Timothy & Titus---Deacons

Hopewell Church of Christ

January 20, 2002 Mural Worthey

Introduction

This is the last in our series of seven lessons on Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. I have been guilty of not presenting many lessons on the role and character of deacons. We more often speak of the qualifications or qualities of elders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, but we have not given as much emphasis upon the qualities of deacons. In this series I noted that Paul wanted Timothy and Titus to set things in order in the churches of Ephesus and Crete. This included the appointing of elders and deacons. Paul began his letter to the Philippians by saying, "To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons." (Phil. 1:1.) I said earlier than I believe in the organized church. (1 Tim. 3:15.) This does not mean that the church should be regarded as institutional, but it does mean that it exists down on earth. Believers should work together in some designed way to accomplish God’s will. These letters emphasize this organization and function of the local church.

1 Timothy 3:8-13

Paul describes elders in both texts, 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, but he describes deacons in only this text (1 Tim. 3:8-13). The word, deacon, is a very common word in Greek. It refers to an attendant, one who waits upon (as a host, friend, or teacher), one who serves or ministers to others. Like many other biblical words, there is a general usage of the word and a more specific one. There are many passages where the word occurs in the Greek, but yet it is not translated "deacon." Those passages show the general use of the word. The more specific usage refers to those who serve the church, who are appointed to that task, and who fulfill the spiritual qualities named by Paul.

The question of deaconesses arises over this distinction not being observed. We should all serve one another, but we are not all deacons. Women humbly serve the church and others, yet there is no appointing of such women as deaconesses as there are deacons. Elders’ and deacons’ wives are mentioned, their necessary spiritual qualities, but they are not called deaconesses or any other name.

There were seven men selected to serve the Grecian widows who had been neglected. They are not called deacons; yet, a form of the word is used in the phrase "serve tables." (Acts 6:2.) Seven Greek men were selected by the disciples to serve the Greek widows. Among them were Stephen and Philip. (6:5.) In this text, some spiritual qualities are mentioned. "Look out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom." (Acts 6:3.)

Paul’s letter to Timothy adds the following: grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a good conscience, husbands of one wife, ruling well their children and houses, and great boldness in the faith. Their wives should be grave, not slanderers, sober and faithful in all things.

Note a brief description of each trait:

Grave means serious and sober-minded. It does not mean stoic or sad or stern. The Bible warns against foolish talking and jesting. One given to such reveals a frivolous nature and character. Elders, deacons, and all mature Christians should reflect a serious demeanor.

Double-tongue. The words literally mean saying it twice. Deacons should be men whose word is respected. They speak the truth, and in so doing they need only say it once. Double-tongued means saying one thing to one person and something totally different to another. James wrote about the difficulty of bridling the tongue. Trouble results when a Christian does not give effort to be consistent in thought and speech.

Not given to much wine and full of the Holy Spirit. I combined these two traits because of Paul’s words to Ephesus. He wrote, "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Eph. 5:17-19.) Strong drink is everywhere condemned in the Bible. To this day, those who drink such are not respected as sober and serious men. They are considered wasteful and unable to properly control the affairs of their lives.

Not greedy of filthy lucre. A deacon should be a mature Christian and able to withstand temptations related to money. He should not be covetous. Jesus said, Beware of covetousness for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of things which he possesses. (Luke 12:15.) Paul wrote about the evils of the love of money to Timothy. (1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19.) A deacon should lead the church in its good works to others who are needy. Deacons handle the contributions of the church to distribute to others. One preacher pointed out that men who are greedy are tempted to mishandle the collections and are slow to spend money where it is needed.

Holding the mystery of the faith in a good conscience. Paul wrote later in this chapter, "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh. . . ." (1 Tim. 3:15-16.) There is a mystery that has been revealed (Ephesians 3:4-6) and a mystery that abides (1 Cor. 4:1,

1 Tim. 3:16). A deacon is to hold these great truths of Christianity in his heart with a good conscience. Brother James Bales styled this "the faith and its container." (The Deacon And His Work, 1967, 37.) "Holding" suggests maturity, understanding, commitment and stedfastness. Deacons have "purchased to themselves great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." (3:13.)

First proved. Deacons should not be appointed the moment they have their first child. Being able to bear offspring does not mean that they are spiritually mature Christians. In a real sense, both elders and deacons began serving the church before they are appointed as elders or deacons. If they are not serving before the selection and appointment, they are not likely to do so afterwards. The church should know them, then select them. This pre-empts problems before they arise.

Husbands of one wife, ruling children well. Deacons should be faithful husbands and fathers. If one’s home is not in order, one should not be selected to serve or continue to serve. "Husband of one wife" does not mean that a man cannot serve if his first wife died and he remarried. Neither does it mean that he cannot serve if he put away his first wife for unfaithfulness and properly remarried. Remember that if Jesus gives a person the right of remarriage for fornication that new marriage is just as acceptable as the first one. "One wife" for elders and deacons means one legitimate wife, not two. A deacon cannot be a polygamist.

A deacon must rule well his children. I believe that it is off the mark to argue about how many children should a deacon or elder have. The point, it seems to me, is that elders and deacons should have experience raising children and handling the affairs of a household. Elders and deacons gain needed experience and prove themselves first in the home. Then they are selected to serve in the church, a larger family. In chapter 5, Paul talked about widows who had children should not be supported by the church. (Verse 4.) If they had only one child, does that mean that the one child is not responsible for supporting his mother?? Obviously not. Sarah gave birth to only one child. Yet the Scriptures say, "Who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should have given children suck? For I have born him a son in his old age." (Genesis 21:7.) One son fulfills the meaning of the word, children.

The duties of deacons

It should be noted that the Bible does not give a specific list of things that deacons should do. In a Bible class, a man once gave this description of the work of elders and deacons. He said that elders oversee the work of the church and provide spiritual leadership. Elders feed the church as shepherds. Then he said that deacons do "odd and end jobs!" What a terribly sad and wrong-headed understanding!

I believe that it is equally wrong to say that elders have responsibilities in spiritual matters and deacons serve primarily over physical things like benevolence or upkeep of the building. The Bible nowhere says that. Secondly, doing physical things and spiritual matters have a way of overlapping and becoming intertwined. Think about the difference between the work of some government social agency providing assistance to families in need and the work of deacons visiting in the home of a needy family. Deacons should provide something that the agency cannot. We should go further than just provide food, clothing and shelter. We should be conscious of the spiritual needs of the family as well. If we can hire someone who is not a Christian to do what we are doing in the church, then we are not fulfilling our role as elders and deacons!

One author wrote about a church that listed twelve different areas of work for deacons. Other members in the church assisted in accomplishing the tasks with one deacon heading up that area of work. Our deacons recently organized their work into nine different areas. They include the following: youth, education, benevolence, evangelism, maintenance of the building, worship (Lord’s Supper), worship (song leading), treasurer, and co-ordinating elders’ and deacons’ activities.

It should be understood that all of us are called to serve in the church. I like this statement: "One of the characteristics which every Christian should cultivate is that of spontaneous participation in some phases of the work of the kingdom of God." (Bales, 62.) Some people incorrectly think that they should not do anything around the building or in the work unless they are appointed as a deacon. Elders and deacons should provide spiritual leadership and be examples of Christian maturity. But every Christian is called upon to work in the Kingdom. Paul wrote, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. 15:58.)

Apt to teach? Paul wrote that elders should be able and ready to teach. They should be able to defend the Gospel against those who assail it. This trait is not specifically stated as a quality of deacons. It does not mean that they cannot be teachers, but it means that elders have a special responsibility in feeding the flock among them. (Acts 20:28.)

Appointment and "disappointment" of deacons

We have already noted that deacons should be first proved and tested first. They should be families that are known in the church. The church has been able to see the management of these families in their homes. They are faithful, stedfast, and mature Christians. The church so observing such families should then select those who meet the qualities named by Paul. Concerning this process, brother Guy Woods wrote:

"Luke, historian of the early church, gives us a detailed description of the selection and appointment of deacons in the Jerusalem congregation. We direct special attention to the fact that there were two actions---not one---involved: the selection by the people preceded, and differed from, the appointment by the apostles. ‘Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report . . . whom we may appoint over this business.’ (Acts 6:1-3.) If ever a situation existed where it appeared proper for apostles arbitrarily to choose the men and appoint them, it would seem to be so here: the apostles were all present; their authority was unquestioned and their selection would have been infallible. Notwithstanding, the multitude of disciples made the selection, and this by divine decree. This, then, is the apostolic mode and must not be dispense with." (Questions & Answers: Open Forum, Vol. 2, Guy N. Woods, 199-200.)

Deacons should not be appointed for these reasons: 1) As a reward for attending a local church for a long time, 2) To represent a family group, 3) To encourage someone to be faithful, 4) Because they are wealthy and will contribute a lot to the church, 5) To keep from hurting someone’s feelings, or 6) Because these are the best men that we now have.

Nothing is said in these texts about how elders or deacons are un-selected. Leaders are not selected for life, as some think. They should serve only as long as they are qualified to serve. The best way for men to be un-selected is for them to examine themselves and resign if they are not qualified any longer. If they do not do this on their own, the present leaders should speak to those who are no longer functioning or who are no longer qualified to serve and ask for their resignation. If they resist this appeal, the leaders should tell them that they will not be recognized any longer as an elder or deacon and the church will be so informed.

Churches are hurting due to a lack of effective leadership. We need to raise the bar of acceptable behavior, attitudes, and participation. Those who are no longer participating or who are no longer qualified should be removed. It is easy to drift spiritually and allow the standard of conduct and qualifications to be lowered. It is time to raise the standard to the level taught by Paul to Timothy.

Good degree and great boldness

The NIV reads, "Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus." (3:13.) This standing and assurance relates to this life. They gain the respect of others and build confidence in their spiritual service. There is no greater reward than that.