1 Timothy 3:10

10 Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on.

1 Timothy 3:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Timothy 3:10

And let these also first be proved
Not that they should be tried in any part of the deacon's office, to see how capable they are of performing it; but their internal and external characters are to be looked into and examined, and if they appear, to be right, then they are to be approved of, chosen and called unto, and invested with the office:

then let them use the office of a deacon;
let them be employed and minister in the several parts and branches of that office:

being found blameless;
not without sin, but free from any gross and enormous one; not before God, but in the sight of men; (See Gill on 1 Timothy 3:2).

1 Timothy 3:10 In-Context

8 The same goes for those who want to be servants in the church: serious, not deceitful, not too free with the bottle, not in it for what they can get out of it.

9 They must be reverent before the mystery of the faith, not using their position to try to run things.

10 Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on.

11 No exceptions are to be made for women - same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued, not overfond of wine.

12 Servants in the church are to be committed to their spouses, attentive to their own children, and diligent in looking after their own affairs.