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| 1 Timothy 3:12 |
Let the deacons be the husbands of
one wife, ruling their children and their own houses
well.
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Note:
before doing a study on any
single verse, read all the verses from the beginning
of the chapter to this point and maybe a verse or
two beyond. Do this so you have the verse in context
before you begin.
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Let us begin the lesson in Barclay's commentary:
IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE
In the same way, the deacons must be men of dignity.
They must not be the kind of men who say one thing
to one person and another to another. They must not
be given to overindulgence in wine or prepared to
stoop to disgraceful ways of making money; they must
hold the secret of the faith which has been revealed
to them with a clear conscience. The deacons too
must first of all be put upon probation, and, if
they emerge blameless from the test, let them become
deacons . . . Deacons must be married only once;
they must manage their own children and their own
homes well. For those who make a fine job of the
office of deacon win for themselves a fine degree of
honour, and they gain much boldness in their faith
in Christ Jesus.
In the early Church, the function of the deacons lay
much more in the sphere of practical service. The
Christian Church inherited a magnificent
organization of charitable help from the Jews. No
nation has ever had such a sense of responsibility
for the poorer brother and sister as the Jews had.
The synagogue had a regular organization for helping
such people. The Jews rather discouraged the giving
of individual help to individual people. They
preferred that help should be given through the
community and especially through the synagogue.
~Barclay commentary
This verse is very much like what we see in verses
2, 4 and 5.
1 Timothy 3:2-5
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of
one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given
to hospitality, apt to teach;
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his
children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house,
how shall he take care of the church of God?)
Most every commentary you go to will read similarly
as follows:
Let the deacons be the
husbands of one wife - see notes, 1 Timothy
3:2.
Ruling their children and
their own houses well - see notes, 1 Timothy
3:4-5.
We are going to follow suit here.
For the first part of the verse, see the Lesson on
1 Timothy 3:2.
For the second part of the verse, see the Lessons on
Verse 4 and
Verse 5.
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