Where Deacons Began

I am excited to get Wednesday nights starting back. Thank you for being here.

We are going to begin with a six week Bible study on Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen The Church.

And me and the other elders chose to begin with this study, because we are seeking God’s wisdom on growing the diaconate ministry here at Christ Covenant, and want to invite you all to join us in prayer that God would lead us as a church body to do that.

And, you may be thinking that a six week Bible study on deacons may not apply to you, but let me encourage you:

Do you want to be a part of a church that is joyfully unified around the mission of making disciples of Jesus?

Do you want to be a part of a church that is known for its unity, love, and care for one another?

Do you want to be a part of a church whose ministry does not all revolve around one person?

Do you want to be a part of a church that is welcoming to visitors, discipling members, and evangelizing the lost?

Do you want to be a part of a church that is joyfully worshipping and joyfully serving?

Then, we as a church must understand the biblical role of the deacon and how they function to these God-glorifying ends.

Now, if you have put your trust in Christ, you are already a deacon in the broad sense.

The Greek noun diakonos appears twenty-nine times in the New Testament and is almost always translated “servants” or “ministers.”

Matthew 23:11–12 ESV

11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Mark 9:35 ESV

35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

John 12:26 ESV

26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Above all, Christian believers are those who walk in the footsteps of the ultimate deacon, the suffering servant:

Mark 10:45 ESV

45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Most of the time in the New Testament, diakonos is just a generic term for “servant.”

Angels, apostles, all Christians, and even Jesus himself was called “deacon” denoting “servant.”

A small handful of times, though, the word is employed in a narrower, more technical sense.

That is what we will focus on in this study.

To “deacon” in this narrower sense is to function in one of the two offices the New Testament establishes for the local church.

According to the Bible: the only two offices ordained to formal, public service in the life of the church are the offices of the elder-pastor and the deacon.

Now, I realize that most of us in this room, myself included, have grown up with a bit of a different model of deacons than what we are practicing here at Christ Covenant, so I want us to really dive into the Scriptures and see where we are coming from in terms of understanding the office and role of the deacon.

Acts 6

I want to invite you to turn with me to Acts 6.

Acts 6 is the passage we will study tonight, because Acts 6 lays out for us the first pattern for a deacon ministry and the reason why churches need to set aside some members into the office of deacon.

Acts 6:1–7 ESV

1 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. 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. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 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. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 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.

The book of Acts is the historical account of the church of Jesus Christ being established for the very first time after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus back to Heaven.

On the day of Pentecost, which was fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, the Holy Spirit of God empowers Peter to preach the gospel to those in Jerusalem, and about three thousand souls believed for salvation and were baptized.

And they began right away to gather as churches in Christian community to devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, prayer, and fellowship.

And the Spirit of God continues to work and build his brand new church until chapter 6 where they experience their first church conflict.

I want you to note with me that in verse 1, the disciples were increasing in number.

And in verse 7, the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly.

And what Luke, the author, is doing is showing us that God’s mission was able to continue to move forward because of the positive way this conflict in between these two verses was handled.

Consider the conflict with me.

The Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

Now, both the Hellenists and the Hebrews are Jews, and these Jewish families were immediately cut off from their synagogue community life when they chose to follow Jesus.

Now, there was no social security or retirement benefit systems in the ancient world, so widows who could not be supported by biological family members were supported by the synagogue in things like a daily food distribution.

But now, these Jews who have come to Christ need to establish their own ways of taking care of their widows since they are now cut off from the synagogue.

That’s why they do what they do in

Acts 2:44–45 ESV

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Now, the difference between the Hellenists and the Hebrews was that the Hellenists had lived outside of Jerusalem and mainly spoke Greek.

The Hebrews were most likely from Jerusalem and spoke Aramaic.

So, it is easy for us to imagine the scenario.

The Hebrews had lived in Jerusalem all their lives, so they probably easily got a plan together for all of their widows to start feeding them right away.

But, because of not being from Jerusalem, as well as having a language gap, not all the Hellenist widows had gotten on the list, and they were missing out on the daily food distribution.

Now, we get no indication in the text that the Hellenists were acting inappropriately in bringing up this concern.

This was a serious matter that was creating conflict in the church that needed to be addressed.

So, in verse 2, we read that as soon as the twelve apostles, who were the leaders at the time since elder-pastors had not been established yet, when they learn of the issue, they summon the full number of the disciples, which would have been around 8,000 people.

So, they essentially call their very first church member meeting with the goal of resolving this issue.

Acts 6:2–4 ESV

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

Let’s consider some key points this passage teaches us.

1. Ministry of the Word is Prioritized

As soon as the apostles learn of the issue, they take action to address the problem, but they don’t do it by taking on the task themselves.

Instead, they activate the congregation to help assign seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, to appoint to this duty.

And notice why the apostles say they did it this way.

They say it at the beginning and again at the end.

“It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.”

Then, at the end, “we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Now, just as I told you that this passage establishes a pattern for the future diaconate ministry, it also establishes a pattern for the future pastor-elder ministry.

I say all the time: once you understand the biblical role of the pastor-elders, then and only then are you able to rightly understand the biblical role of the deacon.

While the apostles were the ones to first do the ministry of the word and prayer, soon after, God established the pastor-elders to continue the ministry of the word and prayer in the church.

This conflict shows us that the church is always under pressure to sideline the ministry of the word and prayer, and to instead focus on whatever the need seems to be at the time.

John Stott insightfully proposes that Acts 6 showcases a last gasp satanic ploy, the culmination of a three-front assault.

Satan's first two attempts in the book of Acts were persecution from the outside and moral corruption from within.

When those failed, Satan tried distraction.

“The devil's next attack was the cleverest of the three. Having failed to overcome the church by either persecution or corruption, he now tried distraction. If he could preoccupy the apostles with social administration, which though essential was not their calling, they would neglect their God-given responsibilities to pray and to preach, and so leave the church without any defense against false doctrine.”

Now, do not believe for a minute that the apostles didn’t take the work of serving widows seriously.

They took it so seriously that got right on it and called this meeting.

Listen to John Stott again:

“There is no hint whatever that the apostles regarded social work as inferior to pastoral work, or beneath their dignity. It was entirely a question of calling. They had no liberty to be distracted from their own priority task.”

I am convinced that there is an epidemic of pastors and churches who settle for less than faithful and prayerful biblical expositional sermons each week, not because they wouldn’t want to, but because they believe they don’t have time for it.

So, pastors end up repackaging the same few messages over and over again because they are so busy meeting all these other needs that he and the church have decided are needs that he must meet.

But, if the pastor and the church are going to be committed to the preaching of the word in season and out of season,

If they are going to be committed to the truth that:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

And if we are going to be committed to the charge of the pastor to preach the word with complete patience and teaching,

We must allow the pastor the time and freedom to study to show himself approved, a workman who is not ashamed.

It takes a good chunk of time each week to study, pray, plan, and write a new sermon on a new text of Scripture each week in order to be faithful to preach the whole counsel of God’s word.

And it is the pastor’s primary calling to be a minister of the word and of prayer.

Matt Smethurst writes: “A church without deacons may lack health, but a church without biblical preaching cannot exist. There is, in fact, no such thing.”

And so, because of the ministry of the word being such a priority, deacons are necessary.

So, deacons support the ministry of the word by meeting practical needs.

2. Whole Congregation Involved

Verse 2 says the apostles summoned the full number of disciples to attend to this matter of calling out some faithful men to serve in taking care of this need.

Why would they involve the whole congregation?

Theological Reason: they are members of the church do to their salvation, and filled with the Holy Spirit to take a level of responsibility in Christ’s church.

Practical Reason: all the believers are directly invested in the outcome of this decision.

This is their church, and these men will influence the entire congregation.

Cornelius Van Dam: ““The entire congregation had to participate in finding a solution, even though the problem was with only a part of the congregation.”

Because though we are different members, we are all one body.

Take note: congregational involvement is not at odds with the pastor-elders taking the lead role.

I and the other elders are always available to hear from you members and consider your recommendations.

In the end, the entire church votes to approve a deacon candidate.

3. The Primacy Of Character

Notice from the passage:

Pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

The apostles did not say pick out some men who run businesses and are good at logistics.

Now, those practical skills are good and necessary, but they are not primary.

What is primary is the character of the person that has been formed by the Spirit of God within them.

Alexander Strauch: “The church chose its best to care for its least.”

4. Division Of Labor

Just as in the Old Testament, Jethro encouraged Moses to delegate and divide the work once he saw all that Moses was doing,

God would have us delegate and divide the work in the church between pastor-elders, deacons, and church members.

Now, make no mistake, we are all in the same spiritual team.

One is not varsity and the other JV.

Thabiti Anyabwile: “To modern sensibilities, “serving tables” sometimes connotes a low level, demeaning position. A person waits tables when he or she is working through college, or passing time until a career takes off. People regard it as a necessary sacrifice to make ends meet.

But how different it is in the Lord's church! The apostles under the inspiration of God's spirit appear to have created an entirely new office in the church for the specific purpose of serving tables. And the loftiness of the office is seen in the character of the individuals required to fill it, the fact that this facilitates the ministry of the word and prayer, and the unifying and strengthening effect it has on the whole church the diaconate is important!”

5. Deacons Are Shock-Absorbers

Notice in the passage, the seven weren't merely deployed to solve a food problem.

Food was the occasion, but it wasn't the deepest problem. The deepest problem was a sudden threat to church unity.

This was far more than a food argument. The apostles were faced with a fault line that threatened to fracture the very unity Christ died to achieve. The gospel insists that our unity in Christ supersedes any worldly difference so make no mistake the apostles did not delegate this problem to others because it wasn't important but because it was.

Consider verse 5: 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.

The remarkable thing to note about this list of names is that they are all Greek names.

Remember, the Hellenists were the Greek-speaking “outsiders” who were not originally from Jerusalem, and they were the ones whose widows were being left out.

So, when the church came together to choose men to serve in this way, they chose among the minority, Greek-speaking group.

Given the root problem facing the seven, we can conclude that deacons should be those who muffle shock waves, not make them reverberate further.

Quarrelsome persons make poor deacons, for they only compound the kind of headaches deacons are meant to relieve.

The best deacons therefore are far more than business managers or handymen.

They are persons with fine-tuned conflict radars.

They love solutions more than drama and rise to respond in creatively constructive ways to promote the harmony of the whole.

Mark Dever and Paul Alexander: “Deacons, then, serve to care for the physical and financial needs of the church, and they do so in a way that heals divisions, brings unity under the word, and supports the leadership of the elders. Without this practical service of the deacons, the elders will not be free to devote themselves to praying and serving the word to people. Elders need deacons to serve practically and deacons need elders to lead spiritually.”

6. Deacons Are Problem Solvers

It is important to note that while the church sets these men apart to serve, they are not told specifically what to do. No wonder they need to be full of wisdom.

The ideal deacon candidate will have a habit of the following cycle:

Sees a problem > wants to safeguard unity > thinks creatively > solves the problem.

The seven seem to be given the freedom to utilize their collective wisdom to solve the problem.

7. Deacon Work Is Often Quiet Yet Profound

As we saw earlier, what followed the crisis and the constitution of the deacons is that 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.

Though the work of deacons is often focused on physical and administrative needs, it holds enormous spiritual implications.

There is an inseparable link between the labor of a deacon and the flourishing of the word.

Public ministry is impossible without private service.

Had the seven not freed the apostles to focus on teaching and prayer, the gospel would not have spread.

The work of a deacon is freighted with significance.

Its effects will reverberate into eternity.

Beware of limiting your view of deacons to manual labor and Excel spreadsheets.

Stephen was one of the seven and in the next chapter he becomes the church's first martyr.

Philip was one of the seven and in two chapters he's declaring the gospel to Samaritans and African court officials.

He even makes an eventual appearance in Paul's travelogue: “on the next day we departed and came to Caesarea and we entered the House of Philip the evangelist who was one of the seven and stayed with him” (Acts 21:8).

Being part of the seven didn't confine Philip to serving tables.

Though not an apostle, the brother was such a gospel sharing machine that he became known not simply as Philip the Deacon, but as Philip the evangelist.

The bible's view of deacons is glorious. Let's not settle for less.

Coming Up In This Study:

What Deacons Must Be - In Depth Study Of The Character Qualifiers

What Deacons Must Do - The Roles and The Models

Who Deacons Reflect - How Deacons Reflect Christ