Paul's Exhortations & Instructions to Brother Timothy 1st Letter Volume 30

Paul Details to Timothy the Qualifications of Leaders in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ Part 7

1 Timothy 3:11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. KJV

Paul now declares to Timothy that the Deacon candidate, that is, the man considered for this office in the Church of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ must have proven himself capable of such a responsibility in the Church by first being one who is a good judge of character himself by virtue of the woman he has chosen to be his wife, for Paul now list the attributes that must be found in the Deacons wife with these words, "Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things." (1 Timothy 3:11) (KJV). Just as the Deacon himself must be 'grave', so must the wife also be of the same character and again this word 'grave' is translated by the Greek word semnos meaning venerable, that is, profoundly honorable and honored: - grave, honest. Paul is not speaking here of the Deaconnesses as some other Commentators have declared, because he here says specifically wives, for it is certain that not all of the women in the early Church (just as the Church today) were married. The wives of the Deacons needed to be honorable and honest women because they had the ear and mind and the heart of the Deacon and if anyone could corrupt him, it would be his wife. Imagine a Deacon with a wife who is greedy for money and is willing to do anything to get more and more of it, including stealing from the Church coffers, why it won't take long for her to use her feminine wiles (if you get my meaning) upon her husband to get him to see things her way.

Here is what Albert Barnes had to say concerning wives of Deacons, "Chrysostom, Theophylact, Grotius, Bloomfield, and many others, suppose that by the word 'wives,' here, (gunaikas), the Apostle means 'Deaconesses.' Clarke supposes that it refers to women in general. The reason assigned for supposing that it does not refer to the wives of deacons, as such, is, that nothing is said of the qualifications of the wives of Bishops - a matter of as much importance as that of the character of the wife of a Deacon; and that it cannot be supposed that the Apostle would specify the one without some allusion to the other. But that the common interpretation, which makes it refer to the wives of Deacons, as such, is to be adhered to, seems to me to be clear. Because: (1) it is the obvious and natural interpretation. (2) the word here used - 'wives' - is never used of itself to denote Deaconesses. (3) if the Apostle had meant Deaconesses, it would have been easy to express it without ambiguity; compare notes, Romans 16:1. (4) what is here mentioned is important, whether the same thing is mentioned of Bishops or not. (5) in the qualifications of Bishops, the Apostle had made a statement respecting his family, which made any specification about the particular members of the family unnecessary. He was to be one who presided in a proper manner over his own house, or who had a well-regulated family; 1 Timothy 3:4-5. By a comparison of this passage, also, with Titus 2:3-4, which bears a strong resemblance to this, it would seem that it was supposed that the Deacons would be taken from those who were advanced in life, and that their wives would have some superintendence over the younger females of the Church. It was, therefore, especially important that they should be persons whose influence would be known to be decidedly favorable to piety. No one can doubt that the character of a woman may be such, that it is not desirable that her husband should be an officer in the Church. A bad woman ought not to be entrusted with any additional power or influence."

Next the Apostle Paul writes that the wife of Deacons are not to be 'slanderers' and this English word is translated by the Greek word diabolos meaning false accuser, devil, slanderer. In other words, there should be no Deacons wife that has a reputation of attacking others falsely with malicious intent in order to hurt them by backbiting, which in my opinion is the lowest form of the devil himself, for the person who engages in this behavior is cowardice, conniving, cold, and cruel and such a woman should never have access to the Churches materials or people, for here is what the Word of God has to say of a slanderer, "He who hides hatred is of lying lips, and he who utters slander is a [self-confident] fool." (Proverbs 10:18) (Amplified Bible). The Deacons wife should be a woman that is 'sober' and this English word is translated by the Greek word nēphaleos meaning sober, that is, (figuratively) circumspect: - sober, vigilant. In other words, it is fitting that a Deacon would have such a woman by his side that would be alert to potential danger to him and their family, for it may come to pass that the Deacon will be unable to spot the shaddy character in another person, but his wife can and in so doing by her careful observance and attentiveness, she will warn her Deacon husband of such a person or persons and stear her husband and their family away from potential danger (1 Peter 5:8).

When Paul writes here, 'faithful in all things', the English word 'faithful' is translated by the Greek word pistos which simply means objectively trustworthy; subjectively trustful: - believing, sure, true. In other words, she should be the wife that the Deacon can trust with his life and he can trust her to always have his best interest at hand and have the best interest of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ at hand as the Scripture says of Lydia after she believed, "And on the Sabbath day we went outside the [city's] gate to the bank of the river where we supposed there was an [accustomed] place of prayer, and we sat down and addressed the women who had assembled there. One of those who listened to us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in fabrics dyed in purple. She was [already] a worshiper of God, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And when she was baptized along with her household, she earnestly entreated us, saying, If in your opinion I am one really convinced [that Jesus is the Messiah and the Author of salvation] {and} that I will be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she induced us [to do it]." (Acts 16:13-15) (Amplified Bible). Here is what the JFB Commentary had to say concerning faithfulness of Deacons wives, "Trustworthy in respect to the alms committed to them and their other functions, answering to 'not greedy of filthy lucre,' 1 Timothy 3:8, in the case of the deacons."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…