After giving
the requirements for deacons in the church, Paul the apostle
instructed Timothy concerning the wives of deacons. He wrote they,
“must” “be
grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.”,
and in
chapter three and verse twelve of his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote
about deacons having “one wife” and
“ruling their children and houses
well”
where we read:
Let the
deacons be the husbands of one wife,
ruling
their children and their own houses well.
The
verse begins, “Let the deacons be the
husbands of one wife,...”
Paul began this verse with the Greek phrase “esto
diakonos esto”
which means
“Let”
or “allow or permit” “the deacons
be” or
“ones who execute the commands of another, servants, attendants or
waiters like those who serve food” “the
husbands”
which refers to “an adult male who is espoused or married” “of
one wife” which
means “only one, singularly, first and a certain espoused or
married woman”. The idea was for deacons not to have multiple wives
which was the custom in Ephesus where Timothy was to oversee the
church.
The
verse continues, “...
ruling their children and their own houses well.”
In addition to having only “one wife”,
the deacons were to be known for “ruling”
or “superintending, presiding over, protecting and caring for”
“their children”
which means “offspring or dependents” “and their own”
which refers to “that which pertains to one's self, one's own and
belongs to one's self” “houses”
or “habitations, dwelling places, or homes” “well”
which means “beautifully,
finely, excellently and in honor”. Deacons were to be known for
overseeing their children and their homes in an excellent and
honorable manner.
As
we think through these words of Paul, let us be reminded that a man
was to be examined before he was given the office of a deacon. In the
days of Paul the apostle, it was common for a man to have what were
essentially three wives. The first was for bearing children and
caring for the home. The second was for pleasure such as a concubine,
and the third was for adventure and fun. This is unacceptable for the
office of a deacon. The Bible is clear from the beginning that there
was to be only one wife, and if a deacon was to be in leadership, he
was to abide by the original intent of God for marriage. In addition,
the deacon needed to rule well in his own home. If his children were
out of control, disorderly and unmanaged by him, why would anyone
think he could rule in the church? The litmus test for leadership in
the church was leadership in his home, and Paul conveyed the
importance of examining a man's home before he was given the position
of deacon in the church. Perhaps this is a good time for us to
examine our own situations. If we are married, are we faithful? If we
have children, do we manage them well? May the Lord Jesus bring us to
the knowledge of what He expects from us in our marriages and in our
homes.
Next
time Paul commends those who use “the office of a deacon”
and shares about their “boldness”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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