Deacons Proved and Blameless 1 Timothy 3:10

As Paul the apostle listed the requirements for “deacons” in the church, he told Timothy they must “be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;” and “holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.” In chapter three and verse ten of his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote that these “deacons” must “be proved” and “blameless” where we read:

And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon,

being found blameless.

The verse begins, “And let these also first be proved;” Paul began this verse with, “And let” which means “allow, permit, give time for discernment” “these also” which refers to the candidates for “deacons” “first” or “principally, as a priority and rank” “be proved” which means “tried, examined, scrutinized and deemed worthy”. The Greek phrase is “dokimazō houtos kai prōton dokimazō”. The idea particularly with the word “dokimazō” used twice is “examine and examine again, thoroughly, with much scrutinization” those who are to be deacons in the church.

The verse goes on to say, “then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.” Paul continued, “then” or “next, after that or after the examination and being proved “let them use the office of a deacon” which means “be a servant to, attend to, be domesticated towards, serve and wait upon others”. Only after full scrutiny and examination were men who desired to be “deacons” allowed to serve others “being found blameless” which means “that which cannot be called into to account, unreproveable and unaccused”. Those who desired the “office of a deacon” were to be examined first, and when they were found “blameless”, then they could occupy the position in the church.

While we think on these words of Paul, we may wonder if anyone could qualify to be a deacon when the requirement was “blameless”. However, Paul did not employ the word “perfect”, and therefore there is a window of opportunity available. Too often men have been allowed the “office of a deacon” with very little examination of their lives, and it has caused much reproach to come upon the church. The idea is there should be a “testing period” for those who desire the “office of a deacon”, and in that examination time, character should be revealed. Though no one knows a person more than the Lord Jesus Himself, the time of scrutinization is better than no examination at all. Paul's writings concerning “deacons” should be enough to know that Paul had concerns that there would be those in the church who would desire the “office of a deacon” but would later bring shame upon it. Let us be mindful of the ways a “deacon” should be, and may we allow the Lord to add those characteristics to our lives as well.

Next time Paul shares concerning “deacons” wives, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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