Must, Part 2

Must, Part II


Readings: Acts 6:1-7, 1 Tim 3:8-15

Ø A great need in churches today—Biblical leadership
Ø Tradition has left us a confusing mess, and few churches follow the Biblical leadership model
Ø But those who do usually prosper above their contemporaries

What is a Deacon? He is a man with:\
(1) A servant’s heart, feet, and hands
(2) A calling of God to serve
(3) A heart to ease the burden of the eldership
(4) A man who meets the qualifications of Acts 6 and 1 Tim 3

1. Where Deacons Came From: The Background—Acts 6:1-2

a. The Dispute in the Church—

(1) The “Grecians:”
(a) The Greek-Speaking Jews were Jews who had adopted much of Greek culture, including the language.
(b) Some of the more proper Jews looked down upon them almost as much as they did Gentiles.
(2) The Hebrews: These were Jews who had been raised in Palestine, and who spoke the native Aramaic dialect and followed Jewish culture.
(3) The Greek-Speaking Jews were complaining that the Hebrew-Speaking Jews were not taking care of the Greek-speaking widows.

b. The Situation Was Difficult and Dangerous
(1) This threatened the unity of the church.
(2) It was causing so much trouble that the apostles, who were the elders of this first church, had no time to pray, study, or disciple new believers—and, this was not their gifting nor their calling

c. The Solution Given by the Apostles to the people—6:2b-4
(1) It is not that they were too good to serve tables, nor that the serving of the tables was of no importance.
(2) But their calling was to the Word and prayer, and to be faithful to that calling requires total dedication.
(3) The decision of the church, and the task of the deacons— Acts 6:3 The church picked out qualified men which the apostles approved, ordained, and set to the task.


2. What were the Tasks of the Seven? Acts 6:3

a. To release the men of God to be able to devote themselves to the Bible and Prayer

b. To serve tables
(1) Of the Widow
(2) Of the poor
(3) Of the missionary
(4) Of the elders

c. Who were the supervisors of the deacons? The apostles, who were operating as the pastoral team, using shared leadership

d. However, the deacon is not limited in ministry—two of the greatest early evangelists, Stephen and Philip, were of the seven original deacons.

e. It is not required that deacons be preachers, teachers or exhorters—they are workers. But it is also not forbidden for them to exercise the gifts God has given them.

3. Biblically, what are the Deacon’s Qualifications?

a. The First List of Qualifications—Acts 6:3

(1) They must be “…men…”—the word in the original is the Greek word used only for males.

(2) They must be of “…honest report…” The literal meaning in the original is “complete witness,” and it refers to a man with a good reputation.

(3) They must be “…full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom…” this speaks of a man controlled by the Holy Spirit who is also wise and prudent, a man who can be trusted spiritually and practically.

b. The Second List of qualifications—1 Tim 3:8-12

(1) A Deacon must be a reverent man who loves and fears the Lord.“…grave…”.

(2) A Deacon must be a man with a reputation for honest speech—“…not doubletongued…”.

(3) He must not be a drinker—“…not given to wine…”,

(4) He cannot be a money-grubber—“…not greedy…”.

(5) He must be a man who knows and believes the doctrines of the faith, and whose conscience is clear—“…9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience….”

(6) He must not be new to the congregation, but someone whose character has been tested over time, and whose character is continually tested.

(7) The Greek verb in verse 10 has a tense which indicates continued action—“…10 And let these also first be proved;…”

c. The Deacons’ Wives

(1) Why are there no instructions for the wives of elders (pastors)? Because they have a full time job just taking care of their man.

(2) A Deacon’s wife must be serious, not a back-biter, a sober-minded, and a spiritual woman: "…Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things."

(3) The deacon’s wife must be reverent and God-fearing. She should be a godly woman of prayer and a woman of the Book.

(4) The Deacon’s wife cannot be a slanderer. A woman who is a slanderer and a back-biter is not the wife a deacon should have.

(5) If a man has a wife who is a slanderer and a back-biter, he is as unqualified to be a deacon as is a divorced and remarried man.

(6) The Deacon’s wife must be sober-minded and trustworthy

(7) Why all of these concerns?

(a) The Deacons will be dealing with serious personal things
(b) The Deacons will be dealing with money, needs, and business
(c) The last thing needed is for their wives to hinder the process…

4. The results: Effective Church Leadership

a. The first result—Greater Publication—“…Then the word of God spread…”.

(1) The Preachers, the eldership were able to devote themselves to the Word and Prayer. This made the preachers mightier in the Word. Their time alone with the Lord made them better servants of God. Their time discipling people caused rapid progress in discipleship

(2) The People, being well-taught, spread the Word (see Eph 4:12-16).

(3) Because of the power of the pulpit when bathed in prayer and steeped in the Word, the lost were convicted.

(4) Because of the power of the pulpit, the saved people were growing faster.

(5) Because of the preaching and prayer, the members became doctrinally mature and stable.

(6) Because of the preaching and prayer, the members became better able to speak the Truth in love as mature believers should.

(7) Because of all of this, the church grew in numbers and in spiritual and moral power.

b. The Second Result–Greater propagation

(1) Eph 4:11-16 True Church Growth is Biblical growth.

(a) Man’s program is all about methods and cotton candy preaching.

(b) God’s program of church growth is not based on catchy phrases and special days, nor is it based on the pastor cajoling people to attend church who really don’t want to be there.

(c) God’s program of church growth is: For the church to major on four things,

(i) The Apostle’s Doctrine
(ii) Fellowship (koinonia, not dinners),
(iii) the Breaking of Bread
(iv) Prayer.
(d) God’s program is for the men of God to preach, teach, and lead.
(e) God’s program is for the people to grow in grace because of powerful teaching and preaching.
(f) God’s program is for spiritually mature Christians to naturally spread the Gospel through their witness.

c. The Third Result of a Biblical deacon ministry was—greater penetration a deeper reach “…and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith."

5. Finally, we see the Deacon’s Reward—(1 Tim 3:13) "For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus."

a. If a man serves well as a deacon, he will be appreciated and loved by the chuch

b. If a man serves well as a deacon, God will make him bolder and stronger in faith, so that he can serve even more and even better.