The Office of the Deacon
1 Timothy 3:10 And let these also first be proved; then let
them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
1 Timothy 3:13 For they that have used the office of a
deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the
faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Intro: The word
deacon is the Greek word diakoneo dee-ak-on-eh’-o
It means to be a servant, attendant, domestic, to serve,
wait upon; to minister to one, render
ministering offices
The word is found translated servant:
·
John
12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall
also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
·
Mark 9:35 And he
sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be
first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
·
Romans
16:1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church
which is at Cenchrea:
I. The
Responsibility of the Deacon
There is no doubt that the responsibilities of a deacon are
enough to constitute what the Bible calls “an office”.
diakoneo dee-ak-on-eh’-o
There are many people that have no idea what the Biblical
deacon’s true job involves.
His job is not to run the church or to run the pastor.
His job is not to tell the pastor how to pastor.
His job is not to criticize and critique and intimidate and
manipulate.
An unbiblical deacon can be a church’s and a pastor’s worse
nightmare.
A Biblical deacon is a tremendous asset to a church.
NOTE: Though Acts
6 does not call these 7 men deacons, we can ASSUME that this was the beginning
of this office simply because of the wording. The phrase: serve tables in vs. 2
is the Greek word for deacon.
The office of deacon was created as a necessity to address a
very specific need.
The responsibilities of a deacon were the product of:
A. Multiplication
– Acts 6:1a (possibly as many as 20,000 members)
B. Murmuring
– Acts 6:1b – murmuring: This word refers to secret debate; whispering
Satan had tried to destroy the church with persecution –
Acts 4
Satan had tried to destroy the church with sin – Acts 5
(Annanias and Sapphira)
Now Satan is trying to destroy the church from within –
through murmuring and
C. Ministration
Neglect – Acts 6:1c – the widows were neglected; overlooked
The leadership approached the church with the problem.
Then the leadership approached the church with a solution to
the problem.
Their solution was to appoint some men to put over this
business.
NOTE: In studying
the Scripture, it is clear to me that “this business” should be the ministry of
every believer.
·
James
1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit
the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world. (visit: to look in on, to care for, to provide…)
It wasn’t ONLY the deacon’s job to care for the widows; it
was their job to be OVER this business. It is everybody’s job!
D. Misappropriation
of Leadership – Acts 6:2 – It is not reason (reasonable) that we should
leave the word…
Without a doubt, the leadership of the church should be
willing and able to minister to the everyday needs.
But there’s some things that ONLY the pastor can do – nobody
else in the church can do his job.
The man of God’s number one priority is detailed in Acts 6:4 But we
will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
The deacon’s responsibility is to take that burden off of
the pastor; to make sure that those in the church that are being neglected are
seen about, and to keep people from having a reason to murmur.
II. The
Requirements of the Deacon
The leadership of the church requested the church to look
out among them and choose and recommend seven men.
NOTE: This does
not necessarily mean that a church has to have seven deacons. (remember, they
had thousands of members)
What this means is that they requested the church to nominate
the deacons – men that they could respect and look up to that could be
effective in their appointment “over this business”.
But – to avoid any man from being chosen because of his
popularity, or his money, or his rank in society, they were given strict
guidelines for the men that must be appointed deacons.
The requirements
according to Acts 6
·
Honest report – this means a testimony of
integrity
·
Full of the Holy Ghost – abundantly manifesting
the fruit of the Spirit as found in Galations 5:22, 23
·
Full of wisdom – as opposed to foolishness
The requirements
according to I Tim. 3
·
Grave – serious; sober minded
·
Not doubletongued – two-faced; saying one thing
to one person and something else to another
·
Not given to much wine – avoiding the detriment
to one’s testimony that is associated with drunkenness
·
Not greedy of filthy lucre – their responsibility
involved benevolence funds and dispersion of money for widows
·
Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure
conscience
·
Proved – one that has established a track record
of faithfulness and loyalty
·
Blameless – above reproach
·
Wives must also be grave, not slanderers, sober,
faithful in all things
·
Husbands of one wife – ruling their children and
their own houses well
III. The Rewards
of the Deacon
·
1 Timothy
3:13
For they that have used
the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great
boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
There are multiple rewards for the man that USES the office
of the deacon well.
NOTE: They don’t
HOLD the office – they USE the office. It is a job; it is a duty; it is a
service; it is work
A. The
Reward of Integrity in Character – purchase
to themselves a good degree
NOTE: They will have to purchase it; it has a
price; it is not given for free
B. The Reward of Influence in
the Community – and great
boldness in the faith
A church that properly cares for its people and loves its
people and ministers to their needs will stand out.
A deacon that serves those in the church the way God
intended will purchase to himself boldness in the faith.
·
James
2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy
faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
C. The Reward of Increase in the Church
·
Acts 6:7
And the word of God increased; and the
number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of
the priests were obedient to the faith.
