Deacons in the Church Series
Part 1
Seven Men who May have Saved the Church
Acts 6:1-7
By Dave Redick
Hwy 20 Church of Christ

This should probably be logged as the very first attempt of Satan to get the church sidetracked from its mission by doing good. Taking care of widows is Christ-honoring work but there ought to be enough people who can do it so as not to hinder the preaching of the gospel.

Introduction

My title this morning is "Seven Men Who May Have Saved the Church." Is anyone willing to venture a guess as to what my text might be?

Answer: Acts 6

The seven men described in our text this morning were apparently the church’s first deacons and their willingness to serve may have saved the Jerusalem church from a big squabble and perhaps even a split. This morning we are going to look at the story.

First though, a few quick passages of Scripture to emphasize my topic...

"Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons…" (Philippians 1:1)

"Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience." (1 Tim 3:8)

"And let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach." (1 Timothy 3:10)

"Let deacons be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households." (1 Timothy 3:12)

"For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 3:13)

The churches of the first century had deacons. Deacons are addressed in Biblical letters. We see them in action in the book of Acts. Lists of qualifications are given for them in 1 Timothy.

What are deacons? How does their office differ from the other offices of the church – evangelist and elder? What role do they fill? Who can be a deacon? How are deacons selected and appointed?

In the next several weeks I want to bring before you the Bible’s teaching about deacons. I do this because, quite frankly, if we have willing and qualified men to serve in this capacity, the elders and I believe we need to appoint some additional men to serve in this capacity.

To kick off this study we’ll consider this passage in Acts 6 that describes the appointment of what I believe were the very first deacons of the church. Please join me in your Bibles at Acts 6.

We will be considering the first seven verses of this chapter for the remainder of our time this morning.

(Read v. 1-7)

You might be wondering why I would say that this passage describes the very first deacons of the church when the English word "deacon" never appears in it. While the word never appears in our English versions, a Greek word that is very closely related to our English word "deacon" appears in verses 1 and 4. The word is diakonia and it is translated by the NASV, "serving" in verse 1 and "ministry" in verse 4. The Greek word "deacon" is diakonos (diakonia/diakonas - you can see the similarity) and it means simply, "one who serves." Both words are used rather generically in the New Testament, referring to many kinds of servants and service. The later word, diakonos, is also used to describe what became a formal office in the church which included well-defined qualifications and responsibilities.

To you more seasoned students of the Scriptures, let me just say that I believe the men described in this passage were the first deacons because of three things:

bulletThey were assigned to a specific task that general servants didn’t have.
bulletThey had to meet certain qualifications that general servants didn’t have to meet.
bulletThey were formally appointed to the task. Generic servants are not formally appointed in this same sense.

Anyone can be a servant. Not just anyone can be a deacon.

With that in mind, let’s look more closely at the passage where we read first about:

1. A Great Advance.

(Read v. 1a)

Since we’re breaking into Luke’s narrative here without a lot of introduction, a little explaining is in order. The events described here took place in Jerusalem, not long after the church began on Pentecost in 33 AD. From Acts 2 we know that the number of disciples in the church after the first day of preaching was 3,000.(1)  In Acts 4 it had increased to 5,000.(2) In Acts 5 (3)  it was described as "multitudes of men and women" with more added daily. Acts Commentator Gareth Reese estimates that by the time of the events described in Acts 6, "there would have been close to 20,000 Christians in and around the city of Jerusalem." (4)

That kind of phenomenal growth may be explained by a number of factors, not the least of which was the fact that God had spent the previous 1500 years preparing the Jewish people for the events that led to it. It was, as Paul said to the Galatians, "the fullness of time." (5) Of course, with that kind of growth and so many new people with needs, there must have been problems.

In the midst of all that exciting growth a problem developed which, had it not been resolved quickly, could have been the cause of the very first church split. We see next, the development of:

2. A Troubling Grievance.

(Read v. 1b)

Since some of them had no other means of support, the early church took care of its widows (and probably orphans, too) by providing food and shelter for them out of the common fund. I don’t know how many widows there would be in a group of 20,000 people, but I’m sure that in a day of no public assistance, whatever that number was, feeding them must have been a very large task. Surely it would be possible, in the press of taking care of that many people, to overlook someone’s needs. That’s exactly what happened.

A complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews that their widows were being neglected. The native Hebrews were the target of the complaint. The "native Hebrews" were those Jews born and raised within the vicinity of the Temple in the region that was the "Promised Land." These people diligently spoke and preserved their native Hebrew language. They did not mix with outsiders, stubbornly refusing to allow other cultures to encroach on their traditions. They attended worship in the Temple at Jerusalem. The "Hellenistic Jews" or "Grecian Jews" were Jewish people who lived abroad. They spoke Greek and other languages, adopted some of their local cultural practices, and depended upon local synagogues for their worship. They made it to the Temple only on special occasions, if at all. Apparently, some of them were converted to Christ and had, perhaps remained in Jerusalem after Pentecost.

You might imagine the rivalry that would develop as the native Hebrews looked at the Hellenists as compromising interlopers – feeling that they had compromised and abandoned their native culture. It’s very likely, especially since Luke mentions both groups that this rivalry surfaced in this present dispute involving the widows. It is true that often the disputes in the church today can be traced back to our differing backgrounds before we came to Christ. It is also true that even if disputes never erupt, unspoken rivalries can run deep beneath the surface of the fellowship. Coming to Christ doesn’t erase our past culture. Yes, our sin is nailed to the cross, but we bring our unique ways of doing things with us. Getting along with these differences forms a solid challenge for any church.

Anyway, something needed to be done lest the "Original Church of Christ Jerusalem" split and become "The First Church of Christ Hebrew" and "The First Church of Christ Hellenist!"

It was the appointment of deacons that saved the day and perhaps even saved the church from fragmentation and decline, as we’ll see next in what I’m calling:

3. A Wise Resolution.

(Read v. 2)

The Apostles, very busy preaching and teaching the word of Christ, knew that if they got bogged down in all the details of resolving this problem themselves, their teaching would grind to a halt. It wasn’t that serving tables was dishonorable work or that they considered themselves above such service. Nor was it that the Apostles were trying to get out of doing the dishes. It’s just that if they stopped teaching, the church would stop growing.

This should probably be logged as the very first attempt of Satan to get the church sidetracked from its mission by doing good. Taking care of widows is Christ-honoring work but there ought to be enough people who can do it so as not to hinder the preaching of the gospel.

By the way, those words "it is not desirable" in the New American Standard version make it sound a bit like they were exercising a mere preference here. That’s not the case at all. The NIV translates this, "it is not right." The ASV translates it "it is not fit."

It wasn’t right then and it isn’t right now to sidetrack the preaching of the gospel, even when it is for a good cause.

(Read v. 3-4)

These seven men were to be the deacons I mentioned in the beginning of this message. Several things to note about them here:

bulletThey were to be selected from among the brethren.
bulletThe congregation, not the Apostles, selected them.
bulletThey had to meet certain prescribed qualifications.
bulletTheir selection and work was to make it possible for the preachers to keep preaching the Word.

These are sound reasons for appointing deacons in any day including our own. In the beginning, church leaders must do many things simply because there are not enough people present to diversify the work or specialize. As the church grows however, there is a division of labor that must be asserted, lest the work cease to progress because the leaders are overwhelmed. In the New Testament Church:

bulletEvangelists preach the Word.
bulletElders watch over the flock.
bulletDeacons managed the physical and financial affairs of the church so the former two can continue in their work.

I might add here that these seven men probably did not actually wait on the tables themselves – that is, they probably didn’t become the actual cooks and table waiters. They most likely oversaw the work of others who did these things. Verse 3 tells us that the Apostles ordered their appointment so that they could be "put in charge" of the task. While deacons are servants who serve, they may also be those who coordinate the service of others. Do the math. If there were 20,000 members in the Jerusalem church at that time, and 10% of them were widows, that is 2000 people. Seven men simply could not feed 2000 people several meals a day by themselves.

Likewise, deacons today will not do all the work by themselves. Rather, they will organize and oversee the service of others.

There is another inference here about deacons that may be important. The Apostles said in verse 2, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables." Those words "serve tables" obviously would refer to the serving of food. It has also been suggested by some that have studied the verbal idioms of that time that there may be an additional meaning here. The term "tables" was used in that day to refer to the serving of food. It was also used figuratively of the work of the broker or moneychanger or loan officer. It had to do with handling money. Thus, it could be that there is a strong inference here that these deacons were put in charge of the distribution of funds collected for the widows and other poor in the church. In many churches today, deacons are put in charge of what is often called the "benevolence fund" and are responsible for the distribution of these funds to needy Christians. In my mind that is a proper occupation of the deacon’s office.

Let’s move along now.

(Read v. 5)

"The statement found approval with the whole congregation." Isn’t it great when that happens? It has happened in this church a number of times and every time it does, I’m reminded of that statement in Psalm 133:1, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!"

But there is something else here. All seven of the names listed here are Greek names. Not one is a Hebrew name. What this seems to imply is that the native Hebrew brethren graciously allowed the church to appoint men from among those in the Hellenist camp.

Philippians 2:3-4 says, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself." It seems to me that is what we see here.

(Read v. 6)

The passage does not say how the congregation chose these seven men. What it does say is that the men they chose met the qualifications mentioned, namely that they be:

bulletMen of good reputation
bulletFull of the Spirit
bulletFull of wisdom

We’ll talk about the meaning of each of the three qualifications (and the others given in the New Testament) in a later message. Suffice it now to say that the church was provided with deacons when:

bulletThe need arose and the Apostles charged the congregation to choose men to serve
bulletThe qualifications were enumerated
bulletThe congregation chose them
bulletThe Apostles formerly ordained them (or set them apart)

Today it seems reasonable, doesn’t it that we would follow this model? Namely,

bulletWhen the need arises, the church leaders charge the congregation to choose men to serve
bulletThe congregation learns the Bible’s qualifications
bulletThe congregation chooses them
bulletThe leaders ordain them

We try to do Bible things in Bible ways here and I don’t see any better way to do it than that, do you?

We see finally,

4. A Heartening Outcome.

The Apostles’ plan worked!

(Read verse 7)

Luke seems to imply here, doesn’t he, that as a result of what happened with the appointment of these men, things continued to go forward without a big gap or slowdown? "The word of God kept on spreading…" That’s what the appointment of deacons in the church can do.

How does our consideration of this passage intersect where we are?

bulletThe church needs deacons.

How many? Perhaps that depends upon how many men we have who are qualified and are willing to serve in this capacity. We believe it is time for us to see if we can qualify and call some more men from among us to serve in this capacity. I believe we have men among us right now who are qualified to serve as deacons, but it’s not primarily my call. If we follow the pattern here, it’s the call of this congregation.

bulletWe need to spend some time learning and reviewing the qualifications of deacons.

My plan is to devote the next several Sundays to the consideration of the Bible's qualifications. Since it will ultimately be necessary to call on the congregation to select men who can serve and are willing to serve, it is important for you to be present and receive instruction on how to do your part.

bulletSome of you men who could serve need to give it careful consideration.

If you are qualified and the congregation called on you in this capacity, would you serve? We didn’t cover it in this passage, but later we will consider what Paul said about deacons in 1 Timothy 3:13: "For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus."

Next Lord’s day we will spend our time considering the qualifications of deacons. I hope you won’t miss it.

Footnotes: (Use your browser's "back" button to return to your place)

1. Acts 2:41
2. Acts 4:4
3. Acts 5:14
4. NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY: ACTS, Gareth L. Reese. College Press, 1976, p. 247.
5. Galatians 4:4

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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