Qualifications for Overseers and Deacons

Here is a trustworthy saying:(A) Whoever aspires to be an overseer(B) desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach,(C) faithful to his wife,(D) temperate,(E) self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,(F) able to teach,(G) not given to drunkenness,(H) not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome,(I) not a lover of money.(J) He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full[a] respect.(K) (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)(L) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited(M) and fall under the same judgment(N) as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders,(O) so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 3:4 Or him with proper

Supervisors in God’s household

This saying is reliable: if anyone has a goal to be a supervisor[a] in the church, they want a good thing. So the church’s supervisor must be without fault. They should be faithful to their spouse, sober, modest, and honest. They should show hospitality and be skilled at teaching. They shouldn’t be addicted to alcohol or be a bully. Instead, they should be gentle, peaceable, and not greedy. They should manage their own household well—they should see that their children are obedient with complete respect, because if they don’t know how to manage their own household, how can they take care of God’s church? They shouldn’t be new believers so that they won’t become proud and fall under the devil’s spell. They should also have a good reputation with those outside the church so that they won’t be embarrassed and fall into the devil’s trap.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 3:1 Or bishop, overseer