Deacons: The Church’s Ministers of Mercy
PHBF 8.28.11
TEXT: Acts 6:1-7
Scr. Reading: Acts 6:1-7
Words for kids: deacon, serve/-ice, Jesus, church
It’s a momentous day in the life of our church. We are about to install
several individuals in the biblical office of deacon. There are only 2
passages in the NT that clearly mention deacons as a church office—
Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Later this morning I will read one
of these, but for our sermon we are going to be in Acts chapter 6. This
text doesn’t clearly use the word “deacon,” but it does seem to be the
origin of the office (as I will argue later).
I want to begin right up front by affirming some of the things we do and
believe about deacons here at Parker Hills. Think about these things and
be encouraged.
1. We hold our deacons to the qualifications for their office as listed in
1 Timothy 3. Some churches, for lack of qualified individuals,
appoint others who don’t meet the qualifications. Or they install
people simply on the basis of how long they have been at the
church. That’s not at all how deacons are appointed here.
2. We all participate in the selection process of our deacons.
Congregational involvement seems to match the procedure
followed by the apostles in this passage. Our deacons aren’t chosen
by some small committee or even by the elders themselves. We
asked the congregation for nominations. We requested your
involvement in the examination process. And in a few moments, we
will ask you to affirm your reception of these individuals as the
newest deacons of this church.
3. Our Benevolence Fund is an evidence of the understanding we have
that our deacons are supposed to care for the poor and needy
among our ministry. And we’ll see that in this text.
So we have much to be thankful for in our church when it comes to how
we’ve understood the deacon ministry. Now let’s see what else we can
learn from this text about deacons. But first we must be sure that this is
the right place to look! Are these men really the first deacons?
Were these the first deacons?
It seems clear that yes, this passage does record the beginning of the
diaconate [die AH cuh net]. We can at least say that these men were the
forerunners to the first deacons, if not the first deacons themselves.
And this has been the assumption of many since the earliest days of the
church (e.g., Irenaeus, c150, called them “deacons.”). But not everyone
agrees…
Arguments against:
1. The word deacon is not used.
Answer: This is likely due to Luke’s intention as a historian to use the
terminology common to the time he’s recording. For example, he
doesn’t call James, the leader of the Jerusalem church and the halfbrother of Jesus, an “apostle,” even though Galatians 1:19 indicates that
he came to be called such. As a historian, Luke also refrains from
inserting theological commentary or explanations, even when recording
abnormal and potentially confusing incidents (cf. Acts 19:1-7; 21:23-26).
2. Some of those selected (Stephen and Philip) were powerful
teachers.
Answering this objection, however, is the clear purpose for which these
men were appointed: to care for the needs of the saints. Their
preaching ministry is a bonus!
Arguments for:
1. This is the only biblical account that could explain the origin of
the deacon office.
In other words, if we conclude that these are not the forerunners to the
first deacons here, then we get to Philippians 1 and 1 Timothy 3 and say,
“overseers and deacons?!?” Who are these deacons?! Where did they
come from? We would be left without any data on the origin of 1 of our
2 NT church offices, and that seems an unlikely position the NT writers
would leave us in.
2. This passage uses the word diakoni,a (feminine) in verse 1
(ESV, NIV = “the distribution,” NAS = “the serving”).
Even though the normal masculine noun for deacon is not used, another
form of the word is used which speaks not of the person who serves but
the activity of serving. In other words, though these men aren’t called
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“deacons,” the ministry they are appointed to is literally “deaconing”
ministry.
3. The high qualifications mentioned above argue for these men
being deacons.
1 Timothy 3 indicates that deacons must meet a meet a certain set of
spiritual qualifications, which is similar here in our text: “pick out seven
men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (v 3).
By the way, do you notice how this breaks down the typical distinction
we make between secular ministry and sacred ministry? It’s all sacred!
The men chosen for these positions had very high spiritual
qualifications, indicating that this was a spiritual ministry. It would be
wrong for us to conclude that what we really need are deacons who
have a head for business or finance or administration, wouldn’t it?
Rather, what we need (and seem to have at Parker Hills!) is deacons
who are full of the Spirit and wisdom!
What do deacons do?
1. Care for the physical needs of the members
We see this clearly in the text. The apostles deliberately choose to
spend their time in the word and prayer, appointing these other men to
care for the physical needs of the widows. I’ll say a little more about
that in a moment.
But I first want to point out that this understanding of deacons as
servants is wrapped up in the very definition of the term “deacon.”
“Deacon,” as you might know, is actually a word brought directly over
from the Greek language, letter by letter. Usually, of course, our English
Bible offers us a translation—English words that match the meaning of
the original Greek words. But occasionally, a word gets brought directly
over into English without being translated. “Deacon” is an example. If
you ask, “What’s the Greek word for ‘deacon’?” the answer is “deacon.”
But if you ask, “What’s the meaning of the word ‘deacon’?”, the answer
is “ministry, service, care.” And often, it’s the kind of service that
involved practical, physical needs:
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Deacons: The Church’s Ministers of Mercy
Matthew 4:11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were
ministering to him.
Matthew 25:44 " Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we
see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did
not minister to you?'”
Acts 11:29 So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to
send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
It is often used specifically of waiting on tables:
Luke 10:40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up
to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve
alone? Tell her then to help me."
Luke 12:37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when
he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have
them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
Luke 17:8 Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress
properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat
and drink'?
Now what does this mean? Is this intended to demean the office of
deacon and imply that their work is servile or undignified or
insignificant? No indeed! The NT presents a vastly different view of this
kind of service, as indicated again by other uses of the word “deacon”:
Acts 1:17 For he [Judas] was numbered among us and was allotted his
share in this ministry [the apostolic ministry].
Romans 13:4 for he [governing authority] is God's servant for your good.
But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For
he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the
wrongdoer.
Matthew 20:28 …even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
[preach the gospel here]
Can we conclude that deacon ministry is insignificant and lowly? Hardly!
It’s a ministry of keen importance in the life of the church. A church
without deacons is a church headed for destruction. Why? Because one
of two things will happen:
1. Needy saints will not get cared for. Without someone doing deacon
ministry, the practical care of needy people will go undone, thus
robbing them of one ministry the church is responsible to provide.
Churches are intended by God to be little outposts of His kingdom,
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where Jesus reigns and His people flourish in body, soul, and spirit.
A church that doesn’t care for its members’ physical needs is not
living up to its calling.
2. Hungry saints will not get fed. Why? Because the elders will be
spending their time caring for the needy. But in the course of doing
that truly good and important ministry, the elders will inevitably
neglect the primary ministry to which they are called.
Notice again verses 2-4:
Acts 6:2-4 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
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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
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duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the
word."
The apostles saw a need to separate the work into two functions: 1) the
ministry of tables and 2) the ministry of the word and prayer. In fact, the
exact same word is used in verse 4 as in verse 1: “the ministry of the
word” (v 4), “the ministry [distribution, serving] of food” (v 1). The
apostles (and later the elders) are deacons of the word and the other
group are deacons of tables. And this matches perfectly the emphasis
given in other texts that speak of the responsibility of the elders to
guard, care for, and lead the flock through the ministry of the word.
I want to be clear here about what I am NOT saying. I am not saying that
the ministry of the word is better than the ministry of tables. Both
callings are invaluable. The difference is simply in gifting and calling.
God calls and gifts some for word ministry and others for care ministry.
I am also not saying that the elders don’t have responsibility to care for
the poor. James 5:14 instructs the elders to meet with the sick, and Acts
20:35 calls the elders to help the weak. So the elders must remember
the needs of the people. But their first priority is the ministry of the
word; and the deacons’ first priority is the ministry of the saints.
It’s an important distinction. Both are involved in deaconing, but in two
different forms. Failure to recognize this distinction often results in
confusion of roles and the neglect of one or the other of these
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Deacons: The Church’s Ministers of Mercy
ministries: either the service of the word or the practical care for the
needy members.
2. Maintain the unity of the body
Stepping back a bit from the details of the passage, we notice the bigger
purpose of what they were doing: dealing with a dispute in the body.
The physical neglect (unequal food distribution) was resulting in a
spiritual disunity. The Hellenists were complaining against the local
Hebrews. Hellenists were Greek-speaking Jews who tended to be more
influenced by Greek customs and culture. Their Greek background
would have created a natural distinction between them and the more
traditional Hebrew members of the church.
Therefore, we see that the apostles were not simply trying to address a
problem in their benevolence ministry. They were trying to stop the
church’s unity from being broken up! So they appointed deacons to
head off disunity in the church.
Edifying and unifying the church is a special ministry focused on by the
deacons. Therefore, we ought to choose as deacons people who are
acknowledged to be peacemakers and breach-healers, not those who
complain the loudest or jar the church with their actions or attitudes.
Deacons ought to be the shock-absorbers and mufflers!
Here we notice that deacons aren’t really the representatives of the
other people in the church. Deacons are not advocates for a cause,
lobbying for some sort of change! They focus on personal and individual
needs, yes, but they do this on behalf of the entire church, for the
purpose of uniting and edifying the church as a whole! The original
appointment of deacons demonstrates that these people more than
any others ought to be binding the church together with cords of
kindness and loving service!! My friend Doug Resler calls deacons “the
connective tissue in the body of Christ.” What a great and needed
ministry!
3. Support the ministry of the elders
The apostles recognized that caring for physical needs was one of the
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responsibilities of the church, and therefore they felt responsibility for
this duty. But they knew that there was only so much that they
themselves could do, so they were forced to prioritize. Yet they didn’t
want this other duty—caring for the widows—to go undone, so they
turned this responsibility over to another group of godly men. In this
sense, the deacons were not only serving the body as a whole, but they
were also serving the apostles/elders in particular.
I believe there is a deliberate open-endedness to this aspect of deacon
ministry. The distractions upon the elders will vary from church to
church. Different cultures, different church sizes, different
developments in a church’s life will all present the elders with new and
different responsibilities that could easily distract them from the
ministry of the word and prayer. This is where deacons can step in and
help in very practical ways. In this capacity, deacons are not overseers
but coordinators and facilitators for specific ministries. They don’t have
to cut the grass, but they might be asked to make sure somebody else
does.
I’ve listed this responsibility third for a deliberate reason, because this is
not the deacons’ primary priority. They are care-givers and unifiers first
and second. Their responsibility as alleviators for the elders is third. At
Parker Hills, we have asked our deacons to oversee the maintenance of
the building and grounds, to maintain our financial records, and to
perform a couple of other key functions for the elders and the church.
These could change in coming months; this is just what they are doing
right now.
So what can we conclude about New Testament deacons? Can we put
all this in a nutshell? Here’s a single sentence: Deacons care for physical
needs of the people and enable the elders to minister the word to the
end of uniting the entire church for its mission to the glory of God.
May the Lord continue to give us such men and women here at Parker
Hills! Amen.
© Copyright 2011 by Joshua Waltz
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Deacons: The Church’s Ministers of Mercy
[Read 1 Timothy 3:8-13.]
[Ask Ben, Ernie, & David to come forward for following affirmations.]
Ben – 1 year
David – 2 years
Ernie – 3 years
We’re still looking for more! We will divide the congregation into
Deacon Care Groups for these men – plus Ralph – to oversee.
[To the deacons:]
1. As individuals appointed to the office of deacon, do you publicly
reaffirm your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord?
We do.
2. Do you believe the doctrines in this church’s Statement of Faith
and practice the behaviors in our Church Covenant?
We do.
3. Will you share in the practical care of this congregation, giving
yourselves to the ministry of all the saints—the old as well as
the young, the new as well as the familiar, the sick as well as the
whole, the needy as well as the affluent?
We will, by God’s grace.
4. Will you diligently protect the unity of this church, working to
heal breaches and promote peace among the members, as
much as you are able?
We will, by God’s grace.
5. Will you support the elders as requested so that they can
devote themselves to the ministry of the word and prayer?
We will, by God’s grace.
[To the congregation:]
1. Do you, the members of Parker Hills Bible Fellowship,
acknowledge and publicly receive these individuals as deacons?
We do.
2. Will you love them, pray for them, and receive their diaconal
ministry humbly and cheerfully so that together by the grace of
God we may know Jesus Christ and make Him known for the
glory of God and the joy of all peoples?
We will.
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