2020-09-06 1 Timothy 3:8-13 PORTRAIT OF A DEACON

PORTRAIT OF A DEACON (I Tim 3:8-13) September 6, 2020 Read I Tim 3:8-13 – These verses continue our study of church leadership by identifying God’s qualifications for deacons. The NT indicates two permanent leadership offices in the church – elders (pastors) and deacons. When a problem over food distribution to the poor cropped up in the early church, the apostles had to take action to keep from being overwhelmed with work. Acts 6:2) 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.” The word “serve” is the verb form of the word “deacon.” Deacons are servers – that’s what the name literally means – caring for the physical needs of the congregation to free the apostles (representative of elders) to attend the spiritual needs by prayer and preaching. But while their tasks may seem more menial, their importance is not. Deacons were highly qualified. They were Spirit-filled, wise men of faith. In the chapters that follow, we find 2 of them, Stephen and Philip, preaching and performing miracles with such fervor that Stephen became the first martyr. We see that same pattern in I Tim 3. There is no drop-off in the spiritual nature of the qualifications of deacons as opposed to elders – with one exception. Elders are to be “able to teach” – no such requirement exists for deacons. Beyond that, the qualifications are virtually synonymous. No one can meet them perfectly, but as given by God, they must be taken seriously. I. Qualifications for Deacons – These are so similar to elders, I’ve lumped them into 3 major headings. A. Dignified – 8Deacons likewise must be dignified.” And they are to be “not addicted to much wine.” You’ll not demonstrate the dignity required by God if your idea of fun or escape is too much alcohol. As we said before, it doesn’t require total abstinence, but it requires the self-control to never be under the influence. Eph 5:18: “Be not drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” All of us are commanded to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God, not alcoholic spirits. 1 The word “dignified” (σεμνος) means “serious, or stately”. The root word means “to venerate”, or even “to worship.” It defines a person who is looked up to as someone who takes life seriously and lives wisely. This does not mean he is a cold, joyless person. But a deacon must not be a silly, flippant person who makes light of serious matters and with never a serious thought. Dignified people take life seriously. The class clown is not deacon material. The dignified man is fun to be around, but he never loses sight of the fact that every person he sees will either spend eternity in heaven or hell. He knows the difference between good and ultimate. John Wooden, considered by many the greatest coach ever in any sport – led UCLA to 10 national titles in 12 years. He says in They Call Me Coach: “I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.” That man’s deacon material. B. Honest – Three qualities define his honesty. He’s “not doubletongued” – he doesn’t say one thing to one person and something else to another – fitting his message to his audience. Some friends of ours had an aunt stay in their home. They later told of hearing the aunt go around the room telling the same story to several people, changing each time. A deacon can’t do that, but is honest, not changing to placate his audience. Second, he is “not greedy for dishonest gain.” Wouldn’t cheat on his income taxes. Not driven by love of money. His deacon duties may require handling offerings or distributing to the poor, so he must be trustworthy with money. He could not line his own pockets with money dishonestly appropriated. He’s like the young man who told his pastor: “I’m afraid of money. I saw what it did to my parents, and I am afraid of it.” If not afraid, at least a deacon would have a healthy respect for the damage love of money can inflict. The third element of honesty is 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.” That is, they know the Bible and they live it out. They don’t say one thing and do another. They don’t claim to be Xn and live like the devil. Their conscience is clear bc they practice what they preach. A man of deacon material looks the same on Monday as he does on Sunday. And he sounds the same. His faith carries over into his daily life. He’s not a hypocrite. Put these together and you have a man of impeccable honesty and integrity. Not like the lady who was 5’-3” tall and a little overweight. A minor accident took her to the emergency room where the nurse asked her height and weight. 2 She blurted out “5’-8”, 125 lbs”. The nurse looked at her kindly and said, “Sweetheart, this is not the internet.” And neither is the church of Jesus Christ. Leaders must be trustworthy, honest and dependable. Otherwise, they do not measure up to God’s standards. C. Proven – 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. This is not some oral exam or probationary period. This is a life test. The idea is you act like a deacon before you are one! You don’t say, as often happens, “Let’s make George a deacon. Maybe he’ll grow into the job.” God’s way is that George is already tested and approved by the measure of his life. Jump to v. 12 and see the same requirements that exist for elders with regard to his proven faithfulness: “Let deacons each be the husband of one wife (onewoman man), managing their children and their households well.” Before becoming a deacon, a man must be a proven leader in his home and the world at large. If he is lacking there, he has no business leading God’s church. In Merle Miller’s oral biography of Harry Truman, Plain Speaking, he asked Truman his biggest mistake as president. Truman replied, “Tom Clark.” Truman appointed Clark as Attorney General, and later to the Supreme Court. He was pretty mediocre both places. Truman says, “I thought maybe when he got on the Court he’d improve, but, of course, that isn’t what happened.” It won’t happen in the church either. Leadership is not a training ground; it’s for proven men. Too often the main requirement has been, “Is he breathing?” That is not God’s way, and must not be ours. II. Qualifications for Deaconesses Now, v. 11 refers to “their wives”, sounds like deacons’ wives. But that is not at all clear in the original. The word translated “wives” (γυναικας) is used 216 times in the NT. It is translated “wife” 86 times and “woman” 130 times. It can mean either. So is this deacons’ wives or to a group of women of similar function – deaconesses? It is impossible to say for sure. In v. 12 Paul comes right back to deacons again, so he may well have their wives in view. Why introduce a new group, and then come back to the previous one? However, on balance, I think it better to see these as deaconesses. First, the word “likewise” sounds like a 3rd group separate from elders or deacons. Second, there is no possessive pronoun there. In other words, there is no “their” there. A literal translation is “Women, likewise, dignified.” Even the 3 verb is understood. “Women [deacons], likewise [must be] dignified” is a sensible extrapolation. Third, Paul gives no qualifications for wives of elders, so why for deacons’ wives? Fourth, Paul didn’t use the word “deaconess” bc there is no such word in ancient Greek. The masculine form of διακονος was used for both men and women. So in Rom 16:2, Paul says, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant (deacon, masc form) of the church.” The only way Paul could distinguish them from male deacons was to call them “women.” Fifth – there were female deacons, like Phoebe. I take it then that these are deaconesses, serving alongside the male deacons and with similar ministry functions, especially where women are recipients. But, however they are identified, Paul gives three qualifications for these female servant leaders. A. Dignified – This is the same word used for deacons (σεμνος). It defines a woman who is serious-minded, commanding respect by virtue of her character and demeanor. She is “sober-minded” which carries the same idea. She doesn’t seek attention by her attitude, dress or behavior, but attends to worthy things, edifying things. She is not consumed with trivialities, but has an eternal perspective that informs her thoughts and behavior. She’s not consumed with keeping up with the latest trends and fads. She makes a pleasant appearance, but her sense of worth is not tied up in that. The fact that she is “in Christ” is her identity, and she longs for that to be true of others as well. She sees this life for what it really is – preparation for the next. A cartoon once showed a bunch of people at some kind of gathering where you could enter one of three doors. The first read: Infinite Wisdom. The second read: Eternal Bliss. The third read: Black Friday Sale. Everyone was lined up for the third door. But not Paul’s dignified woman. She would not trade the birthright of eternal life for trivialities. That doesn’t mean she is not a joyful person. She is, but about the right things and in a proper manner. B. Discreet – Deaconesses must be “not slanderers”. They are discreet – not gossips. In serving others, they will naturally come upon private information; info which should not be shared. Such a temptation to all of us, but not worthy of our Lord. So, a deaconess must be someone who would not disclose private information or slander someone in any way. It’s not nearly as much fun to speak well of someone as to speak ill of them, but this person can be trusted with confidential information. They would never violate a trust or pass on negative information. Words can damage as much as hitting someone in the face. One woman justified the quickness of her own tongue by saying, “It passes; it is done with 4 quickly.” To which evangelist Billy Sunday replied, “So is a shotgun blast.” Words have immense power for good or ill, so they must be carefully chosen. The worthy person, man or woman, knows the power of words. Richard Armour wrote a poem: “Gossip should, as I was told / By Father and my Mother / When I was very young, go in / One ear and out the other. // And so perhaps it should; but I, / Who’ve listened through the years / With studied concentration and / Alert, attentive ears, / Have learned that gossip mostly takes / A detour to the south, / By which I mean that it goes in / One ear and out the mouth.” Let that not be true of us, Beloved – deacon or not. Let us not spread gossip in the name of prayer requests or feigned or real concern. Rather let us be discreet, trustworthy and able to hold confidences. C. Dependable -- “faithful in all things” – I take this to mean two things. First and foremost, it would mean faithful to the Xn faith. This describes a woman who knows the basics of the gospel and who lives in obedience to the Lord’s commands – because she loves Jesus. It’s not a burden; it’s her greatest privilege to learn God’s will and then do it. But “faithful in all things” also relates to her personal life. She is dependable, loyal and worthy of confidence. If she says she will do something, she does it. She can be trusted – she can be trusted to count the money without any disappearing, and she can be trusted not to share who gave what. She’s faithful. She does every job to the best of her ability – from her family life to her church life to her community life. She follows through. She knows I Cor 4:2: “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” She’s faithful, and like with the deacons, this is true of her before being appointed to office. She’s proven herself over and over because she is dependable. Here's what this is like. By the time she was 21 years old, my mom had 2 kids. By the time she was 36, she had 11 kids. I counted up one time. She and dad had kids at home for 39 years – from the time I was born until the last of the twin girls got married and left home. During all that time, my dad was either working long hours on one job – or usually, working two jobs. But in all those years, I can tell you without fear of lying that my Mom and Dad were at church with their kids Sunday morning from Sunday school on, youth group in the evening and evening service as well as Wednesday night. They were there at least 50 out of the 52 weeks. If you’re counting, that’s 9750 times going to church during those years. Meantime, Mom’s example of Godly living was second to no one I’ve ever met. She was not Superwoman; she was just faithful. Don’t tell me it can’t be done. It’s a simple matter of priorities. 5 Conc – The phone rang – a salesperson from a mortgage refinance company. “Do you have a 2nd mortgage on your home?” The guy replied, “No.” “Would you like to consolidate your debts?” “I really don’t have any,” the guy said. “Well, then, how about freeing up cash for home improvements?” He said, “I don’t need any. I just recently had some done and paid cash.” There was a brief silence, and then the lady asked, “Are you looking for a wife?” Smart woman. If you want to get a good husband, look for a proven quantity. And if we want good leaders who will seek and follow the mind of Christ – how do we get them? Look for men and women who are already doing it. Let’s pray. 6