3:1 This saying is trustworthy.Whoever wants to guard has a lofty aspiration.

3:2 So it is necessary, then, for the guardian to be blameless, faithful in marriage, sober, sensible, orderly, hospitable, qualified to teach,

3:3 not a drunkard or a brawler but peaceable, and not greedy.

3:4 They must also watch over and provide well for their own household, with children who are supportive and dignified,

3:5 for if they don’t know how to care for their own home, how would they take care of God’s Congregation?

3:6 And they can’t be a novice, otherwise they might become conceited and come under the False Accuser’s judgment.

3:7 Further, they must have a good reputation with outsiders so that they don’t fall into disgrace, the trap of the False Accuser.

3:8 Likewise, attendants must be dignified, not be two-faced, not given to excessive drinking, and not be profiteers,

3:9 holding to the secret of the faith in good conscience.

3:10 These must first be tested; only after they have been proved to be above reproach can they serve.

3:11 (The same goes also for the women; they are to be dignified, not false accusers, sober, and trustworthy in everything.)

3:12 The attendants must be faithful in marriage, watching over their children and households well.

3:13 Those who serve well earn a high rank and great boldness in the faith of Anointed Jesus.

3:14 I am writing these things to you though I expect to come to see you soon.

3:15 But if I don’t, this will guide you as to how you must conduct yourself in God’s household, which is the Congregation of the living God, the base and pillar of truth.

3:16 Surely this devout secret is vast: He was revealed in flesh, justified in spirit, examined by Messengers, heralded among the non-Judeans, believed in the world, and taken up in honor.