The Old Testament priesthood and social elders had requirements in the Law of Moses. They were expected to meet certain qualifications and to maintain standards. They were just ordinary men, but in extraordinary roles. This was carried forward into the New Testament. The labels are different, but the work is roughly the same.
As previously noted, where Timothy labored in Ephesus was already well on the way to becoming the center of New Testament faith. It stands to reason that with such a dense population of believers, Timothy could use a little guidance on church offices that don’t show up in smaller congregations scattered over a wide area.
When Paul chose the Greek word episkope it was not a kind of man, but a specific role. Translated literally, Paul referred to “aspiring to oversee” — the doing of the job. The term might point to an apostle, but it could also just be any elder or pastor tasked with an elevated concern of keeping things on track. These are men God called because they could tell when something didn’t fit the clear gospel standards. The mission is sniffing out deficiencies and irregularities, to inspect and prescribe improvements. They had to first understand the gospel standards and what improvements should look like. It was both a talent and a heavy burden.
While the list of qualifications has garnered an awful lot of attention, it justifies reading between the lines. An overseer is one who cares enough to sacrifice himself for the reputation of God and His revelation. He knows that a revelation must live in humans, that the rules are not the treasure, the people are. Everything is for the sake of their growth into Christ. This is the kind of man who has no trouble meeting those qualifications.
He mentions deacons because some churches had become busy enough to warrant the elder/priest combination having extra hands for tasks carried out by more devoted people who didn’t feel called to lead. The whole image here is not leadership but vesting someone with authority rather like the Temple Guard, just without the military force connotations. It was more like the messenger corps. A literal translation of diakonos is attendant.
For this reason, the New Testament uses the term “deaconess” in some places. Women can do this; it doesn’t require exercising authority, only privilege. It requires access to things not always public and implies a high trust factor. Keep in mind that some of these people were paid staff of the church in these roles. This is not the same thing as the seven chosen for the first church in Jerusalem; they were elders, community leaders, not deacons.
It’s not as if Timothy could not have figured this out, but Paul encouraged him to develop the organization of the body in preparation for the sudden arrival of a great many Judean believers fleeing the coming Jewish revolt.
Paul ends this chapter with a short recitation of what sounds very much like a bit of catechism, something memorized for doctrinal teaching. It indicates clearly that these roles required high qualifications because they reflected on Jesus Himself.
