1 Timothy 3
1 Faithful is the saying, If any man aspires to supervision, he desires a good work.
Faithful is the saying, "If any one is eager to have the oversight of a Church, he desires a noble work."
2 The overseer therefore must be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, serious minded, disciplined, loving strangers, able to teach,
A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching;
3 no drunkard, not a fighter, not greedy of base gain, but gentle, noncontentious, no lover of money,
not a hard drinker nor given to blows; not selfish or quarrelsome or covetous;
4 a man who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all propriety
but ruling his own household wisely and well, with children kept under control with true dignity.
5 (but if any man knows not how to rule his own house, how will he take care of a congregation of God?),
(If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how shall he have the Church of God given into his care?)
6 not a new convert, lest having been puffed up he may fall into the condemnation of the devil.
He ought not to be a new convert, for fear he should be blinded with pride and come under the same condemnation as the Devil.
7 And he must also have good testimony from those outside, lest he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
It is needful also that he bear a good character with people outside the Church, lest he fall into reproach or a snare of the Devil.
8 Helpers likewise, be honorable, not double-tongued, not attending to much wine, not greedy of base gain,
Deacons, in the same way, must be men of serious demeanour, not double-tongued, nor addicted to much wine, nor greedy of base gain,
9 holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
but holding the secret truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
10 And let these also first be proven, then being blameless, let them serve.
And they must also be well-tried men, and when found to be of unblemished character then let them serve as deacons.
11 The wives likewise, be honorable, not slanderous, sober, faithful in all things.
Deaconesses, in the same way, must be sober-minded women, not slanderers, but in every way temperate and trustworthy.
12 Let helpers be husbands of one wife, ruling children and their own houses well.
A deacon must be true to his one wife, and rule his children and his own household wisely and well.
13 For those who serve well will acquire to themselves a good standing, and much boldness in the faith in Christ Jesus.
For those who have filled the deacon's office wisely and well, are already gaining for themselves an honourable standing, and are acquiring great freedom of speech in proclaiming the faith which rests on Christ Jesus.
14 These things I write to thee, hoping to come to thee sooner,
All this I write to you, though I am hoping before long to come to see you.
15 but if I delay, that thou may know how it is necessary to live in a house of God, which is a congregation of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
But, for fear I may be hindered, I now write, so that you may have rules to guide you in dealing with God's household. For this is what the Church of the ever-living God is, and it is the pillar and foundation-stone of the truth.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of piety. God was manifested in flesh, justified in spirit, seen by agents, proclaimed among nations, believed in the world, taken up in glory.
And, beyond controversy, great is the mystery of our religion-- that Christ appeared in human form, and His claims justified by the Spirit, was seen by angels and proclaimed among Gentile nations, was believed on in the world, and received up again into glory.
