1 Timothy 3:7

3:7 And he must be well thought of by ¹  those outside the faith, ²  so that he may not fall into disgrace and be caught by the devil’s trap. ³ 

1 Timothy 3:13

3:13 For those who have served well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves ⁴  and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. ⁵ 

1 Timothy 5:25

5:25 Similarly good works are also obvious, and the ones that are not cannot remain hidden.

[3:7]  ¹ tn Or “have a good reputation with”; Grk “have a good testimony from.”

[3:7]  ² tn Grk “the ones outside.”

[3:7]  ³ tn Or “be trapped like the devil was”; Grk “fall into the trap of the devil.” The parallel in 2 Tim 2:26 supports the rendering given in the text.

[3:13]  ⁴ sn The statement those who have served well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves is reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching (Matt 20:26-28; Mark 10:43-45) that the one who wishes to be great must be a servant (διάκονος [diakonos], used here of deacons) of all, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve (διακονέω [diakonew], as in 1 Tim 3:10, 13).

[3:13]  ⁵ sn In the phrase the faith that is in Christ Jesus, the term faith seems to mean “what Christians believe, Christian truth,” rather than personal trust in Christ. So the whole phrase could mean that others will come to place greater confidence in them regarding Christian truth; but the word “confidence” is much more likely to refer to their own boldness to act on the truth of their convictions.