Deacons

Heavenly Father, we come,

humbling ourselves before you,

waiting to be addressed by you from your word.

Speak to us and by your spirit,

work in us

so that we might be characterized as a church

by the humility and service and sacrifice

that this passage calls us to.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Today is an exciting day in the life of our church.

In September of this year,

it will have been two full years

since we launched our public services,

and today we are finally appointing our first deacons.

For this reason, I'm not going to stay in our series

through the book of Jeremiah today,

but I'm going to preach instead from 1 Timothy 3, 8-13,

which Justin hopefully read for us.

And from here, we'll be discussing three things.

First, the requirements for deacons.

Second, the roles of deacons.

And third, the rewards for deacons.

And the main point of this passage really

is that the church should appoint

Christ-like servants of the church as deacons.

The early church faced a crisis in 1st century AD.

After Peter's sermon at Pentecost in Jerusalem,

the church grew exponentially,

and it was really a community like no other

that existed prior to that point

because it was a mixed community of Jews and Gentiles,

and they lived in equality.

They lived in community together,

in unity and diversity.

But that kind of unity and diversity

always creates tensions

that more homogenous groups don't have to deal with.

And so that's what we find in Acts 6, 1-7,

where this crisis is recorded.

The Greek believers raise a complaint to the apostles

saying that while the Jewish widows

are being taken care of in their daily rations with food,

the Greek widows were being neglected.

And so the apostles summoned the whole church,

and they say this.

It is not right that we should give up

preaching the word of God to serve tables.

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,

but we will devote ourselves to prayer

and to the ministry of the word.

And the apostles are here not downplaying

the importance of caring for the poor

because, in fact, the task is so weighed and important

that people who are of good repute

and full of the spirit and wisdom

must be appointed to do it.

But while this is a necessary and important task,

the preaching of the word and prayer

likewise cannot be neglected.

So because of that,

because both of those tasks are so important,

they had to appoint new leaders in the church.

And many believe that this instance recorded in Acts 6

was the beginning of the diaconate,

or the deaconship, the office of deacon.

And the word deacon, of course, isn't used here,

but the highlighted word serve in verse 2

is this verbal form of the word deacon.

And the pattern established here for the role of deacons

fits the description of deacons in other parts of Scripture,

as well as the example we see in church history.

What they do in the church is they meet a need

and they preserve the peace of the church.

So then Acts 6 teaches us

that there are two types of ministries,

two main types.

First is the ministry of the word,

and second is the ministry of the table.

After the apostles,

the ministry of the word was entrusted

to the elders of the church,

or the overseers of the church, also called that.

And the ministry of the table

was entrusted to the deacons of the church.

And while ministry of the table, of course,

includes care for the poor and the widows,

it's, I don't think, strictly limited to that

because the reason for the deacons in Acts 6 BC

is not merely to meet the need

but also to relieve the elders

so that they can continue to preach the word

and to pray.

And so because of that, I think anything,

and this is how historically church

has observed this practice,

any ministry that relieves and releases the elders

to focus on the ministry of the word and prayer

would fit under the category of the deacons' ministry.

And so there are two offices in the church,

and only two,

and it's the elder, office of elder,

and the office of deacon.

And we see both of those addressed together

in Philippians 1-1, for example.

And at the end of Acts 6 in verse 7,

we find out what happened

as a result of this solution to the problem

that faced the crisis that faced the early church.

And it says in Acts 6-7,

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 possible crisis and schism of the church

was avoided,

and the church continued to grow in unity and in faith,

and that's really the hope that we have

as we appoint our first deacons as well,

that that will be the result that we see in our church.

And so let's take a look first

at the requirements for deacons from this passage.

Verse 8 says, follow with me,

deacons likewise must be dignified,

not double-tongued,

not addicted to much wine,

not greedy for dishonest gain.

So first, the deacons must be dignified,

meaning they have to be worthy of esteem and respect.

Deacons should be people

who are not given in their lives

to cheap, you know,

crass or ignoble things and tendencies,

but they should show,

they should have the tendency toward good things,

noble things and worthy causes.

And secondly, the deacons must not be double-tongued.

The word literally means speaking twice.

It refers to repeating something

that ought not to be repeated.

So, for example,

it would include betraying someone's confidence

and repeating their secret to someone else.

Or secondly,

it would also include any form of gossip and slander

instead of talking to someone directly

about an offense that they have caused

or about their faults and flaws.

You talk about it,

talk about that person with someone else.

You're repeating it

where you're not supposed to repeat it.

Double-tongued to talk twice.

And so deacons,

because they're charged with keeping the peace of the church,

they are not to be double-tongued

because that destroys community.

Third,

the deacons must not be addicted to much wine.

The phrase literally means

to be devoted to much wine.

Right?

Those who are addicted to alcohol

devote themselves to it.

They spend their fortunes on it.

They sacrifice their relationships

and their families for it.

So to be devoted

really means to pay attention to

or to occupy oneself with something.

And by definition,

that means a Christian

cannot be devoted to the things of God

and simultaneously be devoted to wine.

Being controlled by the Holy Spirit

excludes being controlled by wine.

So deacons must not be devoted to wine.

Fourth,

the deacons must not be greedy for dishonest gain.

They must not be people

who sell,

peddle religion for profit.

Using their office and station

for dishonest gain

brings shame on Christ

and His gospel.

So the deacons must not be greedy

for dishonest gain.

Before I continue,

I just want to tell you

that this passage is about deacons,

but deacons,

the qualifications for deacons,

really is something

that all Christians should aspire to.

It's the characteristic

of all godly Christians.

So it's applicable to all of us.

It's pertinent to all of us.

And then verse 9,

look with me, continues.

They must hold the mystery of the faith

with a clear conscience.

The mystery of the faith

is referenced to

the hidden plan of God

from generations past

that was revealed fully

in Jesus Christ.

So in short,

the mystery of the faith

is the gospel

or the good news of Jesus Christ,

His saving message.

And that gospel,

deacons must grasp firmly

and they must hold onto the gospel

with a clear conscience.

Earlier in chapter 1,

verse 19 of the same book,

Paul charged Timothy in this way.

He said,

wage the good warfare,

holding faith and a good conscience.

By rejecting this,

some have made shipwreck

of their faith.

So there are people

who even though

they have faith in the gospel,

they go on sinning

in spite of it.

Unrepentantly,

they go on sinning.

And as they do that,

they make shipwreck

of their own faith itself.

And so Paul is saying

deacons have to be people

who are able to,

with a clear conscience,

hold the mystery of faith.

This doesn't mean

that they have to be sinless.

That's the case.

We would have no deacons.

But it does mean

that the way they live

should confirm the gospel

rather than contradicted.

Their faith in the good news

of Jesus Christ

must be borne out

by the good works

that they do in their lives.

And they should be able

to hold the mystery of faith

without feeling like a fraud

and a hypocrite,

not being condemned

by their own consciences.

So deacons have to be able

to do with the clear conscience,

hold the mystery of faith.

And not only are deacons

supposed to meet

these character requirements,

they must also,

according to verse 10,

be tested first.

Then let them serve as deacons

if they prove themselves blameless.

The worthiness of the deacon candidates

are proven over time.

And I think there's multiple reasons for that.

One of them,

Paul himself tells us

later in chapter 5, verse 24,

the sins of some people

are conspicuous,

going before them to judgment,

but the sins of others

appear later.

So because of this,

and it's important

that the deacons first be tested.

And if they prove themselves blameless,

they are to be appointed as deacons.

And this is why in our church

we have diaconal interns first.

That's the period of testing.

And when they have proven themselves blameless,

we appoint them as deacons

as we're doing today.

And the word blameless

is a synonym of the word

that means above reproach.

That was the character requirement

for elders earlier

in this chapter.

And so that means

the deacon's character

must be of such quality

that they do not bring reproach

to Christ and his gospel.

The description is pretty straightforward

so far, right?

And the requirements for deacons

is pretty clear from here.

But in verse 11,

the description takes

an unexpected turn.

So look with me

in verse 11 of this chapter.

Their wives, likewise,

must be dignified,

not slanderers,

but sober-minded,

faithful in all things.

So if you are using

the English Standard Version ESV,

you probably have a footnote

next to the word likewise.

So look with me

if you see the footnote.

Follow the footnote down

and it will say this,

quote,

or woman likewise.

You guys see that?

I'm not seeing any,

no,

if you guys are using ESV.

So in Greek,

there's one word

for both woman and wife,

which is why

there are translational variations

for this verse.

So for example,

both the NIV

and the NASB

translate the word

in this verse

as woman

rather than wives.

And so look,

so NIV says,

in the same way,

the women

are to be worthy of respect,

not malicious talkers,

but temperate

and trustworthy

in everything.

Why does this matter?

Because if we translate it

as wives,

then it's a reference

to deacons' wives.

But if we translate it

as woman,

then it most likely

refers to woman deacons.

That's why this one

translational difference

is significant.

And faithful teachers

of the word

have disagreed

on this matter

throughout church history,

so it's not something

to be dogmatic about.

But I am nevertheless

personally convinced

that Paul is referring here

to woman deacons

and not to deacons' wives.

And here are the reasons

why.

First,

there is no possessive pronoun

there in the text

as there is in ESV.

It just says,

likewise woman.

It doesn't say

their woman

or their wives.

If the possessive pronoun

was there,

that would be very clear

that it's referring to wives,

but it's not there

in the Greek.

Second,

due to the ambiguity

of the generic Greek word

for woman,

whenever scripture authors

use the word

to mean wife,

they provide contextual clues,

such as mentioning

their husbands

or including modifiers

like their own wives,

that's what invariably

happens throughout scripture.

for example,

next verse,

verse 12,

when Paul says

that a deacon

must be a one-woman man,

that's clearly a reference

to a one-wife husband,

right?

So it's saying

that the husband

must be faithful

to one wife.

But verse 11

doesn't have

those contextual clues.

It simply says

woman.

And so I think

as it is translated

in other parts of scripture,

I think it's more natural

to translate it as woman.

And then third,

the transitional word

likewise

suggests

that Paul is introducing

a new subset category

here in verse 11

because

he used the word

likewise earlier

when he was transitioning

from a description

of elders

in verses 1 to 7

to deacons

in verse 8

and he makes

the same transition

in verse 11

and says likewise,

woman.

So I think

it's probably

not referring

to their wives

but to another

subset category

of the offices

that he's dealing with.

And fifth,

the character qualities

required of these women

fit what we would expect

of woman deacons

but not necessarily

what we would expect

of deacons' wives.

Let me explain.

Whenever scripture

mentions the character traits

of godly wives,

for example,

in Ephesians 5,

22 to 24,

Colossians 3,

18,

1 Timothy 2,

15,

1 Peter 3,

whenever it mentions

wives and their godly traits,

it refers directly

to their wifely duty

to their husbands

and commends

how they submit

to their husbands

and how they perform

their duties in the home.

But those kinds of traits

and characteristics

are not mentioned here

at all

when it's referring

to the deacons' wives

if it's referring to them.

Instead,

the description

is almost identical

to the requirements

for male deacons

given in verses 8 to 9.

So compare the two with me.

Both are called

to be dignified,

verse 8,

verse 11.

They're called

to be not double-tongued

in verse 8,

which parallels

not slanderers

in verse 11.

Male deacons

are called

to be not addicted

to much wine

in verse 8,

that parallels

the need to be sober-minded

in verse 11.

And holding

the mystery of faith

with the clear conscience

in verse 9,

parallels being faithful

in all things

in verse 11.

So I think

these parallels

are there intentionally

to signal to us

that it's not

referring to the deacons' wives

but to women deacons

just as it referred

to male deacons.

And sixth,

and this is my last reason

that I'm going to give

for why I'm convinced

of this,

there's confirmation

from elsewhere in Scripture

that there were women deacons

in the church.

In Romans 16.1,

it says,

I commend to you

our sister Phoebe,

a servant

of the church

at Centria.

The word servant,

there is the exact same word

that is translated

as deacon.

And of course,

it could mean

generically servant,

but I don't think

that's likely

and most translators

agree that that's not

what it's referring to

because of the description.

Not just a servant,

but a servant

of the church

at Centria,

which seems to be

signaling an official role,

a representative role,

a recognized role

within the church.

That's why NIV translates it,

I commend to you

our sister Phoebe,

a deacon of the church

in Centria.

And historical evidence

confirms the existence

of deacons.

Pliny the Younger

was a Roman magistrate

in the interim,

and he corresponded

with Emperor Trojan.

And in one of his letters,

he boasts about

how he tortured

and interrogated

two Christian women

who are called

deaconesses.

And my interpretation

of this is not novel

or creative.

If I ever teach you

anything that is novel,

that's new,

that no one in the church

has ever taught in the past,

I want you guys

to call me out on it

and challenge me

because I don't ever

want to do that.

This is something

that faithful exegetes

of scripture

and some of the most

reliable church fathers

have said.

This is what this passage

in fact means.

John Chrysostom,

Clement of Alexandria,

Theodoric,

one of my favorites

of the church fathers,

they all argue

that 1 Timothy 3.11

is a reference

to women deacons,

not to deacons' wives.

And other church fathers

like Origen,

Epiphanes,

Basil of Caesarea,

Gregory of Nyssa,

as well as the council

of Nicaea,

the canons of the council

of Nicaea in 3.25,

they took the existence

of deaconess

is for granted.

And some of the main reasons

I think is given

in a third century

church manual

called the teaching

or the didascalia

of the apostles

and it says this,

Appoint a woman

for the ministry of women

for there are homes

to which you cannot

send a male deacon

to their woman

on account of the heathen

but you may send

the deaconess.

Also in many other matters

the office of a woman deacon

is required.

This is a third century

church manual.

So I think

for these reasons

I'm very convinced

that this is referring

to women deacons

and that's why

we are appointing

women deacons as well.

Now turn with me

back to verse 12.

That was kind of a long excursus

on explaining that.

Whenever scripture lists

the qualifications

for church officers

it always addresses

both their personal character

and secondly

their family life

as a candidate.

Paul follows

the same pattern here.

So having addressed

the personal character

of male deacons

in verses 8 to 10

and having addressed

the personal character

of female deacons

in verse 11

Paul now turns

to address

the family life

of deacons.

And here he focuses

particularly on the male deacons

because they

as heads

of their respective

households

they had a particular

responsibility to the home

and the way

they managed their homes

had to be taken

into account

before their appointment.

So Paul says

in verse 12

let deacons

each be the husband

of one wife

managing their children

and their own

households well.

These qualifications

are the same

as the ones

that were given

to elders

earlier in this chapter

and in Titus 1.

and the phrase

husband of one wife

is literally

like I said before

one woman man.

A deacon

must be a one woman man.

This doesn't mean

that he has to be married

it just means

that if he is married

that he must be

a one woman

kind of man.

Obviously this

excludes polygamy

but the standard

is much higher than that.

He must be a husband

that is faithful

and devoted

to his wife.

A man who has eyes

and heart

for one woman only.

If you want

a more detailed

explanation of that phrase

you could refer back

to my sermon

in Titus 1

from a few weeks ago

because that's all

I'm going to say

for that part for now.

And the male deacons

must also give evidence

of managing their children

and their own households well.

And the rationale

behind this qualification

is that married elder

is called

to lead two families.

His personal family

and God's family.

And the former

his leading

of his own family

functions as the testing ground

for how he will do

in God's family.

Because if the man

cannot even manage

his own family

which he has had

I mean basically

a family that he has

had charge of

from the very beginning

of the life of the family

and with whom

he even shares

natural biological kinship

if he can't even

manage that family

how will he manage

God's family

which is far more numerous

and more diverse

and with whom

there is neither

a natural kinship bond

nor a legal right

how can you manage

that kind of family well

if you can't even manage

your own family well

when you have everything

else going for you.

That's the idea.

And so these are

the requirements

for deacons.

And notice

that all the requirements here

deal with

the person's character

and not with

the person's competence.

the world values

intelligence

skill

and competence

far more than they do

personal character

and that's

precisely why

we see moral lapses

abuses

and scandals

at all levels

of corporations

and governments.

But that must

not be the case

with the church

as it has been

in the past.

We live in a city

that has an overabundance

of human resources

and to tell you

the truth

I stopped being impressed

by smart

and competent people

a long long time ago.

Smart people

are a dime

and a dozen.

They're common.

There's a lot of smart people

in this world.

Skilled people

are a dime

a dozen.

You know what's

really rare?

Humble people.

Godly people.

people who are dignified

not double-tongued

sober-minded

faithful

in all

things.

That's rare.

And as Christians

let's wear

those characteristics

as the badge

of our honor

and not conform

to ourselves

to the value systems

of this world.

And I want to speak

directly to the

deacon Candace

for a moment.

How you care

how you care

for and lead

the people

in your respective

ministry teams

is far more important

than what you are able

to get them to do.

Your character

as a deacon

is far more important

for the advancement

of the gospel

than your competence

and I believe

that's the implication

of this passage.

And this is why

our deacons

although they are

very gifted

in many ways

they're not necessarily

the ones that are

most gifted

at everything

that they do.

What's been more

important and prominent

in our consideration

of deacons

has been their

demonstration

of Christ-like

servanthood.

So with that

proper emphasis

on the requirements

for deacons

let's now turn

to the second point

the roles

of deacons.

The scripture

actually doesn't tell us

too much about

the roles of deacons

what they do

because it's

more focused

on who they are

what they should be like

rather than

on what they do.

So we kind of have to

read between the lines

a little bit

but I think it's

clearly here in the text.

And the first

character qualification

for deacons

well he gave

the character qualification

for elders

in verses 1-7

and the deacons

in verses 8-13

and they're very similar

but by comparing

the two lists

and see where

they differ

we can figure out

what the distinct

roles of deacons are.

And first of course

is the title

an elder

is called

the overseer

referring to

his leadership

and oversight

over the church.

The word deacon

on the other hand

means servant.

It points to

ministries of service.

As H.B. Charles Jr.

the pastor of Shiloh

Metropolitan Baptist Church

puts it

elders

serve by leading

deacons

lead by serving.

It's

a little bit

you guys follow

this

elders

serve by leading

deacons

lead by serving.

It's a very helpful

and memorable way

to distinguish

the roles

of elders

and deacons.

Elders serve

the church

through their

leadership

and the deacons

lead the church

through their

service.

And a deacon

according to

verse 9

must hold

the mystery

of the faith

with a clear

conscience

and that's

similar to

the description

of elders

in Titus 1-9

which must

hold firm

to the trustworthy

word as taught

but then

for an elder

there's also

an added description.

It says

in addition to

holding firmly

to the trustworthy

word as taught

they have to

be able to

give instruction

in sound

doctrine

and also

to rebuke

those who

contradict it.

That's a key

difference between

an elder

and a deacon.

In 1 Timothy 3

we see this

as well.

Look with me

go back a little

bit on your

Bible and go

to verse 2

of chapter 3

because if you

look through the

list toward the

end of verse 2

it tells us that

an elder has to

be able to

teach

and that's

not a requirement

for deacons.

Now this doesn't

mean that all

elders teach

with regularity

it seems clear

that they didn't

according to

1 Timothy 5

17

but all elders

have to be

able to teach

and this doesn't

mean that all

deacons

no deacon

is able to

teach

but it means

that deacons

are not required

to be able

to teach

in order to

be a deacon

and so

that's a key

difference

so we could

put it this way

a deacon

must hold

firm to the

trustworthy word

and an elder

must be able

to teach

the trustworthy

word

so holding

the word

and trusting

the word

and preaching

the word

or teaching

the word

that's the

key difference

between the

role of an

elder and a

deacon

and as we

saw from

act 6

in the beginning

the deacons

were appointed

to meet

various needs

ministry needs

that arise

as the church

grows

so that the

elders can

continue to

pray

and to

preach the

word

and so

those two

primary roles

of ministry

to the word

and ministry

to the table

is I think

what Peter

has in mind

when he says

in 1 Peter 4

as each

has received

a gift

use it

to serve

one another

as good stewards

of God's

varied grace

whoever speaks

as one who speaks

oracles of God

whoever serves

as one who serves

by the strength

that God supplies

in order that

in everything

God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ

there are several

places in scripture

that list

the spiritual gifts

this is one of them

but this is the

briefest among them all

and I think it's because

Peter is summarizing

and he's listing

two gifts

that are really

representative

of all the gifts

in the church

because broadly

speaking

we could classify

every single

spiritual gift

either as a

speaking gift

or as a

serving gift

and I think

that's the

representative

leaders in those

roles are the

elders and

deacons

respectively

now that's the

role of deacons

now that brings us

to the final point

and the deacon

candidates are

particularly excited

about this one

the rewards

for deacons

sorry to break it

to you

but there will be

no financial

compensation

well

we may get you

a gift card

or something

because we love

you

but there will

be no

there's no salary

but there's

far better rewards

look at verse 13

with me

notice the logical

connection between

this and the

preceding verses

it says

for those who

serve well

so this is the

reason why the

character requirements

are non-negotiable

because it's only

those who exemplify

such character

in their service

who will experience

these rewards

four

those who serve

well as deacons

gain a good

standing for

themselves

and also great

confidence in the

faith that is in

Christ Jesus

so a deacon gains

two things

first they gain a

good standing

for themselves

second they gain

a great confidence

in Christ

first in their

relation to the

church

deacons gain a

good standing

because by serving

faithfully

they win the

respect and

appreciation of the

church

deaconship is no

menial task

it is an honorable

office

and we rightly

respect and

appreciate faithful

deacons

and the second

in their relation

to God

deacons gain a

great confidence

in the faith

that is in

Christ Jesus

faithful service

rendered to the

church

strengthens the

deacons faith

in Christ

this is because

by serving

humbly

the deacons

imitate and

grow more like

Christ

who came not

to be served

but to serve

in Matthew

20

25 to 28

when his

disciples

were bickering

among themselves

about who

among them

is the

greatest

I'm the

greatest

disciple

I will sit

at the

right hand

of God

they're

bickering in

this way

and Jesus

said to

them

this

you know

that the

rulers of

the Gentiles

lorded over

them

and their

great ones

exercised

authority

over them

it shall

not be so

among you

but whoever

would be

great among

you

must be

your servant

and whoever

would be

first among

you

must be

your slave

even as

the son

of man

came not

to be

served

but to

serve

and to

give his

life

as a

ransom

for many

right

Christ

is the

son

of

God

he was

a darling

of heaven

the delight

of the

father

in eternity

past

yet he

became

a son

of

man

so he

could save

us from

our sins

Jesus

of all

people

deserved

honor

of all

people

he deserved

glory

to have

everyone

bow down

before him

wherever he

goes

to put

the red

carpet

under him

wherever he

goes

to serve

him

with all

their life

that's what

he deserves

and he

humbled

himself

and chose

the shame

of the

cross

he died

for our

sins

so that we

could live

and have

eternal life

Jesus

lowered

himself

to the

lowest place

that any

human being

has ever

gone

so that

he could

lift

us

up

to

glory

with

God

Jesus

came

not

to be

served

but to

serve

and to

give his

life

as a

ransom

for many

so let

me ask

you

do you

have

a desire

to be

great

because

Jesus

said

whoever

would be

great

among

you

must

be

your

servant

the

servant

again

same

word

as

deacon

the

people

of this

world

seek

to

rule

rather

than

to

serve

to

lift

themselves

up

rather

than

to

humble

themselves

to

be

first

rather

than

last

but

as

Christians

we are

called

to

follow

a

different

pattern

set

by

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

to

serve

rather

than

to

be

served

and

deacons

are

those

in

the

church

who

are

recognized

by

the

church

for

their

Christ

like

servanthood

and

given

particular

responsibilities

for

a

great

privilege

by

humbling

yourselves

and

by

serving

the

church

you

get

to

be

a

picture

of

Christ

to

the

church

and

picture

of

Christ

to

the

watching

world

as

you

humble

yourselves

and as

you

serve

the

church

sacrificially

you

give

off

the

aroma

of

Christ

and

you

give

people

a

taste

of

the

sweetness

of

the

humble

savior

that

we

have

become

the

one

little

your

hand

through

the

whole

and

their

the

enemy

puts

their

system