I Timothy 3:8-13
We saw in Acts 6 that the early church had appointed deacons (although they were not named as such) to serve in more mundane, “earthly” matters. The qualifications for these deacons were few in number, but no less demanding: …pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom… (Acts 6:3). A man (or woman, a deaconess) who is of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom must surely have the necessary qualities for service that Paul mentions in today’s reading!
Paul has a separate verse for deacon’s wives that he does not includes for priests (elders, overseers): Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. (v. 11) Strange that he would have that additional line for deacon’s wives!
There are a couple of other noteworthy items for deacons that Paul does not mention for priests. First, it seems that deacons had to serve a trial period before being fully “ordained”: And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.(v. 10) Seemingly during this probationary period a candidate could be ruled unfit; Paul does not mention the same for priests. Second, although Paul mentions that priests should not be a “lover of money”, for deacons he goes one step further in that deacons should not be “greedy for dishonest gain”. The NASB has an even better phrase, “not fond of sordid gain”. I’m imagining some sort of ranking of the Ephesian men, from those who are most qualified to serve (becoming priests) on down to those who are maybe younger in their faith and possibly too nearly tainted by the Gentile world around them. Recall the riot that broke out when Demetrius, the silversmith led the Ephesian merchants in claiming that Paul was disrupting their trade! (Acts 19:23, ff.)
Slava Bohu!
These seem to be standards for anyone of prominence in the church. But the original Acts list is much more bold, more powerful and Spirit filled. This additional list is more what NOT to be: double tongued, drinking too much wine, greedy, slanderers. I pray that we focus most on the original list, because we all should be living respectfully, civilly.