Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife ,.... See Gill on 1 Timothy 3:2 . ruling their children and their own houses well . These qualifications are the same with those of the bishop or elder; See Gill on 1 Timothy 3:4 . read more
For they that have used the office of a deacon well ,.... With diligence and faithfulness, with simplicity and cheerfulness; taking good care of the minister and poor, and of the discipline of God's house: purchase to themselves a good degree ; not an higher office, as that of presbytery or episcopacy, which is a sense calculated to serve a hierarchy; nor a degree in glory and happiness hereafter; but rather an increase of gifts and grace; or a degree of respect and honour in the church:... read more
Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife - This is the same that is required of the bishops. See on 1 Timothy 3:2 ; (note) 1 Timothy 3:4 ; (note), and 1 Timothy 3:5 ; (note). read more
That have used the office of a deacon well - They who, having been tried or proved, 1 Timothy 3:10 , have shown by their steadiness, activity, and zeal, that they might be raised to a higher office, are here said to have purchased to themselves a good degree, βαθμον καλον· for, instead of having to administer to the bodies and bodily wants of the poor, the faithful deacons were raised to minister in holy things; and, instead of ministering the bread that perisheth, they were raised to... read more
Verse 12 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) read more
Verse 13 13. For they who have served well Owing to a practice which came into use one or two centuries after the death of the apostles, of choosing presbyters from the order of deacons, this passage has been commonly interpreted as describing elevation to a higher rank, as if the Apostle called to the honor of being presbyters those who had faithfully discharged the office of a deacon. For my own part, though I do not deny that the order of deacons might sometimes be the nursery out of which... read more
I. QUALIFICATIONS OF A BISHOP . Preliminary direction to Timothy . "Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." The Scripture idea of the episcopate is that of oversight , viz. of souls. A bishop was one who had the duty of overseeing a congregation in spiritual matters, being, in respect of gravity and dignity, called presbyter or elder. Timothy was to encourage any who sought to enter into the episcopate. The saying in Christian... read more
It was one of the weightiest duties laid upon Timothy, when called to be the spiritual ruler of the Church of Ephesus, to take care that the priests and deacons were men well qualified for their holy office. The condition of a congregation depends so largely upon the spiritual character of those who minister to it, that the choice of fit persons to serve in the sacred ministry of God's Church is a matter of vital importance to the welfare of the people, and demands the utmost wisdom and... read more
Deacons for the deacons , A.V.; husbands for the husbands , A.V. Husbands of one wife (see above, 1 Timothy 3:2 , note). Ruling , etc. ( προιδτάμενοι ); literally, being at the head of , presiding over (see 1 Timothy 3:4 , note). In Romans 12:8 and 1 Thessalonians 5:12 it is applied to the spiritual ruler, the ἐπίσκοπος or πρεσβυτερος of the Church. Elsewhere only in the pastoral Epistles (above, 1 Thessalonians 5:4 and 1 Thessalonians 5:5 ; 1... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Timothy 3:8-13
We have here the character of deacons: these had the care of the temporal concerns of the church, that is, the maintenance of the ministers and provision for the poor: they served tables, while the ministers or bishops gave themselves only to the ministry of the word and prayer, Acts 6:2, 4. Of the institution of this office, with that which gave occasion to it, you have an account in Acts 6:1-7. Now it was requisite that deacons should have a good character, because they were assistants to... read more