Equipping Deacons

This recording is from our Grace Fellowship Church conference, Behold Our God 2026. Please visit our website at gfcedmonton .ca. You can also find us on Instagram at GraceChurchYag, all one word, or on Facebook at Grace Fellowship Church.

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All right, let's just begin with a word of prayer and ask the Lord to help us as we consider this important subject. Father in heaven, we come before you and we, Lord, come as those who are grateful for your mercies that are new each morning, each afternoon, and we give you thanks for this opportunity to gather together as brothers and sisters from Lord across the continent and likely other parts of the world as well, and we thank you for the word that we have received this morning and last night, Lord, that our hearts might be lifted up and able to enjoy and rejoice in the revelation of Jesus Christ, and we pray as we consider together the care of your church and the offices that you have ordained and appointed, we pray that as I teach that it might be helpful and instructive according to your word for your people and that you would, Lord, continue to grant us greater understanding as to what you intend for the care of your body, specifically in the role of deacons, Lord, and so help us to conform ourselves to your word for the good of your people to the glory of Christ, and we pray this now in Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen. All right, well, it is a great privilege to be here and to have a few moments to talk to you about this topic of deacons. Now, I would say I'm definitely not an expert on the subject. It has been an area that has been particular interest to us as a young church, just realizing the ongoing need for qualified deacons, which then, of course, raises the question, what is this office?

The Servant Heart of Christ and the Deacon's Role

What does the Lord intend for this office? And so it's been an area that we've been trying to understand more fully and to then apply in the life of the church, and I've been talking to some of you in a similar place.

And so just to begin, a few opening comments, and then we will spend the bulk of our time, of course, in 1 Timothy 3, where we have the most clear and direct instructions on this matter. But as you think about the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ as it pertains to the application in the Christian life, the living out of the Christian life, he says many shocking and many profound things that, of course, were not only shocking and profound in the first century, but are still shocking and profound today.

And I think of one of the most, to me, astonishing statements that Jesus made as it relates to our Christian service is found in Matthew 10, 42, when Jesus says, whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

And we consider those words of Jesus that in the kingdom of God, something as simple as delivering a cup of cold water to one of the disciples of Christ, Jesus is saying, will not be overlooked. That person will by no means lose their reward.

And so this is, when we talk about the matter of service and the role of the servant in the Scripture, this comes so close to the heart of Christ. And something as simple as that, Jesus says, is not overlooked, is noticed by the King and will be rewarded by the King himself, which should really shape our entire understanding of service in the Christian life.

And what's more is that this servant attitude, Jesus says, is a key trait of the great ones in the kingdom of Christ. We often like to talk about those who have done mighty deeds for the sake of the kingdom, men who have preached to thousands, men who have traveled or women who have traveled across dangerous seas and taken the gospel into foreign lands, those who've given millions of dollars perhaps to the cause of Christ.

And while we can certainly acknowledge that those are wonderful, important things for the furtherance of Christ's kingdom, how often in our attempts to do impressive things for the Lord have we overlooked the simple and yet profound acts of service that as they are done unto Christ, Jesus says, will by no means lose their reward.

And Jesus, as we know in Mark 9, 35, those who make themselves servants, they are the great ones in the kingdom of God. Christ himself in Matthew 20, 28 saying, he came not to be served but to serve and to give himself as a ransom for many.

So when we think about this role of the deacon in the life of the church, we must not think of it as sort of like, you know, the water boy who's keeping the real players, the real participants hydrated so that they can do the real work on the team.

That is not the picture that we have in mind here, but they are those who are imaging forth Christ to the body and carrying out the work of Christ in a unique way that is distinct from that of the elders, but nonetheless important and pleasing and honoring to Christ the King and will certainly be rewarded by him.

Now I should say at the start that if you hear anything that is helpful, novel, outside of the Word of God, then I likely got that from Alexander Stratt's book, which is called Paul's Vision for the Deacons, and so I would commend that book to you.

I found it a very helpful resource. Many of you probably would know that name. He also wrote a book on eldership, which is very helpful, but I found his book on the Office of the Deacon as well very helpful, so I would commend that to you.

I'd hope to have a few copies to give away and realize that I've already given away my extra copies, and so I couldn't part with my own copy that I've made notes and stuff in, but if I find one on the back table, I don't know.

I was going to look, but maybe they have some here. I'm sure Reform Books could get you one if they don't have some here, but commend that book to you, and like I say, just want to give credit to some of the material that Stratt put together in that book.

Understanding the Greek Word Diakonos

So as we come to a word like deacon, as many of you are well aware, this is one of those interesting words that, in some places, the scriptures translate it as servant or as minister, for example, but then in a few particular places, the word's not translated.

It's transliterated, and so what the translators decided to do was basically create a new English word, like we find, for instance, with baptism. Instead of translating it as diploramers, we just create this new English word from the Greek, baptizo, and therefore it's making a point, but it can be a bit confusing because we think of it in a very narrow sense, but the word that the word deacon comes from in the Greek is a very common word, and it is used all over the place throughout the New Testament.

Of course, in the Greek translation of the Hebrew, the Subtuagent, it would show up there as well. It's a very common word, and we think of our English word servant. We use it very broadly. You might serve a volleyball.

You might serve a cup of coffee. You might serve some time in jail. You might, apparently, breakdancing is referred to as serving. I don't know. I don't do breakdancing, but there's this broad spectrum of the way in which we use the English word serve, and it's sort of similar for the Greek word as well, and so the challenge, of course, is when we come across the word in the New Testament, we have to ask ourselves, well, what does this mean?

Why is it, particularly in Paul's writing, sometimes transliterated as deacons? Other times, it's translated as servant or minister, something along those lines, and, oh, did I get too close to the speaker?

I lost my magnet. Hold on. There we go. So, there are four kind of general categories, or ways in which the word is used, which are helpful in the Scriptures, which would have been common in that culture as well.

So, at times, this word can be referred to one who is a domestic servant, and Jesus used this imagery in Luke 17 8 as a servant who prepares food and serves the tables, and so we find that type of usage fairly common in the Scriptures.

Other times, it can mean a more general service to another, or sometimes then is translated as a minister or ministry, and so more, not just of serving tables in a very practical way, but as ministering to, serving to somebody else.

Sometimes, it's used as one who's an intermediary in a transaction, so we might think of like a real estate agent. They sort of function as the servant, as a go-between between the purchaser and the buyer, and so they're sort of an intermediary, even a lawyer to some extent, and so sometimes the word has that type of nuance attached to it.

And then, fourthly, sometimes the word simply has the idea of one who gets things done, one who is an assistant to another, so it's not so much bound to a particular job, but is simply bound to a particular person, and they are the deacon.

They are the servant, the assistant of that person, and therefore carrying out all kinds of various work and things on behalf of the person. So, those four kind of broadly used categories are helpful for us, and we see this in the scriptures as well.

So, 2 Corinthians 11 5, for example, it's used even of false teachers as servants of the devil. So, the devil has his own deacons as well, and they are carrying out their master's will as his servants.

The apostles are called in Ephesians 3 7 as servants of Christ, and so while they are in this apostolic office, they also are referred to as servants and refer to themselves as such. There's a woman, for example, in Romans 16 1, referred to as one who serves the church at Rome, and you can see how some, if you immediately understand every time this word shows up as the New Testament office of deacon, then it becomes pretty much everyone in the Bible is in the deacon at that point, if that's how you're going to do this.

So, it's helpful to see how broadly the word is used. Paul uses it in Romans 13 to describe governing officials. So, the politicians Paul references as the deacons of God. So, they are servants of God put in a particular office with authority to wield the sword, to punish the evildoer, to reward the good, to administer justice, right?

So, the word's used even in that sort of way. So, you might ask the question, well, how in the world then can we narrow down a clear and concise definition of a word that's used so broadly? How can we know when we come to 1 Timothy 3 what Paul means and what the office in the church entails?

Is there any way that we can actually have a clear understanding in the life of the church? So, that brings us back around to the fact that though this word is used many times, over 20 times in Paul's letters alone, only three times in the New Testament is the word transliterated as deacon.

One of those is in Philippians 1 .1, and there's a bit of debate even to this usage if Paul's referencing the official office of the deacon or just servants more generally, but as Paul writes to the church at Philippi, he says, Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and the deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's reading from the English Standard Version. So, their translators make a decision that we're not going to translate the word, we're going to transliterate it, and we're going to use this word deacon, which sounds very much like the Greek word from which it comes.

So, why do they do that? What are they communicating? They're making something of an interpretive decision when they do that, and so we are right to ask the question, is that the right decision or not?

Should have they just translated it as servants there, more generally as it often is. So, there's some would say, yes, Paul is referring to the overseers as the elders and the deacons in that particular office.

I personally don't see any problem with that. It certainly seems fitting with how we see the office of elder and deacon paired together in the New Testament, but then if you want to turn over to 1 Timothy 3, we find here are the other two places where the word is not translated, but transliterated as Paul has just been writing to Timothy, and we know that Timothy has been sent to Ephesus by the Apostle Paul to address some of the false teaching that is cropping up.

It would seem that at Ephesus, there were unqualified elders and deacons rising into these positions of authority, and Paul is writing to Timothy to help him correct the dangerous drift that's taking place at Ephesus, and so Paul tells us even the reason why he is writing to Timothy and reminding him that he could not personally come to Timothy, but that he is wanting to help establish things there in Ephesus.

The Purpose and Context of 1 Timothy

Now, I know for the sake of time, let's see. How long do I have? I think we're here until 3 .30. There's obviously going to be lots of things that I could say, but we won't have time to, but anyways, so in 1 Timothy 3, 14, and 15, just look at that for a moment.

This helps us understand why Paul's writing this letter. He just plainly tells us, which is so helpful. Sometimes in the letters, we're told why they're writing. Other times, we're trying to discern the primary reasons for this writing.

In 1 Timothy 3, 14, Paul says to Timothy, I hope to come to you soon, but I'm writing these things to you so that if I delay, so if I don't get there soon, Timothy, here's why I'm writing, that you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

So he's saying, Timothy, I'm writing this down for you so that you understand how the church ought to be ordered, how you are to behave, and what it is that God expects of his church because it is a pillar and buttress of the truth.

So the instruction that has just been given about the elders and deacons would then come under this purpose. It is that we might understand and know what God is requiring of his churches. And so if you look then back to chapter 3, verse 8, Paul having finished the instructions for the overseer, elder, pastor, so multiple words that refer to one office there.

Sometimes elders, you know, in Baptist circles, we don't generally refer to them as bishops, but you know, it's the same office, elders, pastors, bishops, overseers. Paul's giving you that instruction, the first part of chapter 3.

And then in verse 8, we have, again from the ESV, 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 must likewise 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.

So here we have the most decisive, clear instruction about this office. And so I personally think that it is helpful that the translators here transliterate this word as deacon to sort of set it apart from the more common use of the word.

And it is helpful for us to interpret, okay, Paul here is distinguishing something that we should take note of, which is more than just that of a servant. It's not less than that, but there is an official formal capacity to it.

And so that's why in those only three places we find this word again transliterated as deacon. So for the sake of time, we really won't get into great detail and I hope there's some good discussion to follow and questions and such as well.

Three Defining Elements of the Deacon Office

But I want to just consider a few defining truths, elements to this office of deacon as we find laid out here for Paul. Answering the question, what defines the role and function of the deacon according to Paul?

And so I want to consider just three of them very briefly. And before we do that, I should just comment too, you may have expected me to go to Acts 6, which many would see as the original place in which this office is established.

Just quickly on Acts 6, there is again some debate as to whether or not Acts 6 and the appointing of the seven, you remember there was this crisis where the Hellenists were not being fed and the apostles are saying, hey, we can't do this.

We can't neglect the teaching of the word and prayer to maintain this ministry. Point for yourself seven men who are filled with the spirit and let them take responsibility for this. And there's some debate as to whether that is the official office of deacon or are they appointed to a unique task for a limited amount of time.

Personally, that's kind of where I land on it. They're never actually called deacons in Acts 6 because we have the reference again of servant table servers, then we take it as such. But regardless whether that was the official office, there's reasons for and against that.

We certainly see that principle of the elders maintaining this office as those who minister the word and prayer and those who are able to be raised up to help them in freeing up their time and focus. So we're not going to spend much time on Acts 6.

I'm sure that you've probably studied that and wondered about that. That's my two cents there, a little footnote on Acts 6. So let us consider in light of 1 Timothy 3, what defines the role and function of the New Testament deacon according to Paul.

The Deacon as an Official Church Office

Well, first I just want to note it is an official church office separate from the overseer. Is official church office separate from that of the overseer? Clearly Paul in reference to the elders and overseers, he refers to it as an office in chapter 3 verse 1 there.

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. So this isn't just elders as in they're older men and therefore they're an elder. So kind of similar dynamic with the term elder. There is the general elder who is an older man, more mature and in my elder you know we could refer to.

Then there is this formal office in the life of the church which sometimes is referred to as the overseer, the elder, the pastor. And so when Paul says in verse 8 of the deacon, deacons likewise must be dignified.

He's connecting what he's saying about the deacon to that of the elder and saying in a similar manner, in a similar fashion to what I just said about the elders, now let us consider the deacon. And so I think because clearly the elder office is a formal office in the life of the church, therefore the deacon office also has that formal official element to it.

And that's important to note because some people will say, oh well in the church we're all servants of Christ and therefore are we not all deacons of Christ. Why do we need a formal office? Why do we need an official position when we can just all be servants?

Well because Paul here I believe implies that it is an official office separate from that of the overseer. And historically this is what the church has also recognized. Even in the, so we affirm the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession and in the confession it states, a local church gathered and fully organized according to the mind of Christ consists of officers and members.

The officers appointed by Christ are overseers or elders and deacons. They are to be chosen and set apart by the church called and gathered in this way for the distinctive purpose of administering ordinances and for carrying out any other power or duty Christ entrusts them or calls them to.

This pattern is to be continued to the end of the age. So even historically as our Baptist forefathers they acknowledged this dual office as well. This is not a contemporary modern reality but something the church we could go further back.

I was talking to a brother of Logan even reading some of Calvin on this office and so church history has always affirmed the official office of the deacon. Alexander Stratt made the comment, we cannot account for deacon qualifications and the necessity for public examination unless deacons hold some official position of public trust or exercise some specialized ministry for which only certain people qualify.

So clearly if Paul had in mind just kind of a generic understanding of the Christian life as a servant and also a deacon why would he give particular qualifications? Why is there this call for them to be tested if it is not a formal position?

And so you know it's sort of maybe preaching to the choir probably you guys are already convinced that this is a formal position but no doubt you run into somebody who kind of mocks at the idea of formal positions in the church whether that's an elder or a deacon and I think there is good reason here to affirm that.

So that's important. It is a formal position distinct from that of an elder. Secondly then consider that the office of the deacon is a qualified servant not a teacher. Now as you look at the different descriptions here of the elder and deacon you know a lot notice a lot of similarities a lot of places of overlap particularly when it comes to the character of this servant.

The Deacon as a Qualified Servant, Not a Teacher

They are both in a more broad sense described as above reproach. So they are both men who are spiritually mature. They are one-woman men. They are not you know some would say well that's just referring to you know polygamy.

I was like well I think that's a given that he doesn't have multiple wives right so we in the new covenant here we affirm God's good design in the original creation but more than just that of having multiple wives and a strange story even on that well I was rabbit trail anyways I was I you kind of think some of these questions are completely irrelevant to our culture and then I was talking to my doctor and we were talking about you know children and as we're getting older the you know having children harder my wife and different things you know that that to consider and and he with all seriousness looks at me and says have you considered a second wife and I'm just like what no and he's coming from a Muslim back he's like well where I come from you know when one when one woman is is wearing down and childbearing becomes difficult you could just get a second wife you know it's like okay no I'm a Christian and we had an interesting conversation about I would then be disqualified from my position and and which he thought was interesting so yeah you never know right what what you might run into but clearly Paul is talking more about the the integrity the the the spiritual maturity of this person that they are loyal in in heart and body to their wife if they are married and if they are not married that they maintain a high level of sexual purity and integrity before God right.

So this is true of the elder and of the deacon this clear call to being above reproach to not be a slave to too much wine there to be sober-minded you know for the deacon particularly not greedy for dishonest gain because remember even as we think about the the betrayal of Judas was largely fueled by his love for money his love for wealth he was enticed by the the silver offered him for for betraying Christ.

And of course Judas as he was convicted in sort of a worldly sort of way throws those silver coins back at the priest. But it was the the the the heart turning to to love money to love wealth as one who kept the books.

And so for a deacon how essential it is that they are are not greedy for dishonest gain Paul says. And that they hold the mystery of the faith he says with a clear conscience. So while there we we don't find wherever where the deacon is required to to teach as Paul states regarding the elder that he must be able to teach we do not find that requirement given to the deacon.

He still must be one who manages his household. Well he still must be one who who displays a high level of Christian maturity. So he is a qualified servant but he is not a teacher necessarily. Now he is to hold the mystery of the faith.

Paul says with a clear conscience which I would understand that he has a good grasp of the the doctrines of the faith he is well grounded. He is holding firm to this mystery of Christ once hidden but now revealed through the preaching of the gospel he he treasures that he he delights in that though he perhaps may not himself be gifted in the the teaching and proclamation of that word.

And of course in Titus I'll just flip through for a quick moment. Now in Titus we we don't have the instruction in Titus for for the office of deacon. But he helps us understand what does this office of teaching entail a little bit more than he states in Timothy than simply able to teach.

Regarding the elders Paul says in Titus 1 verse 9. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word is taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

So the elder the overseer pastor must be able to wield this double-edged sword of the word on the one hand instructing and teaching on the other hand able to rebuke and to refute those who contradict.

That is a requirement for the office of elder. However we do not find that the case for the office of deacon though they are both to maintain the same level of maturity and godliness and and being above reproach.

So that's important to note the deacon a qualified servant though not not necessarily a teacher. Now we see the problem as well. I grew up in um well I remember being mocked at Bible school because when I was asked what church I I grew up in I said uh the Canadian Southern Baptist Canadian Southern Baptist Church.

And my teacher looked at me like what are you talking about Canadian Southern Baptist in northern Canada. And and now that they changed their name because they realized how silly that sounds. Um so I I grew up in this model where it was sort of the the pastor.

And then uh if you ever used a word like elder then you're basically a Presbyterian and probably a heretic. So we don't use elders. We just talk about pastor and deacon. And if the church had enough money you might afford to hire a second pastor who would be an associate pastor.

Uh right so but then the deacons sort of functioned as this strange kind of hybrid position of authority. They would sometimes fill the pulpit if the if the pastor was gone maybe leading a Sunday school class but we called them deacons.

And I don't really know exactly at what point that the pap the baptist went off the rails there because again you go to the 1689 Second London Confession they have no qualms about using elders and deacons.

That terminology was common among baptist churches as well. Um but for a lot of churches today we've sort of morphed the office of elder into the office of deacon and made the deacon a kind of ruling board in the church which is actually uh dangerous and and very unhealthy.

Uh again to quote Stratt he said in many churches today the deacons are the governing board of the. In such circumstances deacons act as quad overseers. When deacons are made overseers and overseers are made deacons.

The church is left with neither biblical overseers nor biblical deacons. And I think he's exactly right. If we blend the two and we remove these distinctions then we actually end up with neither and the church is not properly led not properly cared for and there's just a lot of confusion and mishandling of the word.

And in the end the sheep are not well fed they're not well led they're not well protected or well served. And in attempting to sort of come up with our own plan instead of sticking to what Paul has laid down for us as an apostle of Christ we just make a big mess of things.

So we must maintain these biblical distinctions. He is a qualified servant but not a teacher. And then thirdly um as we consider about consider this office the deacon is a faithful assistant to the elders.

The Deacon as Faithful Assistant to the Elders

Now I'm sure that you've all seen situations where you have a deacon position sort of attached to a particular role like I'm the deacon of the grounds keeping and I make sure the lawn mower you know has got gas in it and the blades are sharpened every year and I make sure the property is looking great and I'm the deacon of the grounds and then I'm I'm the deacon of the finances and so I I make sure the books are balanced and you know everything's happy and and everyone gets their tax receipt at the end of the year and we sort of attach the deacon role to a particular topic.

But I found um Stratt extremely helpful in in defining it simply as the assistant to the elders. And you remember we had those four different kind of ways in which the word servant is often used that fourth one being that of an and I think that most closely um describes the the relationship Paul is is putting for us here between elder and deacon they are not just those given a particular task or area of responsibility in the church but actually the relationship is interwoven with that of the elders and they are to work alongside the elders with the elders as assistants and so today that might be mowing the and making sure the dandelions are sprayed tomorrow that might be you know um I'm calling you know uh sister sister Mary who who had to go to the hospital and and her ride didn't come through and now she needs help getting back home and and then the next day it might be hey you know can you help me develop a list for the cleaning schedule.

And this is a bit of a need and and so it's not tied to just this particular area while a deacon may naturally be strong in one area but again that that relationship to the elders as their assistant as working together co-laborers in the work of of Christ and so it is less like uh those you know in a cubicle in in a in a in a big corporation who have their own little space that they work on.

It's not like that it's more like soldiers on the battlefield who have a unique area of of responsibility to the troops to their country and as they commit themselves to do that well they are also enabling their brother over here to to make sure that he's you know communicating with with air support or whatever and making sure that that that that is being done.

Well right. So it's it's more that shoulder to shoulder brothers on the battlefield sisters on the battlefield that as we as we as we live out our Christian calling uh according to the scriptures we are enabling one another to grow up into Christ who is the head of the body.

So the the office is that of a faithful assistant to the elders I think is a extremely helpful clear definition um of of this office. Why do overseers need assistance. Why do they need this help. Um in in Titus 1 verse 7 Paul uses this term of the office of the elder.

He says appoint elders to Titus in every town as I directed you an overseer as God's steward must be above reproach. So I think this picture of the steward is extremely helpful and extremely important when we think about the office of an elder.

We don't just think of the office of the elder as the one who does the preaching on Sunday morning um or the leading the bible study while that is part of it. He is a steward of the household of God. And I know I keep quoting Stratt but I have to quote him again here as he described this picture of the steward.

I just found it so uh helpful to think about what is the elder responsible for what is he doing in the household of God he said just as a household steward in Paul's day was charged with managing funds and people.

God's steward must manage church resources plan budgets delegate tasks to others encourage the the use of members gifts solve problems make decisions establish church policies set up structures to accomplish specific work lead in one or more ministries of the church.

Moreover he must carefully teach the word judge issues and doctrines provide counsel and education resolve conflict among members and care for those in the church household who cannot care for themselves.

And you think about the the uh the enormous weight of that the the enormous amount of hours and and uh preparation and uh resources that it takes to to function as a steward in the household of God. Then you begin to realize oh my goodness that that is an overwhelming amount of work.

It's an impossible amount of work even for a group of five or six men to to properly teach the word and to lift up the members in prayer and to provide them with godly counsel and instruction and weigh in on conflict and and help provide some form of of teaching and and and equipping of of pastors.

But then all these other responsibilities of managing the resources well and creating policies and visiting the sick and what about the widows. And and and and it's just an overwhelming responsibility.

And this is where the idea of the deacon as the assistant then one who comes alongside and and labors with those elders to to build up the body. And I just think of my my brother Isaac here sorry I'm a cry baby okay I turned 40 and then I just started like crying about everything so but um just thinking about the the the weight of of this responsibility and and how crushing it can be at times but to know that you have men who you can call up or message and say listen um there's this need and and it's very important I just I can't get to it.