Paul continued his instructions concerning order in the life of the local church by setting forth qualifications for the deacons. He did this to insure Spirit-directed assistants for the elders.
3:8-10 "Likewise"(v. 8) indicates that Paul was describing an office different from that of elder when he spoke of deacons. "Deacon"(Gr. diakonos, v. 8; lit. servant) is a word the New Testament writers used frequently. In time the churches recognized official servants of the churches, and these people held office as deacons. A list of 12 qualifications follows.
1. "Men of dignity"(Gr. semnos, v. 8) means worthy of respect.
2. "Not double-tongued"(Gr. me dilogous, v. 8) means not two-faced, saying one thing or living one way part of the time and another at other times; honest, not hypocritical, sincere; men of integrity.
3. "Not addicted to much wine"(Gr. me oino pollo prosechontas, v. 8; cf. elder qualification #8).
4. "Not fond of sordid gain"(Gr. me aischrokerdeis, v. 8; cf. elder qualification #12).
5. "Holding the . . . faith with a clear conscience"(Gr. echontas to mysterion tes pisteos en kathara syneidesei, v. 9) describes a man of conviction who behaves in harmony with his beliefs. "The mystery of the faith"is the body of doctrine that God has given us by special revelation.128
6. "Beyond reproach"(Gr. anegkletoi, v. 10; cf. elder qualification #1) means without reasonable grounds for accusation. This was to be true of him in the past as well as in the present having passed the test of time. Paul was not referring to some type of ordination exam.129
"The meaning is not [either] that they should be given a trial appointment as deacon, but rather that the church should constantly be examining and testing the members of the congregation, so that whenever the need for selecting deacons arises, they will know what members are qualified for appointment."130
3:11 Does this verse refer to female deacons, the wives of male deacons,131or unmarried women who assist the deacons? Exegetically it is very hard to decide.132I think it probably refers to female deacons for the following reasons. First, there is nothing about the office as such that would exclude a woman. Second, it seems unusual that Paul would prescribe qualifications for wives of deacons but not for wives of elders.
Paul described Phoebe as a deaconess (servant, Gr. diakonon) of the church in Cenchrea in Romans 16:1. This may mean she was simply a servant of the church. However the term he used allows for the possibility that she occupied the office of deaconess in her church.
"The officeof deaconess is not certain in the New Testament church, but the preponderance of evidence suggests that women had this ministry, for it is certainly seen in the postapostolic period."133
The apostle cited four special qualifications for these women.
7. "Dignified"means worthy of respect (Gr. semnas, v. 8).
8. "Not malicious gossips"(Gr. diabolos) describes those who do not slander others.
9. "Temperate"(Gr. nephalious) means well balanced (elder qualification #3, v. 2; cf. Titus 2:2).
10. "Faithful in all things"(Gr. pistas en pasin) means completely trustworthy.
3:12 Returning to the male deacons Paul added two more qualifications.
11. They must be the "husbands of one wife"(Gr. mias gunaikos andres) elder qualification #2, v. 2).
12. They must also be "good managers of their children and their own households"(Gr. teknon kalos proistamenoi kai ton idion oikon; cf. elder qualification #13, vv. 4-5).
3:13 The rewards for faithful service as a deacon are two: a good reputation, and increased confidence in dealing with other people and with God. Presumably this confidence builds on a clear conscience.
Paul said nothing about the duties of deacons. This indicates that he did not associate specific tasks with the office. He seems to have intended that deacons should function as official servants of the church in whatever capacity the elders may see a need for this. They were in effect the elders' assistants.
"1 Tim. 3:1-13 thus presents a twofold pattern for the official ministry of the church, that of oversight (episkopos) and that of service (diakonos)."134
Whereas the elder office apparently arose out of Jewish religious life, the deacon office seems to have developed from an incident in the early history of the church (i.e., Acts 6:1-6). Luke did not call the men appointed to assist the apostles in Acts 6 deacons in that passage. Nevertheless this event apparently led to the official appointment of deacons (servants) as assistants to the elders who served especially in the realm of physical and material needs.135
"An analysis of the data seems . . . to indicate the existence of oversight by a plurality of church leaders throughout the NT church in virtually every known area and acknowledged or commended by virtually every NT writer who writes about church leadership."136
