1 Timothy 3:1-16

BLB(i) 1 Trustworthy is the saying: If anyone aspires to overseership, he is desirous of a good work. 2 Therefore it behooves the overseer to be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to wine, not a striker, but gentle, peaceable, not loving money, 4 managing the own house well, having children in submission, with all dignity— 5 but if one does not know how to manage the own household, how will he care for the church of God?— 6 not a novice, lest having been puffed up, he might fall into the judgment of the devil. 7 And it behooves him also to have a good testimony from those outside, so that he might not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not being given to much wine, not greedy of dishonest gain, 9 holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And these also, let them be tested first; then let them serve, being blameless. 11 Women likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, clear-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be husbands of one wife, managing the children and the own households well. 13 For those having served well acquire a good standing for themselves and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. 14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you in a short time, 15 but if I should delay, so that you may know how it behooves one to conduct oneself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth. 16 And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: Who was revealed in the flesh, was justified in the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.