Bible Strands
1 Timothy 3:10
Additionally, they must first be tested. Then, if they are above reproach, let them serve as deacons.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to Timothy to establish orderly qualifications for church office. This verse specifies the procedural requirement for men selected for the deacon role.
The words — The Greek δοκιμαζέσθωσαν (dokimazesthōsan) literally means "they should be tested." The term ἀνέγκλητοι (anegklētoi) translates to "blameless," marking the threshold before service begins.
The thread — The warning against hasty appointment runs in 1 Timothy 5:22, which commands against being too quick to lay hands on someone. The connection between verified service and spiritual standing appears in 1 Timothy 3:13 and the blameless standard for elders in Titus 1:6.
Why it lands — The text requires a verified period of observation before any man assumes the deacon office. Readers must apply deliberate, evidence-based evaluation to leadership selection rather than relying on immediate recommendation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
Cross-references
- 1 Timothy 5:22 Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
- 1 Timothy 3:13 For those who have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
- Titus 1:6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.
- Acts 6:1 In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
- 1 Corinthians 1:8 He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 1 Timothy 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
- 1 Timothy 3:6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.
- Colossians 1:22 But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—
- 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.