A HIGHER RESPONSIBILITY (PART 2)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 3:8-13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the opening to the third chapter of Paul’s first letter to his missionary partner, Timothy, we find the Apostle providing guidance regarding who should be permitted to enter church leadership roles. In yesterday’s first message of this two message set, we looked at how there are stringent qualification standards for anyone who pastors a church, referred to in many scripture translations as the overseer. Today, we look at those who would serve in a servant support role for the pastor, the deacons. Our passage comes from verses 8 through 13:

In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

Where did deacons emerge on the scene in the Bible?

Go to the sixth chapter of Acts and you will find this:

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. Vv. 1-6

Here we find the social issue that led to special servants being selected so to remove the work of congregational care away from the ministers (in this case, the apostles). Rather than have to get into the weeds of meeting the needs of congregants, the Twelve propose that “seven men” be chosen who were “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom”. The work of the seven men (the deacons) would allow the apostles (the pastors) to dedicate their full “attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word”.

Now, in the case of the Seven, we know the main matter was an inequity of daily food distribution to widows as the Greeks complained that preferential treatment was being given to the Jews. The scriptures tell us that this was happening “in those days when the number of disciples was increasing” and we can see where there would be an increasing demand on the Christian church in Jerusalem as a result. Rather than divert the focus of the apostles on the spiritual nurturing and teaching of the congregation, the selected seven men would be able to field and handle any requests for help.

Once the seven were chosen, we read where they were presented by the people to the apostles who laid hands on them and prayed, commissioning them to the high level of Christian service they were entering into.

Fast forward to Ephesus where Timothy was pastoring the Christian church. It’s obvious that the use of deacons in the Christian church had continued because we find Paul sending guidance regarding the selection of these special servants. Like the pastors, deacons carried a higher level of responsibility to the Lord for the work they were commissioned to do. These qualification standards included:

- Being “worthy of respect”

- Sincere

- Moderate in wine consumption (i.e. self controlled and not a drunkard)

- Not seeking “dishonest gain”

- A clear conscience grounded in an embracement of “the deep truths of the faith”

- If married, the deacon candidate needed to “be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well”. Their wives need to be “worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything”

- They need to “have served well” while gaining “an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus”

Note that if a person met these requirements, they were then to be “tested” before they would be allowed to serve as a deacon. This should tell you how important the position was in regard to the church.

As we discussed in Part 1 and the pastoral qualifications, these verses from 1 Timothy, chapter 3 are used by churches to select and appoint deacons today. Some churches call their servants elders vice deacons but the standards are nonetheless the same.

The bottom line is that pastors can’t possibly handle every aspect of care for their flock and still be dedicated to the preaching, teaching, and spiritual care of their people. This is why the Lord brought the position of deacon to be and placed elevated requirements on who could serve in that capacity of higher responsibility.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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