These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:14-16

The Apostle Paul is now summarizing everything that He just taught under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. “That you may know how to conduct yourself in the House of God” This is clear instructions of how the Church is to be structured and behave together. What is the House of God? The Apostle Paul defines it here “the Church of the Living God” the Ekklesia, the body of Christ, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul is laying down the foundation of how the body of Christ is to be structured. Over time Christians have strayed away from this order, but this was the God given order by the Holy Spirit. The root of alot of failure within the Church today is the disobedience of the Church. The Holy Spirit has given us directions through the Apostles, yet many people still defy those orders and make up their own religions which ultimately fail

Now the Apostle Paul here says “And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness” Throughout the Apostle Pauls epistles, he reveals mysteries or revelations from God. The Apostle Paul is giving us revelation from God, he is given us explanation or commentary on the Old Testament or doctrine of God. Here the Apostle Paul is revealing to everyone that Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh.

Back up again , remember the Apostle Paul said “without controversy, Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh” Even today, the revelation of Jesus Christ being God in the Flesh is a great controversy, in fact many people who profess to be Christians still try to deny this fact. The Apostle Paul is saying, and I’m paraphrasing, this is not even debatable, this is foundational Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is God manifested into the flesh. Again, going back to many Christians deny the revelation and instructions of scripture, which ultimately leads them to fall away to a false religion

“Justified in the Spirit” The Apostle Paul gives recognition to the Holy Spirit, who was there also , as the Triune God throughout Jesus ministry, the Incarnation of Christ, the Wilderness, the Baptism of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ. The Holy Spirit was with Christ throughout the fulfillment of Christ ministry

“Seen of Angels” Now this is an interesting passage, because the original Greek word “angelos” can also mean messengers. I believe this passage is in reference to the Apostles being eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ

“Preached among the Gentiles” Here the word Gentiles can also be translated as world. As we know the Great Commision (Matthew 28:19) needs to be fulfilled, The gospel of Jesus Christ preached to the entire world, the fullness of the gentiles must happen!

“Believed on in the world” The gospel is not only preached to the entire world, but the gospel will be received by the elect, the remnant of God that was chosen before the foundation of the world

“Received up into glory” And this is obviously a reference to the Ascension of Christ, where 40 days after the resurrection of Christ, Jesus ascended back to Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, as King of all Kings , and Lord of all Lords. All power and authority has been given to our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 3:8-13

Here we see the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, giving the qualifications for the leaders of the Church. Previously Paul gave the qualifications for an “overseer” which includes positions such as a Pastor, Elder, ect. And we see the qualifications are we see the seriousness of these callings. Nobody should enter into these positions lightly, as the Apostle James said “Not everyone should be a teacher, as you will be held under stricter judgment” (James 3:1)

Today we look at the position of “Deacon” this word means “to serve” A deacon is essentially anyone who is serving the Church under the authority of the Overseer (Pastor, Elder, ect) While many like to claim the title as Deacon for carnal reasons, from a Biblical perspective, the Deacon is a servant of the Church, held under strict qualifications just as the overseer, as the Apostle Paul says “they should have great boldness in that faith which is in Christ Jesus”

Now an interesting note in verse 11, the original Greek word is “Gune”now this word can be translated as wife, but also as woman. If you look at the different English translations, many translate it as woman, meaning this role as “deacon” is open to men and women in Christ. We can see an example of this in the Bible, Romans 16:1 Phoebe is listed as a deacon or servant of the Church. 

However in the next verse 12, we see the Apostle Paul says “Deacons to be the husbands of one wife” So the question would be in verse 11, is Paul addressing the woman deacons or is he addressing the wives of the men deacons of the Church? Either way, this position of Deacon is to be under the spiritual authority of the Overseer (Pastor/Elder) 

It’s clear the Deacon is not to be a new convert, as the Apostle Paul says “let them first be proved, and let them use the office of deacon , being found blameless” This should be a mature Christian, who has been proven to the Church for their spiritual maturity and leadership. In the Early Church , one of the main responsibilities of the deacon was managing the finances of the Church. As you can imagine, this trust needed to be put in a Christian who was well respected and trusted by the body of Christ.