Acts Deacons

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. 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. 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. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Story & Background

Acts 6:1 ESV

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.

Disciples: these were all the converts to Christianity, both Jew and Gentile.

To be a disciple is to submit oneself to the teaching of another.

Think about Matthew 28

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

I wanted to pause on this because everyone who is a Christian ought to be following Jesus’ teaching.

We live in a time where people want to bear the name “Christian” and not follow the teaching of Christ.

Or at least, people want to bear the name “Christian” and then be selective of which teachings serve them.

You must accept all of Jesus and his teaching, or you are rejecting him entirely.

It’s an issue of Lordship.

To submit fully to Jesus as Lord of your life.

Acts 6:1 ESV

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.

Hellenists: Greek speaking Jews

Everyone spoke Greek.

Local Jews would have spoke Aramaic & Greek

Non-local Jews would have learned some other foreign language, moved to the region, then learned Greek.

This would have included proselytes (converts to Judaism)

Complaint: These “outsider” Jews (specifically the widows) were not being taken care of the same way the “insider” Jews were being taken care of.

Remember at this time, the same sorts of social safety nets didn’t exist in society.

This is part of

Acts 2:44 ESV

And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

Acts 6:2 ESV

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.

The twelve: These were capital “A” Apostles.

They were the leaders of the early church.

They were given special authority by Jesus that none can claim today.

They were given signs and miracles

They were given special prophetic revelation and even wrote books of the Bible.

Ephesians 4:11–12 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Acts 6:2 ESV

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.

Full number of the disciples: this was a members’ meeting and roles were established.

The Apostles primary function was to preach the word and (vs 4) prayer.

This does not minimize other roles in the church:

Romans 12:3–8 ESV

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:14–20 ESV

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

1 Corinthians 12:21–26 ESV

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

So, what do they do?

Acts 6:3–4 ESV

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. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

3 Qualifications:

Good reputation

Full of the Spirit

Full of wisdom

Most agree that this story is the Apostles’ establishment of Deacons.

Deacons

“Servant” is the Greek word διάκονος (diakonos)

Deacons are most fundamentally lead servants in the church

It’s also worth noting that Christians disagree on how the church ought to be arranged.

Two-Office Ecclesiastical Polity

At Abide, we practice a two office ecclesiology

Ecclesiastical: relating to the Christian church

Polity: form of government

Ecclesiastical Polity: Church government structure

We believe those offices are Elder and Deacon.

Office: by office, I mean something official

Elders and Deacons both have hand laid on them before the church and they officially serve in that role.

One day you are not a Deacon, the next day you are.

This is opposed to the idea that being an Elder or Deacon is an organic process.

It doesn’t just happen.

Joe, even if he is a faithful servant at the church, doesn’t automatically become a Deacon.

Elders

We believe pastor (poi main o), elder (presbyteros), and overseer (episkopeo) are all terms describing the same office.

There is not a definitive “proof text” for this, hence the healthy debate among Christians.

I like 1 Peter 5 as an example of all the terms being used

1 Peter 5:1–3 (ESV)

So I exhort the elders (presbyteros) among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd (poimainō) the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight (episkopeō), not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

Deacons

Deacons are mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 in the same section where it talks about the office of overseer.

1 Timothy 3 seems to lay out elder and deacon as the only 2 offices in the church.

Biblical Qualifications

At this point, I want to go straight to 1 Timothy 3 and read the entire text.

1 Timothy 3:1–3 ESV

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

1 Timothy 3:4–7 ESV

He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

1 Timothy 3:8–10 ESV

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

1 Timothy 3:11–13 ESV

Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 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.

Can Women Be Deacons?

I would say, and the position of Abide, is “yes.”

Romans 16:1–2 (ESV)

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant (deacon) of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

Servant = Deacon

Deacon can be used as the general word for “servant” but the addition of “the church at Cenchreae” makes it seem as though it may be referring to the official office, not just a generic servant.

Some keen observers might say, “well, what about 1 Timothy 3:11?)

1 Timothy 3:11 ESV

Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

1 Timothy 3:11 NASB95

Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

1 Timothy 3:11 NIV84

In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

1 Timothy 3:11 NIV

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

Does this raise doubt on your translation of the Bible?

No & Yes

No. Rest assured that many people work diligently to give us the best possible translation.

And Yes. As we study, we must remember this book was not originally written in English, nor was it written to 21st century American Christians.

We can study and know what the Bible teaches through the Spirit, but even so, sometimes people disagree on the best translation

Which interpretation?

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Their wives likewise must be dignified...

Women must likewise be dignified...

2 Arguments

1) While the word there (gynaikas) can be translated as either wives or woman, the word “their” is not in the Greek.

2) If the reference in verse 11 is talking about the character of Deacons’ wives, why isn’t the character of Elders’ wives mentioned? It seems that the character of Elders’ wives would be even more important if not at least equally important.

Why Don’t We Have Deacons at Abide?

Well, we should.

We have been in error to not have the office of Deacons in our church.

How we plan to move forward is to ask huddle leaders and certain serve team leaders to serve as Deacons.

But as mentioned previously, a person in become a deacon is an official thing. Before we make anyone a Deacon, we’ll bring them in front of the congregation and lay hands on them.