1 Timothy 3.9-11-Paul Presents Two Qualifications That Must Be Met By Those Men Who Aspire To Be Deacons And Four For Their Wives
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday May 8, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 3:9-11-Paul Presents Two Qualifications That Must Be Met By Those Men Who Aspire To Be Deacons And Four For Their Wives
Lesson # 64
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 3:8.
The apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3:9 presents the fifth qualification that must be fulfilled by those men who desire to hold 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. (NASU)
“But holding to the mystery of the faith” indicates that it is absolutely imperative deacons adhere to the mystery which is doctrine.
It refers to responding by faith to the gospel after conversion which results in obedience to the commands and prohibitions that are revealed in the gospel.
“Mystery” refers to the gospel as it relates to the Christian since Paul is presenting qualifications for those men who aspire to the office of deacon, which can only be held of course by Christians.
It refers to the fact that after conversion deacons must possess faith in the gospel, which is synonymous with sound doctrine according to a comparison of 1 Timothy 1:10-11.
Consequently, it also denotes obedience to the gospel, i.e. sound doctrine since faith produces obedience.
It indicates that it is absolutely imperative that deacons be committed to the gospel, i.e. Bible doctrine, the Word of God.
It also indicates that deacons must be dignified and not hypocritical, addicted to much wine, nor greedy by being characterized as adhering to the mystery which is doctrine, i.e. that body of doctrine, which the church believes.
“Mystery” refers to the plan of salvation for both Jew and Gentiles and is now fully revealed during the church age by the Spirit through the apostles to the church and was not fully known to the Old Testament prophets of Israel.
The content of this mystery is Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection for both Jew and Gentile.
The “hidden” nature of the gospel is not that it was totally unknown since the Old Testament prophets, all the way back to Abraham, were told that salvation would be provided for both Jew and Gentile through the Jewish Messiah.
What Paul means by musterion in 1 Timothy 3:9 is that through the Spirit, God the Father has “fully” disclosed the gospel in the person of Jesus Christ and in the proclamation of the gospel by the apostles.
“Faith” does not refer to the deacon’s faith but rather it is used in an objective sense referring to the Christian faith.
It refers to the content of what Paul taught the Gentile churches or in other words it is a description of the gospel.
It refers to the gospel from the perspective of a body of doctrine or that which is believed by the church.
Thus, it is synonymous for the gospel and speaks of it from a different perspective, namely that which the church believes.
Thus, it is expressing the objective side of faith in the sense that it refers to that which the Christian is to exercise faith in after conversion.
“With a clear conscience” does not mean that we have never sinned or do not commit acts of sin but rather it means that the underlying direction and motive of life is to obey and please God, so that acts of sin are habitually recognized as such and confessed to God the Father (1 John 1:9).
“With a clear conscience” teaches that a deacon must be characterized as adhering to the standards of the gospel, i.e. sound doctrine so that their conduct is characterized as reflecting the standards of the gospel.
In contrast to those who adhere to the false teaching of the Judaizers, deacons are to be characterized as adhering and reflecting the holy standards of the gospel.
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 3:10 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” emphasizes that it is mandatory that men who aspire to the office of deacon are first tested before they assume the office.
It 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.
It 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.
“These men must also first be tested” 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.
“If they are beyond reproach” 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, a deacon must have 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.
It 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.
In 1 Timothy 3:11, the apostle Paul presents four more qualifications that must be met by the wives of those men who aspire to the office of deacon.
1 Timothy 3:11 Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. (NASU)
“Women must likewise be dignified” refers to the wives of those men who want to be deacons.
1 Timothy 3:11 is a problem to interpret since it revolves around whether or not the women in this verse are referring to the wives of the deacons, or referring to women who aspire to be deacons or women helpers.
If the latter, the passage is awkward to say the least.
If he is addressing the qualifications for women deaconesses, or women helpers then why would he present a list of four qualifications for these women in the middle of the qualifications for those men who desire to be deacons?
Surely, if women could be deacons, or if Paul was referring to women helpers, he would have devoted a separate paragraph for the ladies after or before the instruction on male deacons.
Further indicating that gune, “women” is referring to the wives of deacons is that the word appears in verse 12 for the wife of a deacon.
“Women must likewise be dignified” indicates that the qualifications for the wife of a deacon are similar but not identical to that of the qualifications for the deacons.
It compares the qualifications for deacons in verses 8-10 with that of the qualifications that their wives must meet here in verse 11.
However, it also distinguishes the two, thus indicating that the deacons are distinguished from their wives.
Just as the deacons were distinguished from the overseers in verse 8 so the deacon are distinguished from their wives here in verse 11.
“Not malicious gossips” denies any idea that a deacon’s wife be a slanderer or who engages in slander.
“Temperate” indicates that like her husband, a deacon’s wife must be someone who is “sober and rational in their thinking, level-headed and temperate” because they are influenced by the Spirit.
“Faithful in all things” indicates that the wives of deacons should have a reputation inside the Christian community and outside of it as being “loyal, reliable, trustworthy” and “faithful.”
It indicates that when she is assigned to a particular task that she completes it and that you can count on her.