Does Romans 16:1 Say Phoebe was a Deacon?

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In Romans 16 .1 the Apostle Paul says, Now I commend to you our sister

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Phoebe, who is a servant of the church at Syncriae, that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you.

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For she herself has also been a benefactor of many and of myself as well. Now many have taken this verse to say that Phoebe is described here as a deacon.

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After all the word for servant can also be translated deacon. In fact some translations do just that.

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Both the NIV and the NLT say, I commend to you our sister Phoebe a deacon of the church at Syncriae.

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But that same word is also used in Romans 15 .8 for Christ who has become a servant on behalf of the truth of God.

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It's the same Greek word for deacon. The word is also used in Romans 13 .4 to describe the government,

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God's servant for your good. So Paul is not saying Phoebe holds the office of deacon.

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She's a servant, but his naming of her is still a very high commendation. She was a godly woman who served the church.

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You don't need to hold an office in order to do that. The qualifications for deacons are given in 1st

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Timothy 3 8 -13. A deacon is to be a qualified man whose wife also must show herself to be a godly woman.

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But all men and women in the church are called to the work of ministry, and you don't have to be a pastor or a deacon in order to be a servant.