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1The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.[#1:15; #Acts 20:28]
2Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,[#Titus 1:6-9; #3:2 Or bishop ; Greek ; a similar term occurs in verse 1; #5:9; #3:2 Or a man of one woman ; also verse 12; #11; Titus 2:2; #1 Pet. 4:9; #2 Tim. 2:24]
3not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.[#Titus 3:2; #Heb. 13:5; 6:10]
4He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,[#12]
5for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?[#1]
6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.[#6:4; 2 Tim. 3:4]
7Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.[#Mark 4:11; #2 Tim. 2:26; 6:9]
8Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.[#Phil. 1:1; #3:8 Or devious in speech; #5:23; Titus 2:3; #Titus 1:7; 1 Pet. 5:2]
9They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.[#1:19; #Acts 23:1]
10And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.[#5:22]
11Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.[#Titus 2:3; #3:11 Or Wives likewise , or; #Titus 2:10]
12Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.[#2, 4; #2, 4]
13For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.[#Matt. 25:21]
14I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,
15if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
16Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,