I'd like us to turn in our Bibles this evening to the book of the Acts of the Apostles and we're reading from chapter 6. Acts chapter 6 and we're reading the first seven verses. Now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the Twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Then the word of God spread. And the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. So reads the Word of God. Well, this evening we're focusing our Bible study on the subject of deacons. the deacons of the New Testament Church. I have to confess that the subject is not an easy one. I certainly haven't found the subject easy in looking at it this week. The simple reason is because of the paucity of information that we are given in the Bible concerning the deacons. It would be so much easier to give a study tonight on the subject of elders. Because for one thing we could start with the Old Testament scriptures We could see how the elders emerged at the time of Moses, how they were a great benefit to him in his ministry. And how the nation of Israel was governed by a plurality of elders. And how the idea was carried over into the New Testament church. And from the New Testament we would find loads of information about the work and ministry of the elders. But the same is certainly not the case when we come to look at the subject of deacons. For one thing we have to rule the Old Testament out completely. It's no help to us whatsoever. There was no diaconal office in the Old Testament as such. The diaconal ministry was a New Testament phenomenon. And when we look at the New Testament scriptures themselves we find very little information about the work and ministry of deacons. In fact, I was absolutely astonished and staggered a few days ago when I opened my Young's Concordance to look at the word deacon, to discover that there are only four references to deacons in our English New Testament. Absolutely incredible. We assume that the Bible has so much to say about them. We have them in our churches, we seem to know all about them, and yet the Bible says so little. The first reference is Philippians chapter 1 verse 1 and then there are three references in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and apart from that the word deacon does not occur in the New Testament. Now of course having said that, it is true to say that the Greek word underlying our English word deacon is used in a much broader and wider sense in the New Testament scriptures. It is the word diakonos And it literally means one who serves. It refers to a servant. And of course there is a general sense in which all of God's people are called to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. We're all servants this evening. We're servants of the church. We're called to serve one another. Even Jesus himself described himself as a servant. I am among you, he said, as one who serves. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And so there is a general sense in which every Christian is called to diaconal service in the local church. But as well as that, the New Testament clearly teaches that there are those who are to be called and set apart and appointed to a specific office of deacon in the church. We find this for example in Philippians 1 verse 1, Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons. And from that we learn that the New Testament churches were governed by a plurality of elders and a plurality of deacons. There is a distinct, specific office of diaconal service in the church. As we look at the biblical material that we have available to us, there are just three things that I want us to consider tonight. Firstly, the origin of the office of deacon. Secondly, the work and ministry of the deacon. And thirdly, the qualifications required of deacons. Let's first of all begin by looking at their origin. And it's generally agreed by most of the scholars today that the origin of the diaconate can be traced back to Acts chapter 6. And as we read this passage we discover this wonderful statement in verse 1 concerning the growth and development of the early church. From that 120 people gathered there in the upper room, the church had grown since Pentecost by leaps and bounds. Some suggest that the church at this stage would have been at least 10 to 20,000 in strength. A colossal church. And the needs must have been enormous too. Particularly the needs of those who were poor. And we have singled out here the needs of the widows. In Roman culture of the first century, their society provided no support for widows. There was no social security office, there were no benefits that people could pick up to help them in their widowhood. If people were made widows late in life, and they had no children to support them, they were absolutely destitute. They would be on the streets, they would be begging for bread. And so the early Christians saw it as part of their Christian responsibility, not only to preach the gospel, but also to prove the reality, the genuineness of their faith, by this practical loving concern for the poor and for the needy. And these widows were cared for, Food was provided for them and distributed to them daily. But we read that there was a dispute that arose from the Hellenists. This is the Greek-speaking widows, those from Greek culture. They were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. Hebrew widows were being looked after, but the Greeks were being neglected. I don't think that we should see this as something malicious. This was not deliberate. We mustn't think that this was simply favouritism. The Hebrews were being favoured over and against the Greeks. That would be a complete denial of the Gospel, which breaks down all barriers of religion, colour, culture and creed. No, no, all are one in Christ Jesus. It was simply an administrative slip and oversight on the part of the apostles. There was an error in administration. They were being neglected and overlooked. And so the matter was brought to the apostles and immediately they called for a meeting of the church. And as the church members gathered they began to outline the situation. And they said to the members, it is not desirable, it's not good for us as apostles to leave the word of God and to serve tables. Now the apostles were not suggesting for one moment that serving tables was beneath them. and that they were too high and mighty to help the poor. Not at all. It was simply a matter of priority. They were being distracted from their priority of teaching and preaching the word of God. I believe there was something devilish in this. This was an attack of the evil one. They were so overburdened and so pressured. The devil was behind this, trying to wear them down and to stop the preaching and the spread of the word of God. To stop consistent, continuous prayer. And what better way to overtax them and overburden them. And they came to the realisation that the church cannot continue as a one-man ministry. No one is sufficient for all these things. They came to realise that they were stifling the other gifts in the body. and they needed to delegate part of this ministry and service to others. So they suggest to the church that they should look out seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom who may be set over that business. And so seven men were chosen and they were set apart officially by prayer and the laying on of the apostolic hands. And the result of this was, we read in verse 7, that the word of God spread and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. God bless this. The hand of the Lord was upon them and God will always bless that church that is a vibrant, working, active body where every member is playing its part where everyone has this serving heart and this serving spirit and are using the gifts to build up the body of Christ. And although it's true that the noun deacon is never applied to these seven men in Acts chapter 6 verses 1 to 6, yet the Greek verb from deacon is used in verse 2. They were set apart to fulfil this official function of serving tables. They were engaged in diaconal ministry. But now having seen the origin of the deacons, what about their work? What is their job description? What should deacons be doing in the Gospel Church? where does their job description begin and end? Well again this is a very difficult matter to answer without too much dogmatism. It's an issue that really we stumble at because of the paucity of information that we're given about it in the New Testament. Philippians 1 verse 1 tells us nothing about the work and ministry of deacons. 1 Timothy chapter 3 tells us a little bit, some things can be inferred from those qualifications of a deacon that are set forth, but we're not given a specific job description. And the only passage that we have to rely on is Acts chapter 6. And I think from this passage we learn a couple of important principles. The first is that these men, these deacons, were appointed and set apart to assist the elders. They were there to relieve the elders of unnecessary pressure and unnecessary burdens. They were there to assist them and to help them. And from this passage we learn that they were engaged in practical administration in the church. They were engaged in the use of finances They were engaged in the buying of provisions and the distributing of this food. They were engaged in social welfare. They were engaged in a general pastoral care and concern over the Lord's people. The traditional idea in our churches, in evangelicalism, right the way through history, has generally been to divide up the work of elders and deacons into two compartments. Elders' work, we are told, is exclusively spiritual. Deacons' work, we are told, is practical and material. And whilst that may be a good rule of thumb, I believe that to hold to that too rigidly is totally wrong and totally unscriptural. Because as we read through the New Testament, we discover that the work and ministry of elders and deacons and apostles overlap. As we look through the New Testament we discover that the ministry of these apostles was not exclusively spiritual. They were also engaged at times in material and practical ministry as well. Think for example of that occasion when Agabus gave the prophecy concerning the famine that would take place in Judea in Jerusalem. We read that it was Paul and Barnabas who got together and set up relief aid to minister to the poor in Jerusalem. They didn't say to themselves, well really we shouldn't be doing this at all, this is deacons' work. No, no, they saw it as part of their apostolic ministry in the church. And on the other hand we don't read of the deacons criticising the apostles, saying they're doing our work, they're doing deacons' work. No, no, there's a clear overlap. And it's interesting that when they collected the money and brought it to the church in Jerusalem, the book of Acts tells us that they didn't leave the money with the deacons, they delivered the money to the elders of the church. You see, even elders can be involved in practical caring ministry in the church. It's interesting in Acts 6, it can be deduced that before the seven men were appointed as deacons, that it was the apostles who did the administration. It was the apostles who distributed the food and supported the widows. They were involved in social care and welfare as well as in preaching ministry. And it was only when criticism arose and people were being neglected that they realised that the task was too great for them and they must delegate the work to others. They needed someone to take the pressure off them, someone to assist them in their ministry. And then on the other hand, when we look at the seven men who were appointed as deacons, these were not simply people with practical gifts. These were great spiritual giants in the church. They were the best men in the church. And some of them had spiritual gifts of ministry. We read of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. who as well as being a deacon in the Jerusalem church had a ministry of signs, wonders and miracles among the people. He was a wonderful preacher too. You only have to read his sermon that he delivered in his defence before the Sanhedrin council to see what a preacher he was, what an understanding, a grasp he had of the Old Testament scriptures of history and how he applied the teaching of the Old Testament to the consciences of these Sanhedrin. and how they were convicted and they became so angry that they gnashed at him with their teeth and they began to stone him to the death. Even Saul of Tarsus was there. We read consenting to his death and I believe the death of Stephen was clearly one of those goads that God was using to prick the conscience of Saul of Tarsus. What about Philip? Philip as well as being a deacon, he was also known as the evangelist. See in there down in Samaria, a revival breaks out. Hundreds, literally thousands of people we believe were converted. It was a ministry of preaching with signs and wonders following. A tremendous ministry and yet he was a deacon. And so clearly there is an overlap between the work of elders and the work of deacons in the church. It may be that We may appoint future deacons in this church who have gifts of preaching and teaching. We must never say, oh, these people can't teach, they can't take a Bible study in the church because that's elders' work. They're taking over our ministry. We should never say that. If they have those gifts, they should be used. And vice versa, on the other hand, we should never say, well, elders should never be involved in practical matters in church maintenance. Think of our brother Paul and the gifts that he has in DIY and secretarial work and so on. Probably this chapel would have fallen down long before had it not been for his diligence in this. But you see we can't say to Paul, Paul you shouldn't be doing these things now, you should put down that hammer now, you're an elder in the church. I'm afraid Paul that you need to continue using these gifts. But it may be that there comes a time when Paul is so overburdened and overtaxed with preparation and prayer and spiritual ministry that he thinks that he hasn't time for these other things and it would be right for him to relinquish some of those responsibilities and hand them over and delegate them to deacons in the church who can use their gifts and do the work. And so when we come to the job description of a deacon we find it's open-ended in the New Testament and I believe the reason for that is not simply so that we're left guessing what they should be doing, but rather that the Holy Spirit is impressing upon us that the deacons are the general arm of the eldership. They are there to assist and to support the elders in whatever way they seem fit, and that when there are burdens and responsibilities and needs that arise in the church that they cannot fulfill because of other priorities, then they can delegate that work and ministry to the deacons. I think that's the reason why whenever deacons are mentioned in the New Testament they're never mentioned independently. They're always referred to in connection with the elders because they work side by side with the elders, they work closely with the elders, they are the general arm of the eldership and they are there to support and to assist the elders and to relieve them of burdens and pressures. But then there is a second principle I think we can glean from Acts chapter 6 and that is that these seven deacons were appointed to meet a specific need in the early church. Notice it wasn't that the office was instituted first. It wasn't that they were appointed first as deacons and then they were given some work to do. It was the other way round. The need arose and then the office was instituted so that these men would meet that need. And I think that's so important to understand because so often, historically in our churches, deacons are sometimes appointed merely for the sake of it. Simply for the sake of filling up the diaconate and adding people to their number. even though possibly they haven't got any work to do at all or any need to meet and fulfil. Paul has discovered through going back through the records that there were times when this church had seven deacons. Can you imagine that? Seven deacons for a little church like this. Even the Jerusalem church only had seven deacons and they had ten to twenty thousand people to support and care for. Why on earth do we need seven? But you see, many of these people were appointed simply for the sake of filling up vacancies. They had to have the biblical number 7. It says 7 in Acts chapter 6. Well, we should have 7 now. And so people were appointed irrespective of whether they had particular gifts that could meet specific needs in the church. Many of them possibly never did anything. They were there simply as yes-men. They were there just to rub a stamp and agree everything the pastor and the elders of the church suggested. That should never be the case, Ritz. And as we consider appointing deacons in the church, we should be looking at those who have specific gifts that can be used. We should be looking at people who we can release to use those gifts of service to the benefit of the church. And when these people see needs in the church, they don't need to be told to get on and do the work. They should take the initiative. They see the need, they should be men of vision and initiative, they should get on and do the job. We don't read that the apostles stood over these seven men and watched over them and were their nursemaids day by day. No, no, they told them what to do and they left them to get on with it in the way that they saw fit. And as other needs would arise, naturally they would use their gifts and they would use their resources to meet those needs. That's the sort of deacons we want in the church. Men of vision. Men who can see a need and see some area where there is negligence in the church and then reach out and meet that need. We want people like that. So we've seen the origin of deacons, the work and ministry of deacons. Thirdly, let's move on to the qualifications required of deacons. We have two passages, Acts 6, verse 6, where we read that they were seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Full of good reputation means that they had a good report. that they had a good reputation not only in the church but also outside the church as well, in their place of work. There was no scandal attached to these men. They weren't classed and known as hypocrites. No, no, they were a people whose lives could be read as a letter, as a book. They were known and read. Of all men, they were of good reputation. They were full of the Holy Spirit. It doesn't mean that they were always on their back speaking in tongues. dancing around the aisles. No, no. They were people who were controlled. They were under the control of the Spirit. The whole of their lives. They were walking in the Spirit. They were living in the Spirit. They were keeping in step with the Spirit day by day. And they were not fulfilling the works of the flesh. The fruit of the Spirit was manifest in their lives. There was a fragrance. They stood out in the local church. Full of the Spirit. And they were full of wisdom. I don't believe that this simply refers to human wisdom, worldly wisdom, but it refers to a spiritual wisdom. They had a deep knowledge and understanding of the teaching of the Word of God. But not only that, but they also had the practical wisdom, the ability to apply the teaching of the Word of God to specific situations. They were people full of wisdom. And then the second passage is 1 Timothy 3. Turn to that in our Bibles. Reading from verse 8. Likewise, deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 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. As we look at those two passages, the first thing that we discover is that the requirements are exacting. The standard is extremely high. And you'll notice that virtually the same qualifications that are required of elders are required of deacons as well. And I think this points to the fact that what we are looking for is the best men in the church. We're not just looking for any Tom, Dick or Harry who will take up the position. No, no, we're looking for men who stand out by their godliness, by their conduct, by their willingness to serve. They have a heart to serve God and the local church, a love for the Lord's people. There is something different about them. They are the best men in the church. And the second thing that we discover about these qualifications is that they are exclusively spiritual. Now this is surprising, especially when we think generally that the ministry of deacons is largely, although not exclusively as we've seen, it is largely material and practical. We might have thought that the Apostle Paul would have written, well deacons need to be those who are good at DIY. Deacons need to be good accountants. They need to have a business acumen. But we find none of that whatsoever. All the qualifications and requirements are purely spiritual. And I think the reason for that is because there is a worldly approach to business. There is a worldly approach to administration, a worldly approach to finance and we do not want to see that in the church at all. Some churches appoint men as deacons simply because they are top businessmen in society. because they have the ability to make money, because they're wealthy, because they are proven sales people and so on, good at accountancy. But that's not necessarily the people that we want in the church. We want people with spiritual mindedness, with a spiritual attitude to the Lord's service, so that they will approach the finances in a spiritual manner. It may be that the church has very little in the kitty. And yet the church has a burden to expand the church maybe in some particular way. And we want a spiritual approach to that matter. Someone who will not put his foot down and say, well, we haven't got the money, we can't do it. We want people of faith. People who will be willing to submit themselves to the leadership of the church and say, well, I don't know where the money's coming from, this is the situation, but if we're all in agreement that we should go forth in that direction, I will support it. We want a spiritual attitude towards administration and towards social welfare in the church. Now as we look at 1 Timothy 3 verses 8 to 13, we could divide these qualifications into four parts. And the first is that the deacons must have self-mastery. They must be people of self-control, verse 8. You'll notice four particular words are used to describe them. And the first is the word reverent. The old authorised version has grave. The NIV has serious. Now this doesn't mean to suggest that the deacon must have a long face and no sense of humour whatsoever. Certainly that's not the type of person we want on the diaconate. It seems to me that it is an absolute necessity that every leader of the church has a good sense of humour. It's the only way to cope at times. But though they may have a good sense of humour, they're not frivolous people. They're serious about serious matters. They're men who can be well respected. They have a bearing, they have a dignity in the church. They are reverent. Secondly, they're not double-tongued. They don't speak with a forked tongue. Literally it says they don't say different things out of different sides of the mouth. They don't say one thing to one person and another thing to someone else. There's a consistency in their speech. There is an honesty, there is a truthfulness, there is an integrity about their speech. They have their tongue under control. And thirdly, we see their attitude to alcohol. They are not given to much wine. Many of our American brethren would say, well this means that they must sign the pledge. They must be teetotal. Paul doesn't say that. He says they must not be addicted, literally addicted, to much wine. They mustn't be wine-bibbers, always there on the bottle, needing it to support them and to help them through life. They're not to be like the men of the world, so many today who have to prop themselves up with alcohol. They mustn't be over the limit when they drive. They must not be people who are ever drunk. They mustn't be people who are controlled by drink, not addicted to much wine. And then fourthly, they're not greedy for money. We can understand why this is a requirement of deacons, because they're involved in the finances of the church. And someone has rightly said that Judas Iscariot was not the last treasurer in the church to sell his lord for a few pieces of silver. So those who serve as deacons should not be covetous. They're not greedy for money. And so in these four areas, in their behaviour, speech, use of alcohol, attitude to money, they are to be those who possess self-mastery. They have their faculties under control. Secondly, deacons must have orthodox convictions. In the NIV it says, holding the deep truths of the faith with a pure conscience. Now deacons do not necessarily have to have a ministry of teaching. Elders have to be apt to teach, but that's not said of deacons. They may or may not have a ministry in teaching and preaching, but they must have a deep grasp and understanding of the doctrines of the Word of God. They must know what they believe and they must know why they believe it. They're not a novice in biblical understanding. They have a thorough grasp of the teaching of the Word of God. They are to be articulate. They're to be able to give a reason for the hope within them. They're able to explain these in a one-to-one situation. and they are to hold deep, firm convictions about the truth. They're not to be those who vacillate and those who are tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. They hold those truths with a clear conscience. Then thirdly, deacons must have been tested. Verse 10, but let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. The word that is used here is the word for the assaying of precious metals, testing metals for their purity and their genuineness. Now I don't think that Paul is referring here to probationary deacons, that they should be put on a trial period. successful during that trial period where then they become fully-fledged deacons. Not at all. No, no, he's referring to a general testing of these people as members of the church. That from the very moment they come into the church and they are committed as members in the church, that they are scrutinised, that they are observed, that the leadership are watching and seeing their gifts develop and seeing those spiritual qualities shining forth. seeing that heart for service, that love for the Lord's people. It's in this way that both their conduct and their gifts are tested and proved and then they're able to serve as deacons being found blameless. And finally deacons must have an irreproachable home life. Verse 11, likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well." What Paul is saying is that there is to be no disparity between the way the deacon conducts himself at home and the way he conducts himself in the church. There is to be a consistency in his lifestyle. He is to be transparent. So what he is in the home, that he is in the church. What he is in the church, that he is at home. How often we hear of church officers, sadly deacons and elders, who are one thing in the church, quite another thing in the home. You get to hear reports from neighbours and so on, and it brings great dishonour to the Church of Jesus Christ, great discredit to the Gospel. No, no, we want people who uphold high moral standards in their home life. Those who exercise a godly headship in the home. Those who have wives and children in submission. Their children govern well, they are managed well, they're disciplined well in love. They're not unruly. They may not be converted, but nevertheless they live orderly and disciplined lives. that the wives are not intemperate in their lives, they're not gossips, they're not busybodies, they're not slanderers. No, no, there's a consistency in the family, the home life as Christian believers. Notice also that the deacons must be the husbands of one wife. And this is not simply ruling out bigamy and polygamy. It's going much further than that. The actual Greek says that the deacon is to be a one-woman man. A one-woman man. In other words, he is a man who is devoted utterly, exclusively to one woman. He loves her exclusively, forsaking all others. He cleaves only unto her. He doesn't stop flirting with others in the church. He's a one-woman man. It also, of course, rules out previous divorce, I believe. It also rules out any sexual misconduct, sexual immorality and adultery. Those things bring discredit on the office and I believe they prevent a person from serving in a leadership position in the church. Someone who is guilty of those things is not a one woman man. And so nothing less than the high standards of marital behaviour and conduct is required of those who are to serve. in a diaconal fashion and function in the New Testament church. But then notice Paul goes on in verse 13 to tell us that there are rewards. There are rewards and benefits of serving faithfully as deacons. He points to two things. Those who have served well obtain for themselves a good standing. A good standing. The picture here in Greek is that of the steps of a ladder or the rungs of a ladder. and they are given a good standing. I don't think that means to some that it's the first step, the first rung on the ladder to ecclesiastical promotion. No, no, that if you serve well as a deacon, well then, next you'll be made a bishop. No, no, I believe it's referring to a good standing in the sight of God and in the sight of man. You see, those who serve well as deacons gain great respect in the church and great honour and respect in the eyes of the Lord. They're in a position of great privilege and great honour. And secondly, not only do they gain a good standing, they gain great boldness. Great boldness in the faith. I believe the word there refers to assurance. It refers to confidence. Those who serve well as deacons abound in confidence in their Christian lives. They have a great strong assurance. They have a certainty that God is with them and a sense that they are serving under his blessing. My friends, what a privilege it is to be a deacon in the church. And sometimes we disparage deacons, don't we? And we seem to look upon them as mere table waiters and we seem to see them as much lower than the elders. But friends, that is never the case. They're not lower, they're not inferior to the elders or the pastor of the church. The Bible tells us that all leaders of the gospel church are servants. We're all called to a servant ministry. We're only servants at the end of the day, serving the Lord Christ, serving one another. No one's better than anyone else. It's simply that we have a different function and we have a different ministry to fulfil. May God help us as we as a church consider this matter of deacons and as we seek the Lord's help in the appointment of future officers in this work. May the Lord guide us and may, as gifts are used in the church, it result in great blessing and prosperity to His praise and to His glory. Amen.