170305 Deacons

1 Timothy 3:8-10 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

Paul was the spiritual father of Timothy. This first letter that we have record of, Paul was writing to Timothy to guide him in his role as pastor of the church at Ephesus. The church there was in need of order in their worship and leadership and correct teaching. Because of the events in our church we are looking today at the section of the letter concerning deacons.

 The word “deacon” is a translation of a Greek word that is usually translated “servant”. However, in connection with the church, the word is usually translated as deacon. When Paul wrote to the Philippian church he addressed his letter, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons” (Philippians 1:1). There is no indication in the Philippian letter as to the qualifications or responsibilities of these men. It’s just simply a matter of naming them as representative of the church and the two offices are separated from each other.

When we look at the first group of men that we often consider to be deacons we see that they are…

A uniting ministry. Let’s look at Acts 6:1-2. Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. ² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.”

As the church was growing very rapidly in Jerusalem, bringing together a lot of believers from different backgrounds and races, it should be expected there would be problems. The very first day when the church moved out of hiding there was a tremendous growth. About 3000 people, received Peter’s words and were baptized. After that, as they went about their day-to-day ministry the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who are being saved (Acts 2:41 & 47). We do not know how much time passed between these two evidences of growth. We do know that the disciples had not followed Jesus’ instructions to leave Jerusalem. It was very possible that the racial divisions evidenced in language could have led to an early split in the church between those who spoke Greek and those who spoke Hebrew. I believe it was important that this not happen. So, when the Greek speakers complained that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution the apostles who had been serving as pastors took action.

The entire congregation was called together and presented with a problem-solving process that included…

Basic qualifications. Let’s turn to Acts 6:3. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

We do not know how these men were chosen. The wording indicates that the apostles did not pick them out. The “brothers” were instructed to pick out seven men of good reputation. They were to be men full of the Spirit and of wisdom. I am not exactly sure how you test a man, or woman for that matter, for these two qualifications. “Good reputation” could be determined pretty easily but being full of the Spirit and of wisdom is a little more difficult to pin down. I am sure the early church had as much difficulty determining those qualifications as we do today.

When we move away from the account in Acts and go on into Paul’s ministry and his instructions to Timothy there is a connection with the role of elder, or “Overseer”, there are several qualifications pointed out for the Overseer. Since we don’t use that term we need to understand it as indicating the Pastor. We want to go back right now to read the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Please make a note that the deacons are to be…

Likewise. Let’s look at 1 Timothy 3:7.  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

We will pick up with the concluding verse describing the role that we call “Pastor”. Just as the Seven in the Book of Acts were to be men of good reputation even so being well thought of by outsiders is very important to the Pastor and likewise to the deacon.

If the leaders of the church, any church, is not of good reputation in the community he will fall into disgrace and will easily be harassed by the devil. The devil will also use any bad reputations in the church to lower the opinion of the community with regard to the church.

It is very important that the community, that a church is embedded in, recognize its members as godly people. Otherwise, the church will be considered of no more value than a social club and that would be an unmitigated disaster.

Deacons are to be…

Trustworthy. Let’s move on to 1 Timothy 3:8. Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.

Several qualifications are spelled out in this verse. Deacons are to be “dignified”! If that word doesn’t speak to you it means that a person has a serious manner worthy of respect. Constantly joking around and avoiding serious conversation certainly would not cause a person to be considered “dignified”.

A part of the process of being dignified is that the person speaks the truth consistently and can be expected not to change their opinion rapidly. A deacon is not to be double-tongued. And also, he should not be addicted to much wine. In other words, he is not to be a drunkard. We would include in our society that he would not participate in socially accepted drugs.

His trustworthiness should be shown in his not being afflicted with the love of money which is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Financial contentment is important. If he is “greedy for dishonest gain” he is guilty of covetousness which is idolatry.

How are we to determine these things? He should not be a “newbie”. He should be…

Tested. Let’s read on 1 Timothy 3:9-10. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

Paul uses the term “mystery” several times in his writing. It is not easy to apply all of those references to this instruction. In writing to the church at Colossae Paul stated that the “mystery” is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:26-27). Using that as a foundation I believe we can, without hesitation, say that deacons should have a reasonable grasp of salvation by grace through faith. They should at least be growing in their understanding of the Christian faith.

Listed in the qualifications for Pastors in 1 Timothy 3:2 we find that these leaders are to be “the husband of one wife”! If the qualifications of a deacon grows out of the qualifications for a Pastor then we need to understand what this means.

At the time Paul was writing to Timothy it was not uncommon for a man of status in the community to have more than one wife. Polygamy was accepted in their society. I believe that this qualification definitely means that he is not to be a polygamist. Aside from that there are several ways that this qualification is understood. Some people believe that it means the man must be married. Others believe that, if he is married, he is not to have been divorced and remarried.

I believe, along with many well-respected Bible scholars, that the phrase “the husband of one wife” means that he is to be faithful to his “one wife”. None of the other qualifications given for the role of, Pastor or Deacon, refer to a man’s past life. All of these qualifications apply to his present status. There were a number of ways that Paul could have written that he intended this teaching to apply to someone who is married — and married only once. He did not use them.

Therefore we are to consider that…

If married. Some qualifications apply to their wives. Let’s look at 1 Timothy 3:11. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

So we see that, if the man is married, his wife must have a serious manner worthy of respect. Remember that a person who is constantly joking around and avoiding serious conversation certainly would not be considered “dignified”.

Wives are to be considered because they will, by virtue of living together, be aware of problems within the church or individual families. They must not be gossips or slanderers because that would seriously undermine their husband and their church. Anyone in the church who is involved in supporting ministries must be able to keep confidences confidential.

I do not believe that being sober minded means that they would be unable to make a joke or enter into light conversation. It is very important that they be able to consider soberly any situation they encounter. In the same way that the deacon must be a faithful member of the church his wife should be also.

The deacon’s family life should be evidence that he is…

Able to lead. Let’s read on 1 Timothy 3:12. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

Managing their children is a big issue in our world today. This is a difficult matter. Again, I believe that the deacon’s family should not be — in any way — a detriment to his ministry. Being a good leader in your own home and being able to manage a household would help to qualify a man for part of the management of the church.

Nowhere in the New Testament are deacons referred to as having ruling authority over the church. Deacons are not the same as elders/pastors and are not required to teach Scripture or sound doctrine. They do have some administrative responsibilities in the church but they are to be subject to the authority of the congregation led by the pastor. If deacons apply themselves they will be…

Commendable. Let’s read on 1 Timothy 3:13.  For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

For the deacons who serve well there is the reward of commendation. They should be worthy of a good report with regard to their ministry. As they apply themselves to doing the best possible job they can they will grow in their faith. As they work their way through the problems that might need to be solved and the people that will definitely need to be helped they will gain great confidence. Not confidence in themselves but confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will guide the decisions and allow the right men to be chosen by the congregation. Those men will grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord.

As we come to the point of choosing men to serve in the role of deacon we need to be careful that we choose men who will be able to serve the church in ways that we may not see today. We can see from the examples in Acts 6 and in 1 Timothy 3 that this is a historically important position recognized in the very first church and continued through the churches that were established during the first century. We need to be careful to follow God’s direction with no personal agenda otherwise. God will guide and we will see men fill responsibilities that God has given. As you choose today please think about selecting men who were heading in the right direction. The Apostle himself said that he had not yet arrived but he pressed forward to the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14). Let’s encourage those who are willing to press onward. God will bless our church if we are faithful in encouraging those who are serving.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society