1 Timothy 3.10-Paul Presents The Sixth Qualification That Must Be Met By Those Men Who Aspire To Be Deacons
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday May 4, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 3:10-Paul Presents The Sixth Qualification That Must Be Met By Those Men Who Aspire To Be Deacons
Lesson # 62
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 3:8.
The apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3:10 presents the sixth qualification that must be met by those men who aspire to the office of deacon.
1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, 9 but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. (NASU)
“These men must also first be tested” is composed of the conjunction kai (καί) (keh), “also” and the nominative neuter masculine plural form of the immediate demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος) (oo-toce), “these men” and the conjunction de (δέ) (theh) that is followed by third person plural present passive imperative form of the verb dokimazo (δοκιμάζω) (thoe-kee-mad-zoe), “be tested” and the adverb protos (πρῶτος) (pro-toce), “first.”
The conjunction kai is emphatic meaning that it is emphasizing Paul’s command here in verse 10 that men who desire to be a deacon must first be tested before they serve as one.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that here in verse 10 Paul is breaking off from the original δεῖ εἶναι pattern of 3:2, which is implied in verses 3:4, 6 and 8 though not appearing in these verses.
Here in 3:10, the apostle Paul employs two impersonal third person plural imperatives (δοκιμαζέσθωσαν…διακονείτωσαν) to break from this pattern.
He changes his style in order to emphasize these two commands in verse 10.
In other words, Paul is emphasizing with Timothy and the Ephesian church that it is mandatory that men who aspire to the office of deacon must first be tested before they assume the office.
Therefore, in 1 Timothy 3:10 the conjunction kai is emphatic because of this change of style.
The immediate demonstrative pronoun houtos refers to the noun diakonos, “deacons,” which appears in verse 8 since it agrees in gender (masculine) and in number (plural) with this noun.
The verb dokimazo is in the passive and means “to be tested, to be examined, to be critically examined by others in order to determine if one is worthy of a particular office.”
The word denotes that the man who aspires to the office of deacon must first be critically examined by the pastor and the congregation in order to determine if he is worthy of the office or in other words, that he has the capacity for such an office.
Dokimazo emphasizes that to be a deacon a man must over an unspecified period of time demonstrate to the leadership of the church and the congregation that the qualifications mentioned in 3:8-12 are prominent in his life or in other words, they are consistently manifested in his life.
Men who desire to be deacons were examined as to their application of the Word of God or in other words, they would be tested as to whether or not they consistently put the Word of God into practice.
Since it takes a period of years to have a basic grasp or understanding of the Scriptures, the examination must have taken place over a period of years.
However, no two individuals grow in knowledge of the Word of God at the same rate.
Therefore, the number of years for this examination would vary from person to person.
The word dokimazo in 1 Timothy 3:10 emphasizes that they must demonstrate over a period of time that they have maintained their spiritual priorities of learning and applying the Word of God in the midst of adversity and prosperity.
It also denotes that he must be a man who has gained the respect and trust of those whom he is to serve in the local church.
This word also implies that a deacon must not be a new convert.
An untested Christian is unprepared to hold any offices in the church and will hurt the testimony of the church.
In fact, an untested Christian can be hurt immeasurably spiritually by being promoted to a position he has no capacity for.
Men must first have the capacity to lead before they can hold positions of authority in the local assembly.
The capacity to serve is developed by applying the Word of God in the midst of adversity as well as prosperity, which in turn produces in the believer greater confidence and trust in his relationship with God resulting in a more productive service to the Lord and His body (1 Peter 1:6-7; 2 Corinthians 8:22).
A man must be faithful in the little things before he can be promoted to greater responsibility as a deacon.
Matthew 25:21 You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master. (NASU)
In 1 Timothy 3:10, the adjective protos is used in a chronological sense meaning that men who aspire to the office of deacon must first be tested over a period of time and then they can serve as deacons.
It is employed with eita and emphasizes the condition that men who aspire to the office deacon must first be tested over a period of time before they can assume this office.
Protos emphasizes that the testing of a man’s character over a period of time takes greater priority or is more important than a man serving in the office of deacon.
1 Timothy 3:10 These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. (NASU)
“Then let them serve as deacons” is composed of the adverb eita (εἶτα) (ee-tah), “then” which is followed by the third person plural present active imperative form of the verb diakoneo (διακονέω) (thee-ah-koe-neh-owe), “let them serve as deacons.”
The adverb eita denotes the point of time when a man who desires to be a deacon can serve as one after he has been critically examined by Timothy and the Ephesian congregation.
The verb diakoneo means “to serve as a deacon, to enter into the office of deacon for which one has been critically examined.”
The imperative mood is also a permissive imperative meaning that once a man has been critically examined by the Ephesian congregation they can permit him to serve in the office of deacon.
“If they are beyond reproach” is composed of the nominative masculine plural form of the adjective anenkletos (ἀνέγκλητος) (ahnen-klee-toce), “beyond reproach” and the nominative masculine plural present active participle form of the verb eimi (εἰμί) (ee-mee), “if they are.”
The verb eimi means “to possess a particular characteristic,” which is identified by the adjective anenkletos, “beyond reproach.”
The verb eimi does not function as a conditional participle, which would mean that it implies a condition on which the fulfillment of the idea indicated by the main verb depends.
This would indicate that a man can serve as a deacon if he is beyond reproach.
However, this would be redundant since Paul just got through teaching that a man must first be tested and then he can serve as a deacon.
It is redundant since this candidate would be critically examined to see if he manifests over an unspecified period of time those characteristics mentioned by Paul throughout the pericope in 1 Timothy 3:8-12, which would demonstrate him to be beyond reproach.
In other words a man would be beyond reproach if they passed the critical examination.
The adjective anenkletos means “good reputation” since it describes a person who “affords nothing that an adversary could use as the basis for an accusation, one against whom it is impossible to bring any charge of wrong doing such as could stand impartial examination, one who cannot be laid hold of, irreproachable.”
It describes the man who has met the qualifications for a deacon listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-12 and speaks of being free of any charge of any wrongdoing with respect to the unsaved in the community, within the church, within his home and personal life.
In other words, he has a good reputation inside and outside the Christian community.
It does not imply sinless perfection but rather emphasizes that one has a good reputation with those in the Christian community and outside it so that he is a credit to the church.
The adjective anenkletos indicates that the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-12 are consistently manifested in the life of a man who aspires to be a deacon so that no one can legiti¬mately accuse him of conduct which is inappropriate for a mature believer.
It means that these characteristics should exist in a man’s life to such a degree that they stand out as prominent and consistent characteris¬tics.
They are clearly distin¬guish¬able, but there will be room for growth and times when he may fall short.
The man who aspires to the office of deacon must not afford anything that an adversary could use as the basis for an accusation.
It must be impossible to bring any charge of wrongdoing that could withstand impartial examination.
The term refers to a man who has integrity of character so that no one can lay hold upon anything in his life, which would be of such a nature as to cast reproach upon the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ.