1The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. (徒20:28; 提前1:15)2Therefore an overseer[1] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,[2] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, (提前3:11; 提前5:9; 提后2:24; 多1:6; 多2:2; 彼前4:9)3not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. (提前6:10; 多3:2; 來13:5)4He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, (提前3:12)5for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? (提前3:1)6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. (提前6:4; 提后3:4)7Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (可4:11; 提前6:9; 提后2:26)
Qualifications for Deacons
8Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,[3] not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. (腓1:1; 提前5:23; 多1:7; 多2:3; 彼前5:2)9They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. (徒23:1; 提前1:19)10And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. (提前5:22)11Their wives likewise[4] must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. (多2:3; 多2:10)12Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. (提前3:2; 提前3:4)13For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. (太25:21)
The Mystery of Godliness
14I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,15if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.16Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He[5] was manifested in the flesh, vindicated[6] by the Spirit,[7] seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (路2:13; 路24:4; 约1:14; 徒1:2; 加2:2; 帖后1:10; 彼前1:20)