First Epistle to Timothy - The New Testament

¹ Here is a saying that you can rely on: to want to be a presiding elder is to desire a noble task.

² That is why the presiding elder must have an impeccable character. Husband of one wife, he must be temperate, discreet and courteous, hospitable and a good teacher;

³ not a heavy drinker, nor hot-tempered, but gentle and peaceable, not avaricious,

⁴ a man who manages his own household well and brings his children up to obey him and be well-behaved:

⁵ how can any man who does not understand how to manage his own household take care of the Church of God?

⁶ He should not be a new convert, in case pride should turn his head and he incur the same condemnation as the devil.

⁷ It is also necessary that he be held in good repute by outsiders, so that he never falls into disrepute and into the devil's trap.

⁸ Similarly, deacons must be respectable, not double-tongued, moderate in the amount of wine they drink and with no squalid greed for money.

⁹ They must hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

¹⁰ They are first to be examined, and admitted to serve as deacons only if there is nothing against them.

¹¹ Similarly, women must be respectable, not gossips, but sober and wholly reliable.

¹² Deacons must be husbands of one wife and must be people who manage their children and households well.

¹³ Those of them who carry out their duties well as deacons will earn a high standing for themselves and an authoritative voice in matters concerning faith in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ I write this to you in the hope that I may be able to come to you soon;

¹⁵ but in case I should be delayed, I want you to know how people ought to behave in God's household -- that is, in the Church of the living God, pillar and support of the truth.

¹⁶ Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is very deep indeed: He was made visible in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.