern deacon in the larger and national churches looks nothing like this, and the office has become an empty form. It is only a training stage for the so-called elders who make up the body of the clergy. In earlier days no inexperienced man should have held such a place. Even though the work was about outward things, they still had to be proved first.
Another writer points to the qualifications that follow:
Again, these instructions imply that the deacon is not a young man. He is married, he has children, and so he is a man with experience.
The caution has a reason. A deacon handles things that carry real temptation, so the test asks whether he has already stood up under it:
The deacons, too, were to be men who had been tested and had stood the test. They would be trusted with things that clearly carry the power to tempt, even among Christians. They are to be proved first, and then to serve as men without blame who have proved themselves.
One reference work traces the same word elsewhere, including a promise about how believers will finally stand:
ἀνέγκλητος (from α, negative, and ἐγκαλέω, "to accuse"), besides Colossians 1:22 mentioned above, occurs only in 1 Timothy 3:10 and Titus 1:6-7, where elders and deacons should be unimpeachable; and in 1 Corinthians 1:8, where the Lord Jesus will confirm the saints unimpeachable in His own day. There will be no room for any possible accusation.
The apostles who appointed are gone. What then? One writer answers: the standards still stand, and believers can still recognise them:
The great thing for believers to do now is to keep closely to the word, to look for the qualifications it requires for that place in those around them, and, where those qualities are found, to thankfully acknowledge them... If the gathered believers find such qualifications among them, they should gladly hand the money matters of the assembly to such men. Those men would then be responsible for the special needs of the poor saints in that place.
- Prove. The order in the verse is fixed — testing comes before service, never after it.
- Expose. A trial brings the wrong man to light early. Some believers cannot carry even a little authority safely.
- Trust. The test looks at character under the pull of money and practical duty — what a deacon handles every day.
- Blameless. The word means unimpeachable. It leaves no room for any possible accusation.
- Own it. No apostle appoints today. Believers still watch for these qualities in one another, and gladly hand practical care to those who show them.
[The] women in like manner grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
Paul is listing what a deacon must be — a servant who handles the practical and money matters of the local church. In the middle of that list he turns aside to speak about the women, though he says nothing of the kind about the wives of overseers.
Why single out one group of wives? The answer lies in what the two jobs involve.
No instructions covered the conduct of the overseers' wives. Their husbands' work was spiritual only. But the deacons had to do with practical matters, such as handling funds. Their wives might help them in that good work, so their character had to command respect.
The word translated "slanderers" is the one usually rendered "devil." Scripture uses it of people in only three places.
I must mention the three places where this word, dia-ballo, is not translated 'devil.' The first (1 Tim. 3:11) refers to the wives of the deacons. It tells them they are not to be slanderers — not to be 'devils,' for 'devil' means 'slanderer.' The second passage is 2 Tim. 3:3. It tells us that in the last days men will be false accusers — that is, 'slanderers.' This is one of the marks of the times we live in. Brothers and sisters alike are liable to fall into this horrid sin. The third place with this use of the word (Titus 2:3) gives a special message to the older women: they are not to be false accusers.
The reason lies in what such a wife would come to know.
Their husbands' duties would let them learn much of a delicate nature. So they had to be serious, not evil-speakers, temperate, and faithful in all things. Only such women could help their husbands as they should. Others would not only hinder them; they would lead to constant difficulty and scandal.
The verse does more than restrain her. It also points to what she can give.
A deacon goes in and out of houses. His work brings him into family details and circumstances, and he may find need in many homes and meet that need. His wife might be a most valuable helper to him. She might be far more delicate and tender in dealing with need and sorrow than her husband. We delight in the wisdom of God, who in this way settles the place a woman may have in connection with her husband's office.
Commentators differ on whether Paul means the deacons' wives or women engaged in the same work. One reading keeps to the wives, and points to a woman named in Romans 16.
Verse 11 gives the wives of deacons a special mention. This is doubtless because service of this kind was the sort of work they often took part in themselves. Phoebe, for instance, was "a servant [deaconess] of the church at Cenchreae" (Rom. 16:1), and the apostle commended her warmly.
Others take these women as servants in their own right.
Some consider them deaconesses, and not necessarily the wives of deacons. Whichever view you take, the point above still stands. There was a sphere in which women could be helpful, and another in which they had no role.
"Dignified" — older translations say "grave" — is not a public manner put on for church. It reaches into ordinary life.
This subject is not limited to speaking publicly. It applies to private speech too, to the way we furnish our houses and dress ourselves, and to all we do here below. As proof of this, 1 Timothy 2:9 speaks about dressing with sobriety.
The reason reaches beyond her own home.
Besides this, their wives must have a dependable character, and must not be slanderers. A wife may too easily influence her husband, and that can matter a great deal in the practical affairs of the assembly.
- Trust given. Deacons handle money and enter homes in need. That trust is why their wives, unlike the overseers' wives, get instructions of their own.
- Trust tested. The tongue tests it. "Slanderer" is the very word for "devil," and the same warning falls on men and on older women elsewhere.
- Trust shared. The husband learns delicate things, and so does his wife. Only a woman of this character helps him instead of hindering him.
- Trust extended. Some read verse 11 as the deacons' wives, others as women who serve like Phoebe. Either way, women have a real sphere of service here.
- Trust proved. Dignity covers private speech, dress and daily conduct. "Faithful in all things" leaves no corner of life outside the test.
Let [the] ministers be husbands of one wife, conducting [their] children and their own houses well
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
for those who shall have ministered well obtain for themselves a good degree, and much boldness in faith which [is] in Christ Jesus.
Paul ends his instructions about deacons with a promise, not a warning: the man who serves well in the lowliest job gains something for himself. But what is that "good standing," and why should practical service build confidence in faith?
The title carries none of the importance later attached to it. One writer traces the word back to its plain sense, then to his own boyhood.
The word "deacon" means simply "one who ministers" or "serves." "Minister" is really only another name for "servant." In the New Testament the word carries none of the meaning it has come to have today, a man in charge of a "church." It refers to the lowly service of love, linked with those who were younger in the truth, and perhaps not gifted in any particular way. They still have the service of the saints at heart, and they care about the little things in the practical life of the assembly: "serving tables," for example, as we find in Acts 6:1-6. When I was a boy, my father and I used to go early to the meeting room to get it ready. Part of my work was to dust the seats. One day my father told me that this was the work of a deacon.
The phrase is not a promotion notice. It means ground gained — and older translations read it "a good degree," the wording several writers use below.
Christ is preached by one of whom it could truly be said: after serving well as a deacon, he was gaining for himself a good standing, or step forward, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Paul adds this line for a reason. The deacon's job can easily look lower than the overseer's.
Someone might think the office of a deacon was lower than that of an overseer. So the Apostle states plainly that those who use the office of a deacon well gain for themselves a good degree, and much boldness in faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The second half of the promise is courage. One writer shows where that courage comes from.
We see this in Stephen. He was one of the seven deacons chosen to serve in the daily distribution in Jerusalem. He served well, and the Spirit of God then used him to press home to the rulers of Israel their guilt in killing Jesus. How bold he was in faith as he did it, sealing his testimony with his blood (Acts 7). Boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus comes by serving God under the control of the Spirit of God, filled with the Spirit.
Two of the men chosen in Acts 6 to serve tables later became preachers. Where did their training happen?
Before either Philip or Stephen began to preach, they had graduated — but not at a college or university, and not in any school of human learning or religious teaching. They had graduated in the beautiful work of caring for the poor, the widow, and the needy. They graduated by carrying out their office as deacons in Jerusalem, and they gained not only what is called "a good degree," but "great boldness in the faith."
Note who receives the benefit. The gain belongs to the servants themselves, and one writer names what kind of gain it is.
Where the deacons carried out their charge faithfully and carefully, they also found their own spiritual profit in it... as we can see fully worked out in the cases of Stephen and Philip; Acts 6, 7 and 8.
Faithfulness in small service opens the door to larger usefulness. Neglect of small service closes it.
If we must learn to obey before we are fit to rule, then just as truly we must be willing to serve in little things before God calls us to serve in greater ones. For example, if we have never taken an interest in the care of the meeting room, we can never expect any important place in the government of God's house, the Church of God.
Another writer uses the same rule to explain why so many believers never grow into useful service.
So many children of God are silent and unable in the ministry. Isn't the reason largely this? At the start, God put work in front of them to do for Him — work that called for effort, perseverance and the sacrifice of their time — and they would not bend their necks to their Lord's work.
- Serve. "Deacon" means servant. It is the person who cares for the small practical needs of the saints, down to dusting the seats.
- Serve well. The promise goes to those who fill the office well, not to those who merely hold it. God's school is caring for the poor, the widow and the needy.
- Gain a step. "A good standing" is ground gained, a step forward. This service is no lesser calling than oversight.
- Gain boldness. Courage in the faith grows in the servant who works under the Spirit's control. Stephen's testimony shows it.
- Or forfeit both. The rule runs both ways. Refuse the work that costs time and effort at the start, and the greater usefulness never comes.