The Deacon 1 Tim 3
When we dealt with the subject of Church government a few weeks
ago we established the fact that there are now two offices in
the Church. There is the office of a bishop or an elder and the
office of a deacon. We noticed too that while an elder is a man
who is set over the spiritual affairs of the church and is an
overseer and one who looks out for the spiritual welfare of the
flock that a deacon looks after the more temporal affairs. We
noticed in Acts 6 where the choosing of the first deacons is recorded
that the problem was over the daily administration that was given
to the widows and how the Greeks thought that their widows were
being more neglected that the Jewish ones. This had caused a headache
to the apostles and they found that they were spending more and
more of their time sorting out these financial problems rather
than giving themselves to prayer and preaching which was their
primary duty. So what they did was to choose out seven men who
would look after these day to day matters and leave them free
to do their primary duty. And that is the function of a committee
or diaconate even now. They are to take the pressure off the preacher.
They are not just there to make decisions but to go and get things
done so that the preacher can give himself to prayer and preaching
and of reaching souls for christ. You know it astonishes me sometimes
how much time I spend in administration. Sometimes at the end
of the day I ask myself what I have done. I could have spent the
whole day writing letters and making phone calls. Maybe you say
"what administration do you have to do?" You don't have
forms from the department or a legal requirement to fill in this
and that. well I do to a certain extent and if you asked me to
tell you where it all comes from I couldn't. There is just correspondence
from here and there and it all has to be dealt with and there
are letters to be written about this matter and that. But I often
look at that, and it is all necessary, but I think how little
time I spend actually going out round doors or speaking to people
about their soul and how little time I spend in prayer. But God
has ordained a way in which I can be helped in that and I thank
God for what help those in the committee can give and for the
times they have gone and got something sorted out rather than
leaving it to me. So the deacons are a very vital part of the
work of the church. If you become a deacon you are following in
the footsteps of Stephen and Philip and some of these mighty men.
So this is not to be despised. It is something that should be
desired amongst the brethren here just as it is right and good
to desire the office of an elder.
But just as we looked at the office of an elder and we found that
there are certain qualifications that an elder should have if
he is to have the office so when we look at the office of a deacon
there are certain qualifications that the deacon should have.
Once again let me say that if you would like to have the office
of a deacon but you look in the Word of God and find that you
do not have the qualifications then what you need to do is seek
the help of God that you will be qualified because if these are
the sorts of things that God is looking for in office bearers
then they are the sorts of things that should be seen in the lives
of all of God's people. So let us look at the qualifications of
a deacon or a Committee man.
I His Practical Qualifications
First of all would you look with me at the practical qualifications
of the deacon. You will notice that when the first deacons were
appointed they were appointed over the financial affairs of the
Church. Specifically they were to look after the financial provision
to the widows. Acts 6:3 says Wherefore, brethren, look ye out
among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and
wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. Now we notice
the words that they are appointed over the business. It was a
specific business referred to here but it is a business that they
were to be involved in. They were to organise the distribution
of the daily ministration to the widows. This had become a matter
of controversy because the apostles in doing all things were getting
overwhelmed and so certain elements of organisation were not as
good as the could have been. But they showed wisdom here in seeking
help and they wanted the church to choose seven men who would
serve the tables and look after there mundane matters. And it
is from the function of serving tables that we get the name deacon
from because the Greek word Diakonos simple means servant. But
in giving that outline of the reasons why the first deacons were
elected I think we can see some practical qualifications.
The first is that they should be men who have a sound financial
judgement. They were to be men of honest report so that they could
be trusted with the finances and there never was going to be any
question about it. Paul wrote to Timothy and when he gave the
qualifications of an deacon he said that they were not greedy
of filthy lucre. They are not to be money grabbers. But they also
would be people who had shown wisdom with finances. Now there
are two main errors that Committees can fall into with the finances.
There are those who are unwise and just spend all around them
and get into so much debt that they are not able to cope with
it and sadly there have been instances where the work of the church
has been crippled by debt. The church has been in so much debt
that they can hardly give visiting speakers their expenses when
they come and therefore the church is hampered in having special
missions or special efforts. That is unwise. But then there is
a far more common fault among Committees and that is a lack of
vision and a lack of faith because if we are not foolish and if
we do not step over certain boundaries it is a good thing for
a congregation to be stretching itself financially. It is good
to be using our money in keeping the work going on and in providing
the best facilities that it is possible to have that the word
of God go forth. It is good to have people comfortable in church
and not have them shivering in the cold. It is good sometimes
to spend money to save it in the long run but often times there
is no vision and people sit with outdated facilities and with
a building that is no testimony and you can have men who wouldn't
spend a penny more than they have to. Now those are the two extremes.
What we need then is to have men who are prudent with the finances
but who also have a vision and who are willing to launch out in
faith believing that if we need something to further the work
of God that the Lord will give us the necessary finances to complete
it.
Then also we can see from this passage that committee men are
those who will see the need. The job of the seven who were elected
here was to go around and distribute to widows who were in need.
So part of their job was to assess where the need was. They had
to go around visiting these widows to see that they all were being
provided for. Now it is good to have deacons who see the need,
men; who see that there is a light bulb gone or that the oil is
low or that there is a need that should be met. Men who have initiative
and who are interested.
But also they need to be men who are willing to get their sleeves
rolled up in doing what needs to be done. When Paul gave the qualifications
of deacons when he wrote to Timothy, he said in 1 Timothy 3:13
that the deacon is one who uses the office and does not just fill
it. The apostles here had been serving tables and they wanted
the deacons to take that task over for them so that they could
be free for prayer and preaching so these men were men who were
expected to get in there and be involved. They were to be practical
men and that is absolutely necessary. They are men who can get
things done. Now one may be more practical in one way than another.
Each may have his own practical qualities and ability. The one
who looks after the finances may not have much idea about decoration
and the one who has an interest in practical needs of the Sunday
School may not know the needs of the Youth fellowship. There may
be a man who has great hands and another who has great knowledge
of where you can get things and another who has great experience
in business but they will all have some kind of a practical ability
to the work of the committee. But they all should be willing to
use that ability and that talent that God has given them for the
furtherance of the work of God. The Scriptures show us then that
even from the very nature of the office that there are certain
practical qualities that should be seen. But not only do we see
the practical qualifications of a deacon I want you to see
II His Public Qualifications
There are things that will be true of the deacon in public. First
of all there are certain things that will be true of his family.
1 Timothy 3 : 12 starts off by saying Let the deacons be the
husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses
well. Now once again it will be seen that the deacon is going
to be a man because he is to be the husband of one wife. Some
will say that he cannot have been remarried. Once again however
it does not necessarily mean that he is to be married but if he
is married he is to be the husband of one wife and he is to rule
his house well and his children well if he has any. Now this shows
that while the role of a deacon is more practical than that of
an elder in many ways yet there needs to be a spiritual testimony.
We find that the first deacons were men who had been filled with
the Holy Ghost and we read of Stephen and Philip preaching the
word. Deacons do not have a spiritual rule the way that elders
do but that does not mean they should not be teachers of the word
and even preachers. Now the first place we are to begin when we
start teaching the Word of God is in our own homes. If we can't
bring our influence to bear there we will not do it anywhere else.
You men folk realise that it is you that will be called to account
for your homes and your family. That is a qualification both for
a deacon and for an elder so you can see the importance of the
home life in your considerations. But in the case of a deacon
here I want you to notice that there is something more. Verse
11 says Even so must their wives be grave,
not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. The
wives of deacons are to be a consideration. Their wives are to
be grave, in other words they are saved women who know the seriousness
of the things of God because if a wife counts the things of God
lightly and doesn't see the importance of those things she is
not going to take it too well when her husband has to spend time
at the work of the Lord because unfortunately the pay for deacons
is very low. In fact you couldn't get much lower. It is a voluntary
thing. But those who love the Lord and see the importance of the
Lord's work will not see the importance of giving of their time
and their effort but if your wife does not share your vision you
will get into trouble. Then she is not only to be grave but she
is not to be a slanderer. That literally means "not devils"
because the name devil means slanderer or false accuser. when
you start gossiping and start passing out slanderous talk you
are behaving like the devil. And yet how many people do it. They
love to pass on some juicy piece of information whether they have
checked if it is true or not. Now how important it is that both
office bearers and their wives do not pass on information about
others. How many churches have been wrecked by gossip and if the
gossip is an office bearer or his wife it just makes the problem
worse. So the wife and family of a deacon are important.
Then a deacon is also someone who has been tested and proved.
Verse 10 says And let these also first be proved; then let
them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
This implies that we have watched their lives to see how
they conduct themselves. It implies that they have already begun
to show the qualities of good committee men. They have proved
that they are good deacon material. They have begun to help out
in the church. When there is work called they are there. Maybe
they have started taking part in some of the meetings of the church.
Maybe they have been out on the outreach. Perhaps they are the
sort of person you could rely on to do something for you in the
work of God. Now this is the principle that we have stated in
Matthew 25:21 where the Lord had been commending the faithful
servant. The Lord said thou hast been faithful over a few things,
I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy
of thy lord. You have only to look at the Scriptures to see
how many leaders were first tested as servants. Joseph was a servant
for 13 years before he became the second ruler in the land. Joshua
was Moses servant before he became Moses successor. david was
tending his father's sheep when Samuel invited him to be anointed
king of Israel. Even the Lord Jesus came as a servant and laboured
as a carpenter. It is never a good idea to appoint someone who
hasn't proved themselves. Sometimes people say well if we appoint
Sammy as a committee man may be he will attend Church more. But
a statement like that shows an ignorance both of Sammy and of
the Word of God. An untested Christian is an unprepared christian
and if you try to appoint half hearted christians to the committee
you will get a half hearted committee. Indeed it will probably
do that person more harm than good to give them an office in the
Church. No! that person has to learn to be faithful in the little
things first and some of you will have to prove yourself if you
want to be in the committee. You will have to pick yourself up
and start working in the little things. You should start now so
that at the next Committee election in five years time that you
will be one the people will look to. Some of you have not shown
much interest. Some of you have not put much into God's work.
You have not been tested and proved. You cannot expect to be elected.
This is not a beauty contest or a contest to see who is the most
popular- what we want are men who have shown they are interested
and who are going to do a work for the Lord. So these are some
of the public qualifications of a deacon.
III His Private Qualifications
Lastly however I want you to think of his Private qualifications.
If you look at 1 Timothy 3 you will see that there a number of
characteristics or features of personality that you should look
for in a deacon.
The first thing is that he is to be grave. If you look at 1 Timothy
3:8 it says Likewise must the deacons be
grave, A deacon should be worthy of respect. He is a man of
a character that is worth imitating. And when it speaks of being
grave it certainly implies one who is not given over to the frivolities
and gaieties of this world. Now it does not mean that he can't
have a bit of fun but there is something wrong with any christian
who has to go after entertainment's to get their kicks. He is
grave. He is a man who will take his duties seriously and he will
use his office not just fill it. The word grave also refers to
decorum and propriety. He is not the sort of person that will
make a laughing stock of the Work of god. He takes it seriously
because he knows it is desirous. To e a Christian is a happy thing
and we are certainly to be happy but we should not make light
of serious things
Then he is not double tongued. You will be able to rely on what
he says to you. He does not change his speech according to the
company he is in. He is not one thing in front of the minister
and another thing when he gets out and he does not say one thing
to one member and another to another. How easy it is to be a liar.
How easy it is to say that you will do a thing and have no intention
of doing it. You could not be the type of person who says I will
do that tomorrow and then not turn up. You cannot be double tongued.
Then again he is to be one not given to wine. Do you see how Paul
emphasises that in the qualities of a deacon and an elder. There
are those who say today that there is not much harm in the wine.
well the wine in Paul's day might as well have been water compared
to the stuff that is produced today and yet Paul emphasises that
an office bearer cannot be one who takes the wine,
But then there is another qualification that we should take note
of here. He is to be doctrinally sound. Verse 9 says Holding
the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience The word mystery
indicates those things which were once hidden but now have been
revealed. the great doctrines of the faith are hidden to those
who are outside the faith but they can be understood by those
who trust the Lord. Deacons must understand Christian doctrine
and obey it with a good conscience. Now that doesn't mean that
they have to be theologians. It just means that they are doing
all in thee power to be obedient to the word of god. But a deacon
should be a man who has an interest in and is a student of the
Word of god and he should be a man with a pure conscience. Tell
me can you live up to that qualification? Have you knowingly gone
against what you knew you should be doing? Have you heard the
word preached and then you have gone out and ignored it? those
are all things that might disqualify you from being a deacon because
people see what you do and they may not remember specific instances
but they will know at the back of their minds whether you have
been following God's word or not.
So what about the qualifications of a deacon? How do you measure
up? How do the people you were considering voting for measure
up? But let me give you a word of encouragement at the end. Verse
13 says For they that have used the office of a deacon
well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness
in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. If you use the office of
a deacon well and if you are a good deacon you gain a good degree.
Now that is not a university degree. The word degree in Greek
has reference to a step or a rung in the ladder. In other words
if you have been a good deacon you can earn the right to a step
up. God will promote you. Just as the person who has been faithful
in the work is promoted to a deacon so the person who is a faithful
deacon is promoted to an elder. And the fact that he has served
well will give him great confidence in the faith. And do you see
the way that god promotes those who are faithful. We have seen
in the passage that we are to test people out to see how faithful
they have been. Tell me have you been faithful? have you been
interested in the work of God? Have you been doing what you can?
If you haven't you can't expect the promotion. In some churches
people are voted on to Committee or session because they have
a prominent business or because they belong to a respected family.
Let us have none of that here. This has nothing to do with who
you are. It has to do with what you are in the sight of a holy
God. Now given that it is good to seek high office in the church
you menfolk need to start getting the qualifications. you need
to start proving yourselves and the Lord has said that if you
are faithful over a few things that he will make you a ruler over
many things.