Deacon: An Integral Office of the Church
2001-10-02
Introduction
The word for deacon in the New Testament is simply the word translated as ‘servant.’ Servanthood is central to the Christian way of life. Jesus has said many times throughout the Gospels that “whosoever is great among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:26; Mark 9:35). Jesus was the ultimate servant as He gave His life for the redemption of humankind. When studying the word “servant” and its usage in the New Testament, it is important to discern the various ways it is used in different contexts. It is a generic word for servant, but also an appointed position of the church that Paul describes in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. The questions of the qualifications and proposes of deacons will be examined in the scope of the New Testament, for the meaning of such servanthood means something very different from how the world views servanthood.
The Greek Words and Background
There are three words in the word family for servant with the root from where the word deacon is derived. The verb form ‘to serve’ is the verb διακονεω, which is the verb used to describe what the Seven would do in Acts 6:2. The noun form for ‘service’ is διακονια, and the word for ‘servant’ and ‘deacon’ is διακονος. There are many Greek words that could be rendered ‘to serve,’ and the closest in meaning to διακονεω is ‘υπηρετεω. In the word διακονεω however, there is “a stronger approximation to the concept of a service of love” (Beyer 81).
In Greek life, serving others was not a favorable position, often like today. In such culture, the goal of life is the perfect development of one’s personality, which determines the nature of service to others (Beyer 82). This is exemplified in Greek philosophy, such as Plato’s teaching of the knowledge of the forms, and Aristotle’s instruction of a person’s τελος in previous centuries. Jesus’ teaching on servanthood is diametrically opposed to that of Greek thought, as well as in many cultures of the world. Διακονος is used in many ways throughout the New Testament. It is used as a waiter or a servant of a master in a generic sense, or also a servant of God. The word is also used four times in the New Testament used to refer to the position of office in the church Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3 (3:8, 12, 13, Philippians 1:1).
Qualifications and Purpose for the Seven
In Acts 6, the growing church ran into problems of neglecting the widows among the Greek-speaking Jews, and there arose complaints among them (Acts 6:1). At this point, there was no time for the Twelve to leave their current ministry of the word of God, so power was delegated to the people to choose for them seven men who would ‘serve tables’ and oversee the responsibility to help those in need. The purpose of the Seven was to delegate power from the Twelve to other Spirit-led men to solve this problem among the growing Body of Christ.
To be clear, there is no reference in Acts 6 to call these men deacons in the sense Paul calls the church office of the deacon in 1 Timothy 3. The word διακονος is not used, but the verb form διακονεω is used. These were men chosen for a specific duty to serve God and His church: to serve tables. Their duty, however, is the prototype of the formal position Paul will speak of in 1 Timothy 3. The men that were chosen were not ordinary men used for a ‘menial’ task, as the outside world might view this. There were expectations that they had to meet in order to be chosen: they had to be (1) men of honest report, and (2) full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom (Acts 6:3). Of this second expectation, the two credentials are qualities that complement each other.
Boice argues that if this instance were to happen today, the church might elect people who were wealthy to such a position so that their own funds might be used if necessary. The lack of food and money, however, are only symptoms to the main problem. Boice states that the “problem was essentially spiritual” (Boice 116). The source of all depravation in this world is its fallen nature and sin. The best candidates to solve the problem with the widows, therefore, were men filled with the Spirit. Wisdom, therefore, is also important, for a young person might trust in his own self-confidence. However, as a corollary to a problem that is essentially spiritual, it is not man alone who will solve the problem, but one who relies on God (see especially Job 28:28 and Proverbs 3:5, where wisdom is defined as fearing and trusting the Lord and turning from evil). In Danker, wisdom (σοφια) is defined as “the capacity to understand and function accordingly,” and states specifically in pertaining to Acts 6:3 that wisdom is “good judgment in the face of human and specifically Christian demands” (Danker 934). This is a lot different from what we normally see in serving tables in our culture!
Qualifications and Purpose for Congregational Deacons
The only discussion of a deacon’s qualifications in the sense of the church office of a deacon is in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. One ought to be “grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience” (3:8-9). They must only have one wife, and be able to rule their own family well. Their wives also must be “reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things” (3:11).
When juxtaposing the candidates for deacons and bishops, similarities and differences are evident between the two offices. The bishop’s (or literally ‘overseer’) first quality listed is that he is to be blameless (3:2). The deacon, on the other hand, must prove himself to be blameless (3:10). The prerequisite for the bishop is that he is to be able to teach, which is not mentioned as requisite for the deacon. Both offices require them not to be given to much wine.
Both positions are to be the husband of one wife (3:2, 12), which is a debated phrase. Many argue that one must be married to be a deacon, given the context of the same phrase in the bishop’s qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:2. Others maintain that they cannot engage in polygamy, which was common in the ancient world. Could one truly dismiss a man who is not married if they are godly in every way, according to this passage? Jesus Christ, who served the church, would be disqualified, as well as Paul, the greatest missionary in history, neither of whom were married. Nonetheless, marriage is a way for a deacon to prove himself blameless (3:10, mentioned above), and how a bishop would have demonstrated that he is blameless.
Both offices of the bishop and the deacon have families that need to be obedient to the man. Paul writes that if a man cannot control his own family, then he could not take care of the church of God. Though it does not say anywhere that the deacon is a leader in the church, it is also important for the deacon to have a family as a good example. Though Paul says that the bishop should not be a novice, this is not said of the deacon. There seems to be room perhaps for one of less experience in the office of the deacon, especially in light of verse 10 where the deacon undergoes testing to prove himself blameless. The bishop is at once a position of authority and servanthood, while the deacon, as the name of the office implies, is an office stressing servanthood but not necessary leadership.
Other than what is said here in Scripture, there is no evidence of what their role was in the first Century church. From their qualifications, one could see some possible rolls for them. Grudem says that they might have had some care of finances because they were not to be reedy for gain (Grudem 919). Their wives seemed to have been involved with their work, for they had to meet certain requirements as well, such as not to be slanderers (3:11, see also discussion below on “wives”). Grudem suggests that it could be likely “that they were involved in some house-to-house visitation and counseling” because it was stressed that their wives may not be slanderers (Grudem 919).
Comparison of the Seven and the Deacons
Grudem states, in light of Acts 6:1-6, that the tasks given of the seven “fit well with the responsibilities of deacons hinted at in 1 Timothy 3:8-12” (Grudem 919). This is apparently so in examining both of the passages in Acts 6 and in 1 Timothy 3. In Acts 6, the Twelve needed men of wisdom to do tasks in which they did not have time to invest. The Twelve’s main concern is to the word of God (Acts 6:2), both in prayer and in ministry (6:4). The bishops were the ones that were given to teaching, as the Twelve were, and there seems to be a need for servants to do other services that would draw away time from bishops’ roles as leaders.
Acts 6 shows that these servants were assigned the task of overseeing the daily distribution to widows, but as believers, they did have an active role in preaching the Gospel. Stephen was martyred very early for his strong preaching before the Jews. Philip later became the only one in Scripture to be called an evangelist (Acts 21:8). These men as servants portray the main thrust of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Boice writes,
By electing deacons as the first administrative officers in the church other then the apostles, the church was electing people to do what above all else is most essential to true Christianity. This is because their service was patterned on the servant ministry of Jesus Christ. “Deacon” means “servant.” And Jesus was the servant of everybody. (Boice 117).
Women as Deacons, or Servants?
A woman’s role in ministry has been an issue that divides the church. The office of deacon is another one that is argued for the case of women. In 1 Timothy 3:11, the word rendered ‘wives’ could also be ‘women.’ Some argue that this refers to ‘deaconesses.’ In Romans 16:1-2, Phebe is commended to the Romans as a διακονος. Some say that this is further evidence of female deacons in the first century church.
There are two major points of view here. Interestingly enough, after 1 Timothy 3:11, it says that deacons should be “the husbands of one wife.” There is complete silence of electing a female deacon, and the qualifications surely say that a deacon is to be a man of one wife. In the context of verse 11, it makes most sense that these are the wives of the deacons. If ‘deaconesses’ were the intent of Paul in verse 11, Ryrie argues, then why did Paul not finish the list of qualifications of the deacon first, and then move on? (Ryrie 485). In the case of Phebe, the word used was διακονος, which was the same word that was demonstrated to mean both ‘deacon,’ but normally means ‘servant.’ It is important to also recognize that the Seven were also specifically to be men (Acts 6:3). Likewise, 1 Timothy 2:8-15, we see women being very passive in the church, dressing in ways that will not draw attention to themselves, and learning in silence. The context seems to reject the position that women would be involved in the formal role of deacon.
Conclusion
In a growing church, the delegation of power is important. The bishops or elders of a church cannot do everything while leading the church. The Apostles were no different. A formal deacon office is crucial in the church, from the earliest times to the present day. Even beyond the office of deacon, however, servanthood is integral to the cause of Jesus Christ. The paragon of servanthood, the Lord Jesus, said that whoever is to be great, let him be a servant (Matthew 20:26, Mark 10:43). In this case, how much more important is the servant in the cause of Jesus Christ?
Bibliography
Beyer, Hermann W. Word study of διακονεω, διακονια, διακονος. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume 2. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1964.
Boice, James Montgomery. Acts, An Expositional Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997.
Danker, Frederick William, ed. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd edition. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Ryrie, Charles. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1999.