The Local Church: Led by Elders, Served by Deacons (Part II)
Preached on April 22, 2007, by Eric Schumacher
Topics: The Local Church
(c) Eric M Schumacher - Preached April 22, 2007 at Northbrook Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
I want to ask you, for the purposes of this sermon, to imagine that you are an unbeliever with absolutely no church background at all. Your only possession is a Bible, which you being to read it from the beginning.
By the time that you finish the Gospels, you are converted to faith in Jesus Christ. In your endless free time, you have devoted yourself to studying the Bible as intensely and as thoroughly as you can.
When you get to Philippians 1:1, for the first time, you come across the word "deacon." So, you decide to devote the next several days to finding out who these "deacons" are and what they do.
What would be the result of that study? If you could only use the word of God--and no experience or tradition--how would you define the office of deacon?
That is what I have been attempting to do for the last several weeks in preparation for this sermon (apart from the deserted island bit). I have read books and commentaries and consulted resources. Yet, in doing all that, I have been constantly asking myself--is what these authors are saying supported fully by the Word? If I limit myself to what I see in the text of Scripture, what do I come up with? It has not been an easy task.
What are Deacons?
Church traditions vary widely on what deacons are. Deacons are everything from apprentices to the priesthood to assistants in priestly duties to substitute pastors.
For some, a deacon is a "jack-of-all-trades." Charles Deweese (a Southern Baptist) writes, "The potential areas of deacon service are unlimited. Deacons can engage in such diverse ministries as teaching, preaching, visiting, becoming involved in social action, counseling, leading in charitable giving, organizing, administration, carrying out the Lord's Supper, and meeting basic needs of the pastor."
In some churches, deacons are the ruling board of the church who supervise, assess, and counsel the pastors. In other traditions, they look after the physical needs of members and the property of the church. Alexander Strauch, in his book The New Testament Deacon, defines the deacons as those who are "to be involved in a compassionate ministry of caring for the poor and needy."
Where Shall We Begin?
With all the differences, where do go to begin gaining an understanding of who deacons are and what they do? John MacArthur offers wise words: "...if we're to understand the biblical meaning of deacon, we need to eliminate any preconceived definitions." That is, the question we must be asking is not "What have deacons been in the churches I have been in?" or "What have I always been told a deacon is?" The question we must ask is, "What are deacons in the Bible?"
I will admit that there is difficulty with that task. As far as I can tell, there is no passage of Scripture that gives us a straight-forward definition of a "deacon."
We are left to build a composite definition of "deacons" from three places in Scripture: 1) The meaning of the word "deacon." 2) The origin of the office of deacon. 3) The differences in the qualifications and duties of overseers and deacons.
A Definition
I will begin by giving you what I see the biblical office of deacon as being, and then proceed to defend that definition from Scripture. I define deacons as follows:Deacons are members of the local church, filled with the Spirit, wise, and godly in their life and doctrine, who are set apart by the congregation for specific practical services (ministries) in order to free the elders to carry out the ministry of the Word and prayer and to protect the unity of the body.
1) The Meaning of the Word Deacon
The word "deacon" in our passage is a transliteration of the greek word "diakonos," which simply means "servant" or "minister." Words from the same "word-family" as "diakonos," appear in the New Testament over 100 times as both as nouns and verbs, most of these without any sense of a technical meaning. These words refer to:
2) The Origin of the Office of Deacon--Acts 6
The title "deacon" tells us, at a minimum, that this office is an office of service. The next question we face is: What does a deacon do? The difficulty lies in the fact that there is no passage of Scripture that flat out says, "Deacons, do this!" as we have with elders.
We find help in defining the duties of deacons when we look at Acts 6, a passage that likely records the origin of the office.
In this passage, the verbal form of the word "deacon" occurs several times, highlighting two types of services (deaconing). The setting of Acts 6 is a conflict regarding the daily distribution of food to widows.
In verse 1, the word translated "distribution" is a word related to "deacon." The food was being served (deaconed) and the greek-speaking widows were being neglected.
In verse 2, the Apostles, who were functioning in the early church much like elders over the congregation, declared that it would not be right to give up preaching the word of God to "serve (deacon) tables."
In verses 3-4¸ the Apostles instructed the congregation to select seven men who were full of the Spirit and wisdom to distribute the food. And, the Apostles would continue to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry (deaconing) of the Word.
We see two types of service (deaconing): "deaconing" the Word and "deaconing" tables. Both of these ministries are seen as very important in this passage. However, "deaconing tables" is a duty that should not draw the Apostles (elders) away from the "deaconing of the Word." Therefore, seven are set apart to "deacon tables" to free the Apostles to "deacon the Word."
Some have questioned whether these seven are the first deacons. It is argued that they are never called deacons and that the laying on of hands is too common a thing in the book of Acts to indicate that this is a formal office. Likewise, it seems to be the selection of a group to meet an immediate need, not a perpetual office.
Those points are understandable. However, their service is called "deaconing." It is possible that Luke did not need to use their title because he used their description. Also, this would be common with Luke's style.
We can also add that "the seven" were set apart for an official service ministry on behalf of the body. Perhaps that is what deacons are--members set-aside by the congregation to perform a particular service as long as that service is needed.
I do not think that Acts 6 shows us that deacons exist only to carry out the mercy ministry of the church. The emphasis in this passage which provokes the selection of these seven is not the fact that the need is "mercy ministry" (benevolence ministry), but the fact that a legitimate, physical ministry was drawing the apostles away from the ministry of the Word and prayer. Therefore, what I think we see is the beginning of choosing servants to meet a particular ministry need. (I also do not think that the number "seven" is a pattern that must be followed. Rather, they are likely selecting the number that they need to get the job done.)
So, how does the origin of deacons in Acts 6 help us to fill out the definition of "deacons?" In Acts 6, we see that deacons:
What did these deacons do? They:
What might be some examples of "deacon" positions in the church today?
Some examples of deacon-type tasks would be:
These are all things that are essential ministries of the church which, if left to the pastors to do, would distract from their ministry of the Word and prayer.
3) The differences in qualifications and duties of overseers and deacons.
The third area that I mentioned could help us is the differences in qualifications overseers and deacons.
Perhaps it is worth noticing that there are qualifications for deacons. "Of course!" you say. But, if I am correct in seeing a "deacon" as any person set aside by the congregation for specific practical service, then this would mean that any person set aside by the congregation for specific practical service would need to fit these qualifications.
"Come on!" you say, "Someone one needs to fit these qualifications to collect the offering, to usher, or to distribute the church's resources? Isn't that a bit over the top!?"
Let me ask this--what were the deacons doing in Acts 6? Essentially, they were handing out bread to hungry widows. And, what was the summary of their qualifications? They had to be "full of the Spirit and of wisdom" in order to facilitate the church's hunger ministry! Service in the church is a serious thing--no matter how small the matter may seem in human eyes! Whether you are handing out daily allotments of food, or distributing the churches finances, or organizing the nursery--you are serving the church of God which he purchased with his own blood.
Service in the church goes beyond natural gifting and experience. It is essential that those who serve the church in any capacity be spiritually qualified to do so.
Deacons should be servants who are:...available, able and willing to serve. Because they care for physical needs, they should be people who are available, able and willing to serve in the area they are assigned to.
...committed to the unity of the church. Because they are preservers of church unity, they should be people who are committed to unity in thought, word and deed. They should not be people who are unhappy with the church in attitude or action; they should not be grumblers, complainers, critics or those who stir up dissention. As one author says, "They should muffle, not magnify conflict."
...supportive of the pastors' (elders') ministry. Because they support the elders' ministry, they should be supportive, not critical people. Their task is to free the pastors to spiritual ministry, not to suppress it.
...filled with the Spirit and wisdom. They will serve the church through spiritual wisdom. They are persons who seek first to apply the Scripture to life, not simply the practical wisdom of the business world.
...godly in their life...
...and godly in their doctrine.
Deacons should serve well because they will gain a good standing for themselves and great confidence in the faith. Service in the church should be approached with great care, because service in the church is a portrait of the Gospel. Jesus Christ came to "serve," to give his life as a ransom for many (Mt 20:28). The greatest act of service in the history of the universe is the eternal Son of God becoming man and dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead for our righteousness. He humbled himself to serve us by meeting our needs at his expense.
This, by the way, is where you find your salvation. In a message about service, do not think that you need to get active in serving in the church so that you can have a better chance at getting saved. Your only means of being saved is not by serving Christ, but by being served by him. You must trust in his great act of service on your behalf by repenting of your sins and pleading for his forgiveness.
Service is not to earn something, but to display something--the glory of the gospel. Every act of service in the church is to be an imitation of Jesus Christ. We are to be servants who in our service reflect Jesus Christ. When we do this, it gives us great confidence that we are believers, being conformed into his image.
We see that the list of qualifications for overseers and deacons are fairly similar, with one important difference. Overseers are required to be "able to teach" (verse 2), but this is nowhere a requirement for deacons. In fact, we never see "teaching," "preaching," "instructing," "exhorting," "shepherding," or "leading" given as the duties of deacons. We do see, in Acts 7-8, Philip and Stephen--who were "deacons" in Acts 6--declaring the word of God. But nowhere is this said to be part of their "deaconing." Rather, this is simply what they did as spiritual Christian men!
So, we see that overseers must be able to teach, but this is not required of deacons. We also see in 1 Timothy 5:17 that "the elders" "rule" and "preach and teach." "Ruling" refers to directing the affairs of the church--giving spiritual oversight. This is never said to be a duty of the deacons.
So, What is the Relationship Between Pastors/Elders & Deacons?
The pastors serve the church by teaching and exercising authority. The deacons are not given for these tasks. They are given to serve the practical, physical needs of the church so that the pastors can serve the spiritual needs.
God designed the church to have two distinct offices--not two offices with different names doing the same task. Deacons are extraordinarily important servants who are called to handle practical details and physical needs in the church.
It is significant to note that there are two--and only two--church offices described in the New Testament. We have no mention of any other position in the church than pastors and deacons.
So am I saying that the "deacon board" is responsible for all the practical, physical services in the church? To answer that question, let's take a step back. Where did the Bible ever say anything about a "deacon board"?
In Baptist church life, the "deacons" have become synonymous with a "body or board of men who..." But remember--for the purposes of this sermon, we are new believers with no church background on a deserted island with only our Bible trying to figure out what a "deacon" is. Could we find mention of a "deacon board"?
We have mention in 1 Timothy 4:14 of "the council of elders." We have no mention of such a council of the deacons. Yes, there were "seven" selected in Acts 6 to administer the hunger ministry. However, this in no way implies that they became a board that oversaw any and every ministry of the church. Rather, they simply appointed the number needed to get this ministry done. And they did what they were appointed to do--no more.
This is why in my definitions, I defined elders as "a group of men," while I defined deacons as "members appointed to specific services." The pastors of the church function as a "council" that together oversees the spiritual life of the church.
For practical services in the church, "members are appointed for specific services." Therefore, if seven are needed for a particular task, then seven would be appointed. If two are needed, two are appointed. If three, then three. If one, then one. While these servants might coordinate with each other on occasion, there is no real need for them to meet as a "board" because they are all serving in different areas of practical service.
How I see this working out practically in the church is like this:
The pastors would function much like our deacon board currently functions. The church would ordain as many men as needed to join together to jointly pastor the church.
The office of deacon would function similar to how our committee system functions now. When a particular, practical service need is identified--whether for audio/sound, benevolence, hospitality, nursery, etc.--as many qualified members as are needed would be set apart to ensure that that need is met for as long as needed.
The Biblical Church
So, this wraps up five sermons on the local church. This is how I believe the Bible teaches the church is to be:
I should add one other thing that I believe: While I am sincerely and completely convinced that what I have said in this sermon series is what the Word of God says, I also believe that I could be wrong. I realize that I am a fallible human being, capable of making mistakes. Perhaps pastors are supposed to say that because it will decrease the congregation's confidence in them. But, I've never really wanted your confidence to be ultimately in me. I don't preach so that you'll put your trust in me. I preach so that you'll put your confidence in the Word of God.
If you think that I've erred in this series, I'd invite your correction from the Bible. Be like Priscilla and Aquila with Apollos in Acts 18--take me and explain to me the way of God more accurately.
But, until I'm convinced otherwise, I believe that this is what God's Word teaches. And, I believe that life--from Creation to Spiritual Rebirth to the Return of the King--always comes through God's Word. Therefore, I am convinced that a church ordered by the Word of God will be full of life and vigor for the salvation of souls and the glory of God.
Let's join together to pray and act and think and live to that end--conformed to God's Word for the glory of God in Jesus Christ.