Aspiring to Be a Deacon I. Introduction A. Today we will explore the office of a deacon B. A position for which one ought to aspire 1. it is an honor to serve the Lord's church as a deacon, and the deacon who serves well is the recipient of promise 2. One does not just wake up one morning, however, and find oneself qualified to be a deacon 3. One must aspire for the task and make decisions in life that will lead him to be a deacon C. The aspiration is not for the man alone 1. There are also qualifications for the wife of the deacon-- women, also, must aspire to be the wives of deacons and to support their husband in that work 2. In the end, the qualifications for a deacon and for a deacon's wife should, in truth, be the standard for living for all brothers and sisters in Christ D. Let us spend some time examining the Scriptures on the nature of the deacon and his family II. Deacon-- Diakonos A. The Greek word for "deacon" is diakonos; literally, a servant B. General description / office 1. The word diakonos is used in the New Testament both to describe one who serves and also to describe those who fulfill the office of the deacon 2. All of us are to be "deacons" in the sense of servants of Christ, diakones 3. Yet only those who fulfill the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and who have been installed are truly those who hold the office of deacon 4. Although it may be an arbitrary nuance, it is easiest to speak of diakonos as general servant as "servant" and diakonos as one holding the office as "deacon" 5. Romans 16:1: Phoebe in Cenchreae was a diakononte, a female servant of the church a. does this mean that she was a "deaconess"? b. by no means; she is one who serves the church, and therefore is a diakononte-- this does not necessitate that she held the office as described in 1 Timothy 3 c. according to the above nuance, she is a female servant, and not a deaconess proper III. The Qualifications of a Deacon A. Let us now examine the qualifications set forth in the New Testament for a deacon B. These may be found specifically in 1 Timothy 3:8-12 C. The deacon must be... (v. 8) 1. the grammatical structure of this verse hearkens back to the qualifications of an elder in vv. 2-7 2. it is necessary for an elder to be...likewise, [it is necessary] for a deacon [to be] 3. It is important to note that this construction is in the present tense a. in Greek, the present tense denotes a continual or repeating action b. therefore, as long as he holds the office of deacon, the deacon must continually meet the following qualifications D. ...dignified... (v. 8) 1. The deacon is to be an honorable and honest person 2. He, most likely, will be trusted with important matters of the church 3. You certainly do not want one who is untrustworthy in such a position! E. ...not double-tongued... (v. 8) 1. The deacon is not to be a person who says one thing to one person and something entirely different to another! 2. This goes back to honesty in many ways-- he must present himself as an honest Christian, not just to those within the Body, but also to those without 3. This same standard can be applied to his conduct-- as he ought not be duplicitous in language, so also he should not act like a Christian around Christians but then conform to the world when in the world! F. ...not addicted to much wine... (v. 8) 1. It would take an entire lesson to do justice to the issue of alcohol in the Scriptures 2. Nevertheless, let us establish the following: a. ancient alcoholic wine started out at approximately 4% alcoholic content, was then cut with water, so that the end result would have about 1% alcoholic content b. modern wine, on the other hand, is about 12% alcoholic content c. therefore, a modern person drinking the same quantity of wine as an ancient person has 12 times more alcohol in his system d. since this is the case, it cannot be well-reasoned that a deacon can have "some" wine, since, after all, what he consumes is twelve times more potent than what Paul would have consumed e. with modern standards of water cleanliness and the wide variety of beverages available, there is no need for anyone-- let alone a deacon-- to consume any wine at all f. it is not profitable, and therefore should be avoided 3. The principle can be extended to the deacon's entire life a. he ought to have self-control in all things (cf. Galatians 5:22-23) b. he should not, therefore, be addicted to much of anything! c. all things in moderation G. ...not greedy for dishonest gain. (v. 8) 1. It is not for any Christian to be covetous or greedy (Ephesians 5:3-5)... 2. ...but this should be especially true of the one serving the church! 3. What if you had a deacon given the task of being the congregation's treasurer, and this deacon was greedy for dishonest gain? 4. Let this not even be named among the saints! H. He must hold to the mystery of the faith... (v. 9) 1. The "mystery of the faith" here represents the Gospel-- the truth of God once hidden from mankind, but now revealed through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit 2. He is not to have any other standard than the revelation of God I. ...with a clear conscience. (v. 9) 1. not only is he to give intellectual assent to the truth of the Gospel, the deacon must also act in accordance with its standards 2. It is necessary for him to first have a properly trained conscience (1 Timothy 1:5), and then act accordingly, choosing to do good and forsaking evil (Hebrews 5:14) 3. Likewise, the deacon must act in accordance with his faith, not violating his conscience by engaging in practices that would cause his conscience to stumble (Romans 14:21-23) K. Let them be tested...prove themselves blameless (v. 10) 1. A deacon is not to be made before his character is tested 2. The standard of testing are the qualifications here listed 3. If the man is found blameless in these categories, he may then be installed and serve the church L. ...the husband of one wife... (v. 12) 1. This qualification demonstrates that it is to be men, and not women, who may serve in the capacity of a deacon 2. The deacon also cannot be a polygamist! 3. Likewise, the man may not be single, divorced, or widowed and a deacon... 4. ...although, if he has the authority to remarry and has remarried, such can be considered also as him being the "husband of one wife" M. ...managing their children and their own households well. (v. 12) 1. He himself is to be the head of the household, fulfilling his God-given duties (Ephesians 5:25-6:4) 2. The question as to whether a deacon may have only one child or must have many children is debated a. such requires study for which we do not have the time at this moment b. regardless, let everyone act according to their determination in the matter, yet not give another a cause for stumbling 3. Since the burden is only upon him-- no statement is made as to the necessity of his children to be submissive-- it can be presumed that deacons have children under the "age of accountability" a. one, of course, could still be a deacon with teenage or beyond children who are faithful b. yet since the command only speaks about the man's capacity as a competent manager of his own house, his children can also be of younger ages N. These represent the specific Biblical qualifications for a deacon O. Titus 2:6-8 1. While not specifically qualifications of a deacon, Paul here does command young men to a certain code of conduct 2. While not imposed on deacons as such, certainly one who is qualified to be a deacon will also live up to this code of conduct, being one holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience (cf. 1 Timothy 3:9) 3. Paul exhorts young men to be self-controlled (v. 6) 4. Not only are young men to engage in good works, they are to be a model of good works! (v. 7) 5. In doctrine young men are to show integrity and dignity, speaking with others with speech so sound that it gives no one an opportunity to speak evilly of him (vv. 7-8) a. the same essential message of Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12 b. even though many will look down at a message of repentance from a younger person, if that young man's conduct is blameless, there is no basis upon which anyone can revile him! 6. Even though these exhortation are not directed specifically at those who would be deacons, they are profitable for all of us to consider, and ought to define one who desires the work of the deacon IV. The Qualifications of the Deacon's Wife A. It is not merely the man himself who is held to a standard of qualifications; the wife of a prospective deacon also must meet some standards! B. These may be found in 1 Timothy 3:11 C. Their wives must likewise be dignified... 1. as the deacons themselves are to be dignified, honest men, so also must their wives 2. one, of course, cannot overstate the influence of one's spouse over oneself! 3. It is easier for a deacon to remain dignified if his wife remains dignified D. ...not slanderers... 1. literally, "not devils" 2. As Satan is the devil because he slanders us before God, so the wife of the deacon should not engage in such conduct! 3. The wife of a deacon should not be speaking any evil of her brethren, but be working with her husband to encourage and edify the Body! E. ...but sober-minded... 1. Sober-minded is synonymous with self-controlled 2. One with a sober mind has a clear mind, fully in control of all senses 3. Such a one maintains that control and does not lose it! F. ...faithful in all things. 1. The wife of the deacon, as her husband, is to be faithful in both word and deed 2. She must hold also to the Gospel and make it her standard in life... 3. ...and she must also not merely profess Christianity, but strive to live by its tenets G. Titus 2:4-5 1. So with deacons and young men, so also with the wives of deacons and young women 2. While Titus 2:4-5 is the substance of what older women are to teach younger women, the characteristics manifestly are to be a code of conduct for young women 3. They are to love their husbands and their children (v. 4) 4. They are to be self-controlled and pure (v. 5) 5. They are to be workers at home (v. 5) a. in Greek, oikouros, one who keeps the home b. while many women are consigned to the workplace by economic necessity, it is imperative that the house be maintained c. if there is no economic necessity, let the women do their job and keep the home! 6. They are to be kind and submissive to their husbands (v. 5) a. after all, how can a husband manage his house well if his wife is not submitting to that management? b. while it may not be the easiest thing all the time, women must allow their husbands to take and keep that leadership role-- taking it over for them does not allow him to grow to be the leader/manager he needs to be! 7. ...that the word of God may not be reviled a. just as young men conducting themselves as they ought give no occasion for being reviled, so also it is with young women conducting themselves as they ought b. this is, of course, true for everyone who wears the name of a Christian (1 Peter 2:15-16) H. We have therefore seen the qualifications of the deacon and the deacon's wife 1. For the most part, these same codes of conduct ought to be manifest in the life of every brother and sister in Christ 2. The standards of qualification, by in large, are not exclusive to those who would be deacons-- all Christians are to be honorable, not double-tongued, holding to the Gospel, having a clear conscience, etc.! 3. Let us all strive to be better Christians V. The Benefit of Serving as a Deacon A. The work of a deacon is not easy, and it can be easy for one in such a position to lose sight of the benefits of the added burdens B. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:13: 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. C. The work is not always easy, but the benefits are excellent-- being the servant God desires allows one to have good standing in His sight and in the sight of the church D. Likewise, one who serves in this way can have greater confidence in the faith, seeing that they have humbled themselves to serve the church and have conformed themselves to be more like their Lord VI. Conclusion A. We have therefore seen the qualifications of deacons and their wives 1. The standards of qualification is little different than the standards imposed on all brethren in Christ 2. We ought to all strive to conform to those standards B. While the work of service may not be the easiest, there are great benefits to serving the church in the capacity of a deacon C. Deacons and their wives, however, do not just pop out ready and prepared-- they aspired to hold to these standards and be found qualified in the sight of God and a local congregation 1. Let all men in the congregation affirm for themselves today to aspire to serve the church in the office of the deacon 2. Let all the women in the congregation affirm for themselves to aspire to not only meet the qualifications of the wife of a deacon, but to also choose a husband who aspires to the task and/or encourage their husbands in their aspirations to the task D. Invitation/Songbook E. One cannot serve the church in this way and gain the benefits of being a deacon, however, if they have not obeyed the Gospel! 1. Begin your walk with God today. Come to obedient faith in Christ Jesus F. Or perhaps you have not aspired to a high standard of living as you ought, or you simply require encouragement for some reason G. Whatever your need, come to the front as we stand and sing