The Bible Study Podcast, episode 81. Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of First Timothy.

Welcome to the Bible Study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen. Let's jump right in here to

First Timothy

Chapter 3. Here is a trustworthy saying, if anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,

he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife,

temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent,

but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that

his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family,

how can he take care of God's church. He must not be a

recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must

also have good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's

trap. Deacons likewise are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.

They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.

They must first be tested, and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

So Paul is talking about people who are going to be leaders in the church, and he uses

the word overseer. It's also translated as traditionally bishop, or the head of the local church.

And he's setting aside some requirements that he's saying we should look for in the character

of the people who would serve as a bishop or an overseer. Now, he is in both of these sections for the bishop and the deacons using a male pronoun,

and I'm not getting into much detail with that because we just talked about that somewhat

in the last chapter, in the last episode, two weeks ago.

But I would say that one thing we should be aware of, at least with the term deacon, Paul also uses that term in Romans 16 verse 1 about our sister Phoebe, a servant or a deacon of the church in Sencrea.

So Paul does, at least in one other case, name somebody as a deacon or as a servant of the church, which is what deacon means, who is a woman.

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