After the tempest that was chapter 2, we can catch our breath a little bit on chapter 3. Not much controversy here. Overseers (elders) and deacons within the church need to be worthy of respect. They must have no more than one wife. They must lead their families well. Their wives need to be worthy of respect as well (v. 11).
One point of note: the overseers must have a good reputation with those outside the church. We know that our character is more important than our reputation, and that what we are in God's eyes is infinitely more critical than who we are to men, and yet Paul writes that it's important for church leaders to have a good reputation with outsiders. (v. 7). And there's some connection between having a good rep with outsiders and not falling into disgrace. There's certainly no shortage of church leaders who have fallen into disgrace. I don't pretend to know how all that fits together, but for those who lead or are asked to lead, it's worth thinking about.
The chapter ends with an affirmation of Christ's humanity and divinity. Beautiful. Praise be to God.
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