OEBcth - I Timothy - 3

3:1  How true is this saying: ‘To aspire to be to be a presiding officer in the church is to be ambitious for a noble task.’

3:2  The presiding officer should be of blameless character; a faithful partner; living a temperate, discreet, and well-ordered life; hospitable, and a skilful teacher,

3:3  not addicted to drink or brawling, but of a forbearing and peaceable disposition, and not a lover of money;

3:4  they should provide for own household well, and their children should kept under control and be well-behaved.

3:5  If someone does not know how to provide for their own household, how can they take charge of the church of God?

3:6  The presiding officer should not be a recent convert, or they might become blinded by pride and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.

3:7  They should also be well spoken of by outsiders, so that they may not incur censure and so fall into the devil's trap.

3:8  So, too, assistant officers should be serious and straightforward, not given to taking much drink or to questionable money-making,

3:9  but people who hold the deep truths of the faith and have a clear conscience.

3:10  They should be tested first, and only appointed to their office if no objection is raised against them.

3:11  It should be the same with the women in this office. They should be serious, not gossips, sober, and trustworthy in all respects.

3:12  Assistant officers should be faithful partners who manage their children and their households well.

3:13  Those who have filled that post with honour gain for themselves an honourable position, as well as great confidence through the faith that they place in Christ Jesus.

3:14  I am writing this to you, though I hope that I will come to see you before long;

3:15  but in case I should be delayed, I want you to know what your conduct ought to be in the Household of God, which is the church of the living God — the pillar and stay of the truth.

3:16  Yes, and confessedly wonderful are the deep truths of our religion; for — ‘He was revealed in our nature, Pronounced righteous in spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Taken up into glory.’