Duties of Deacons

There are two offices in the Church, established by Jesus Christ through His apostles, to serve the church. Pastors are given by God for the spiritual nurture, leadership, and oversight of God’s churches.

Deacons are given by God to serve the church and allow pastors to devote their time to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.

Both are essential, both are called and qualified by God and approved by the Church, and both are a blessing.

We have an exciting day before us, as we have the privilege of ordaining, or setting apart, two mean for the deacon ministry: Josh Dosher and Ben Parris.

Both of these men have servant hearts, offering their assistance on a variety of projects and events. They both love the Lord and want be a blessing to our church, and I believe they will. Anytime we have a moment like this in our church it provides us with a great opportunity to reflect on the office of the deacon.

After our last hymn, we will bring Josh and Ben up before the church, and I along with our deacons, will lay hands on them, praying for their time as deacons, for their families, and for our church.

This morning we will discuss the qualifications of the deacon, the duties of the deacon, and the blessings of the deacon.

I. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE DEACON- 1 Timothy 3:8–13

A. Deacons Must be Dignified- 3:8

Deacons must be grave, worthy of respect, dignified. This is not to say that deacons must wear three-piece suits and wear monocles, although that would be pretty cool.

No, the deacon should be honorable, worthy of respect. That is, people should respect the man because he handles himself in a godly way.

Their character should be upright, but so should their doctrine.

B. Deacons Must be Doctrinal- 3:9

Paul says, “they must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”

“Faith in 1 Timothy 1:19; 3:9, in other words, does not primarily refer to a believer’s response to the gospel, as is sometimes the case (e.g., Rom. 1:17), but the summation of Christian tradition or teaching.” G. K. Beale and Benjamin L. Gladd, Hidden but Now Revealed, 241

Deacons should be doctrinal. And this should not surprise us, every follower of Jesus Christ is both expected and privileged to grow in their understanding of God’s truth (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18).

But God expects deacons in particular, though they are not leaders of the church but servants, to be doctrinally sound.

They should maintain sound doctrine through the study of the Scriptures. They should grow in their understanding of doctrines, like eschatology (Lee).

But notice how Paul qualifies this doctrinal knowledge- with a clear conscience. That is, their lives should match the doctrine they sincerely hold.

Paul says they must also be dedicated.

C. Deacons Must be Dedicated- 3:10

That is, they should be proved first. What does this mean?

How long should a deacon be proved?

Should a deacon face an interview with a church, or with a pastor?

The Scriptures are not specific as to how one proves he is faithful to serve as a deacon. So how do we know if they are dedicated?

First, the church should know. A church may have someone come in from another church, and that church can provide an overview of the individual’s faithfulness.

A wife can also tell whether the man is dedicated.

A place of employment, family or close friends, all of these can demonstrate the dedication of a man seeking the office of a deacon.

The mention of family provides a nice segue into the direction of domestication.

D. Deacons Must be Domesticated- 3:11–12

The deacon’s family should be orderly as well as his own life. His wife should also be dignified and faithful.

Deacons should, like the pastor, be one-woman men, and should rule their children well.

A man cannot be a deacon if he has unruly children. Notice Paul says “managing their children…well.” He does not say, “Raising perfect children,” or “His children cannot ever make a mistake,” but that he manages or leads them.

He should, in other words, be an active participant in the life of the home, leading both his wife and children (if he has any) toward godliness.

E. Deacons Must Not Be Double-Tongued- 3:8a

I thought about showing you a picture of a forked-tongue, but deacons must not be double-tongued. What they say to one person, should be the same they say to another.

The dangers to avoid are divineness, dangers from slander, and disunity.

F. Deacons Must Not Be Drunkards- 3:8b

Deacons should not be drunkards. If they partake of alcohol, they should not drink to the extent they become drunk.

The dangers here are sins in being drunk, affecting judgment and decisions, and bringing a poor reputation on the Lord Jesus.

G. Deacons Must Not Be Greedy- 3:8c

Wealthy accumulation is not wrong, dishonest gain is. Deacons must not aim at dishonest gain (not that there is much pay!).

The dangers to avoid here are being swayed by financially lucrative decisions. Although not leaders in the same sense as pastors/elders, deacons can be swayed by money. Perhaps one member who needs care has more money than a poor member that needs care.

H. Deacons Must Not Be Slanderers- 3:11b

You have notice that slander was already mentioned when we discussed “double-tongued.” That is true. But this point concerns his wife.

The wife of a deacon must avoid being slanderers. Slander is very much like a parasite. Parasites need living hosts to exist. As soon as the living host dies, the parasite dies.

A man who is a deacon will be quick to guard the church (i.e., the people) from slander. The wife, under the patient spiritual leadership of the church, will be moved away from the fleshly desire to speak slanderous of others.

Considering the intimate relationship between husbands and wives, this is where the spiritual leadership of the deacon should be present, though not always visible.

As an aside, wives, it is also your responsibility to stop slander as well.

II. THE DUTIES OF THE DEACON- Acts 6:1–6

Deacons are to serve the church. The very name, deacon, means servant. In Acts chapter six we have a problem, a solution, and then a blessing (our next consideration).

The duty here revolved around serving widows, and some pastors think deacon ministry should focus primarily (and some exclusively).

Some pastors think that deacons only serve communion. But Scripture is specific enough to inform us that deacons serve, but general enough to allow churches to utilize their services in whatever service the church needs.

A. To Guard the Unity of the Church- Eph. 4:3–6

“eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”

B. Serve as a Council of Advice

C. Serve the Church

III. THE BLESSINGS OF THE DEACON- Acts 6:7; 1 Timothy 3:13

In Acts Chapter 6

They ministered to the widows, all of them

They freed up the apostles to devote their time to prayer and the ministry of the Word

The Church grew

In 1 Timothy Chapter 3

They enjoy good standing in the church (both church and deacon are blessed)

They enjoy confidence in their relationship with the Lord