Qualities
of Deacons and Members
No. 6
By
Shelby G.
Floyd
6.
“And Let These (Deacons) Also First Be
Proved”
After the possible deacons have been found to have all of
the attributes predominately displayed in their lives, before they are appointed
to serve, Paul declares to Timothy that they must first be tested and proved to
make sure they are genuine: “And
let these also first be proved–1
Tim. 3:10,
Members Must Be Also Proved Or Tested
But again, the attribute of being genuine is not limited to those who would serve as a deacon. It is plainly taught that all of us—every Christian examine ourselves continually to make sure that our faith and commitment is the real thing and not spurious. Paul declared to the Corinthians, many of whom were not genuine:
2 Cor. 13:5
Examine yourselves
to see whether you are in the faith; test
yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course,
you fail the test? NIV [Emphasis SGF]
“Examine” is from [peirazw-peiradzo] and means “to try, make trial of, test: …for the purpose of ascertaining his quality, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself; in a good sense” (Thayer, p. 498). “Test” in the original language is from the word [dokimazw-dokimadzo], and is here applied to all members of the body of Christ. The members of the church are also to examine themselves before taking the Lord’s Supper each first day of the week: “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28). Every member of the church then should examine and test themselves in order to prove their faith and commitment genuine. Then we will not fail the test.
|
Deacons |
Attribute |
Christians |
|
“And let these
also first be proved–1 Tim. |
Tested, Examined, Proved genuine —1 Tim. 3:10 |
2 Cor. 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is
in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? NIV [Emphasis SGF] |
Alexander Pope wrote in 1733-34, "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man." It is far better to test ourselves and be genuine than to have others test us and be found untrue. Copyright © 2009 Shelby Floyd, All Rights Reserved