Deacons

All right, well this morning we are continuing our journey through 1 Timothy.

It is a letter in the New Testament that was written by the Apostle Paul on behalf of the Lord Jesus

to Timothy, who was stationed in the church at Ephesus.

And in this letter we receive instructions about how the church ought to conduct itself.

Last Sunday we heard about how the church should be led.

We heard Paul lay out the requirements for overseers.

And we looked at a number of other passages in the New Testament,

which when we take them all together, give us a clear framework for leadership in the church.

We saw how the church is to be led by a group of men called elders or overseers,

whose primary responsibility is to shepherd or pastor the church,

to lead, to teach, to protect, and to care for the people of the church.

And we saw from several passages that overseers are to have authority in the church

and that the rest of the church is to submit to and follow their leadership.

So Paul has laid out the requirements for overseers in the church in chapter 3, verse 1 to 7.

And now he will do the same for the official position of deacon from verses 8 to 13.

Let me read it for us straight out of the Bible.

1 Timothy 3, verse 8.

1 Timothy 3:8

In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine,

and not pursuing dishonest gain.

They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.

They must first be tested, and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers,

but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well.

Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

Now it's very important at the outset to know that when the Bible speaks about deacons,

it is much less clear than it is about elders.

Aside from this passage that we just read, there are only two other mentions of deacons in the New Testament,

and they're just mentions.

There's no job description given for deacons in the New Testament.

The passage we just read is not a job description.

It doesn't tell us the role of deacons.

It merely states the requirements to be a deacon.

And so because the role of a deacon is much less clearly defined in the Bible than elder or overseer,

we should be much more charitable and gracious with other Christians

who come to a different understanding and practice on this matter.

Let's look quickly at the other two passages which mention deacons.

The first is Philippians 1.1.

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

to all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi,

together with the overseers and deacons.

So this is just Paul and Timothy addressing a letter to the church in Philippi,

and they mention the overseers and the deacons as being recipients of the letter.

However, there's not a whole lot to learn about deacons here,

but there is something.

Overseers and deacons are two distinct groups.

They're two distinct roles or offices in the church.

They're not the same thing,

which means that deacons are not the ones that oversee,

direct the affairs of the church.

As we saw last Sunday, that's the role of the overseers or the elders.

So the role of a deacon is not to lead or direct the affairs of the church,

and it must be something other than that.

For one reason or another,

and I think this is more common in Baptist churches than in some others,

many churches today have slipped into a form of church leadership

where they're being led by a board of deacons.

And it's kind of confusing.

Some of these churches don't even have elders.

A group of deacons has kind of become the authoritative decision-making group in the church,

like a church board.

And in some cases, they're functioning like elders,

or they're trying to,

even though some of them may not meet the qualifications of elders.

And then there are fights and power struggles happening between pastors and deacons boards.

And this is what can happen when we don't carefully follow the instructions

and the pattern given us in Scripture regarding elders and overseers in the church.

Whatever deacons are, they're not the overseers of the church.

The second mention of deacons happens in Romans chapter 16, verse 1.

Romans 16:1

Paul's writing to the church at Rome, and he says,

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Centuria.

I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people,

and to give her any help she may need from you,

for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

And here's where the debate and the lack of clarity begins.

Some of your Bibles say Phoebe, a servant of the church in Centuria.

Some say Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Centuria.

Why the difference?

Very simply, the word deacon is the word servant in Greek, diakonos.

And so the question is, is Paul referring to her as an official deacon of the church,

or is he referring to her just as a humble servant of the church?

This also raises the question of whether women can be deacons in the church,

and we're going to get to that later.

But you can see how the clarity for us already isn't there.

These are the three passages that speak of deacons in the New Testament.

So how can we get to an understanding of the role of deacon?

Well, there are some clues and tidbits that we can bring together

that will at least rule out some things and narrow it down

so that we can get something of an understanding of this role.

As I just mentioned, the word deacon is just the word servant.

So that's a place to start.

And it seems obvious from this list of qualifications in 1 Timothy 3

that it was an official role or designation which some were given.

So an official servant of the church.

We already saw from Philippians that it's not the role of overseer.

And we see that here too because there's a separate list of qualifications for elders

than there is for deacons or for overseers than deacons.

So an official servant of the church who is not among the authoritative leadership of the church.

And then next we could do a bit of a study on the word for servant in the New Testament

and look at its various forms, verb, noun, masculine, feminine.

And this has all been done by Christian commentators and scholars.

And there's some good insight to be gained here as well.

First, we see that the base meaning of this word, deacon or serve,

has the meaning of, according to William Mounts in his commentary,

to wait at table.

So we're kind of talking about serving like a server in a restaurant kind of serving.

where a person does kind of a lowly job of service for another person

just for their benefit, to meet their need.

But then we see as we go on that this word was generally applied to all kinds of service

where a person was doing something for the benefit of others.

The apostles referred to themselves as servants of Christ, servants of God.

Some translators use the word minister or ministry to translate this word.

It's used to refer to the work that Tychicus and Timothy and Epaphras did for the churches,

supporting or serving the cause of the gospel.

This word's also used to describe rulers and law enforcement

and what they do for the people.

In Romans chapter 13, they are servants.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

The majority of uses reflect this kind of lowly work done for the benefit and need of others,

but it can refer to all kinds of things as well, even leadership kinds of roles.

And so all of this suggests that the role of a deacon could be a variety of things.

It suggests that it isn't limited to serving tables kind of service,

but likely includes any kind of need-meeting role that's done for the benefit of others.

Now there's another piece here that can kind of guide us into an understanding of this role,

and that's when we continue studying this word serve or servant in the New Testament.

We very quickly bump into this fact that every Christian is called to serve or to deacon.

Jesus said it this way, speaking to his disciples.

He said,

The greatest among you will be your deacon,

for those who exalt themselves will be humbled,

and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Or the Apostle Peter, writing to the churches,

said,

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to deacon others

as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.

And so, logically, we infer from this that the official position of deacon in the church

is about more than just serving in the way that we're all called to do.

Otherwise, why would there be these specific requirements?

In 1 Timothy.

Many of you serve in various ways in the church,

but we don't all need an official title or role for every little thing that we do.

Can you imagine if at November meeting we had to elect the deacon of alive for the first week of every month,

or something like that?

You know, it'd just be ridiculous.

We are all called, we are all commanded as followers of Jesus

to serve,

to wash the feet of one another,

following Jesus' example,

to use whatever gifts and abilities God has given us to serve one another.

But this official role in the church of deacon is something more than that,

for only a few.

Let's look at the specific requirements that Paul lists here.

In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect.

That was the same word that Paul used above to describe the way that an elder must manage his family,

in a manner worthy of respect,

a dignified manner.

So an elder and a deacon, both, must have a good reputation.

A deacon must be sincere.

Quite literally, he must not be double-tongued.

A person who speaks out of both sides of his mouth,

or who says something but doesn't really mean it,

this is about integrity of heart.

A deacon must be sincere.

A deacon must not be indulging in much wine.

That's just another way to say what Paul said about the elders.

Not given to drunkenness.

And so addictions or substances would disqualify a person.

A deacon must not be one who is pursuing dishonest gain.

So he's not a person who's shamelessly greedy for money,

or material things,

or a person who will do anything to get ahead,

to get more money,

more possessions.

A deacon must be a person who is holding

to the deep truths of the faith,

with a clear conscience.

And deep truths, I think,

is a really good translation here.

This refers to the things that God kept hidden in the past,

but has now revealed.

There are a good many mysterious truths of our faith.

Things that are unpalatable to this world,

with its wisdom.

Things that God has kept hidden for generations,

and then now has revealed and made known

through his son Jesus,

and through his apostles.

A deacon must be a person who is holding

onto those things,

present,

continuous,

with a clear conscience.

So they're not a person who's filled with doubt,

or skepticism about

the things that are revealed in God's word.

Verse 10.

A deacon must first be tested,

and then if there's nothing against them,

let them serve as deacons.

Now most translations render this the same.

They must be tested first.

But there's nothing stated about

what the test should be.

What kind of test is this?

Is it a task that they must do?

Is it a responsibility to look after

for a period of time?

Or is it a written examination?

The word here means

to make a critical examination of something

to determine its genuineness.

At the least,

this means that we should not be in a rush

to fill positions,

or to put someone in an official role of service

in the church.

There needs to be time

allowed for a person to be known

what's really inside them.

Is there good fruit coming from their lives?

Fruit that shows the genuineness of their faith.

So I would suggest that this is not so much about

coming up with some kind of a test

for this person to do,

or something that we do to them

and see what's inside of them.

Maybe more like a careful examination.

We look at their character references.

We talk with them.

We talk with those who know them.

We give time for their true self to come out.

We ask them questions about their spiritual life.

And we listen carefully.

We watch them closely

to see how they conduct themselves.

Do they actually meet these requirements

laid out in the scriptures?

We're going to come back to verse 11,

but let's go down to verse 12.

A deacon must be faithful to his wife

and must manage his children

and his household well.

These are the same requirements

that were given to elders.

We heard this last Sunday.

Sexual purity and faithfulness

in the marriage to his spouse are required.

And he must manage both his children

and his household well.

And it's here that I think we get another hint

of what the role of a deacon is.

Do you remember what Paul said

to the elders about this?

He said that they must be men

who manage their households or families well

because how can they take care of God's church,

which is a larger family,

if they can't even manage

their own immediate family well.

So Paul's already given us the reason

for why this is required for elders.

And it's logical that a similar rationale

now applies to deacons.

Something about their role

involves skillful managing of people,

skillful managing of a household.

The implied logic here, I think,

is that the person must be skillful

at those things in the home

because those skills are required

for deaconing in the church.

So this is another clue.

A deacon is an official servant of the church

who's not among the authoritative leadership

of the church,

but whose service may include leadership

or coordinating or administration

of some kind for the church.

And this good character and reputation

probably means that this is a kind of service

where it's important to have a trustworthy,

designated person in charge.

Some measure of financial stewardship

may be involved.

Or perhaps it was important

that some need be met quite regularly

and consistently.

So this would not be the same as,

you know, a person signing up

to do church cleaning twice a month.

This is probably more like the person

who oversees the whole schedule

for church cleaning

and ensures that it's getting done every week

and that the supplies are there

for the volunteers when they come to do it.

There's more of a leadership

or coordination of people

and administration involved.

We are all called to deacon,

but it proves very helpful at times

to have someone in the church

appointed to an official role of service

where regular leadership is necessary.

Or where we need to have

a designated, trustworthy person.

We could go a Sunday or two

or even three

without vacuuming the sanctuary carpet.

But if part of our church's ministry

was the weekly delivery of meals

for people in our community,

well then we would need to have somebody

that's overseeing that very closely,

ensuring that those are delivered every day

for those people that rely on that.

Now we might at this point wonder,

well, why don't the elders just do that?

They're leaders in the church.

And this is where our final passage

pertaining to deacons comes in

and offers wisdom.

Now this passage in Acts chapter 6

Acts 6 · chapter mention

doesn't mention deacons,

not by name anyway,

but as you'll see,

it gives some wisdom.

It leads us in a direction, I think,

about what deacons and their role is to be.

Acts chapter 6 verse 1,

Acts 6:1

In those days when the number of disciples

was increasing,

this is just after Pentecost,

as the church was first being established

in Jerusalem,

the Hellenistic Jews among them

complained against the Hebraic Jews

because their widows were being overlooked

in the daily distribution of food.

So the twelve gathered all the disciples together

and said,

It would not be right for us to neglect

the ministry of the Word of God

in order to wait on tables.

Brothers and sisters,

choose seven men from among you

who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.

We will turn this responsibility over to them

and will give our attention to prayer

and the ministry of the Word.

This proposal pleased the whole group.

They chose Stephen,

a man full of faith

and of the Holy Spirit.

Also Philip, Prochorus,

Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, Nicholas.

They presented these men to the apostles

who prayed and laid their hands on them.

So the Word of God spread.

The number of disciples in Jerusalem

increased rapidly

and a large number of priests

became obedient to the faith.

So the church in Jerusalem

in its earliest days had a problem.

Some widows in the church family

were missed on the daily distribution of food.

And the twelve apostles

called the whole church together

and they proposed a solution,

a kind of work that was required

and the word there is,

it's the word deacon,

deaconing,

a role of service.

But the apostles also knew

that they had been specially charged

with deaconing the Word.

That's also the same word there,

the ministry of the Word,

the deaconing of the Word of God.

And if they were to take their time

to distribute food each day,

that would be taking away

from the time that they needed

to do that job

that Christ gave them to do

of teaching

and instructing

in the Word of Christ.

And so they came up

with this solution.

They proposed that a group

of spirit-filled men of faith

be appointed to look after

this responsibility.

And at this time,

the church in Jerusalem

was well into the thousands.

So likely,

these six men alone

were not even able

to look after all the widows.

They probably would have had to

get others to help

and be in a bit of a coordination

or leadership role

to see that it got done.

Now, these men were not called deacons,

but it seems very clear

that they did the work

of a deacon.

And probably this is meant

to give us wisdom

about the purpose of deacons

in the church.

Now, in the church,

we have elders.

We don't have apostles.

And we won't even think

of ourselves close to that.

But we are charged

with shepherding the flock

and with teaching

the Word of God,

with preaching,

with directing the affairs

of the church.

And other important needs

in the church

that rise up

can easily divert

or pull our elders away

from that job

that they're supposed

to be doing.

And this seems to be

where the wisdom

of the apostles here

in Acts 6

really kicks in.

By appointing people

into official roles

of service,

qualified people,

solid in their faith,

people who can take

an area of responsibility

and look after it

and provide the necessary

leadership or coordination

or administration,

the overseers,

the elders,

can then focus

on overseeing

and the ministry

of the Word,

the overall leadership

of the church.

Matt Smethurst,

in his book titled

Deacons,

says,

deacons are shock absorbers.

He says,

not only was there

a pressing need

in the church

here in Acts 6,

but there was a threat

to unity.

And these men

were able to

kind of come in between

and serve

so that that threat

to unity

was resolved

and so that

the pressing need

was met,

which then freed up

and allowed

the apostles

to do the work

that Christ

had given them to do.

So according

to this logic

or wisdom

from Acts 6,

deacons not only

look after

an important area

of need

or responsibility

in the church,

but they support

the leadership

of the church.

They help keep

the elders focused

on church leadership

and teaching

by serving

in areas of need

that would otherwise

draw the elders

away from that.

I hope that a picture

of what deacons are

is beginning

to come clear

and emerge

in our minds

as we think

through this.

A deacon

is an official

servant of the church

who is trustworthy,

dependable,

skillful in managing

people and the affairs

of the household.

They're not the overseers

of the church,

but they seem

to support the elders

by looking after

particular needs

and responsibilities

within the church

so that the elders

can focus

on teaching

and preaching

and overall

church leadership.

So what kind

of service

or needs

are we talking

about practically

here?

I think the Lord

has probably

in some ways

left the job

description

a little bit

ambiguous

or vague

for a reason.

Could it be

that the role

of a deacon

is made to suit

all kinds of needs

that may arise

in whatever community

that we find

ourselves in?

All kinds

of service.

Matt Smether's

little book

on deacons,

which is available

in the church

foyer

on the mailboxes,

is full of

real life examples

of deacons,

both in modern times

and in church history.

They do everything

from overseeing

soup kitchen

outreaches

to hospitality

in the church

to facility

maintenance

to various types

of regular member

care for people

with disabilities

or for the elderly,

for widows,

meal train

coordination,

secretarial

or administrative

work.

Probably the question

that we need

to ask ourselves

is,

what are the

pressing needs

of our church

or our community

that we're called

to meet,

but that in doing

so it would

pull the elders

away from their

primary work?

That's where

having deacons

makes sense

and enables

the church

to grow

and to continue

to move forward

and minister.

And it's probably

worth stating

that with this

understanding

of a deacon,

there's not a need

for a deacon

board

or for them

to kind of

gather every month

and have meetings

together.

Each deacon

would just be

overseen

by the elders,

those authoritative

leaders in the church.

There's no evidence

in the Bible

of there being

kind of two

power blocks

in the church

like,

you know,

elders here

and deacons here

and like

Senate,

Congress.

It's not like that.

This is the diagram

that I came up with

and it's just

my own thing,

but you've got

the local church.

Jesus Christ

is the head

of the church.

He is the chief shepherd

and then he has

instituted that there

be elders or overseers

who are responsible

for shepherding

the congregation,

the church members

and then in and among

the church members

are deacons.

They are in those

support roles.

They're mobilizers.

I didn't put them

in between elders

and church members

because it's not like

a hierarchy structure

like we see

in the Catholic

church with

bishop,

archbishop,

cardinal.

It's different

than that.

To give an example,

if there's a serious

problem in the church,

you wouldn't go

to the deacons

and then the deacons

go to the elders.

Any church member

would just go

straight to the elders.

Unless,

of course,

it's something

that pertains

directly to what

the deacon

is responsible for.

This is not a serious

problem,

but let's say

that a light bulb

burns out somewhere

in the church.

Would you come

to the elders

or to me?

But if we had

a deacon

in charge of

overseeing

the maintenance

of the facility,

you would go

to him.

And that would

keep that from

even going

onto the elders'

plate.

That's really

the point of a deacon.

But if you find out

that there's somebody

in our community

who's in urgent

need of something

that costs

thousands of dollars,

you wouldn't go

to the deacon

who serves

as treasurer.

You would go

to the elders.

That's a big decision.

That's something

we really need

to talk about

as a leadership team.

Let's come now

to this verse

that we skipped over,

verse 11.

And this is where

we really open up

the debate.

In the same way,

the women

are to be

worthy of respect,

not malicious talkers,

but temperate

and trustworthy

in everything.

Now this verse

causes all kinds

of debate

because some of you

sitting here now

are looking at your Bible

and you're wondering,

why does my translation

say something different?

My Bible says

their wives

must be all

these things.

It's been translated

in two different ways.

Depending on

which one you have,

it'll look

like one of these two

on the screen.

So are these qualifications

for the wives

of the deacons

or are these qualifications

for women deacons?

And most translations

have a footnote

at this point

just to let you know

that the other way

of translating it

could be the correct one

or at least

is a valid one.

What's going on here?

If we peel back

the English here

and we look at

the original Greek,

the first three words

here are

gunaikos,

hosautos,

semnos.

Quite literally,

women,

likewise,

dignified.

So you put that

into the flow

of the context.

A deacon must first

be tested,

then if there's

nothing against them,

let them serve

as deacons.

women,

likewise,

dignified.

Not malicious talkers,

but temperate

and trustworthy

in everything.

So the Greek word

for women here

can mean both

woman

or wife.

They actually only had

one word

and it did double duty.

In English,

we have two distinct words,

woman and wife,

but back then,

just a single word.

And usually the context

makes it really clear

whether it's

woman

or wife.

And so translators

have been making

their best guesses here

as to which is meant.

And most of the

translators at least

acknowledge that

this is a guess

and the other translation

could be the right one.

So that's why

the footnote.

So either Paul is giving

the qualifications

for deacons

and then in the midst

of this list

acknowledges that

in the case of women

who come to be deacons,

these are the requirements.

Or,

he's saying that

one of the requirements

for deacons

is that their wives

must meet this

small sub-list

of requirements

in order for their husbands

to serve

as deacons.

And you can imagine

this has translators

and commentators

divided

because issues of gender

and the role of women

are really

hot-button issues.

So I'm going to put

before you very quickly

both cases

and I've borrowed

significantly from

that book on deacons

that's in the foyer.

There's a very helpful

appendix at the back

that covers this.

The case for wives

of deacons

in this passage.

first of all,

in Acts 6,

the Jerusalem church

chose six men

to serve the widows

and only men.

Second,

all other uses

of this word

in the chapter

are translated

as wife

and not woman.

If Paul really means

female deacons,

why not use

some kind of feminine form

of the word deacon?

Why wouldn't he just

refer to women

generally like this?

Paul gives

marital faithfulness

standards for elders

and male deacons,

but why not

for female deacons?

Why doesn't he say

she must be

the wife

of one husband?

Then there's

the flow

of this whole section.

It seems strange

to kind of

go all over the place

and have elders,

then male deacons,

then female deacons,

then back to male deacons.

Some people describe

this as you get whiplash

trying to read

through this section here.

Some argue

that since deacons

have servant-like

responsibilities,

they would often

call on their wives

to assist them,

and so the wife,

too,

had to meet

the requirements.

when it comes

to Romans 16.1,

this side

of the argument

says,

well,

Phoebe,

she wasn't a deacon,

she was just a servant,

because that word

is usually

translated servant

in the New Testament.

And finally,

people have noticed

that the kind of work

that deacons do

often requires

having a measure

of authority

over men,

and that would put

women in an awkward spot

when we look back

to what Paul said

earlier in 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 2:11

chapter 2,

verse 11 and 12.

When I summarize

all that,

I have to admit,

that's a pretty cohesive

and reasonable-sounding case

for why deacons

should only be men,

and verse 11

refers to their wives.

But then let's hear

the case

for female deacons.

First of all,

Scripture never forbids

women deacons.

It does forbid

women teaching

or having authority

over a man,

which would clearly

exclude them

from being elders

or overseers,

but deacons

are not an authority

over the church.

And nowhere in the Bible

does it say

submit to your deacons

like it does

to elders or overseers.

They keep watch

over your souls.

It doesn't say that.

It only says that

about elders or overseers.

So why forbid

but the Bible doesn't?

The side says

Paul never meant

deacons' wives

in this passage

in Timothy.

If he did,

there were clear ways

to say

the wives of them

or their wives

or their own wives

must be.

They had possessive pronouns

in Greek

as well as articles,

but Paul didn't use them

because he wasn't

referring specifically

to their wives,

but to women

who likewise

could also

be deacons.

Every time Paul uses

this word for women

in the plural

in this letter,

it's always translated

women

and not wife

or wives.

The last time

Paul said women

likewise

in chapter 2

verse 9,

we all recognize

that modesty

was a principle

for all women

and not just

for wives.

So why don't we

read it the same way

when we come to

this passage

about the deacons?

Number 5,

while the structure

and flow

does seem

a little bit

like whiplash,

it is still

orderly and logical.

An overseer

must,

here's the requirements,

a deacon

must be

and three things

listed.

Likewise women,

in the case of women

who are deacons

and three things

listed.

Back to the men

for a second

and then a general

blessing for all

who serve in this role.

Number 6,

why would Paul

list qualifications

for deacons' wives

but not for

elders' wives?

Can Paul really

mean that only

the wives of the

church's official

servants should be

carefully scrutinized

and not of the

church's authority

bearing leaders?

Many people

will argue

that a man's

wife,

her character

could make

or break

whether he

could be

a deacon,

whether he

was suitable

for the role

and if that's

the case,

well then how

much more

should Paul

have stated

this same

requirement

for the

elders

right out

of the

gate?

Therefore,

this makes

much more

sense if

Paul is

referring to

women

deacons.

Number 7,

we're almost

at the end

here,

Paul could

not use the

word deacon

with a feminine

form because

that word

didn't exist

yet.

The feminine

form didn't

come into use

until later

and at

this time

it meant

service or

ministry.

And so

this was

the brief

logical way

to refer

to female

deacons

at the

time.

As far

as Romans

Romans 16:1

16 verse 1

goes in

Phoebe,

people on

this side

point out

that Phoebe

is called

the deacon

of a specific

church.

Most of

the times

where a

servant

is used,

it's more

generally

referring to

a servant

of God

or a

servant

of Christ.

But in

this case

it's a

servant

of the

church

of

Centuria

and I

find it

persuasive.

Even though

Phoebe is the

deacon of

this church

specifically,

right now

she's in

Corinth where

Paul is

writing from

and she's

being sent

to Rome

and Paul

is saying

that she's

been the

benefactor

of many

so it

seems that

she's

serving all

over the

place,

many different

churches,

and yet

she is

the servant

specifically

or deacon

of the

church of

Centuria.

It's more

likely a

reference to

her official

position or

title than

to her

humble

attitude.

Then we

look at

how women

are entrusted

with great

responsibility

and leadership

within the

home and

the family.

Read

Proverbs 31,

the description

of a wife

of noble

character.

Look at

all the

things that

she does

in that

chapter

for the

household.

Because she

is trustworthy,

she does

all kinds

of things

for the

benefit of

her family.

She earns

money,

she invests,

she trades,

she sells,

she buys

a field,

she starts

a side

business,

she watches

over the

affairs of

her household,

literally.

Verse 12,

and she is

to be honored

for doing

all this.

Her husband,

who is the

head of the

home,

praises her

for these

things.

And when we

look at

1 Timothy,

it seems

that Christ's

main command

is that we

should function

like a family

in the

church.

many

Christian

men

entrust

their

family

finances

to

their

wives.

They

praise

them

for

the

good

job

they

do.

Can we

not have

women

serve as

a

treasurer

in the

church?

Finally,

to all that

we can add

that in the

history of

the church

that followed,

they had

female

deacons

right from

the earliest

days after

the New

Testament was

written.

It's as

though they

didn't see

a prohibition

of women

or a

reference to

deacons'

wives at

all.

We have

historical

documents

dating back

to within

20 years

of the

Gospel of

John being

written that

refer to

deaconesses.

And so

there's quite

the case to

be made

either way.

I certainly

don't condemn

or judge those

who go the

other way,

but I think

that the

case for

women

deacons in

these passages

is a little

stronger.

And what may

be surprising

to some is

that there

are a good

number of

respected

conservative

Bible

preaching

Christian

pastors

who agree.

This isn't a

left versus

right issue

or a woke

versus traditional

kind of issue.

As long as

we're defining

the role of

deacon in the

way that the

scriptures point

us, not as

overseers or

the board of

the church,

but as official

servants who

coordinate,

manage,

administrate to

meet a

particular need

or serve a

particular group,

I believe both

men and

women can be

deacons in

the local

church.

And if there

is a need

for someone

to be a

deacon and

it's a kind

of ministry

that involves

teaching or

counseling or

discipling men,

well, we look

back to chapter

two and we

just put a

man in that

role instead.

Otherwise, I

don't see why

women can't be

called upon for

this role in the

church today.

there's lots

more that could

be said about

elders and

deacons.

This is kind

of our church's

one-time go

through this

portion of

scripture.

If you have

more questions

or thoughts

or wonderings,

we have some

helpful little

books in the

foyer called

Elders and

Deacons, and

you're welcome

to take one of

those home and

read it, and

when you're done

with it, you can

just bring it

back to the

church.

We're going to

cut the discussion

of deacons off

at that point,

and we're going

to turn now

to the Lord's

table.

With all this

talk about

deacons and

authority and

leadership in

the church, I

hope that it

affects the way

that we see

Jesus.

Consider a few

words from

Jesus' own

mouth.

The Gospel of

Mark.

When the ten

heard about

this, they

became indignant

with James and

John.

Jesus called

them together

and said,

you know that

those who are

regarded as

rulers of the

Gentiles,

lorded over

them, and

their high

officials exercise

authority over

them, not so

with you.

Instead, whoever

wants to become

great among you

must be your

servant, and

whoever wants to

be first must be

slave of all.

For even the

Son of Man did

not come to be

served, but to

serve and to

give his life as

a ransom for

many.

Two of the

apostles had

their mother put

in a good word

for them with

Jesus.

They wanted

greatness and

glory.

They wanted to

sit at Jesus'

right hand and

his left hand in

his kingdom.

And when the

other ten heard

about it, they

got angry.

They were

fighting over

this.

In their minds,

they craved the

position.

They wanted the

status.

They wanted the

title.

They wanted to

be in leadership

and have that

authority alongside

Jesus.

And this jockeying

and fighting over

position went right

up until the

moment of the

Lord's table.

We hear in one

of the Gospels.

They were fighting

at this over the

Last Supper.

And Jesus just

sliced through all

this pride and

vanity and selfish

ambition.

He said, no, you

guys are not to be

leaders like they

do leadership in the

world.

Greatness is not

to be found like

that.

Greatness is found

through servanthood,

through deaconing,

through meeting the

needs of others.

For even the Son of

Man did not come to

be served, but to

serve and to give

his life as a

ransom for many.

Jesus was the

ultimate deacon.

Even though Jesus

is the Son of Man,

the glorious Son of

Man foretold by the

prophets, the Son of

God, the King, the

Messiah, he saw our

great need for

forgiveness, for

atonement, for a

ransom to be paid,

and he came down into

our world to serve

us, to meet that

need at the cost of

his own life.

He set us free from

our sins when he

died on the cross,

and it was a gift of

love for all who

will seek God's

forgiveness, for all

who believe.

We are all called to

deacon.

We're all called to

serve one another in

love, and the truth is

that we have all failed

to be as we should.

Just like the

disciples, we've all

stood there waiting,

waiting for somebody

else to get down and

wash our crusty feet

while we put them

up.

But Jesus stands in

stark contrast.

He is holy.

He is radiant.

He bends down and

washes our feet.

He bends and carries

our cross.

He is innocent, and

we the guilty.

And beneath all of

this service is his

love for us.

I encourage you in

these moments to

think back just over

this past week, over

all the ways that we

have blown it.

All of our failings,

all the times that we

fell short of God's

glory and goodness,

all the moments where

we could have been

deaconing, but instead

we chose to live

selfishly for our own

pleasure, our own

pride.

But now look to this

table, which reminds

us of the cross.

The bread reminds us

of Jesus' body, which

was broken for us.

The cup reminds us of

Jesus' blood, which was

poured out for us.

It was at the cross

that all of our sins,

failures, and guilt

were forever forgiven

and atoned for by

Jesus, the one who

came to serve us.

And so let's reflect on

that together as the

elders come forward and

pass out the bread and

the cup.

And if you believe this,

please join with us and

partake with us.

We'll wait until

everybody has been

served, and then we'll

eat and drink together.

Thank you.

pour with you,

not work.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

For our forgiveness.

Thank you that we don't need to earn it, but that you offer it as a gift.

May you be glorified.

May you be glorified.

May you be in our remembrance and our celebration.

Amen.