1 Timothy 3

Setting the scene

Who wrote it: Paul (debated)
Who it was for: Timothy, in Ephesus
What was happening: What a church needs in its leaders, and the church itself as the household of the living God

Read the full background in the book overview

What’s happening

"This is a faithful saying: someone who seeks to be an overseer desires a good work." The overseer "must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence (but how could someone who doesn't know how to rule one's own house take care of God's assembly?); not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil." "Servants" (the Greek word is diakonos, "deacons") must likewise be "reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience." They are to be tested first, "then let them serve if they are blameless." Verse 11 says "Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, and faithful in all things," and verse 12 repeats that these servants are to be "husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well." Those who serve well "gain for themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." Paul writes hoping to come soon, "but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God's house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." The chapter ends with a short poem: "Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory."

Why the setting matters

Churches in the first century met in homes, and the household was the model for how they were ordered; that is why the first test for a leader is how he runs his own house (3:4-5), and why the church is called "God's house" (3:15). The word "overseer" (episkopos) was in ordinary use for a supervisor, and in Acts 20:17 and 20:28 and in Titus 1:5-7 Paul seems to use it interchangeably with "elder" (presbyteros); later the church used it for a single bishop over many congregations. The qualities listed are mostly ordinary virtues that people in Ephesus would have admired in any leader, with one gift added: being "able to teach," which is the answer to the false teachers of chapter 1. Several phrases are debated. "Husband of one wife" (literally "a one-woman man") has been read as forbidding polygamy, forbidding remarriage after a spouse's death or divorce, requiring married leaders, or requiring faithfulness in marriage; the Greek does not settle it. In 3:11 "their wives in the same way" could also be translated "the women" and may refer to women who serve as deacons, as Phoebe is called a "servant" (diakonos) of the assembly at Cenchreae in Romans 16:1. The poem in 3:16 looks like an early hymn or creed. It runs in pairs, from earth to heaven and back (flesh and spirit, angels and nations, world and glory), and its opening word is "who" in many manuscripts and "God" in others, so the translation "God was revealed" is not the only reading. "Pillar" is an image from building; Ephesus was famous for the great columns of its temple of Artemis, which may lie behind the picture.

Read 1 Timothy 3 (World English Bible)

Who’s in this chapter

Paul

Hopes to come soon and writes so that Timothy will know how to order the church.

Timothy

Receives the lists of qualities for leaders.

Overseers and deacons

The two kinds of leaders whose qualities are listed.

Christ Jesus

The one revealed in the flesh and received up in glory.

Talk it through

Most of the overseer's qualities are about character rather than skill. What does that suggest about what a church most needs from its leaders?
"Husband of one wife" and "their wives" (or "the women") in 3:2 and 3:11 are read in different ways. What do you think is at stake in each reading?
Paul calls the church "the pillar and ground of the truth." How does that fit with the idea that it must also be guarded and corrected?
The poem in 3:16 moves from "revealed in the flesh" to "received up in glory." What do you notice about what it chooses to include?

Read 1 Timothy 3

World English Bible

¹This is a faithful saying: someone who seeks to be an overseer desires a good work. ²The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; ³not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; ⁴one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; ⁵(but how could someone who doesn’t know how to rule one’s own house take care of God’s assembly?) ⁶not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. ⁷Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil.

⁸Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money, ⁹holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. ¹⁰Let them also first be tested; then let them serve if they are blameless. ¹¹Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, and faithful in all things. ¹²Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. ¹³For those who have served well gain for themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly; ¹⁵but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. ¹⁶Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great:

God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.

Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources

Key words

pistós · faithful
"This is a faithful saying" (3:1) and "faithful in all things" (3:11).
orégomai · seek
"Someone who seeks to be an overseer" (3:1). The verb means to reach out for.
episkopos · overseer, bishop
"The overseer therefore must be without reproach" (3:1-2).
kalós · good
"A good work" (3:1), "good testimony" (3:7), and "good standing" (3:13).
ergon · work, deed
"Desires a good work" (3:1).
anepílēmptos · without reproach
"Without reproach" (3:2; 5:7; 6:14).
gynḗ · woman
"The husband of one wife" (3:2, 3:12) and "their wives" or "the women" (3:11).
nēphálios · temperate
"Temperate" (3:2, 3:11).
sṓphrōn · sensible
"Sensible" (3:2).
kósmios · decent
"Modest" (3:2).
philóxenos · hospitable
"Hospitable" (3:2).
didaktikós · able to teach
"Good at teaching" (3:2).
pároinos · drunkard
"Not a drinker" (3:3).
plḗktēs · violent
"Not violent" (3:3).
aphilárgyros · not greedy for money
"Not greedy for money" (3:3).
ámachos · not quarrelsome
"Not quarrelsome" (3:3).
proístēmi · be over
"One who rules his own house well" (3:4-5, 3:12).
oikos · house, household
"His own house" (3:4-5) and "God's house" (3:15).
semnótēs · reverence
"With all reverence" (3:4).
hypotagḗ · submission
"Having children in subjection" (3:4).
typhóō · puffed up
"Lest being puffed up he fall" (3:6).
diabolos · devil, slanderer
"The same condemnation as the devil" (3:6) and "the snare of the devil" (3:7).
pagís · snare
"The snare of the devil" (3:7).
diakonos · servant, minister, deacon
"Servants, in the same way, must be reverent" (3:8, 3:12).
dílogos · double-tongued
"Not double-tongued" (3:8). The word appears only here.
oînos · wine
"Not addicted to much wine" (3:8; 5:23).
aischrokerdḗs · greedy for money
"Not greedy for money" (3:8).
mystērion · mystery, secret
"Holding the mystery of the faith" (3:9) and "the mystery of godliness" (3:16).
syneidēsis · conscience
"In a pure conscience" (3:9).
dokimázō · to test, to approve
"Let them also first be tested" (3:10).
anénklētos · blameless
"If they are blameless" (3:10).
bathmós · good standing
"A good standing" (3:13). The word appears only here.
parrēsia · boldness, openness
"Great boldness in the faith" (3:13).
anastrophḗ · way of life
"How men ought to behave themselves in God's house" (3:15).
ekklēsia · assembly, church
"God's assembly" (3:5) and "the assembly of the living God" (3:15).
zaō · to live
"The living God" (3:15).
hedraíōma · ground
"The pillar and ground of the truth" (3:15). The word appears only here.
eusébeia · godliness
"The mystery of godliness" (3:16).
homologouménōs · without controversy
"Without controversy" (3:16). The word appears only here.
mégas · great
"The mystery of godliness is great" (3:16).
phaneróō · reveal
"God was revealed in the flesh" (3:16).
sarx · flesh
"Revealed in the flesh" (3:16).
dikaioō · to justify, to declare righteous
"Justified in the spirit" (3:16).
pneuma · spirit, breath, wind
"Justified in the spirit" (3:16) and "the Spirit says expressly" (4:1).
angelos · angel, messenger
"Seen by angels" (3:16).
kēryssō · to proclaim, to preach
"Preached among the nations" (3:16).
pisteuō · to believe, to trust
"Believed on in the world" (3:16).
analambánō · received up
"Received up in glory" (3:16).

See all word studies

Cross-references

Titus 1:5-9, appoint elders in every city... the overseer must be blameless
Acts 20:17-28, the elders of the assembly... the Holy Spirit has made you overseers
Romans 16:1-2, Phoebe, a servant of the assembly that is at Cenchreae
Philippians 2:5-11, another early hymn about Christ, humbled and then exalted

Also linked by other readers

John 1:14, from 1 Timothy 3:16
Hebrews 1:3, from 1 Timothy 3:16
Titus 1:7, from 1 Timothy 3:1, 1 Timothy 3:3

Ranked by reader votes: OpenBible.info Cross References, CC BY. About our sources