Act 16:2, 1Ti 3:7-8, 10 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 2. Which . That is, Timothy. The connexion requires us to understand this of him. Of the character of his father nothing is known. Was well reported of . Was esteemed highly as a young man of piety and promise. ; comp. . Timothy had been religiously educated. He was carefully trained in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and was therefore the better qualified for his work, . (f) "well reported"

Acts 16:2

Verse 2. Which. That is, Timothy. The connexion requires us to understand this of him. Of the character of his father nothing is known.

Was well reported of. Was esteemed highly as a young man of piety and promise. Acts 6:3; comp. 1Timm 5:10. Timothy had been religiously educated. He was carefully trained in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and was therefore the better qualified for his work, 2Ti 3:15.

(f) "well reported" Acts 6:3

1 Timothy 3:7-8

Verse 7. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without. Who are without the church; that is, of those who are not Christians. This includes, of course, all classes of those who are not Christians--heathens, infidels, Jews, moral men, and scoffers. The idea is, that he must have a fair reputation with them for integrity of character. His life must be in their view upright must not be addicted to anything which they regard as inconsistent with good morals. His deportment must be such that they shall regard it as not inconsistent with his profession. He must be true, and just, and honest in his dealings with his fellow-men, and so live that they cannot say that he has wronged them. lie must not give occasion for scandal or reproach in his intercourse with the other sex, but must be regarded as a man of a pure life and of a holy walk. The reason for this injunction is too obvious. It is his business to endeavour to do such men good, and to persuade them to become Christians. But no minister of the gospel can possibly do such men good, unless they regard him as an upright and honest man. No matter how he preaches or prays; no matter how orthodox, learned, or apparently devout he may be, all his efforts will be in vain unless they regard him as a man of incorruptible integrity. If they hate religion themselves, they insist justly that since he has professed it, he shall be governed by its principles; or if they feel its importance, they will not be influenced to embrace it by a man that they regard as hypocritical and impure. Go to a man whom you have defrauded, or who regards you as having done or attempted wrong to any other one, and talk to him about the necessity of religion, and he will instinctively say, that he does not want a religion which will not make its professor true, honest, and pure. It is impossible, therefore, for a minister to over-estimate the importance of having a fair character in the view of the world, and no man should be introduced into the ministry, or sustained in it, who has not a fair reputation. Col 4:5; 1Thes 4:12.

Lest he fall into reproach. That is, in such a way as to bring dishonour on the ministerial character. His life will be such as to give men occasion to reproach the cause of religion.

And the snare of the devil. The snare which the devil lays to entrap and ruin the ministers of the gospel and all good men. The snare to which reference is here made, is that of blasting the character and influence of the minister of the gospel. The idea is, that Satan lays this snare so to entangle him as to secure this object, and the means which he uses is the vigilance and suspicion of those who are out of the church. If there is anything of this kind in the life of a minister which they can make use of, they will be ready to do it. Hence the necessity, on his part, of an upright and blameless life. Satan is constantly aiming at this thing; the world is watching for it; and if the minister has any propensity which is not in entire accordance with honesty, Satan will take advantage of it, and lead him into the snare.

(d) "them which are without" Acts 22:12, 1Thes 4:12 (e) "snare or the devil" 1Timm 6:9, 2Ti 2:26 Verse 8. Likewise must the deacons. On the meaning of the word deacons, Php 1:1. On their appointment, Acts 6:1. The word here evidently denotes those who had charge of the temporal affairs of the church, the poor, etc. No qualifications are mentioned, implying that they were to be preachers of the gospel. In most respects, except in regard to preaching, their qualifications were to be the same as those of the bishops.

Be grave. Serious, sober-minded men. In Acts 6:3, it is said that they should be men of honest report. On the meaning of the word grave, 1Thes 3:4. They should be men, who, by their serious deportment, will inspire respect.

Not double-tongued. The word here used --διλογος does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It means, properly, uttering the same thing twice, (from δις and λεγω,) and then deceitful, or speaking one thing and meaning another. They should be men who can be relied on for tile exact truth of what they say, and for the exact fulfilment of their promises.

Not given to much wine. 1Thes 3:3. The word much is added here to what is said (1Timm 3:8) of the qualification of a bishop. It is not affirmed that it would be proper for the deacon, any more than the bishop, to indulge in the use of wine in small quantities, but it is affirmed that a man who is much given to the use of wine, ought not, on any consideration, to be a deacon. It may be remarked here, that this qualification was everywhere regarded as necessary for a minister of religion. Even the heathen priests, on entering a temple, did not drink wine.--Bloomfield. The use of wine, and of strong drinks of all kinds, was absolutely prohibited to the Jewish ministers of every rank, when they were about to engage in the service of God, Lev 10:9. Why should it, then, be any more proper for a Christian minister to drink wine, than for a Jewish or a heathen priest! Shall a minister of the gospel be less holy than they? Shall he have a feebler sense of the purity of his vocation? Shall he be less careful lest he expose himself to the possibility of conducting the services of religion in an irreverent and silly manner? Shall he venture to approach the altar of God under the influence of intoxicating drinks, when a sense of propriety restrained the heathen priest, and a solemn statute of Jehovah restrained the Jewish priest from doing it?

Not greedy of filthy lucre. 1Timm 3:3. The special reason why this qualification was important in the deacon was, that he would be intrusted with the funds of the church, and might be tempted to appropriate them to his own use, instead of the charitable purposes for which they were designed. See this illustrated in the case of Judas, Jn 12:6.

(a) "be grave" Acts 6:3 (b) "not given" 1Timm 3:3, Lev 10:9

1 Timothy 3:10

Verse 10. And let these also be first proved. That is, tried or tested in regard to the things which were the proper qualifications for the office. This does not mean that they were to be employed as preachers, but that they were to undergo a proper trial in regard to their fitness for the office which they were to fill. They were not to be put into it without any opportunity of knowing what they were. It should be ascertained that they were grave, serious, temperate, trustworthy men; men who were sound in the faith, and who would not dishonour the office. It is not said here, that there should be a formal trial, as if they were candidates for this office; but the meaning is, that they should have had an opportunity of making their character known, and should have gained such respect for their piety, and their other qualifications, that there would be reason to believe that they would perform the functions of the office well. Thus, in Acts 6:3, when deacons were first appointed, the church was directed to "look out seven men of honest report," who might be appointed to the office.

Then let them use the office of a deacon. Let them be appointed to this office, and fulfil its duties.

Being found blameless. If nothing can be alleged against their character. 1Timm 3:2.