1 Timothy 3:12

Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. ONE WIFE (note, ). RULING (THEIR) CHILDREN. There is no article; 'ruling children' implying he regarded the having children to rule as a qualification (; ). THEIR OWN HOUSES - distinguished from "the church of God" (note, ). In the deacons, as in the bishops, he mentions the first condition of office rather than the qualifications for its discharge. The practical side of Christianity is most dwelt on in the pastoral letters, in opposition to heretical teachers; moreover, as miraculous gifts began to be wi...

_Let the deacons be _Since he mentioned wives, he lays down the same injunction about deacons as he had formerly down about bishops; namely, that each of them — satisfied within having but one wife — shall set an example of a chaste and honorable father of a family, and shall keep his _children _and his whole house under holy discipline. And this refutes the error of those who understand this passage as referring to domestic servants. (65)...

8-13 The deacons were at first appointed to distribute the charity of the church, and to manage its concerns, yet pastors and evangelists were among them. The deacons had a great trust reposed in them. They must be grave, serious, prudent men. It is not fit that public trusts should be lodged in the hands of any, till they are found fit for the business with which they are to be trusted. All who are related to ministers, must take great care to walk as becomes the gospel of Christ....

Verse 12. _LET THE DEACONS BE THE HUSBANDS OF ONE WIFE_] This is the same that is required of the _bishops_. See notes on 1 Timothy 3:2; _"_1 Timothy 3:4_"_; and _"_1 Timothy 3:5_"_....

LET THE DEACONS BE THE HUSBANDS OF ONE WIFE - notes, 1 Timothy 3:2. RULING THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR OWN HOUSES WELL - notes, 1 Timothy 3:4....

EXPOSITION 1 TIMOTHY 3:1 _Faithful is the saying _for _this is a true saying_,_ _A.V.; _seeketh _for _desire_,_ _A.V. FAITHFUL IS THE SAYING (see above, 1 Timothy 1:15, note). This manifestly refers to what follows, not, as Chrysostom and others, and margin of the R.V., to the saying which precedes, in 1 Timothy 2:15. SEEKETH (ὀρέγεται); literally, _stretches out his hands after_._ It _is peculiar in the New Testament to the pastoral Epistles and the Epistle to the Hebrews, though common in classical Greek (see...

LET THE DEACONS BE THE HUSBANDS OF ONE WIFE,.... 1 Timothy 3:2 RULING THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR OWN HOUSES WELL. These qualifications are the same with those of the bishop or elder; 1 Timothy 3:4....

III. CONCERNING THE HOUSE OF GOD CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The overseer (1 Timothy 3:1)_ 2. The deacon (1 Timothy 3:8) 3. The house of God and the mystery of Godliness (1 Timothy 3:14) 1 Timothy 3:1 As stated before, the Church is viewed in these pastoral Epistles as the house of God. The holiness which becomes this house is to be maintained and expressed in a practical way. The different directions given as to overseers and deacons demonstrate what God esteems highly, and what He expects of those who are saved by grace, and who constitute His House. Paul wrote these instructions to his son Timot

DEACONS AND DEACONESSES. Certain moral qualities, likewise, are required in deacons. They must be serious, sincere in speech, free from love of wine and (since they administer church funds) from love of money, holding with a pure conscience the truth revealed in the faith. They, too, must be appointed only when, tested by their general conduct in the community, they are found without accusation. (Deaconesses must satisfy similar requirements.) The domestic conditions demanded for bishops apply to deacons also. These varied qualifications are needful because fidelity in their office wins them, among their fellows, both a position of honour and boldness in their faith. 1 TIMOTHY 3:9. MYSTERY: _ i.e._ truth which man could not find for himself, but which, once hidden, is now made known through revelation....

THE LEADERS OF THE CHURCH (1 Timothy 3:1-7)...