Wenstrom Bible Ministries Marion, Iowa Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom wenstrom

1. Wenstrom Bible MinistriesMarion, IowaPastor-Teacher Bill Wenstromwww.wenstrom.org

2. Tuesday May 10, 20111 Timothy: 1 Timothy 3:12-Paul Presents The Eleventh And Twelfth Qualifications That Must Be Met By Those Men Who Aspire To Be DeaconsLesson # 65

3. Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 3:8.

4. In 1 Timothy 3:12, the apostle Paul continues to list the qualifications that must be met by those men who aspire to the office of deacon.

5. In this verse, he presents the eleventh and twelfth qualifications.

6. 1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,

7. 9 but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

8. 10 These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.

9. 11 Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

10. 12 Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households. (NASU)

11. “Deacons must be husbands of only one wife” is composed of the nominative masculine plural form of the noun diakonos (διάκονος) (thee-ak-owe-noce), “deacons”

12. which is followed by the third person plural present active imperative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί) (ee-mee), “must be” and the genitive feminine singular form of the adjective heis (εἷς) (eece), “only one”

13. and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun gune (γυνή) (yee-nee), “wife” and the nominative masculine plural form of the noun aner (ἀνήρ) (ah-near-deh), “the husbands.”

14. In 1 Timothy 3:12, the apostle Paul is employing the figure of “asyndeton.”

15. This means that he is not using a connective word between the four qualifications for the wives of deacons that appear in 1 Timothy 3:11 with the two qualifications that appear in 1 Timothy 3:12 that must be met by men who want to be deacons.

16. He employs this figure in order to signify a change of persons he is addressing.

17. This figure indicates that he is transitioning from addressing the qualifications for the wives of deacons to two more qualifications for the men who want to be deacons.

18. He also uses this figure to emphasize his statement in 1 Timothy 3:12.

19. It emphasizes how important it is for a deacon to be a one-woman man who is a good manager of his children and his household.

20. As was the case in 1 Timothy 3:8 where the word first appeared in this epistle, the noun diakonos is used of the office of deacon, which we also noted does not refer to a spiritual gift.

21. A deacon can have the gift of administration, i.e. leadership, helps, encouragement, mercy, etc.

22. So it is not a spiritual gift but simply an office of leadership in the church, which is designed to aid the pastor-teacher in administrating the church so that he is free to fulfill his responsibilities of studying, teaching and praying.

23. However, those with the gift of leadership that is mentioned by Paul in Romans 12:8 and is called “administrations” by him in 1 Corinthians 12:28 are deacons because the offices of deacon and overseer are the only offices in the church.

24. Therefore, we can see that those with the gift of leadership are deacons and those with the gift of pastor-teacher are overseers.

25. These two spiritual gifts and offices form the administration or government of the local church.

26. The verb eimi means “to be” in the sense of possessing a particular characteristic that is identified by the expression μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρες, “husbands of only one wife” that follows it.

27. Therefore, it indicates that a deacon must be a one-woman man.

28. The customary present imperative form of eimi is used here for an action that must already be taking place in the life of the man who aspires to the office of deacon because Paul is listing the qualifications for a deacon.

29. It denotes that the man who desires to be a deacon must already be characterized as a one-woman man.

30. The customary present imperative of eimi indicates that it must be an ongoing process that a deacon be a one-woman man.

31. The force is not “let him be” but rather “he must be.”

32. The noun aner “husbands” refers to a male as opposed to a female.

33. In context, it denotes a husband since it is used in relation to gune, which denotes a “wife.”

34. The cardinal number heis functions as an adjective modifying the noun gune, “wife” and means “one” in contrast to more than one.

35. This word indicates that a deacon must be a one woman man and not a polygamist.

36. The noun gune is an attributive genitive meaning that it specifies an attribute or innate quality of the head noun aner.

37. It is similar to a simple adjective in its semantic force but more emphatic and expresses quality like an adjective but with more sharpness and distinctness, thus, this construction emphasizes that a deacon must be a “one-woman man.”

38. This expression emphasizes the character of the man rather than his marital status.

39. A one-woman type of man, can be placed in the office of deacon and trusted to deal with maturity and discretion any situation involving female members.

40. “And good managers of their children and their own households” is composed of the genitive neuter plural form of the noun teknon (τέκνον) (tek-known), “children” and the adverb kalos (καλῶς) (kah-loce), “good”

41. and the nominative masculine plural present middle participle form of the verb proistemi (προΐστημι) (pree-steh-mee), “managers of” and the conjunction kai (καί) (keh), “and”

42. and the articular genitive masculine plural form of the adjective idios (ἴδιος) (ee-thee-oce), “their own” and the genitive masculine singular form of the noun oikos (οἶκος) (ee-koce), “households.”

43. Once again the apostle Paul is employing the figure of asyndeton meaning that he is not using a connective word to connect the previous qualification that a deacon must be a one-woman man and the one to follow that a deacon must manage his own children and household correctly according to the standards of God’s Word.

44. He uses this figure to emphasize the importance of the second qualification that appears in 1 Timothy 3:12.

45. As it did in verses 1 Timothy 3:4-5, the verb proistemi here in 1 Timothy 3:12 means “to exercise a position of authority.”

46. In 1 Timothy 3:4-5 it was used in reference to those men with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher that aspire to the office of overseer.

47. In these verses, it is used with reference to the exercise of their authority over their own households.

48. Here it is used with reference to the exercise of the deacon’s authority over his own household.

49. As was the case in 1 Timothy 3:4-5, here in 1 Timothy 3:12, the word conveys a leadership style characterized by loving care.

50. The word expresses the idea that the man’s children submit to his leadership out of respect for him and not out of fear.