Sunday Sermon: Qualifications for Deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13)

This is the Apostle Paul writing to his servant Timothy, whom he had sent to Ephesus, reading from 1

Timothy 3, 8 -13. Hear the word of the Lord. Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.

They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first, then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober -minded, faithful in all things.

Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well, for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith.

That is in Christ Jesus. You may be seated as we pray.

Heavenly Father, as we consider these things this morning, these qualifications that are given for deacons,

I pray that we see in this not only a role and a responsibility that each member of the church has to hold their deacons accountable to these standards or even to consider one another and who might be qualified for this particular position and so nominate such a brother for this office or for this role.

But we see these things that are laid out here, the qualifications for elders that we saw last week, qualifications for deacons that we look at this week.

And we see in this an example of a mature brother in Christ that we all may aspire to live in this maturity, that we may all want to walk this walk of faith patterned after those who have been put in these positions as mature brothers in the

Lord, in the church, but also that they represent Christ. And so we understand that each and every one of us should aspire to this, that we should want to walk as Jesus walked and that we should all want to be

Christ -like in our demeanor, in our maturity, in our holiness.

And so work these things out in our hearts as we read them today and even as we go from this place into our daily lives, living as unto

Christ. It is in Jesus' name that we pray and all God's people said, amen.

In Acts chapter six, we read about how the church has been growing by the thousands.

Really when you look at the beginning of the church at the start of the book of Acts, you have 120 people that are gathered in an upper room.

By the very next chapter, 3 ,000 people are added to their midst that are baptized to become part of the church.

So we see a church go from 120 to a mega church virtually in one day.

And then as we continue to read on about the beginnings of the church in Acts, the

Lord continues to add to their number. But because the number of the church was growing, so were the needs.

The spiritual needs and even the physical needs of this congregation. And so we read about at the start of Acts six, that the disciples were increasing in number and then a complaint by the

Hellenists, which would be those Greek speaking Jews, arose against the

Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

So as the church was sharing with one another, as we read about in Acts chapters three and five, it turns out that there was a particular group of Christians in the church that felt like they were being neglected in the daily distribution of the goods and the food that would be handed out, particularly the widows.

So in verse two, and this is Acts six to the 12, referring to the apostles, summoned the full number of the disciples and said, it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

Therefore, brothers pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the spirit and of wisdom whom we will appoint to this duty.

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. So you see what's happening here.

The apostles recognize there is a problem. There are some people, the widows in particular, that are being neglected in the daily distribution of this food.

But we can't stop what we're doing because it is the preaching and the teaching of the word of Christ.

And it's through that, that God is growing the number in the church and not just growing the number of people, but growing them spiritually.

So this work needs to continue, but we don't want to neglect the physical needs of those that are in our body.

And so therefore the apostles say, find some men who are qualified for this task, whom you would consider to be good examples to the rest of the body.

Not just anyone who is able -bodied for the distribution of this, but men who by their spiritual maturity even show themselves approved workers in the faith.

Tell us who they are and we will appoint them to this duty, to this particular task.

But we ourselves, the apostles say, continue to devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

So going on in verse five, what they said pleased the whole gathering.

And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. And we actually know that Stephen would go on to become the first martyr of the church.

Philip and Procurus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch.

These they set before the apostles and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

Verse seven, and the word of God continued to increase and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

So you see that there was a particular physical need in the church. But that need did not need to result in the ceasing of the preaching until we take care of this first.

The word of God was going to continue to be preached. But there are certainly people who are able to care for this need.

So find those men who are qualified in spirit to be good examples to the body and to fulfill this particular task of caring for these widows so that they would not be neglected in the distribution of the food.

We understand this to be the first appointment of deacons in the church.

And that word deacon from the Greek diakonos simply means servant.

These are men who are servants. Now anyone in the church we would understand would be called to be a servant, but this is a specific office.

And the men who are called for this office must meet specific qualifications. And so the apostles even said, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the spirit and of wisdom.

They didn't go down a long list of qualifications, but nonetheless there were qualifications these men had to meet even to fill this role of distributing food to those who were in need.

Because it was set before them by the apostles that these men would be examples to the body.

This was a specific office that was being filled. Not just any servant, but men who would be these qualified servants.

One commentary on this particular passage says this, public ministry is impossible without private service.

Had the seven not freed the apostles to focus on teaching and prayer, verse four, then the gospel would not have spread, verse seven.

So these men meeting these physical needs in the church work so that the gospel may continue to progress through those who had been appointed to the preaching and the teaching.

Mark Devers says the following, deacons to fill a new Testament office, one rooted in Acts chapter six, while any absolute distinction between deacons and elders is difficult.

The concern of the deacons are the practical details of church life, administration, maintenance, and the care of church members with physical needs.

And so as we come today in our passage in 1 Timothy chapter six, or sorry, chapter three, we see here the qualifications for those that would fill this office.

This role of deacon in the church that they might set forth, not only caring for the needs of the church, but even an example to the church of mature service in the faith.

Last week, my title for the qualifications for overseers was requirements for overseers.

And then my subtitle was that we should desire to see in our elders and in ourselves in the care of God's church.

So today I'm applying that same subtitle, but instead of using the word elders, replacing it with the word deacons.

So these are requirements for deacons that we should desire to see. We should desire to see these same qualifications, these same requirements in our deacons and in ourselves in the care of God's church.

So as we go through this list of qualifications, apply these things not only in what we should be looking for in a deacon, but apply it to yourself as well.

And when we get to the conclusion of this, I will also provide some practical application.

I didn't leave myself enough time for that last week, but considering what we've read with regards to qualifications for elders and qualifications for deacons, how might that personally apply to each and every one of us so that we may continue to fulfill the role of ministry that we've all been called to.

If you'll remember back to Ephesians 4, 11 and 12 that I read to you last week,

God has appointed these particular persons for this role to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

So we've all been called to the ministry of the church in Christ. Now as we look at this particular section today, 1

Timothy 3, verses 8 -13, this breaks down in the following ways.

You'll notice it says deacons likewise, and so there is a must there.

It's kind of an unspoken must. Last week I showed you that in the qualifications for elders, there were four musts.

An elder must be this, he must be that. And so we'll see that same thing for deacons.

A deacon must be this. So that first must is kind of a said in an implied sense.

Deacon must, the word likewise rather is put there. So we see that in verse 8.

The next must is in verse 9. They must hold to the mystery of the faith, verses 9 and 10.

And then in verse 11, something that we did not see with the elders, but the deacon's wife must be something, and that's in verses 11 and 12.

And then we conclude with the reward that a deacon receives for the good service that he supplies for the church.

When we looked at the qualifications for overseers, it began with a statement of nobility.

That an overseer desires a noble task, it began with that.

But when we see the list of qualifications for deacons, it concludes with a statement of nobility.

Verse 13, those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

So as you see these qualifications for overseers and qualifications for deacons together, you'll see that it's bookended with statements of nobility.

An elder desires a noble task, a deacon even fulfills something noble in this work that he's been called to in the church.

So let's consider this together as we go back through these qualifications beginning in verse 8, and we have that first implied must.

A deacon must be this, and that word likewise is substituted in there. Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double -tongued, not addicted to much wine, nor greedy for dishonest gain.

Now again, that word deacon is a word that means servant, and so you must be careful with the way that that will pop up in the

New Testament because sometimes that word just simply means servant, and sometimes the word is applied to an office.

Now there were some that will argue that there are women that can fulfill the role of deacon, and I'll flesh out that argument a little bit more when we get to verse 11.

Their wives likewise must be dignified, but the word there that will sometimes be used in reference to those women in the church who are servants is the same word.

You'll find that pop up in the New Testament, that same Greek word diakonos can be applied to women who are servants of the church as well.

But are we talking about them serving in the church, or are we talking about the office? We must be aware of the distinction.

Here Paul is specifically talking about this role that is an office, just the same as the apostles said, pick six men from among yourselves that will fulfill this task, men who are of good repute, they have a good reputation, they are also full of the

Holy Spirit. These men will fill this role in setting a good example for the church.

And so Paul applies this specifically as an office, the office of deacon, the office of a servant of good example to the church.

He likewise must be dignified, so again just as the apostles said, he must have a good reputation, that's what's being said here by being dignified.

He is a person that is of an upstanding spiritual character, somebody worthy of imitation.

And he must not be double -tongued, meaning that his speech must be consistent with his behavior.

You are seeing a man who is not a hypocrite, but what he says is what he does. What he does is what he says.

This is the same as what was being said of the elder when it was said that he must be above reproach.

It's being said in a little bit different way about the deacon, but nonetheless the application is the same.

To not be double -tongued means that this man is consistent in his speech and in his action.

No accusation can be brought against this man as being a person who is therefore a hypocrite.

He is somebody who is worthy of imitation, and he is somebody who is consistent in his profession and in his practice.

He is not addicted to much wine, so just as what was said previously about the elder who should not be addicted to much wine.

He must be sober -minded, it is said of him, and that he must not be given over to substances that would dull his wits and his thinking, change his character and his personality, given over to intoxication.

Now, it doesn't say that he cannot drink wine. This is often the debate that comes up whenever we read about these things in Scripture with regards to the consumption of alcohol, because Paul will later say to Timothy in this very letter, mix a little bit of wine with the water that you drink to help with your frequent stomach ailments.

So Paul is giving permission to Timothy, you can drink wine and that is even good and it is healthy for you, but you must not be given over to these substances to let them control you.

And so the deacon is to be that kind of example. We talked about this with the elder last week.

He is so disciplined in his body that he is not ruled or mastered by anything else.

That's what's exemplified in this particular instruction that he must not be addicted to wine.

He's not mastered by anything. And Paul had said the same thing of himself to the

Corinthians. All things are permissible to me, but I will not be mastered by anything. And so may the deacon follow that example in his character as well.

He is not mastered by substances, he is not controlled by things that he must have lest he lose himself in them.

And so it goes on to say that this deacon likewise must not be greedy for dishonest gain.

Now last week when we saw that applied to the elder, I had said that an elder, if he's greedy for gain, then that increases the likelihood he would be willing to twist the message of the gospel to gain more people, to gain more favor so that he may gain more money.

Now with the deacon that's going to be a little bit different because a deacon is not necessarily a teacher of the word. That doesn't mean a deacon can't teach.

He may very well be a very gifted teacher. I've known some deacons who were wonderful teachers and led

Sunday school classes and otherwise, just that did not feel the call to become an elder or a pastor in that capacity.

And we also happen to see that Stephen, one of those deacons that was named in Acts 6, was actually quite a prolific teacher because when he has stood up before the

Pharisees and the teachers of the law, he schools them. Which leads them to hate

Stephen and then end up stoning him. And like I said, he becomes the first martyr of the church. So a deacon may very well be a very gifted teacher also, but he's not required to teach.

He doesn't have to have that skill in order to fill that role as a deacon.

So how might a deacon in this greed for dishonest gain bring reproach against his office?

If it's not going to be twisting the word to gain the favor of people, what might he do instead that might bring an offense against his office?

Well, this might be a person who in his service to other people might expect them to want to pay him for that service.

So he's in it for gain for himself. He's in it for some kind of recognition rather than doing the service for the benefit of others and not expecting anything in return.

Knowing as said at the conclusion of this, look down again at verse 13, those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ.

In other words, for the deacon, his reward is eternal. It's not going to be substantive or material in the things of the present day.

It's going to be knowing I'm doing this service ultimately for Christ. And I know that my reward is in Christ.

So I'm not doing this seeking gain from anybody else or anything else.

I do this to serve Christ in his church. That's why I do it. If a deacon is greedy for dishonest gain, then he's going to compromise his position.

Instead of doing it for the service of others, he's doing it for the service of himself. And that would make a man unqualified for this particular role.

So somebody who is not out for himself, he is out for the service of Christ and for his church.

These are the first musts that we have here. Again, he must be dignified.

He must be consistent in his speech and in his behavior. He must not be addicted to wine and he must not be greedy for dishonest gain.

So two positives and two negatives. Notice that. Must be dignified.

Well, I guess that was three negatives. Must not be double -tongued. Not addicted to much wine. Not greedy for dishonest gain.

But then we go on to talking about his own conviction with regard to the faith itself.

Now, again, this is not a man who's a teacher or must have that skill as a teacher.

But nonetheless, of the deacon, it is said this. Look at verses 9 and 10 as we go to that next must.

They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience and let them also be tested first.

Then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

So there is a requirement there for their doctrine to be sound.

It's not saying there that he must have sound doctrine so that he knows how to teach sound doctrine, but he must nonetheless hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

In other words, this is a man who does demonstrate maturity in what he knows.

A maturity in the faith that he says he has. This is not just a man who, again, is able -bodied and therefore can do whatever physical task we ask of him.

But even spiritually, he shows himself to be one who is consistent in the things that he believes in.

Holding it with a clear conscience. In other words, with those essential truths and even secondary issues, we might say.

That he understands those doctrines fully well and he's not sitting there going, you know,

I just don't know where I sit yet on the Trinity. I don't know what to believe about that.

Or if we were to test a man on his secondary doctrinal convictions, like, say, regarding baptism, we as a

Baptist church would not appoint a man to the position of deacon who's still waffling on whether or not infants can be baptized.

Whether he's a paedo -Baptist or a credo -Baptist in his confession of baptism. This is a man who's sure.

I know the Bible teaches this about that and that's what I believe. And so we see a man who is consistent in his conscience, in the doctrine that he believes in and practices.

This man shows himself to be a mature Christian in every way. Not just in the holiness in his living, but even the consistency in the faith that he professes.

And so in verse 10, let them also be tested first, then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

Now, I've seen this particular passage get used in such a way to say, well, there must be a testing period.

He goes through six to 12 months or something like that because it says right here, let them be tested.

That can be applied in a number of different ways. Testing could very simply be, you know, he sits down for an interview and he's able to answer those questions that are asked of him and show himself a worthy servant.

Or it could be that he becomes an understudy of another deacon and goes through a period in which he is doing those tasks that are asked of him as the church.

And then if he shows himself able to do those things without complaining, fulfills all those other obligations, then we know that man is worthy for that particular task.

However, we would apply that statement, let them also be tested first. The other end of that is that he shows himself to be a ready and willing servant to Christ and to his church, then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

So we get a consistency in their doctrine and in their duty. They believe certain things and it plays out in their lives consistent with the faith that they say that they have.

Now, these are the two musts that we've seen thus far, one with regards to behavior and one with regards to doctrine.

So deacons likewise must be this in their behavior and then deacons likewise must be this in the mystery of the faith that they claim that they believe in.

So we've seen behavior, we've seen doctrine. But then the next one, and this one, like I said, is unique to the deacons that we didn't see so much with the elders.

Look at verse 11. Here is a must for their wives. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober -minded and faithful in all things.

Now, we didn't have a requirement for elders' wives in the elder qualifications, but we do see a qualification for deacon's wives in the deacon qualifications.

Why would that be? Well, what is the leading skill that an overseer must have in order to fulfill that role as an elder or a pastor in the church?

He must be a teacher. Is his wife going to aid and assist him in the teaching of God's Word to the church?

Not in that teaching action, no. She may assist him in the sense that she cares for the household, helps to manage the household, raise the kids, things like that.

She may assist him in that way as his helpmate, but she's not going to assist in the actual function of the teaching and preaching in the church.

But with regards to the deacons, the deacon is a servant who's taking care of the physical needs of people in the church.

That's not something that is necessarily inherently in and of itself authoritative, right?

Remember when we had considered that role of teaching last week? The teaching of God's Word is inherently authoritative because you are declaring

God's Word for God's people, which the people of God must be in submission to.

But when it comes to caring for physical needs, there's nothing inherently authoritative about that.

In fact, it is very much service, right? So the wife of the deacon will aid her husband in the service and care for the church.

In fact, and I even gave a few examples last week, there may be ways in which a woman needs to be cared for in the church that a man can't do well, but his wife may be more qualified for that particular work.

And I can give you an example of that from my own experience. As a matter of fact, there was an elderly couple in our church, and the wife was put in hospice, but occasionally she needed to be bathed, and her husband couldn't do that.

And there were women in our church, specifically the deacon's wives, that would help him in doing that.

So that might be an example of where a deacon's wife might show herself a worthy servant in those tasks that the church might be called to do, might be called to fulfill.

So there are certain things the women can do, or his wife can do, that might be more appropriate for her to do than for the husband.

So therefore, the wives have certain qualifications. And anytime that I have served in this position as a pastor, and we have had nominations for deacons, and so now those deacons must be tested, anytime

I've gone through that process, we have always considered the wife. And the wife has always been part of that interview process.

She likewise would come and sit before the elders, or even if we did a Q &A before the church, she would be there with her husband, so that she also shows herself to be a willing and able servant.

And if we had a situation where a man was nominated as a deacon, I can say that I have not run into this before, because just about every man that was nominated for the position of deacon had a wife that was likewise qualified.

That was the whole reason why he was even put forward as, here's a guy that I think could do this role as deacon, because they loved his wife too.

So I've not had the situation before where a man was nominated and I said, well, the guy's wife really isn't qualified.

But if that were to happen, if a man were to be put forward in the role of deacon, but his wife has a reputation for being a gossip, then that's going to disqualify the man from being able to fill that role.

I would say that a man who might be tested for the position of elder, if his wife has a reputation for being a gossip, then he's likewise unqualified for the role of elder as well, because then that would fall under the requirement that he must manage his own household well.

So you could find that certainly in the qualifications for elders or overseers as well. But here, the wife is even tested.

A wife must show herself to be dignified, not a slanderer, not a gossiper in other words, but she likewise is sober minded.

She's consistent in her speech and in her action, and she is faithful in all things.

Also a servant to the church, and she herself is not out to gain from it. Now, the literal translation of this in verse 11, their wives likewise must be dignified.

The literal translation is the women must be dignified. So if you go from the

Greek, a direct translation from the Greek into English would be to say that the women must be dignified.

The English Standard Version, which we're reading from this morning, just kind of takes it a step further and makes it application specifically to the wives instead of to women in general.

But since the Greek can be translated that way, women likewise, there are some that have taken this passage to imply that not only can men be deacons, but even women can be deacons.

Now, as Providence Reformed Baptist Church, and even in the tradition of reformed

Baptist confessions, it is generally held or understood that the elder is an office in the church, the deacon is an office in the church, and so therefore, this is only for men to fill these offices.

I would take it in context that when Paul says back in 1 Timothy 2 that a woman must learn quietly with all submissiveness.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, rather she is to remain quiet. We know that directly applies to the role of pastor, but I would say that also indirectly applies to the role of deacon.

The reason why Paul starts with that before he gets to these two offices of elder and deacon is because he intends that these two offices are only to be held by men.

The elder is a man, the deacon is a man. Now, with regards to deacons though,

I would say that we can allow a little bit of room for let's agree to disagree and still work together.

We as a church would not partner with another church that is appointing a woman to a position of pastor or elder because we would see that to be a direct defiance against what is clearly taught with regard to that role according to God's word.

But with regards to the deacon, that one is not as directly stated. So I think that we would, even though we might see another

Baptist church in town that is appointing women in the position of deacon, we would not automatically say, well, they're just deliberately defying

God's word and so we're not going to partner with them. Like I said, that's an area where we might provide a little bit more room to disagree.

I would hold to the position that a deacon should, that office of deacon should be filled by a man.

But there are many faithful men that would even confess themselves to be reformed in their doctrine, in their soteriology that would say, no,

I think it's okay that a woman can be in the role of deacon. Jesse Johnson is one such pastor that I admire.

He's a graduate of Master's College and he's written a document on this. As a matter of fact, if you want to ask me for it later,

I can give you the link to it. But he makes this argument for why he believes that women can be deacons in the church.

That's fine. I don't necessarily agree with the position, but I wouldn't sever faithful ministry with this man just because we hold a difference of opinion on this.

And again, when they make those kinds of arguments, they might look at a place like Romans 16 .1 where Paul refers to Phoebe as a servant of the church.

And they might use that verse and say, see that word servant, that's diakonos. Paul is actually calling her a deacon there.

But again, like I said earlier, is he actually applying the office or is he just simply using the word as servant?

It's the same way we must handle the word apostle because sometimes apostle can be in reference to the office and sometimes that word apostle can be in reference to one who is sent.

So are we talking about sending someone or are we talking about the office of apostleship itself?

So this is an office. These are qualifications for this office that we see here. Therefore, we're talking about a man who fills this role.

So when we read in verse 11, I think it is a proper translation to say the wives must be dignified.

It's not talking about women in general, but specifically the wife of the deacon. Now, I would also argue that the

English Standard Version goes a step too far by saying their wives likewise. I think they should keep it in the way that it should be translated in saying women.

And then in the work of exposition, we would understand that in context to be the wives. Anyway, argument for a different time.

But that would be my commentary on that note in verse 11. So then in verse 12, it says, let deacons, this is still under that category of their wives meeting certain qualifications.

Verse 12, let deacons each be the husband of one wife managing their children and their own households well.

And so you see that same qualification for a deacon that was given previously for an elder. And remember for an elder, it was said, if he cannot manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

Same thing for the deacon. If he can't manage his own household, then how will he care for God's church?

And the deacon must be a model for the rest of the church in how he loves his wife and cares for his family.

Just like I said last week with regards to the elder, my wife and my kids are my first ministry.

So it must be said the same of the deacon. His wife and his children are whom he serves first and showing himself worthy of becoming a servant to the church because of the way that he also cares for his own household.

Now, an interesting question was raised with me last week, not something that I addressed when we were going through the qualifications for elders, but somebody had asked me, it says that he must be the husband of one wife.

Does that mean that he must be a husband? And if he's not a husband, then he's not qualified to be an elder.

And so the same application for the deacon. Does he have to be married in order to be a deacon?

Does he have to have children? And if he doesn't, is he unqualified? And I must say to you that I have not resolved in my doctrine a firm conviction on where I stand on the answer to that question.

So I could give you the arguments for either side, but me personally, I don't really know where I stand in answer to that.

I would say that it would be wise when you're looking at a man for the position of deacon or for elder, it would be wise to choose a man who is married and therefore has children.

But I don't know that I could rightly say that he must be married and he must have kids to therefore be qualified for either one of those positions.

After all, remember these things were being said to Timothy who was sent to the church in Ephesus to be an elder there.

And Timothy was not married. And according to the traditions that we have with regards to Timothy's life, we don't know how he died according to Scripture, but there's understanding in church history how it was that Timothy was martyred for the faith.

Even to the very end of his days, he was never married. So we know Paul is not married. Timothy is not married.

Paul argues for pastors and apostles to be married and have families.

We've seen those arguments elsewhere, like in 1 Corinthians 7, but some of these men did not have wives.

And so therefore, we can apply it in this way, if a deacon is married, his wife must be this.

Paul doesn't explicitly say it that way, but we can certainly apply it that way. So a deacon must be the husband of one wife, managing his children and his household well.

For those who serve well as deacons, and here's our closing statement, the statement of nobility in verse 13, those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

And notice that all of this service that the deacon does for the church is to be done in Christ.

It is as an example of Christ. I had mentioned to you Romans 16, 1, where Phoebe is referred to as a servant of the church.

Well, it was just a few verses back in chapter 15, where it is said that Jesus is a servant.

And you know the passage from Matthew and Mark, where Jesus says that the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

When the deacon serves the body of Christ, he demonstrates himself a servant in the likeness of Christ, that he would follow in the ways of Christ to serve

God's people for their good and for the glory of God.

Now, as we've come to the conclusion of this in qualifications for deacons in 1

Timothy 3 verses 8 through 13, I said that I wanted to provide for you here some applications and that these applications would be in light of what we have read with regards to qualifications for elders and qualifications for deacons.

So let me give you three. These are three applications that you take away because for you, you might think, well,

I'm not going to be an elder. I really don't even aspire to become a deacon. So what do these qualifications mean for me?

How do they apply for me? So let me give you these three applications. Number one, you must be a servant of Christ and of his church.

Number two, you must be a teacher to one another in the

Lord. And number three, you must be a child of God receiving instruction and discipline from the

Lord. So let me go back through those three applications once again. Number one, you must be a servant of Christ and of his church.

Remember once again, back to Ephesians 4, 11, that God gave the prophets and the apostles, the evangelists, the shepherds, and the teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

So this is not a spectator sport that you are in where you all sit there and you watch the elders and the deacons do everything that they're supposed to do.

But these roles are given, these offices are filled for the purpose of building up the saints and so that you might even find yourself to be equipped for the work of ministry in the church.

So just as you see a deacon working in the service of the church, so you should follow that example and find ways that you may serve others as well.

There may be a need that you see of somebody in the church and you think to yourself, well,

I wish a deacon were to do something about that. Why don't you do it? You see the need that needs to be met, then step up and do it.

And I hear of it happening all the time in this body and it's wonderful. Like you watch on the thread of conversation that's going on, on telegram, somebody is sick, somebody jumps up and volunteers and says,

I'm going to bring you a meal tonight. They don't have to confirm with the deacons, they don't have to go to the church and say, hey, make me a deacon so that I can go take a meal to this person.

They just do it just in service to somebody else. Or you see somebody who's in pain and hurt in need and maybe there isn't a physical need to be met there, but you can go to that person and weep with them and pray with them and encourage them in the

Lord. That's something that every one of us is called to do regardless of whether or not we will hold an office in the church.

So be a servant of Christ and of his church. Number two, be a teacher of one another in the

Lord. Now, you may not have a skill of teaching. Like you don't have an oratory gift in which you could stand up here at a pulpit or at a microphone of any kind and give a kind of a speech or lead somebody in an understanding of something and help to teach them something and write on a board and do your best

R .C. Sproul impression writing on a blackboard. Everybody's going to understand exactly what you say.

Oh, thanks for dumbing it down to the best terms possible so I know what this means. Maybe that's not your skill.

But nonetheless, the scripture does call each and every one of us to teaching to some degree.

If you admonish someone, admonish means to correct with goodwill. So if you ever have to correct somebody in their behavior, tell somebody, hey,

I saw your conduct here. It was improper for you to talk to that person this way. Just want to bring that to your attention so that you would be convicted of heart.

Maybe go to that person and apologize. You've taught them something. There's teaching involved in that.

An instruction that's given to the church in Ephesians five and in Colossians three is that we would encourage one another with songs and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your hearts to God.

We build each other up in the various ways that we minister to one another. There's something of teaching that is being done there.

When you just sit down and have a theological conversation with someone else, isn't there teaching that is happening?

You may encourage one another and build each other up in this faith. So though you may not be called to a role in which you fill some sort of public discourse in teaching somebody else in that oration sort of a sense, nonetheless, each and every one of us are called to teaching to a certain measure, to a certain degree.

So be a teacher of one another in the Lord. Finally, number three, be a child of God receiving instruction and discipline.

So being a servant of Christ and of his church, that's how the roles for a deacon can be applied to you.

Being a teacher of one another in the Lord, how the qualifications of elder might be applied to you on a lesser level.

Be a child of God receiving instruction and discipline. So just as we read about these qualifications and these must do's and must not do for the elder and the deacon, those things apply to you as well, don't they?

So when we read about the elder, an overseer must be above reproach. He must be above blame.

He must handle himself and conduct himself in a way that is a demonstration of the holiness that we must be walking in in Christ.

Do you feel any kind of conviction when you hear something like that? I must be that way.

I must walk in holiness. I must be sober -minded. I've got to be self -controlled too.

I have to be hospitable. I can't be a drunkard given over to intoxication or letting myself be controlled by substances or otherwise.

I must not be quarrelsome. I can't be a lover of money. I must love my spouse.

I must love my children. When you heard all of those qualifications for elders and deacons, did you feel any conviction regarding that?

Did you just sit there and go, well, I'm glad those guys have to do that. That doesn't apply to me.

I'm not an elder or a deacon. But you understand these particular roles are being filled by men who are mature in their faith.

And as we read last week from Hebrews 13, 7 and 17, consider their conduct, their way of life, and imitate their faith.

So with these characteristic things, shouldn't you want to aspire to those things as well in your conduct, in your holiness before the

Lord? And if you felt that conviction, and you know that you need to grow in those things, then you are being a child of God, receiving instruction and discipline.

And there are our applications. That we must be a servant of Christ and of his church.

We must be a teacher of one another in the Lord. And finally, that we all would understand ourselves as children of God, receiving instruction and discipline.

And all of this, I come back again to verse 13. All of this is done in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

All of this was very instruction driven. The elder must be this way, the deacon must be this way, and so therefore you must be this way.

But all of this is in light of the fact that we serve a crucified and risen savior.

He who gave himself as a servant and a teacher, and laid his life down so that by his sacrifice, our sins would be forgiven.

And our standing is with God forever in glory. He is the ultimate teacher, the ultimate servant.

And so after the pattern of Christ, may we be as humble as he was.

All his ransomed home to bring, then a new song we'll sing.

Alleluia, what a Savior! This is

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