Women Deacons, Deacons’ Assistants, or Wives of Deacons?

By Alexander Strauch [1] [2]

In 1 Timothy 3:8–9 Paul lists five character qualifications for deacons:

1. Men of dignity
2. Not double-tongued
3. Not addicted to much wine
4. Not fond of sordid gain
5. Holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience

After giving these qualifications, he insists that each candidate for deaconship be publicly examined and approved before serving as a deacon: “And let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach” (3:10).

Then, in verse 11, by means of the word “likewise,” Paul introduces a new class of people who are closely associated with deacons. Paul lists four character qualifications for this group of people, indicating that this third group also must serve the church in some way. People in this group must be:

1. Dignified
2. Not malicious gossips
3. Temperate
4. Faithful in all things

Finally, in verse 12, Paul resumes his list of personal character requirements for deacons: “Let deacons be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households.”

1. To help visualize what we have just stated, 1 Timothy 3:8–13 is divided below into four sections.
2. Deacons [male] likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience (verses 8–9).
3. And let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach (verse 10).
4. Γυναῖκας [gynaikas, women/wives] must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things (verse 11).
5. Let deacons [male] be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households (verse 12).

Who is this new group of people called γυναῖκας (pronounced goo-NAI-kas, the accusative plural of γυνή, gynē)? In Greek, γυνή (pronounced, goo-NAY) is the standard word for an adult woman or wife. Only the context determines if γυνή should be translated as “woman” or “wife.” Thus, γυναῖκας are either (1) women who are deacons, (2) women who assist deacons, or (3) wives who assist their deacon husbands. Although each view has its problems, the interpretation we seek to defend most adequately explains all of the following key interpretive issues of the text.

The Meaning of the Word Γυναῖκασ (Gynaikas, Women/Wives)

Certainly in this passage Paul is not referring to Christian women in general, as he does in 1 Timothy 2:9. In the middle of a context regarding deacons’ qualifications and church office, it is most unlikely that he would start talking about general character qualifications for all the women of the church. This would senselessly interrupt an otherwise orderly passage. Since these women are not Christian women in general, we would expect Paul to use a modifying word or phrase that clearly identifies who these γυναῖκας are. For example, he might have used “women who help,” “women who are deacons,” or “their women” (wives). But he does not. Paul simply writes γυναῖκας with no modifier. This presents a problem of interpretation.

The Placement of Verse 11

The position of verse 11, which is wedged in the middle of a context on male deacons, appears to be awkward. Why does Paul list four qualifications for certain women in the middle of his instruction on male deacons’ qualifications? Do these women not deserve a separate paragraph of their own after or before the instruction on male deacons?

The Issue of Women Officers

Paul’s teaching on women’s role in the local church (1 Timothy 2:9–15) is intimately tied with his instruction on overseers and deacons:

Likewise, I want women [γυναῖκας] to adorn themselves with proper clothing. .. [and] by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness. .. . But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression (2:9a, 10, 12–14; italics added).

First Timothy 2:9–15 and 3:1–13 must never be isolated from each other or be allowed to contradict each other. They are inseparably woven together. Therefore, 1 Timothy 2:9–15 is part of the larger context to which 1 Timothy 3:11 belongs and must be considered when interpreting 1 Timothy 3:11. [3]

The word “likewise” (ὡσαύτως, hōsautōs) in verse 11 signals that Paul is introducing a new class of people: γυναῖκας—women/wives. This new group is distinct from, yet compared with, the male deacons mentioned previously. Some commentators think that “likewise” necessitates another church office similar to the ones preceding.

With these critical interpretive issues in mind, let us examine three possible interpretations of 1 Timothy 3:11.

Women Who Are Deacons

Many sound Bible students interpret γυναῖκας to mean “women who are deacons.” The strongest reason for thinking these women are deacons is that the entire context is about church officers. Thus women introduced by “likewise,” parallel with verse 8, would appear to be women officers who are similar to deacons. This view, however, raises the perplexing question of why Paul would write γυναῖκας if he means “women deacons.”

Why Γυναῖκασ (Gynaikas, Women) and not Τὰσ Διακόνουσ (Tas Diakonous, Deaconesses)
Patrick Fairbairn (1805–1875), a Scottish theologian and commentator who defends the view of women deacons, honestly admits that this is difficult to explain. In his classic commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, Fairbairn confesses, “It still is somewhat strange, however, that the general term women (γυναῖκας) is employed, and not the specific deaconesses (τὰς διακόνους [tas diakonous]), which would have excluded all uncertainty as to the meaning.” [4]

In the Greek language of New Testament times, Koine Greek, there was no special word for deaconess. The first recorded instance of the Greek word διακόνισσα (diakonissa [“deaconess”]), appears to be in the nineteenth canon of the First Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325). [5] However, the Greek noun διάκονος (diakonos), although masculine in form, is among a select number of second declension nouns that can be either masculine or feminine. Thus the masculine form can apply to women. There is no special feminine form such as διακόνη (diakonē ).

To illustrate this point, in Romans 16:1 Paul refers to a woman named Phoebe as a διάκονος. He writes, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant [διάκονον, diakonon] of the church which is at Cenchrea.” If, for the sake of argument, we say that Phoebe was a deacon as many commentators claim, then obviously Paul had no reluctance in calling her a “deacon,” διάκονος. (As to whether Phoebe was a deacon or not, the text in Romans 16 is ambiguous. [6] There are not enough clear indicators from the text to determine if διάκονος simply means a caring servant in the general sense or a deacon in the official sense.) Therefore, if women were part of the diaconate in the church at Ephesus, they would also be called deacons, διάκονοι (diakonoi), like their male counterparts.

The question then is, if Paul is singling out women deacons in verse 11, why does he use the ambiguous and general word γυναῖκας (gynaikas), and not διάκονοι (diakonoi) with the feminine article—τὰς διακόνους (tas diakonous, “women deacons”)?

In referring to the two previous officers, Paul uses specific titles of office: “overseer” (verse 2) and “deacons” (verses 8, 12). So why does he not again use a specific title to identify who he means—especially if they are church officers? Furthermore, since διάκονος can be either masculine or feminine, should we not expect διάκονοι in verse 8 to cover both male and female deacons? Therefore it would be unnecessary for Paul to add verse 11, which says the same thing as verses 8–9. Let us look at this problem more closely.

In English, for example, we speak of the “minister” or “pastor” of a church, but today that person may be either male or female. We do not call a woman minister or pastor a “ministeress” or “pastoress”. We say minister or pastor. The same thing is true of the word nurse. A nurse may be either male or female. We have no special form to distinguish male or female nurses. The same situation exists with the Greek word διάκονος. [7]

Why, after listing five qualifications for “deacons” that could include males or females, does Paul in verse 11 repeat nearly the same qualifications for women deacons? That would be like saying that all nurses must attend four years of college and then singling out male nurses and repeating with slightly different terminology that male nurses must attend four years of college. The required four years of college apply to all nurses, male or female.

If Paul is indeed singling out female deacons in verse 11, we then should expect him to add some uniquely important qualifications for women deacons. That is not the case. Instead, as all commentators agree, Paul lists nearly the same qualifications as those listed in verses 8–9. So, to understand γυναῖκας as referring to women deacons leaves us with formidable unanswered questions.

The Placement of Verse 11

A second problem that confronts the view of women deacons is the placement of verse 11 in the middle of a paragraph on male deacons’ qualifications. Verse 11, if referring to women deacons, seems to be an awkward interjection of thought in a section that is basically well-ordered. It would seem more orderly if verse 11 were placed at the end of verse 12.

Particularly arresting is the use of the word “deacons” in verse 12, which alerts the reader that Paul is resuming his subject of the deacons’ personal qualifications. His insertion of the word “deacons” makes it appear that verse 11 refers to someone other than women deacons.

Although these questions are somewhat problematic, they could be explained by Paul’s unique style of writing. It is not uncommon for Paul to interject related ideas into his flow of thought as they come to mind (1 Tim. 5:23). So the placement of verse 11, although problematic, is not a decisive argument against the interpretation that γυναῖκας refers to women deacons.

The Presence of Women Officers

Finally, those who believe in women deacons must reconcile the idea of women officials in the church with Paul’s prohibition against women taking authority over men in the church. According to the New Testament, deacons hold an official position of authority, in close association with the overseers. Deacons do not simply provide private, individual help to others—something all Christian men and women are to do. Deacons guide and direct the entire church’s overall welfare ministry. They make decisions that affect the whole church body. They are the church’s official managers or representatives of mercy ministries.

Since both offices, eldership and deaconship, demand the exercise of authority that extends over the entire local church, an argument can be made that both offices are restricted to males. The idea of women deacons, then, conflicts with the entire context, particularly 1 Timothy 2:12, which states “But I do not allow a woman to. .. exercise authority over a man. .. .” Paul’s restriction on women having authority over men in the local church (1 Tim. 2:12) raises serious doubts about 1 Timothy 3:11 referring to women being deacons.

One answer is to say that women deacons serve only women and that male deacons serve only men. But this is pure conjecture and contrary to the example of Acts 6. In Acts 6, seven men were appointed to provide for and protect the Jerusalem church’s helpless widows. Does this not fit the biblical picture of what mature men, by nature of their God-created masculinity, are called to do—protect, lead, and provide for women? [8]

(Because of widespread male abuse of women and conceptual distortions of the biblical model for masculinity and femininity, I must qualify the previous statement. In God’s design, men are to protect, lead, and provide for women, but never in a superior, dominating, selfish, or belittling way. Men are to lead in a responsible, sacrificial, and loving way, like Christ does for the Church, Ephesians 5:22–33.)

There were male deacons in churches during the apostolic period. Indeed, in the passage before us, the only persons clearly called deacons are men. It is obvious from the context that the official title “deacons” in verse 8 refers to male deacons only (verses 8–10). Paul addresses women in verse 11, and in verse 12, where the official title “deacons” appears a second time, he again addresses men. Paul requires that deacons be the “husbands of only one wife” and that they manage well “their children and their own households.” So both times the word “deacons” appears in 1 Timothy 3:8–12, it applies only to men.

When we consider the evidence for women deacons, however, we do not find conclusive evidence for their existence during New Testament times. In the third century, a church order manual called the Didascalia Apostolorum (“Teaching of the Apostles,” c. A.D. 230), which represented the eastern churches of the Roman Empire, contains the first positive identification of women deacons. [9] In a highly respected historical study entitled The Ministry of Women in the Early Church, French Roman Catholic scholar, Roger Gryson, concludes: “The beginnings of a feminine diaconate are indeed hidden in shadow and darkness, and difficult to perceive with any exactness.” [10]

Moreover, even where the institution of deaconesses existed, it was never considered to be equal in status with the male diaconate. In the most scholarly and comprehensive study to date on deaconesses, Roman Catholic church historian, Aime Georges Martimort, demonstrates through painstaking analysis of all available literature that “during all the time when the institution of deaconesses was a living institution, both the discipline and the liturgy of the churches insisted upon a very clear distinction between deacons and deaconesses.” [11]

Therefore, those who postulate that verse 11 refers to women deacons are building this doctrine on quite uncertain ground. Indeed, this interpretation leaves us with a number of unanswered questions and problems. In light of the strengths of the following two interpretations, it seems that this is the weakest of the three views.

Women Who Assist Deacons

An interpretation that better agrees with the facts and questions raised by 1 Timothy 3:11 is that Paul is referring to the “women who assist deacons.” William Hendriksen, a biblical commentator and a leading proponent of this view, writes, “These women, are the deacons’ assistants in helping the poor and needy, etc. These are women who render auxiliary service, performing ministries for which women are better adapted.” [12] According to this view, Paul refers to this new group of people in verse 11 as γυναῖκας (women) precisely because they have no official title. They are not deacon officials. Moreover, this view eliminates any conflict with Paul’s earlier assertions in 1 Timothy 2:12 about women not having authority over men.

These women are not deacons. Yet they are so closely associated with deacons that they can be addressed within the context of deacons. These women have functions to perform or there would be no need for them to be mentioned here or to be required to meet specific qualifications. What these women do is closely associated with what deacons do. We can easily conceive of the deacons’ need for women helpers to assist widows and other needy women. Thus we would assume that these women work alongside the deacons as helpers.

Opponents of this view, however, insist that these women must be deacon officials because the conjunction “likewise” introduces a new category of officials like deacons or overseers. But this is pressing the word “likewise” too far. The use of “likewise” introduces a fresh category of people and compares them with the preceding group. It does not necessarily imply that women are official deacons. It could equally imply that these women assist deacons or are wives who assist their deacon husbands. The use of “likewise” actually works for all three views, but it would militate against the view of women in general.

Thus the interpretation “women who assist deacons” is quite possible. But the question of why γυναῖκας appears without any identifying words, such as “women assistants” or “women who help,” when both overseers and deacons are clearly identified, remains. In spite of this issue, this interpretation is my second choice among the three.

Wives Who Assist Their Deacon Husbands

The third interpretation explains γυναῖκας as being “wives of deacons.” The word γυναῖκας is the standard Greek word for wives as well as for women. So if Paul means “wives” when he uses γυναῖκας, he makes perfectly good sense. We immediately know that he is talking about “wives.”

This interpretation fits well with Paul’s clear identification of overseers and deacons, the two previous groups of church officials. In verse 2 he uses the term “overseer.” In verses 8 and 12 he uses the term “deacons.” In verse 11, then, he identifies the group as “wives.” In all three cases, Paul plainly identifies who he is referring to: overseers, deacons, and wives.

The Missing Pronoun

As simple as this interpretation appears, it still faces criticism. If Paul means to say “deacons’ wives,” why does he not add the possessive pronoun their (αὐτῶν, autōn) or the definite article (τάς, tas) to the word “women”? If he had only written “their women,” we would know without a doubt that he means deacons’ wives.

Although the absence of the possessive pronoun their is often pointed out as a major drawback to this interpretation, its absence can be explained. First, the context surrounding γυναῖκας in verses 8–13 focuses on male deacons. To find γυναῖκας mentioned in the middle of this section on male deacons would naturally cause one to think of the wives of these male deacons. If no female deacons or women helped deacons in the church in Ephesus, the original readers would know that γυναῖκας could only be wives. Thus, the pronoun their would certainly be helpful to us, but it is not necessary to the sentence grammatically, nor was it necessary to Paul’s original readers.

Furthermore, the absence of the pronoun their next to γυναῖκας can be explained stylistically. Verse 11 follows a parallel structure with verse 8. If you were to look at the Greek text, you would see (or hear, if you were reading it aloud) that verse 11 almost exactly parallels verse 8. Here is how it appears in the Greek:

Verse 8: διακόνους ὡσαύτως σεμνούς (diakonous hōsautōs semnous)

“Deacons likewise dignified”

Verse 11: γυναῖκας ὡσαύτως σεμνάς (gynaikas hōsautōs semnas)

“Wives likewise dignified”

The rest of verse 11 also virtually parallels verses 8–9: “not malicious gossips” parallels “not double-tongued” in verse 8, “temperate” parallels “not. .. addicted to much wine” in verse 8, and “faithful in all things” parallels “holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” in verse 9. Thus, verse 11 connects and parallels the structure and qualifications of verses 8 and 9. Paul, in his characteristic energetic and abbreviated style senses no need to add the pronoun or article. In the end, it is easier to explain the omission of the pronoun “their” than to explain why Paul uses the term “women” rather than τὰς διακόνους or “women helpers.”

Flow of Thought

The virtual repetition in verse 11 of the qualifications listed in verses 8 and 9 best fits with the interpretation that the women are the wives of deacons. If Paul is referring to female deacons or women who help deacons, we would expect him to list additional and unique requirements, such as “wife of one man” or “having obedient children” (See 1 Tim. 5:9–10). Instead, he adds nothing new. If these women are wives, nothing new needs to be added. They must be like their husbands (verses 8–9). General guidelines regarding their domestic lives, which are of utmost importance to Paul, are included in verse 12 within the context of their deacon husbands.

This interpretation also fits best with the entire structure of verses 8 through 13. In verses 8 and 9 Paul lists five character qualifications required of male deacons, and in verse 12 he adds domestic qualifications for deacons. Verses 10 and 11 form a break in the list of personal character qualifications, yet they also list important requirements for deacons: they must be examined and approved (like the overseers in verses 2 through 7), and their wives must be morally fit (like their deacon husbands in verses 8 and 9).

According to verse 10, deacons, like overseers, must be examined and approved before they can serve. The necessity to be examined and be found “beyond reproach” leads Paul to mention wives, those nearest the deacons, who also must play a role in diaconal service. These wives, like their deacon husbands, must be of similar moral character. So the examination process for deacons is to include the moral fitness of their wives.

Verse 11 then, like verses 8 through 10 and verse 12, contains another requirement necessary for deacons: their wives must be above reproach. Dr. George W. Knight III, New Testament professor at Knox Theological Seminary and author of The Pastoral Epistles in the prestigious commentary series, The New International Greek Testament Commentary, states this point exceptionally well:

If it is wives that are in view, then the verse fits here as another qualification necessary for one who would be a deacon and who would conduct his ministry with his wife’s assistance. Thus the wife’s qualifications are part and parcel of his qualifications for the office of διάκονος. And after giving the qualifications for the deacon’s wife, Paul then goes on to the deacon’s fidelity to his wife and his children and thereby completes the picture of his family life (v.12). [13]

Conclusion

If we accept the interpretation that the women are “deacons’ wives,” then we see that verse 11 is not an awkward interruption of thought in the midst of male deacons’ requirements. Rather, it is a further requirement regarding deacons’ fitness for office. Also, Paul’s use of γυναῖκας as “wives” identifies exactly who he is referring to. [14]

It is interesting to observe how many English translations of the Bible favor the rendering “wives”: Authorized (King James) Version, New International Version, The New English Bible, The New Translation, The New Testament in Modern English, The Living Bible, Good News Bible (Today’s English Version), and The Moffatt New Testament.

Other translations, like the New American Standard Bible, translate γυναῖκας as “women,” but that rendering is inadequate because it could be construed that Paul is referring to women in general—the very thing we know Paul is not saying. So translating γυναῖκας as “women” is misleading. If we want to translate γυναῖκας as “women,” we must add a modifying word or phrase to avoid misunderstanding. The Revised English Bible does precisely that; it renders γυναῖκας as “women in this office.” But if Paul uses γυναῖκας to mean “wives,” we need to add nothing, although most English Bibles that translate γυναῖκας as “wives” add the pronoun “their” to make the point clear.

The interpretation “wives of deacons,” moreover, avoids any conflict with Paul’s earlier teaching on women not having authority over men in the church (1 Tim. 2:12). It affirms a male diaconate. Acts 6 supports this viewpoint. Here, in the appointing of the Seven, the apostles allowed only men to be selected. Yet what more opportune moment was there for the apostles to select at least a few women to a post of overall church management? But the apostles did not. Did they fail? Absolutely not! As Christ’s apostles who were led by the Holy Spirit, they did not fail.

It is highly instructive that in the establishment of the Seven, the Twelve required that men be selected. The Seven would constitute a major administrative body within the local church, supervising its funds and social welfare. The apostles themselves had performed this task. So, following their Lord’s example of appointing only men to official leadership (as the male character of the apostolate itself demonstrates), they insisted on appointing men to this position.

Why could not women supervise the church’s alms to its widows? Possibly the apostles required men because they knew that, in the Jewish culture of Palestine, people would respond better to men in a supervisory post than to women. A more likely reason, however, was due to God-ordained principles of manhood and womanhood (1 Cor. 11:3, 7; 1 Pet. 3:1–7; 1 Tim. 2:12–14). We can be certain that God delights in women, as well as men, who perform charitable deeds (Luke 8:3; Acts 9:36). Luke, in both the Gospel of Luke and Acts, positively affirms the service of women. [15]

We can be certain that women in the early churches were involved in caring for the needy (Acts 9:36–39), as they should be in churches today. Christian women should always help others in need, evangelize, and serve Christ in other ways. However, in Acts 6, the apostles gave the overall leadership-supervision of the Jerusalem church’s charity to men.

This decision was a matter of role differences between men and women in God’s divine plan. It in no way suggests that Jesus Christ or His apostles discriminated against women. This thought is utterly repugnant. By choosing only men, our Lord was not accommodating Himself to human traditions or culture. In fearless confrontations and zeal for God’s glory, Jesus challenged the most deep-seated traditions of His day. He also stated that all He said and did completely conformed to His Father’s will (John 5:30). Before choosing the Twelve, He spent the night praying to His Father (Luke 6:12–13). His choices were based on divine principles and the welfare of all His people.

As “modern” people, we might ask what the big deal is concerning women deacons. The very question shows that we do not fully understand that God cares deeply about the proper roles between women and men. The role differences between men and women are part of His fundamental design for the human race. In the book of Genesis, God reveals that man and woman were created equal in some ways and different in others. (See Gen. 1:26–28; 2:7–25; 3:1–21.) The Christian home and local church must exemplify God’s design for the equality and differences between the sexes, for biblical manhood and womanhood. Even in matters that might seem trivial, such as appointing women deacons, we must carefully maintain God’s wise, creative design for men and women.

In trying to fit all the pieces of this textual puzzle together, we can conclude that this last interpretation allows all the pieces to fit together best. It is the simplest and most natural interpretation. Therefore, we can conclude that Paul is referring to wives who help their deacon husbands. We can also conclude from this passage of God-breathed, holy Scripture that a New Testament diaconate comprises only men.

Qualifications for Deacons’ Wives

Verse 11 should greatly encourage deacons, for what better help can a deacon have than a faithful wife? Describing the ideal wife, Scripture states:

She extends her hand to the poor; And she stretches out her hands to the needy. 

—(Prov. 31:20)

Therefore, when deacons are examined for office (verse 10), their wives must also be included in the examination process since they serve (each to their own extent) as helpers to their deacon husbands. If a prospective deacon’s wife is not willing or able to help or does not meet the qualifications mentioned in verse 11, the prospective deacon is not eligible at that time for office.

“But why,” people often ask, “are the wives of deacons mentioned and not the wives of overseers?” The answer lies in the nature of the diaconate, which is not a teaching, governing office like the eldership. 1 Timothy 2:12 states, “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man.” Pastor-elders (shepherds) teach and govern the whole church. Their wives are not to assist in the governing of the church.

The diaconate, on the other hand, provides loving service to the needy. Wives can assist their deacon husbands in this service without violating their God-ordained role in the local church. Indeed, at times their assistance may be demanded, as in cases involving the care of single mothers, children, and sick or elderly women. The wives are not deacon officials, however. They do not hold the office of deacon or any special title.

Why can we assume that the deacons’ wives perform diaconal service? The answer is that there would be no reason to list requirements for deacons’ wives if they did not play a role in diaconal service. If Paul was only concerned with the behavior of the deacons’ wives as it affected the deacons’ qualification for office, then he has covered this in verse 12 with the requirement that deacons manage their households well. Precisely because the deacons’ wives help in some way, Paul requires them to meet qualifications nearly identical to those of their husbands.

Paul lays down four requirements for deacons’ wives in verse 11 that are similar to those found in 1 Timothy 3:8–9 that describe deacons:

1. dignified
2. not malicious gossips
3. temperate
4. faithful in all things

Let us examine these qualifications in more detail.

Dignified: A Woman Worthy of Respect

In 1 Timothy 3:8, deacons are required to be “men of dignity,” that is, “worthy of respect.” Now in verse 11, their “wives” likewise are required to be “dignified” (See verse 8).

Not Malicious Gossips: Not Slanderous, A Woman who Controls Her Tongue and Speaks Wisely and Lovingly

James, our Lord’s half-brother, sternly warns about the destructive power of the tongue.

Now if we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison (James 3:3–8).

The Greek word for “malicious gossips” (διάβολος, diabolos) is the same word for devil (in the singular). Here it is used as an adjective and thus means “slanderous” or “malicious talkers.” Slander is the devil’s work. It divides and hurts people. It destroys churches.

Malicious gossips create division, hatred, and suspicions. Malicious gossipers exhibit confused judgment and uncontrolled speech. They are controlled by unrestrained passions such as anger, jealousy, bitterness, wounded feelings, pride, or mental disorder. Such people often believe their own lies and accusations. Thus they are self-deceived. A malicious gossip spreads bad rumors, innuendos, criticisms, and lies about people.

Our God is the God of truth, justice, love, forbearance, and healing. The Old Testament law expressly forbids malicious gossip: “You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people” (Lev. 19:16). Solomon writes, “He who spreads slander is a fool” (Prov. 10:18). God blesses those who make peace with others. Therefore, He expects us to speak in love and truth, to heal wounds, and to mend broken relationships. A malicious talker, however, is not concerned with fairness or healing, but only with striking back, tearing down, hurting, venting anger, or entertaining evil thoughts. Therefore, a malicious gossip has no place in ministering to the neediest members of God’s family.

Temperate: Possessing Stable Character, A Woman who has Balanced Judgment and Self-Control
No English word is completely satisfactory for rendering the Greek word for “temperate” (νηφάλιος, nēphalios). Νηφάλιος can mean sobriety in the use of wine. [16] Here it is used to mean the mental and emotional sobriety of a person’s overall character, speech, and conduct, which of course would include sobriety in the use of wine. It denotes self-control, balanced judgment, and freedom from debilitating excesses. Negatively, νηφάλιος indicates an absence of any personal disorder that would distort a person’s judgment or conduct. Positively, the word describes a person who is stable, circumspect, self-restrained, and clearheaded.

Wives who lack self-control and balanced mental perspective will inevitably undermine the deacons’ service within the congregation. Lacking self-restraint, they will be easily snared by the devil or false teachers. It is essential that wives working in close association with the diaconate be mentally and emotionally stable and in control. They must be able to remain composed in all circumstances.

Faithful in all Things: A Faithful Christian Woman who can be Relied on to Fulfill Her Christian Duty in Every Area of Life

When Paul wrote this passage, some women in Ephesus had already rebelled and even defected from the faith. A few women had “already turned aside to follow Satan” (1 Tim. 5:15). So it was important for deacons’ wives to be “faithful in all things.”

“Faithful in all things” is a beautiful phrase. Faithfulness is a key word in God’s vocabulary. Some synonyms for “faithful” (in the passive sense) are “loyal,” “trustworthy,” “reliable,” or “dependable.” Of the Greek term for “faithful,” the Expository Dictionary of Bible Words states, “Pistos portrays an unshakeable loyalty, which is displayed in a number of ways.” [17]

When we examine the Bible, we see that faithfulness marked all the great men and women of God (Heb. 3:5; Neh. 7:2; 9:8; Col. 1:7). In the work of God, faithfulness is of significant importance (Psa. 101:6). It is the key measuring stick (1 Cor. 4:2). Since God is absolutely faithful to His promises and His people, He expects His people to be faithful as well.

The world, however, is characterized by infidelity. It has no allegiance to anything but its own desires. Thus, God’s final and rather comprehensive qualification for deacons’ wives is not perfection or skilled work; it is faithfulness in all things—in all aspects of life.

We might expect Paul to say that these women must be faithful to God or to their families. Instead, he writes, “faithful in all things.” That means they are to be faithful in every relationship and sphere of life: in their commitment to Christ and His Word, in their duties to their families, in their witness to neighbors, and in their responsibilities to the family of God. Every aspect of their life is to be marked by faithfulness.

A woman who commits adultery or is flirtatious is untrustworthy. A woman who neglects her family because of selfish ambitions, or neglects God’s people, or walks in disobedience to the Word of God is unfaithful. A fickle, selfish woman who changes her mind or breaks commitments to please her own whims is unreliable. As Solomon writes in Proverbs 25:19, “Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot is confidence in a faithless man [or woman] in time of trouble.”

In helping their deacon husbands in this crucially significant ministry, these women have an important responsibility to fill. Thus we must insist that they, like their husbands, be biblically qualified. Let us not be indifferent to God’s instruction regarding deacons’ wives.

Notes

1. Editor’s note: The Brethren movement is a restoration movement. Therefore, people in the Assemblies should be interested in Mr. Strauch’s new book, The New Testament Deacon. Mr. Strauch claims that the New Testament deacon needs to be restored to the local church. Most Bible-believing churches have made the diaconate the ruling board of the church. Others have reduced deacons to building managers or glorified church janitors. The New Testament Deacon claims that the deacons are to be involved in a compassionate ministry of caring for the poor and needy. They are the Ministers of Mercy. We have produced here one of the chapters from this fresh ground-breaking study.
2. Emmaus alumnus Alex Strauch, well-known Bible teacher and author, serves as an elder at Littleton Bible Chapel in Denver. The present article is adapted from his new book, The New Testament Deacon, published by Lewis & Roth, P. O. Box 569, Littleton, Colorado, 80160–0569.An Exposition of 1 Timothy 3:11
3. For a thorough defense of the historical, Christian position of male headship and female subordination, see the excellent volume edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem entitled Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1991).Whether the Adverb “Likewise” in Verse 11 Indicates Another Church Office.
4. Patrick Fairbairn, Pastoral Epistles (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1874; repr. Minneapolis: James and Klock Publishing Company, 1976), 150.
5. A Patristic Greek Lexicon, s.v. “διακόνισσα,ς 352.
6. Phoebe was an outstanding Christian woman (Rom. 16:1–2). Paul speaks of her as a “helper of many, and of myself as well.” Some commentators conjecture that Phoebe was a wealthy and influential patroness of the Lord’s work at Cenchrea. Whatever help she supplied, in a unique way she was a distinguished servant of the church. In all probability, Paul is commending her for extraordinary service by means of this beautiful description, “servant of the church.” Paul and Luke customarily describe others by their work or faithfulness, not by official titles. If Paul is calling Phoebe a “deacon of the church,” it would be a unique exception to his usual practice. The example of Phoebe illustrates the preeminent service that Christian women provided for the Lord’s work during New Testament times. Because women are not to be officers in the church does not mean that they cannot significantly serve the church or their Lord. Every Christian woman should wholeheartedly serve the body of Christ. Let us not forget that humble, self-sacrificing service to others, not position or status, is the supreme mark of greatness in God’s eyes (Mark 9:33–37; 10:35–45). Some scholars think that there is a reference to women deacons in Pliny’s letter to Emperor Trajan that is dated c. A.D. 112. Seeking more accurate information about Christians, Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, tells Emperor Trajan that he tortured two Christian women who were called ministrae (Latin for “servants”). In a section of the letter reporting the confessions of people who once professed Christianity but turned away, Pliny writes, I judged it so much the more necessary to extract the real truth, with the assistance of torture, from two female slaves [ancillae, “handmaids”], who were styled deaconesses [ministrae, “servants”]: but I could discover nothing more than depraved and excessive superstition (Pliny: Letters, 2 vols., trans., W. Melmoth, The Loeb Classical Library [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961], 2:405). The problem with the reference to ministrae (servants) is ambiguity, the same as in Romans 16:1. The translators have rendered the Latin ministrae as “deaconesses,” but “servants” is an equally valid translation. There is no way of knowing if these women were official deacons or not.
7. For this idea I am indebted to Gordon H. Clark, The Pastoral Epistles (Jefferson, Md.: The Trinity Foundation, 1983), 61.
8. For an outstanding description of biblical manhood and womanhood, read John Piper, “A Vision of Biblical Complementarity: Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible” in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, 31–59.
9. It is remarkable that deaconesses are not mentioned in the letters of Ignatius (c. A.D. 115), although he was nearly obsessed with speaking of church offices. Deaconesses also do not appear in Polycarp’s letter to Philippi or in the writings of Tertullian (North Africa). In the well-known church order manual, Apostolic Tradition (c. A.D. 220), which was written from Rome by Hippolytus, all the various categories of ministries of the church in Rome are listed. Hippolytus speaks of bishops, priests, deacons, subdeacons, confessors, widows, lectors, virgins, healers, but not of deaconesses. The first uncontested, concrete information on women deacons is found in the Didascalia Apostolorum (“Teaching of the Apostles”). The Didascalia is a church order manual. It is dated around A.D. 230 and was composed in northern Syria by an unknown bishop. It thus represents eastern Christianity. The Didascalia teaches that women deacons are to visit Christian women who are ill, but live in pagan households where Christian men cannot visit. They also are to help the bishop in the baptism of women by anointing the women candidates with oil before baptism. Following baptism, they are to instruct the newly baptized women concerning holy living. The female deacon, however, was not to baptize as the bishop, presbyters, or male deacons could: “Whether thou [bishop] thyself baptize, or thou command the deacons or presbyters to baptize—let a woman deacon, as we have already said, anoint the women. But let a man pronounce over them the invocation of the divine Names in the water” (Didascalia Apostolorum, trans. R. Hugh Connolly [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1929], 145,146. Concerning the differences between deacons and deaconesses in the Didascalia, Aime Georges Martimort concludes: The roles were thus not exactly parallel. Deaconesses took no part in the liturgy. Indeed, their part in the rite of baptism itself was very restricted; they simply completed the anointing begun by the celebrant. Nor did they pronounce the invocation, or epiclesis. In no way could they be considered on the same level as deacons: they were their auxiliaries (Deaconesses: An Historical Study [San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986], 43.). The largest church order book is Apostolic Constitutions, dated around A.D. 380. The author appears to be an eastern Arian Christian. Apostolic Constitutions provides a good deal of information on deaconesses. (The following references are taken from Apostolic Constitutions [also called Constitutions of the Holy Apostles] in volume 7 of The Ante-Nicene Fathers.) The deaconess distributes charity to the poor and widows (7:430). She keeps the door by which the women enter the church and supervises their behavior during worship (7:421). She is the liaison between the women of the church and the clergy. In broad terms, she is responsible for the care of the women of the church: “And let the deaconess be diligent in taking care of the women” (7:432). According to the Constitutions, the deaconess was ordained and a member of the lower clergy (7:492). She was also to be “a pure virgin; or, at the least, a widow who has been but once married, faithful, and well esteemed” (7:457). Although there are close parallels between the deacon and deaconess in Apostolic Constitutions, the office of deaconess is not identical to the male diaconate. In the ordination prayer for the deaconess said by the bishop, nothing is said of higher office, but for the deacon it is stated, “Do thou render him worthy to discharge acceptably the ministration of a deacon. .. that thereby he may attain an higher degree. .. .” (7:492). More to the point, Apostolic Constitutions states: But it is not lawful for any one of the other clergy to do the work of a deacon. A deaconess does not bless, nor perform anything belonging to the office of presbyters or deacons, but only is to keep the doors, and to minister to the presbyters in the baptizing of women, on account of decency. A deacon separates [chooses or dedicates] a sub-deacon, a reader, a singer, and a deaconess, if there be any occasion, in the absence of a presbyter. It is not lawful for a sub-deacon to separate either one of the clergy or laity; nor for a reader, nor for a singer, nor for a deaconess, for they are the ministers to the deacons (7:494).
10. Roger Gryson, The Ministry of Women in the Early Church, trans. Jean Laporte and Mary Louise Hall (Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1976), 15.
11. Aime Georges Martimort, Deaconesses: An Historical Study, trans. K.D. Whitehead (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1982), 247. In his judicious work, The Office of Woman in the Church, Fritz Zerbst, a German Lutheran theologian, comments: “Even in its highest development the office of deaconess never achieved more than the right to render modest auxiliary services at baptisms and to instruct female candidates for baptism” (The Office of Woman in the Church [St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1955], 91). 
12. William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1957), 133. 
13. George W. Knight III, The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 172.
14. A few well-known biblical commentators believe that these are the wives of both overseers and deacons. This is unlikely. The words in verse 11, “wives likewise must be dignified,” parallels exactly what is said about deacons in verse 8, “deacons likewise must be dignified.” Also, the qualifications for the wives nearly parallel those of the deacons (verses 8–9). Finally, the position of this instruction on wives, wedged in the middle of instruction on deacons, convinces most interpreters that if wives are mentioned here, then they are the wives of the deacons, to whom they are made parallel.
15. Luke 1:25, 30, 36–38, 41–55, 60; 2:19, 34, 35, 51; 7:36–50; 8:3, 48; 10:38–42; 13:12–16; 18:3–6; 21:2; 23:27, 55, 56; 24:1–11, 22, 23; Acts 1:14; 2:17, 18; 8:12; 16:14, 15, 40.
16. The Greek word νηφάλιος means “wineless” or “sobriety in the use of wine.” A few interpreters think the word should be understood here in its literal sense, but that is doubtful. In 1 Timothy 3:2 Paul uses νηφάλιος as a qualification for overseers. Then in verse 3, he writes that overseers must not be “addicted to wine.” Paul is not warning overseers twice about the use of wine. Instead, he is using the word “temperate,” both in verse 2 and here in verse 11, figuratively to mean mental and emotional sobriety.
17. Lawrence O. Richards, Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), 260.