Servants

Last week began looking at 1 of 2 Biblical offices within the Church that still exist today. The office of Elders/Overseers. We looked at the Biblical significance of the office of Elder(s), which is plural mind you, and we discussed how in our denomintion we had slipped away from this Biblical office and instead we drifted into an unBiblical emeshing of Deacons acting as Elders. The language we use is important and the intent of this series is to inform the church of what the Bible says that the Church body is to consist of.

We have also said that the goal of our pursuit of Biblical truth is to be a Church that is not built on man-made traditions (because men are flawed and make errors), but instead we want to be a Church that is built on the Authority of Scripture alone.

So within the first few weeks of our exploration in this quest we talked about the role of the body, our Covenant Membership. Last week we began to look at the leadership structure starting with the 1st office of Elder, Overseer, Pastor, Shepherd, Bishop and the qualifications of what it means to be an Elder of the Church.

If we were to be analytical about how Concord is set up, it does not use the language of the Bible, nor does it recognize the plurality of Elders as the overseers of the church. Technically, the church in its current leadership structure would only recognize me as an Elder, however, as many Baptist churches who have re-fashioned this leadership structure, I as the lone-elder or pastor, would be subject to the Deacons (an office we thankfully do have), yet this would be unbiblical.

Philippians 1:1 ESV

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

In our quest to become a Biblical church, last week I informed you that I have asked men who I believe are qualified to serve as lay-elders/overseers and men who are already serving in a shepherding role here within our body to join in prayer and much study of what it means to be a Biblical church with a plurality of Elders. In which we have begun just that. I also asked you the covenant members of Concord to join us in that prayer and (soon a study) of the Biblical role of Elders and what this type of leadership structure would look like within the context of our body.

Thought the language is off, in some offices, Concord has already some to the role of elder by the Biblical standards.

Before I was called as the primary teaching elder of the church, the church called Lee Hyde, to the office of “Sunday School Director” which is language I personally can’t stand. But in all actuality what the church called Lee too was the office of Shepherding and pastoring the education arm of the church. Biblically, Lee Hyde is an elder, though his title is director. But he shepherds those who serve through teaching our “Groups.” Technically, Lee is Pastor of Groups.

Greg Neil is also an elder, as the church has called him to be Pastor of Growth and Connection. Though he and Lee are serving this office in a voluntary capacity, they are overseeing and shepherding in there respective ministry positions.

Today, we are going to look at the 2nd office mentioned in the Scriptures. The office of Deacon. Now we are very blessed to have great men serving in this office. And for each of you who are, this is not to diminish your role as deacons, if anything is to bring understanding to Christian leaders you are to submit yourselves to serving this body.

With that said let’s look at what the Bible says about deacons and start to connect the dots of how the Biblical leadership structure works.

Understand, the word deacon actually means “servant.” And we are blessed to have such great servant leaders.

Servant leadership in Christ’s Church demands submission.

Exposition

The Servant Leaders Qualifications

1 Timothy 3:8–12 ESV

8 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. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

v. 8. “Deacons likewise...” the word likewise instructs us that there is more to this that what is found in this verse. Proper bible study should make us ask questions of the text in order to understand what the Biblical author is meaning for the intended audience (of the past) and the Supernatural Author’s dually intended audience (us, in the modern context of the local church). God in His sovereignty used men to speak to the 1st century church, yet also allows the same truth for the first church of over 2000 years ago, to apply to the church today.

So Deacons “likewise...” means we need to investigate the text prior to see what deacons are being compared too. And what we find is the text written by the Apostle Paul instructing the young pastor Timothy on his selection process of Elders first then Deacons...

As author Alexander Strauch states in his book Paul’s Vision for the Deacons: Assisting the Elders with the Care of God’s Church:

The key to understanding the deacons of is to accurately understand the officials with whom they are associated: that is, the overseer, superintendent, supervisor, or guardian.

1 Timothy 3:1–12 ESV

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. 8 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. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

1 Timothy 3:1–7 ESV

1 Timothy

Because of their prominent position and critical role in the church, Paul delineates a list of qualifications for overseers, that is more comprehensive than those of the deacons.

Strauch goes on to say,

“According to the information we have from the New Testament, overseers/elders were appointed first before deacons. Churches must have qualified overseers/elders, but they do not require deacons (as in ).

Titus 1:5–10 ESV

5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. 10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.

Titus 5:

Let’s be clear…this in no way says the office of Deacon is not needed. What Scripture teaches is that Overseers and Elders carry a burden that is extremely heavy. That burden is exactly why deacons are needed. Church life is a life of burden.

Servant leadership in Christ’s Church demands submission.

2. The Servant Leader’s Call

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.

Acts

This is a great window into church life. As John McArthur has stated before, “The church is an organism not an organization.” However, humans have trouble discerning between the two and pride easily gets in the way, as well as agendas, and sometimes even neglect. The church is always going to have problems…what makes us different is how we handle our problems.

Why does a growing church have problems? Because a growing church means more people. More people mean the opportunity for more ministry. Yet more ministry to more people also means the obstacle of failing to serve and minister to those people.

is an example of one issue. It was the catalyst issue that had the Apostles (acting Elders) to call for the church to appoint 7 men (a plurality), men of “good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, who we [the Apostles/Elders] will appoint to this duty.”

Notice the congregation (the full number of disciples v.2) selected...

Acts 6:3 ESV

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.

Acts 6:

But the Apostles (the church elders) did the appointed.

Again, how do we know the office of Apostle (even though that office no longer exists) was also the current office of Elder?

Peter tells us,

1 Peter 5:1–2 ESV

1 So I exhort the elders 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: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;

The Elders of the church needed help in meeting the needs of the growing church. So the congregation selected qualified men (the qualification were given by the Apostles) and the Apostles/elders appointed those men.

Now how did those men become to be known as deacons? Again language is important, especially the original language in which the Bible was written.

In the NT [especially in we see the word] διακονία (de-ak-o-nee-ah) means 1. “waiting at table,” or in a rather wider sense “provision for bodily sustenance.”

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament διακονία

The supervision of the common meals in the early church is called διακονία καθημερινή in Ac. 6:1

As the Apostle writes...

The supervision of the common meals in the early church is called διακονία καθημερινή in

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament διακονία

It is also used 2. for any “discharge of service” in genuine love. Thus the house of Stephanas gave itself to the service of the saints (1 C. 16:15)

1 Corinthians 16:15 ESV

15 Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints—

This word διακονια (de-ak-o-nee-ah) [or a form of it] appears 3 different times in .

v1. the english word distribution is διακονια —which means “waiting tables”

Acts 6:1 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.

v2. the english word serve is διακονειν (de-ak-o-nee-in) διακονέω has the special quality of indicating very personally the service rendered to another. It is thus closest to ὑπηρετέω, but in διακονέω there is a stronger approximation to the concept of a service of love.

Acts 6:2 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.

v4. the english word ministry is διακονια which denotes the act of διακονειν (diakoneō), serve; minister to

διακονέω has the special quality of indicating very personally the service rendered to another. It is thus closest to ὑπηρετέω, but in διακονέω there is a stronger approximation to the concept of a service of love.v4. the english word ministry is διακονια which denotes the act of διακονειν (diakoneō), serve; minister to

v4. the english word ministry is διακονια which denotes the act of διακονειν (diakoneō), serve; minister to

(diakoneō), serve; minister to

Acts 6:4 ESV

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

Alexandar Strauch, deals with these various meanings and speaks to how scholars would even transliterate the Greek διακον (diakon) the root word for where we get our english word “deacon” to encompass each of the meanings we’ve talked about but to also carry the meaning of “assistant” or “agency.”

Strauch says because of this we must:

“interpret diakonos and it’s corresponding terms diakoneo and diakonia within the specific contexts in which they are used…

Strauch uses one scholars study of the word in which he breaks down 770 uses of the word from secular, Jewish and Christian sources dating from 6th century BC. to the early 3rd century AD. This scholar’s study is the most comprehensive study to date...

So the the typical terms of “waiting tables,” servant, minister/ministry, is also interpreted by this Greek scholar as an “Agency.” “…one who carries out the will of another, or a task on behalf of another. In many contexts, the idea is that of a subordinate carrying out an assignment on a superior’s behalf and having full authority to execute the the superior’s delegate task.”

An an example would be , were Paul himself needed assistants to help him in his gospel mission. Luke records that Timothy and Erastus served Paul as “helpers” or “assistants.”

Acts

Acts 19:22 ESV

22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

Romans 13:4 ESV

4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

Rom 13:

2 Corinthians 11:15 ESV

15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

2 Cor

Now Strauch says these are the least “least frequently” used terms and they are “often found in verb forms.”

Based on this scholars assessment the word diakonos in and expresses “agency,” rather than table waiting.

Even in the 3rd edition of the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, which contains more recent research on the root word diakon- word group, “lists one entry for the Greek word diakonos as: ‘one who gets something done, at the behest of a superior, assistant to someone.’ The entries for diakonos as it appears in and , are [translated] ‘attendant, assistant, aide.’

Why does this matter? Because we want to understand the Biblical language and not the man-made interpretation of the office of deacon.

What Strauch, stresses in his book on “Paul’s Vision of the Deacons” is this: “…Paul is not using the term diakonos to mean a servant in a general, undefined sense that could apply to any Christian. Some churches hold that anyone who regularly serves in the church in any capacity is a deacon (= servant). They make this claim on the assumption that diakonos can mean servant and nothing more…However, most biblical scholars almost universally reject this view. Most church leaders sense the problems inherent in the idea that anyone who serves the church is a deacon. They correctly understand that diakonoi in and refers to a limited number of church officeholders, not to every person in the church who serves.”

We could agree on that as a church in our current understanding and I would point you back to .

Here’s Strauch’s point on interpreting the Biblical text:

The key to understanding the deacons of is to accurately understand the officials with who they are associated: that is, the overseer, superintendent, supervisor, or guardian…In the same context () Paul addresses another body of church officials (termed diakonoi) who are paired with and subordinate to the overseers but are not required to be able to teach and are not given a specific list of responsibilities…Thus the deacons are not a seperate, autonomous body of officials disconnected from the body of overseers…Paul most likely chose the particular Greek word diakonos because [it]: ‘better captures the intermediary function Paul had in mind. He was thinking of a role that involved being simultaneously in-and-under authority—under the authority of the elders, but having authority over the congregation to carry out tasks as needed. Diakonos provided a clear way to say this while still leaving room for flexibility as to the nature of the specific tasks deacons might undertake.

I want to lay before you the view that diakonos means assistant is constructed on an objective linguistic and contextual form of evidence that the undefined servant or table-servant views.

“The relationship between the overseer and the assistants should not be mistakenly viewed as one of master-servant. The elders are not the deacon’s masters, and the deacons are not the domestic servants of the elders, serving their every personal whim, want, or need. But if diakonos means assistant of the overseer in his official capacity, this would explain…why the term diakonos was used and accurately conveys the relationship between the two offices…The deacons represent the overseers/elders and act on their behalf in service to God’s church. It follows, then, that they like the elders, need to be properly qualified, examined, and approved by the church. And, as assistants of the elders and church officeholders, the deacons will exercise a measure of formal authority in the congregation , but always under the authority of the elders.

Deacons are God called servants of Christ’s Church.

Servant leadership in Christ’s Church demands submission.

So, why is all of this so important to know? Why should we care about the office of elders or deacons? Because Christ did, so much so, that He gave His life for the Church. The Church is His bride.

Paul told the church at Corinith in his 2nd letter this:

2 Corinthians 11:2 ESV

2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

John the Revelator says this about the church...

Revelation 19:7–9 ESV

7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Rev 19:

So how do we respond?

3. The Servant’s Response

In submission. Men who are called to be deacons should be deacons. Men who are not should aspire to be. To serve Christ’s bride is to serve Christ Himself.

Servant leadership in Christ’s Church demands submission.

To serve the church is to equip the church.

The Apostle Paul instructed the church in Ephesus and the surrounding churches in Asia Minor that the church’s job and it officials are...

Ephesians 4:12 ESV

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Our response is to be obedient to Christ’s call on our lives, not run from it, not simply carry a weighty title that bears no labor and burden. The title of and office of servant in the kingdom of God is not boastful or prideful…it’s the complete opposite. If you are a deacon the men of this church should look at you and say, “I want to be like him someday.” “I want to serve the church they way he does.”

If you are a man in this church and God has called you to serve it but you don’t want the title, because you feel unworthy, or you don’t want the label because of the burden and expectation to serve, do you not think disobedience to God’s call is just as bad, if not worse. If God has called you to it do you think he is pleased by your running away? Do you not understand that if He has called you, accepting the challenge to serve His bride is far better than refusing in disobedience.

Men, we need you step up and lead. Those who are leading, we need you to step and lead. We don’t need deacons by title only, we need deacons by example.

Women, pray for your husbands. Encourage them to serve the bride of Christ. Be the encouraging bride who wants your husband to serve Christ faithfully. Don’t be the one who thinks he simply deserves the title. That is ironically false.

As one of the Elders of this church, let me say I am thankful for men who serve in the office of deacon, you are needed. I am thankful for the men who serve as deacons faithfully and I am thankful to God for those He is stirring in to serve now and preparing for the future service of this Church.

Servant leadership in Christ’s Church demands submission.

How do you respond today? Start by measuring your service to that of Christ. If it doesn’t measure up, let the conviction move you too repentance. Let it lead you to the One who is the Ultimate servant-Leader Jesus Christ.