<p>3:11 <i>Likewise, their wives must be reverent</i>- This could mean that their wives served as part of their office as deacon; for Phoebe was a female deaconess. Deacons in this case would refer to husband and wife teams. Or it could be that the sign of a suitable deacon was that he had influenced his wife for spiritual good. Because otherwise, the objection could be raised that a man is not surely to be judged by the behaviour of his wife. </p><p><i>Not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things</i>- &ldquo;Slanderers&rdquo; is from the same word as &quot;devil&quot;. In the immediate context, the snare of the devil has referred to the schemings of the Jewish and pagan opposition to bring down the church at Ephesus (:6,7). The requirement may be that a deacon's wife was to have no part in those systems. &ldquo;Temperate&rdquo; and the other characteristics of a deacon&rsquo;s wife are the same requirements for the bishop himself (:2; Tit. 2:2). The implication could be that ideally a deacon and his wife should work as a husband and wife team, each with the same spiritual qualifications.</p>