3:10 first be proved. Deacons, as well as bishops, should not be new Christians. There may be a temptation to give an office to a new convert immediately if he happens to be wealthy or influential, but this is a dangerous mistake.

3:10 deacon. Both the pastorate and the diaconate are “offices,” to which qualified men are to be carefully selected and ordained. The Greek for “deacon” is diakonos, also translated “servant” and “minister.” A related word, diakonia, is frequently translated “service” or “ministrations.” Thus a deacon is one who performs necessary services other than the responsibilities of the pastors for the church. The seven appointed in the church at Jerusalem to handle “the daily ministration” (Acts 6:1) and the “business” (Acts 6:3) were apparently the first deacons. Note that they also were to be “of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.”