Verse 1 Timotheus. Timothy must have been well known to the Philippians, as he accompanied Paul in both of his visits to the city mentioned in the Acts. (Acts 16:1-3,12,20:4,6.)--Bishops. The word in the original means overseers. See Acts 20:28, where it is so translated; and in this last case the same persons are called elders, a few verses above. (Philippians 1:17.)--Deacons. The deacons were originally appointed to attend to certain secular concerns. (Acts 6:1-7:) Whether the term here denotes an office of a similar nature is uncertain. Great importance has been sometimes attached to these incidental allusions to the internal economy of the early church; but it is impossible to deduce my well-defined system from them, conformed to modern ideas. There is reason to believe that the arrangements made by the early churches were not reduced to any formal and uniform system.