1 This is a faithful saying, "If any man is seeking the office of a minister he is aspiring to a noble task."

2 The minister should be a man of blameless character; he should be husband of but one wife; he should live a sober, self-restrained, orderly life; he should be hospitable, skilled in teaching;

3 no drinker or brawler; but forbearing, peaceable, and no money- lover;

4 he should be a man who rules his own household well, and keeps his children ever under control and thoroughly well behaved.

5 For if a man does not know how to rule his own household, how shall he take charge of a church of God?

6 He must not be a recent convert, lest he be blinded with pride, and incur the doom of the devil.

7 He should also have a good reputation among outsiders, lest he fall into reproach, and into a snare of the devil.

8 Deacons, likewise, must be serious, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of gain,

9 holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

10 They should first be tested, and after that, if they are found irreproachable, let them serve as deacons.

11 Deaconesses likewise must be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.

12 Let deacons be the husband of but one wife, men who rule their children and their household properly.

13 For those who have well discharged the duties of a deacon are gaining an honorable position for themselves, as well as much fearless confidence in the faith of Christ Jesus.

14 Although I am hoping to come to you before long,

15 I am writing this to you in case I should be detained, to let you see how you ought to behave in the household of God - the Church of the everliving God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth.

16 Yes! without contradiction, great is the mystery of godliness!