Why Deacons?
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. -1 Tim 3:13-
There are only two offices in the church that the Bible lays out: Elder/Pastor/Overseer (all words used interchangeably for the lead and teaching office) and Deacon. Now, this word Deacon just means servant or to serve and that is the way it is used the large majority of the times in the New Testament. However, the word is also clearly used several times meaning an office that is given qualifications and relatively defined roles.
The church has throughout its history seen Acts 6:1-7 as the genesis of the office of Deacon; take a moment to read that passage. For the first time, the shine of a new church is beginning to wear as the first complaint is arising. One group of people object that their widows are being neglected while other groups’ widows are not. Don’t miss this, this is no little moment! For the first time, the unity of this new local church body is being seriously threatened! This has the potential to break unity and cause serious pause on kingdom advancement. John Stott calls this moment Satan’s last ditch effort, he has just tried persecution from the outside in chapter 4, and then corruption on the inside in chapter 5, and now he tries distracting the teachers/preachers and dividing the body.
BUT, look at how the story concludes in verse 7: “the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.” WOW! How do we get from the church’s first serious problem and threat at unity to that in just a few verses? The answer is Deacons.
The apostles take this threat seriously, they immediately summon the Full number of the disciples, saying, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables… 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.” This is no small task, these qualified men have been chosen to maintain the unity and health of the church and to allow the Word to be preached without distraction!
And notice, this is a weighty office - the apostles don’t just point at the first guys they see and say go do it, which they could have, they summon the full number of the disciples and say choose your BEST men to do it; so they chose their best to serve the least.
Deacons have been compared to shock absorbers, looking for ways to make peace and solve problems and smooth the path for the Gospel; they have also been called the church’s special ops force, carrying out unseen assignments with fortitude and joy.
God has given us this office of deacon because the church needs it.
There are only two offices in the church that the Bible lays out: Elder/Pastor/Overseer (all words used interchangeably for the lead and teaching office) and Deacon. Now, this word Deacon just means servant or to serve and that is the way it is used the large majority of the times in the New Testament. However, the word is also clearly used several times meaning an office that is given qualifications and relatively defined roles.
The church has throughout its history seen Acts 6:1-7 as the genesis of the office of Deacon; take a moment to read that passage. For the first time, the shine of a new church is beginning to wear as the first complaint is arising. One group of people object that their widows are being neglected while other groups’ widows are not. Don’t miss this, this is no little moment! For the first time, the unity of this new local church body is being seriously threatened! This has the potential to break unity and cause serious pause on kingdom advancement. John Stott calls this moment Satan’s last ditch effort, he has just tried persecution from the outside in chapter 4, and then corruption on the inside in chapter 5, and now he tries distracting the teachers/preachers and dividing the body.
BUT, look at how the story concludes in verse 7: “the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.” WOW! How do we get from the church’s first serious problem and threat at unity to that in just a few verses? The answer is Deacons.
The apostles take this threat seriously, they immediately summon the Full number of the disciples, saying, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables… 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.” This is no small task, these qualified men have been chosen to maintain the unity and health of the church and to allow the Word to be preached without distraction!
And notice, this is a weighty office - the apostles don’t just point at the first guys they see and say go do it, which they could have, they summon the full number of the disciples and say choose your BEST men to do it; so they chose their best to serve the least.
Deacons have been compared to shock absorbers, looking for ways to make peace and solve problems and smooth the path for the Gospel; they have also been called the church’s special ops force, carrying out unseen assignments with fortitude and joy.
God has given us this office of deacon because the church needs it.
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