1 Timothy 3:10 - Exposition

Serve as deacons for use the office of a deacon , A.V.; if they be for being found , A.V. And let these also , etc. There is an ambiguity in the English here. It is not" these also"—these in addition to others, i.e. the bishops before named—but "these be also first proved." Their general character, as described in 1 Timothy 3:8 , 1 Timothy 3:9 , must not be taken upon loose hearsay, but must be put to the test by examination, by special testimony, by inquiry, and then, if they are ἀνέγκλητοι , not accused, not open to just blame, blameless , let them be admitted to serve as deacons (see 1 Timothy 3:13 , note). The Church of England scrupulously acts up to these directions by requiring written testimonials, by personal inquiries made by the bishop, by the Si quis , by the appeal to the congregation in the Ordination Service, "Brethren, if there be any of you who knoweth any impediment, or notable crime, in any of these persons presented to be ordained deacons, for the which he ought not to be admitted to that office, let him come forth in the name of God, and show what the crime or impediment is;" as well as by the careful examination of the candidates. Blameless (comp. Titus 1:6 , Titus 1:7 ); ἀνέγκλητος , rendered in the Vulgate nullum crimen habentes (which seems to explain the "notable crime" of the Ordination Service), and in Colossians 1:22 "unreprovable" both in the A.V. and the R.V. The whole passage, from Colossians 1:2 to Colossians 1:13 , shows the supreme importance of a holy and blameless conversation in the clergy.