‘LIKEWISE DEACONS’

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 2, 2025 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message, preached February 2, 2025 from 1 Timothy 3:8-13

Theme: The church ministry of ‘deacon’ is a holy calling that requires holy qualifications.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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At the time of history when the church of the Lord Jesus Christ was brand new—after our Savior had risen from the dead and ascended to the Father; and when the Holy Spirit had only recently been poured out at Pentecost—at the preaching of the apostles, multiple thousands believed and were added to the numbers of the household of faith. The blessings of God were clearly upon His church.

But with those blessings came growing pains. As more people believed and were added to the number, a particular ministry challenge arose. In those early days, the church of the Lord Jesus was composed only of Jewish people. Most of those Jewish believers were Hebrew-speaking people, who had grown up in the language and culture of the Jewish land. But there were others among them who grew up in Hellenistic regions. They were Jewish people who spoke Greek, and who were accustomed to Greek culture. And this created a problem. As it tells us in Acts 6:1;

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution (Acts 6:1).

This probably wasn’t intentional. It was simply a matter of the church growing so fast that the twelve apostles couldn’t keep up with the expanding needs. That kind of thing happens any time the church experiences rapid growth.

But whatever the reason for the problem might have been, the apostles got to work immediately in solving it. Verses 2-4 go on to say;

Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (vv. 2-4).

In order for the growing church to remain healthy, the apostles needed to keep themselves committed to doing what the Lord had given them to do. So they needed to turn the care of the widows over to others in the church family. But it couldn’t be turned over to just anybody. Those who did the work in God’s household needed to be properly qualified. So we’re told in verses 5-6;

And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them (vv. 5-6).

These men stood out from within the growing church as godly, faithful servants of the Lord. And after they were carefully examined and confirmed to be qualified for this important task, they were presented to the leaders of the church who set them apart to the Lord for the work. As a result, the needs of the widows were being met, and the leaders of the growing church could continue to teach the word of God and lift up the church in prayer. And as verse 7 tells us;

Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were ob edient to the faith (v. 7).

Now; throughout the history of the church, this event has been looked upon as the beginning of the second of only two biblical ‘offices’ in the Lord’s church. The first is one that we studied a few weeks ago—the office of ‘bishop’ or ‘overseer’. That’s the same as the office of elder or pastor. And the second ‘office’—which was introduced in the story we just read—is that of ‘deacon’.

The English word ‘deacon’ comes from a Greek word that means “one who ministers service”—just as the seven men that the church selected ministered the service of food at the table to the widows in the church family. The Bible gives us very little detail about what deacons are supposed to do—except that they’re to serve in the church by ministering to the needs of God’s people. Perhaps the reason the Bible doesn’t say much about the work of a deacon is because the ministry needs of God’s people change from time to time or from circumstance to circumstance. But there’s no question that it’s an official role in the leadership of God’s household. All one has to do is look at how the apostle Paul began his letter to the Philippian believers. He wrote to them and said;

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons … (Philippians 1:1).

And this leads us to our passage this morning in 1 Timothy 3. Paul had just gotten through explaining the qualifications for ‘overseers’ in our Lord’s church. And then, in 1 Timothy 3:8-13, he went on to write;

Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 3:8-13).

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Now, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; it’s very important that we understand that ‘ministry’ in the church family isn’t supposed to be the work of just a select few chosen people. The Bible teaches us that, when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, He equips each one of us with certain abilities and spiritual gifts that are meant to serve the whole body. Every single believer in God’s household of faith is meant to minister, in some capacity, for the benefit of everyone else. So; we shouldn’t think of deacons as substitutes for the duty of ministry that has been given to each one of us. The church only grows when each of us does his or her God-given part in the work of ministry.

But the Bible also teaches us that all things in God’s household must be done ‘decently and in order’ (1 Corinthians 14:40). There’s a biblical structure to the way that the church’s ministry needs are to be met. And this is where the role of ‘deacons’ comes in. As the ‘overseers’ in the church (that is, the elders) trust the Lord, and listen carefully to the church members, and pay attention to the various needs, certain areas of ministry within the church family become evident—just as happened in the early church. But it wouldn’t be appropriate for those overseers to attend to those needs to the point that they neglect their own appointed duties. And so, as those ministry needs become apparent to both the leaders and the church family, certain qualified men and women need to be set apart to the Lord for the task of providing ministry leadership for the meeting of those needs.

The church should never simply ‘create’ a ministry when there isn’t a real need for one. And neither should someone be appointed to meet an authentic ministry need that isn’t willing or qualified to do so. But as our church grows, we can trust the Lord to reveal certain areas of ministry that need to be met; and at the same time, He’ll raise up individuals within the church family who have a desire to minister to that particular area of need. And when that happens, it’s the duty of the church family to examine such potential ministry leaders, to present them to the overseers, and for the overseers to approve them and appoint them to the task—supplying them with everything that they need to do the work. And then, those qualified deacons can provide ministry leadership by gathering God’s people around that need and helping them to work together to meet it.

It’s exciting to think of how the Lord grows His church. And that’s why we need to look carefully at the passage before us. It doesn’t describe the specifics of the ministry of the deacons, because those specifics would most likely change along the way. But what it does describe for us are the qualifications that those deacons absolutely must meet.

As Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 show us, the church ministry of ‘deacon’ is a holy calling that requires holy qualifications.

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Now; as we look at this passage in detail, the first thing we see in verse 8 is the word ‘likewise’. Paul wrote, “ Likewise deacons must be …”; and he then goes on to tell us what they must be. This word “likewise’ is important, because it points our attention backward to verses 1-7, where Paul had just given Pastor Timothy a detailed list of the qualifications of the overseers in the church.

The work of ‘overseer’ or ‘elder’ or ‘pastor’ is a holy work in God’s household; and so, certain qualifications absolutely must be met in terms of an elder’s character, spiritual maturity, ministry capabilities, personal conduct and family life. And as we look at the passage before us, we discover that many of the very same qualifications that were given for overseers are also given for deacons.

The qualifications for elders are high … and ‘likewise’ so are the qualifications for those who minister in the church under the oversight of those elders. And just as the ministries of many churches have suffered terribly when the qualifications of ‘overseers’ were ignored, so also have they suffered when the qualifications of deacons have been ignored. So; it’s crucial that we pay attention to the qualifications of deacons—just as ‘likewise’ with regard to the overseers in the church.

And so; the first list of qualifications we see have to do with …

1. CHARACTER OF LIFE.

In the household of God, when it comes to ministry in the church, what matters most is character in Christ. What kind of person does someone show themselves to be with respect to the way they live their lives in Christ? Are they Christians with demonstrable Christ-like character?

And so; Paul begins in verse 8 by saying, “Likewise deacons must be reverent …” The word that Paul uses here means that they’re to be ‘dignified’ in their conduct, and that they carry themselves in an honorable way. This doesn’t mean that they walk around with a stern look and are overly serious all the time. Rather, it means that they treat the things of God in a way that’s consistent with their true value. They treat serious matters seriously. They aren’t flippant and silly with the sacred matters of the Christian faith. After all, deacons handle the sacred ministry of God in His household—serving the people that Jesus died on the cross to redeem for Himself. They should be the kind of people who are joyful and pleasant to be around—but who never make jokes about the holy things of God. They’re to be truly ‘reverent’ in their conduct and treat the things of God with respect. In fact, they ought to be the kind of people who encourage others to treat the things of God with respect along with them.

Then, Paul wrote that they must be people who are “not double-tongued”. That’s not a phrase that needs much explanation, does it? They must not be the kind of people who say one thing to one person, but a completely different thing to another person. They must not be the kind of people who manipulate the truth in order to manipulate people. The terrible story in Acts 5 about Ananias and his wife Sapphira shows us what a wicked thing it is to lie to the people of God. It’s the same thing as lying to the Holy Spirit. A deacon cannot be a person who is insincere in their words. They must be truthful in the things they say … and not be manipulators of the truth in their dealings with God’s people.

Paul went on to say that they must be the kind of people who are “not given to much wine”. Back in the time that Paul wrote, there weren’t very many other options for everyday beverages than wine. And the wine of that time was far less potent than it is today. To become drunk, one needed to drink quite a bit of wine. And so, a deacon must be the kind of person who stays away from ‘much wine’—that is, someone who isn’t given to drunkenness. It may even be that Paul’s words are meant to be taken as a figure of speech for ‘not inclined to partake of alcoholic drinks at all’. The ministry of the needs of God’s people in God’s house requires that a deacon be clear-headed and genuinely ‘sober-minded’ at all times. And so, they must be the kind of people who stay away from intoxicating drinks.

And Paul went on to say that a deacon must be the kind of person who is “not greedy for money”. Just as is true for the overseers of the church, deacons are often responsible for the distribution and use of the precious financial gifts that God’s people give for His work. “Tithes” and “offerings” in God’s house are truly sacred sacrifices to God Himself; and a deacon must be the kind of person that can be completely trusted with them. As the New International Version has it, they must never be characterized by “pursuing dishonest gain”.

Now; I ask that you jump ahead to verse 11. It’s there that we find some more character qualifications; but this time, as they are specifically applied to women. Paul wrote; “Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.”

As these words are translated in the version I’m using, Paul would have been teaching that the wives of deacons must have certain character qualities; saying “Likewise, their wives …” And of course, there’s no question that when a church family looks to the character of a potential deacon, it ought also to consider the character of that potential deacon’s wife. But in the original language, the possessive pronoun “their” isn’t present. And the word “wives” can also be translated “women”. In fact, that’s how this verse is translated in the New American Standard version: “Women must likewise be …” And so; this raises the question: “The Bible forbids a woman from being an elder; but can a woman be a deacon?”

And I’m convinced that the answer is yes! They absolutely can! This is strongly suggested by the fact that, in the original language of Paul’s letter, his words concerning women in verse 11 begin with the introductory word “likewise …” just as they did in verse 8 concerning deacons in general. It’s as if, after his description of the character qualities of male deacons, he now carried on the same subject as it applies to female deacons. And we also have a great example of a female deacon Romans 16:1-2 and in Paul’s words concerning a servant of God named Pheobe. He wrote;

I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also (Romans 16:1-2).

Paul commended her to the Roman Christians as “a servant of the church in Cenchrea”; and the word he used for “servant” is the Greek word for ‘deacon’. So; clearly, he considered this woman a deacon (or a deaconess, as it came later to be called in some church traditions). And did you know that the early church recognized women as deacons? There’s a remarkable document written around the year 112 A.D. by a man named Pliney. He was a Roman scholar who had been commissioned by emperor Trajan to interrogate Christians by torture and find out what was going on in all their gatherings. And among the Christians that he wrote about and said that he sought to torture were two Christian slave girls, who were “called deaconesses”.¹

As one of the elders in our church family, I’m grateful for the idea that women can serve in this kind of leadership role. There are areas of ministry that it would be utterly inappropriate for the male leadership of our church to go into. They involve the kinds of things that only qualified sisters in the Lord should do. Our church is greatly enriched by the ministry of the godly women the Lord has brought to us; and they need to be given all the opportunities for ministry that God has appointed to them. But they, too, must “likewise” be qualified. And so, in verse 11, Paul says that they likewise must be “reverent”. Just as it says in verse 8, they must treat holy things in a serious manner.

They also must be women who are “not slanderers”; that is, they must not talk maliciously about others and make accusations about them. Gossip is a very destructive thing in a church family; and it has the potential of destroying ministry. So, deaconesses must be able to be trusted with sensitive information and to keep confidences so as not to hurt God’s people. Paul also says that they must be “temperate,”’ which means that they must be women who are characterized by self-control. They must not be caught up in any kind of obsessive or addictive behaviors or practices. It may be that Paul meant that—just as he said in verse 8—they must not be given to ‘much wine’. And finally, he adds that they must be “faithful in all things”. They must have a reputation of being trustworthy and reliable—godly women who keep their word and who faithfully follow through on their commitments.

So; those are ‘character of life’ issues that must be represented in a deacon—whether it be a male deacon or a female deacon. But those qualifications alone are not enough. Paul also went on to mention the necessity of a …

2. COMMITMENT TO DOCTRINE.

Obviously, an overseer in the church must be “able to teach”; and that means that he must know the Bible well. But even though a deacon may not be called upon to teach, he or she—in order to fulfill ministry in a way that truly pleases God—must wholeheartedly embrace the teaching of the gospel as it’s found in the Bible. As Paul says in verse 9, a deacon must be “holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience”.

In the Bible, a “mystery” is that which cannot be understood by the wisdom of human beings, but that can only be known by the gracious revelation of God. And so, what is “the mystery of the faith” that we read about in verse 9? We learn what it is by reading verse 16:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory (v. 16).

That is describing nothing other than the gospel of Jesus Christ! And as servants of the ministry of the church, deacons need to be believers who are good students of the Bible, who know the basic doctrines of the faith, and who can confidently share the good news of the gospel with others.

Paul goes on to say that deacons also should have …

3. EXPERIENCE OF SERVICE.

Paul wrote in verse 10, “But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.” Just as we’re told in verse 2 that a bishop must be “blameless”—that is, that they be a man of God about whom no glaring fault or matter of impropriety can be found—so also a deacon must be “blameless”. That doesn’t mean, of course, that he or she must be “perfect” because no one can be. But it means that there’s nothing in their lives that would disqualify them from faithful service in the ministry of meeting needs in God’s household.

Paul wrote that they must first be “tested”. Before they’re recognized in an official way for ministry in the church family, they should first have had some experience in ministry. This might mean that they’re to be given specific tasks in the church family first, and then lovingly but carefully evaluated in terms of how they did. Were they faithful in fulfilling the task? Were they careful to honor and trust God in the way they served? Were the people of God to whom they ministered pleased and truly edified? One of the great mistakes that churches often make is to give someone a role in ministry leadership in the hopes that it will help ‘straighten them out’ for the Lord. But that would be a misuse of the role of ministry. Potential deacons need to be helped to ‘straighten out’ in the Lord first; and only then be given the responsibility of ministry.

As a ministry need arises, God will speak to the church family at large—and to the leaders in particular—about that need. And He will also help His people to identify someone in the church family that might be able to meet that need. People might say to him or her, “Dear brother, or dear sister; I’ve been watching you. I’ve noticed that you’ve got certain gifts and abilities from the Lord that have blessed me. In fact, you have done some work of service in particular ways that have clearly benefited the church family. And it’s very obvious that you love the Lord Jesus and that you love His people. Why don’t you consider meeting this particular need?” And that brother or sister might then say, “You know; it’s interesting that you say that, because I have been feeling as if the Lord has been tapping me on the shoulder lately about doing just that very thing.” And when that happens, that particular brother or sister needs to be brought to the attention of the elders of the church; who then need to examine that believer’s qualifications and give them a chance to experience whether or not God is truly calling them to that place of service in the church body. They need to be tested first, and then—if qualified and found ‘blameless’—given the call to serve as a deacon.

Now; another one of the qualifications that Paul mentions for deacons that was also applied to overseers is the …

4. MANAGEMENT OF FAMILY.

In verse 12, Paul wrote, “Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” Just as Paul said in verse 5 that a man can’t be expected to rule the house of God well if he can’t rule his own house well, likewise a deacon can’t be expected to minister effectively in the house of God if he can’t minister in his own family well. This shouldn’t be taken to mean that a deacon has to have a perfect family. If that were the case, then no one would be able to minister at all! But it does mean that he manages his imperfect family in a way that truly honors God and blesses them. He must be the husband of only one wife, and not have a wife and an ex-wife at the same time. And he must have children whose behavior shows that they respect his godly leadership in the home.

But then, a question arises. Wouldn’t the fact that a deacon is to be “the husband of one wife” mean that a deacon cannot be a woman? After all, that’s how we understood things when it said a similar thing overseers in verse 2. How can a woman be ‘the husband of one wife’? But because Paul carefully highlighted the specifications for a deaconess in verse 11, I suspect that he’s talking about a specific set of requirements for a male deacon in verse 12. And at the very least, this would mean that a woman who serves as a deaconess must conduct her ministry in a way that honors the order of male headship in the home and in the church, and must not minister in such a way as to “have authority over a man” (2:12). If she is married, she too must be a ‘one-man’ kind of woman.

And finally, one of the great qualifications that must be held to for an elder is that he or she must be characterized by a strong …

5. MOTIVATION FOR CHRIST.

After laying out all these qualifications in detail, Paul wrote in verse 12, “For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

In verse 1, Paul said that if a man desires the position of a bishop, “he desires a good work”. That meant that the office of an overseer is a high and worthy calling—a role in God’s household that is to be treated with the utmost reverence and fulfilled with great care. That’s why the spiritual standards for an elder are higher than for any other kind of earthly work. And in the same way, the role of a deacon or a deaconess—an official servant in the ministry of the church—also needs to be carefully qualified. It’s a role that leads to great blessings when fulfilled in the way that it should be. The man or woman who serves God’s people in this way “obtain for themselves a good standing”, which means that they would have the great privilege of hearing the Lord say, on the great day when we stand before Him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21). And what’s more, before they stand before Him, the man or woman who serves well as a deacon also obtains for themselves great boldness on earth in the faith which is in Jesus. They are able to speak confidently of the Lord Jesus in this world because they have a life of devoted service that backs up their profession of faith.

What an honorable thing it is to be such a servant to the people that Jesus bought with His blood!

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So, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; let’s be praying that God will begin to show our church the areas of ministry that He wants to have met; and also, that He will then raise up qualified men and women in the church family who are equipped by Him to help meet those needs—and who can even lead in ministry so that others can join in the work of ministry along with them.

Let’s labor so that the vision of the church that the apostle Peter set before us in 1 Peter 4:7-11 would be increasingly true of us:

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:10-11).

¹Cited in C.R. Haines, Heathen Contact with Christianity During its First Century and A Half (Cambridge: Deighton, Bell and Co., Ltd., 1923), p. 45.

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