1 Timothy 3

1 Timothy 3 outlines the essential qualifications for church leaders, specifically bishops and deacons. Bishops must be blameless, morally upright, capable teachers, and effective rulers of their own households. Deacons likewise require gravity, integrity, and sound management of their families. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the church's role as the pillar of truth and the profound mystery of godliness.

This chapter details the rigorous standards for those aspiring to leadership roles within the church. A bishop, desiring a good work, must be blameless, a faithful husband, vigilant, sober, and hospitable, possessing the ability to teach. Crucially, he must demonstrate competence in managing his own household and children, as this reflects his capacity to care for God's church. He should not be a novice, nor have a poor reputation among outsiders. Similarly, deacons are to be grave, honest, temperate, and free from avarice, holding the faith with a pure conscience. Their wives also have specific requirements, being grave, not slanderers, sober, and faithful. Those who serve well as deacons earn a good standing and boldness in their faith. Paul writes these instructions to guide Timothy in the proper conduct within the church, which is presented as the house of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth, culminating in the declaration of the great mystery of godliness.

The third chapter of 1 Timothy begins by affirming the honorable nature of desiring the office of a bishop, yet immediately establishes stringent qualifications for such a position. A bishop must be blameless in character, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, and apt to teach. He is explicitly warned against being given to wine, being a striker, or being greedy of filthy lucre, instead being patient, not a brawler, and not covetous. A critical requirement is his ability to rule his own house well, ensuring his children are in subjection with all gravity, as this demonstrates his fitness to oversee the church of God. Furthermore, he must not be a novice, lest pride lead to condemnation, and he must possess a good report from those outside the church to avoid reproach. Following the qualifications for bishops, the chapter details similar standards for deacons. They must be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, and not greedy of filthy lucre, but rather hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. These individuals are to be proved first, only then serving if found blameless. The wives of deacons are also addressed, requiring them to be grave, not slanderers, sober, and faithful in all things. Deacons, like bishops, are to be the husbands of one wife and rule their children and houses well. The chapter promises that those who serve well as deacons attain a good degree and great boldness in the faith. Paul concludes by explaining his purpose in writing these instructions: to provide guidance for Timothy's conduct in the "house of God," which is identified as the church of the living God, the "pillar and ground of the truth." The chapter culminates with a profound declaration of the "mystery of godliness": that God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory.