TEACHING NOTES Introduction In the previous session we learned about overseers or elders who function as shepherds for the church family. Shepherds are responsible for leading and feeding the God’s sheep, which means that they are the teachers in the church. In this session we’re going to focus on deacons and why they are needed. ‌ Leaders or Servants? Luke 22:24–26 24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves [Grk. diakonon].” ‌ Key Passages: - Acts 6:1-17 - 1 Timothy 3:8-13 ‌ In the Old Testament, the priests were responsible for leading Israel’s worship, teaching, discipline. The Levites served by helping the priests with the other tasks of God’s house. ‌ The New Testament continues this practice by appointing overseers/shepherds and deacons. ‌ Deacon = Grk. diakonos - servant, minister, one who is of assistance to others. In writings outside of the Bible a deacon could serve as an intermediary between two parties for the purpose of getting something done. ‌ The First Deacons (Acts 6:1-7): ‌ Acts 6:1–2 1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. ‌ When the disciples were increasing = Notice that this passage is telling us about the church and the ministry of the church. This context is very important to understand “the daily distribution” in this passage (see below). ‌ The Hellenists & the Hebrews = Hellenists were Greek-speaking Jews and the Hebrews are Hebrew-speaking Jews. The complaint is about the neglect of the Hellenist widows in the Jerusalem church. Apparently, there was some kind of division between these two groups in the church. ‌ The daily distribution = Many modern readers have misinterpreted this passage by assuming that the church was providing for all the poor in Jerusalem. Therefore, this passage is often used to support the idea that the church must provide for all the poor in the community. However, this passage is actually about the church providing for the widows in the church family, not unbelieving widows. While it is not wrong for the church to provide for unbelievers, this passage is not about unbelievers. This passage is teaching that the church should care for the poor in the church. ‌ Acts 6:2–4 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ‌ The Twelve = Refers to the apostles who were functioning as the shepherds or overseers of the church. As we will see, the understood their role to be primarily focused on prayer and teaching the Word of God. ‌ Summoned the full number of the disciples = Notice that the apostles do not make all the decisions FOR the church, but make decisions WITH the church. ‌ “It is not right” = Grk. estin ouk areston - it is not proper, not pleasing, not right. This phrase is often used in the Bible to mean “not pleasing to God.” Therefore, the apostles are likely saying that it would be against God’s will from them to neglect preaching the Word of God to serve tables. This means that those who are responsible for the preaching and teaching the Word cannot not also be responsible for the other ministries of the church. This is an important principle: Every “yes” to something is also a “no” to something else. Preachers and teachers in the church must choose to neglect other tasks in order to have the time and energy to study the Word. This is even more true for modern teachers who have to do more study of context and language to interpret the text properly. The apostles had the advantage of living in that culture, speaking the native language, and direct teaching from Jesus. ‌ Pick out from among you seven men = Again, the apostles are involving the church in choosing these seven men. The church was to select the men or nominate the men, and the apostles would appoint them if they met the following qualifications. ‌ Good repute = Grk. martyroumenous - good testimony. These men needed to have a reputation for being faithful to Jesus. This should be true of anyone serving in the church. The modern practice of putting new Christians into roles of service in the church is unbiblical and will have negative consequences. Those who serve in the church are seen as examples and representatives of the church and the Gospel. If someone is allowed to serve in the church while also living in sin publicly, it communicates to others that the sin is allowed, and that the church has no standards of truth nor discipline. ‌ Full of the Spirit and wisdom = Servants in the church need to be people who are “full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” Anyone who has read Luke’s writings will notice that being “full of the Spirit” and “filled with the Spirit” are recurring themes. Servants should be known in the church as people who “walk by the Spirit” and “will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). ‌ We will appoint to this duty = While the church chose or nominated the men for this service, the apostles had the final decision to appoint them. Why? Because the church can easily choose the wrong people and not realize that they are unqualified to serve. The shepherds/overseers (the apostles in this case) are responsible for guiding and guarding the church. Therefore, if the church recommends a person for service, and the shepherds find a biblical reason that they are disqualified, then the shepherds can and should choose not to appoint that person for service in the church at that time. ‌ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and the word = The shepherds/overseers are required to be the teachers of the Word of God (1 Tim. 3:1-2). Teaching the Bible requires a large amount of time, prayer, energy, and study to do it well. Teachers cannot be distracted by managing and performing the other various tasks of the ministry. They need to be able to focus on hearing from God and studying His Word. This is precisely why deacons are needed. There needs to be a team of people who are appointed and responsible to “do the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:11-12) so the teachers can shepherd the church. ‌ Acts 6:5–6 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. ‌ Pleased the whole gathering = This means that the church was in unity or of one mind on this matter. They all understood that the apostles needed to focus on prayer and teaching the Word. They also understood that the ministry of the church needed to be done by the church. ‌ Prayed and laid hands on them = This practice was how overseers and deacons were publicly appointed and commissioned for service in the church. Today we often refer to this as ordination, but the modern process of ordination is often more ceremonial and more complicated. ‌ Acts 6:7 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 word of God continued to increase = The result of getting a team of helpers so the apostles could focus on prayer and teaching was the growth of the church. By implication, Luke is telling us that if they had not appointed deacons to help the apostles, the mission of the church would have been restricted. ‌ A great many of the priests = Luke tells us that even a great number of the Jewish priests “became obedient to the faith” (notice that obedience and faith are connected). The priests at that time were a large group of both Pharisees and Sadducees who were antagonistic of the church originally. The early church was so effective that even their enemies became faithful believers. ‌ What are the qualifications for deacons? ‌ 1 Timothy 3:8–10 8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ‌ Dignified = Grk. semnous - worthy of respect, honorable, holy, above reproach. ‌ Not double-tongued = Grk. me dilogous - not insincere, not hypocritical. ‌ Not addicted to much wine = Grk. prosechontas pollo oino - not caring for much wine, not interested in excess wine. ‌ Not greedy for dishonest gain = Grk. me aischrokerdeis - not shamefully greedy. Deacons must not be the kind of people who take advantage of others. ‌ Hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience = At first, the idea that God became human, died on a cross, and rose again for our salvation was a mystery to both Jews and Gentiles. But to those who were taught by the apostles, this mystery was no longer a mystery. Those who serve as deacons must hold to the teaching of the apostles faithfully. ‌ Let them be tested first = The Greek word for “tested” here is dokimazo, which means “to examine, to be proven.” The deacons chosen in Acts 6 were men who had already proven to be faithful members of the church family. This does not mean that those men never strayed. For example, Nicolaus may have become the leader of a later heretical group called the Nicolaitans mentioned in Rev. 2:6, 15, which Jesus condemns. ‌ 1 Timothy 3:11–13 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. ‌ Their wives likewise = The word “their” is not present in the Greek text. The Greek word for “wives” here is gynaikas, which is also the word for “women.” Paul said nothing about the wives of overseers/elders, but for deacons he includes qualifications/characteristics for women. This seems to indicate that both the husband and wife are serving as deacons together or simply that men and women can be deacons. We know that Phoebe was a deacon of the church at Cenchreae (Rom. 16:1), so there were certainly female deacons in the early church. However, female leaders were never to undermine their husband’s leadership. ‌ Dignified = Grk. semnous - worthy of respect, honorable, holy, above reproach. ‌ Not slanderers = Grk. me diabolous - Literally, “not devils.” Diabolos is the Greek word for “devil” and diabolous is the plural form. Devil means slanderer and satan means accuser. This phrase can also be translated “malicious gossips.” Men and women who serve as deacons cannot practice slander or gossip. ‌ Sober-minded = Grk. nephalious - temperate, self-controlled. ‌ Faithful in all things = Grk. pistas en pasin - reliable, trustworthy. ‌ Husband of one wife = Grk. andres mias gynaikos - Literally, “one wife husbands.” This was a popular Greek phrase that meant “faithful to one’s spouse” and referred to both men and women. In Greek, husband of one wife also meant wife of one husband. ‌ Managing children and household well = Like overseers/elders, deacons must also be good leaders at home. If deacons allow their own children to be disrespectful, disobedient, and unfaithful, how can they be good examples to the rest of the church? ‌ Serve well = Grk. diakonesantes kalos - Notice that diakonesantes is another form of diakonous (deacons). Therefore, the role of deacon is not a position with a title, but a task to be done for the church family. ‌ Gain a good standing = Grk. peripoiountai kalon bathmon - obtain good progress or good reputation. ‌ Great confidence in the faith = Grk. pollen parresian en pistei - much courage in faithfulness or assurance in faithfulness. ‌ Qualifications for Deacons: - Honorable - Not Hypocritical - Not a Drunkard/Addict - Not Greedy - Faithful - Tested/Proven - Not Gossips - Self-controlled - Faithful in Marriage - Leads Well at Home ‌ Next Week: ‌Why We Need These Roles How to Choose our Leaders