ACTS 6:1-7 ; 1 TIMOTHY 3:8-13 “THE MINISTRY OF DEACONS”
A) A little boy just got saved and sat on a bench next to an old man who looked upset.
* The little boy said to the man, “Sir, do you need to get saved?”
* The man was startled and said abruptly, “I’ll tell you, I’ve been a Deacon in this church
for over 30 years and Chairman of Deacons for 15 years.”
* The little boy responded, “Sir, it don’t matter what you’ve done, Jesus loves you and
He’ll still save you.”
B) Today is a special day because we are going to ordain a deacon into our ministry.
* I want to begin by saying that probably no pastor in the Free Will Baptist denomination
has more encouraging deacons than this pastor does.
* These deacons are a blessing to me ... They are a constant encouragement to me.
C) They are my prayer partners ... So many times they have gathered around me and prayed
about something specifically going on in my own life or need that I had.
* I would say that probably 99% of Free Will Baptist pastors don’t have these kind of deacons.
* And that’s sad because deacons can be one of the greatest blessings to a church or they can
be one of the greatest problems.
* And unfortunately some FWB churches across the country have deacons that want to
fuss and fight and control, and not do what God tells them to do, and that’s sad.
D) So I just thank God, and you be thankful as a church, that you have deacons who want
to be servants to the living God.
* They want to serve God ... They want to serve this church ... They want to serve the staff,
and they want to do anything that they can for Cross Hill Community Church.
* So I thank God for our deacons, and we’ve got a good group of them.
E) Here in our text, we have the works and qualifications of a deacon
* The Greek word for “deacon” is “diakoneo” (dee-ak-on-eh’-o) and means, “to be an attendant,
that is, to wait upon ... Servant,” ... Therefore a deacon is a servant of the church.
* Let’s look back at Acts 6:1-7, and see the duties of a deacon.
F) This is the first mention of deacons in the Bible ... Here we learn that the first deacons
were appointed to deal with the business affairs in the church life.
* They were to take care of the material side, watching over the needy and the widows in order
that the apostles might give time to prayer and study and the ministry of the Word of God.
* Let’s study these few verses briefly tonight .......
G) v.1 ... Satan is wise and cunning, and he got the people to murmuring.
* Realizing that he could not stamp out the Gospel message through threats and persecution
from the outside, he began to work from the inside.
* So he got the people to murmuring ... The Grecian Jews against the Hebrews.
* These Grecians had been helped and should have been grateful instead of murmuring
and complaining.
THE FIRST DEACONS – v.2-3
A) Up to this time, the apostles were taking care of everything pertaining to the church.
* Not only were they preaching and teaching the Word of God, but they were also taking care
of the administration of food, clothing and money to the needy and the widows.
* But the church had now grown to such extent, that the 12 realized that they have got to make
some other arrangements if they were to carry on the ministry that God had called them to do.
B) They said in v.2, “It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God, and serve tables.”
* Tables referred to here were the tables where the money was distributed after it was brought
into the treasury ... In Hebrew and Greek, bankers were referred to as “tablers.”
* And you recall when Jesus went into the Temple in Matthew 21:12 .......
C) The word “leave” is a strong word which means to forsake or abandon.
* This indicates that the majority of the apostle’s time was taken up in this ministry.
* That’s the purpose of v.3 ... Their commission was to preach the gospel and make disciples.
* They couldn’t do this because it was being abandoned for “serving tables.”
D) Notice v.4 ....... Prayer precedes the ministry of the Word, and that is as it should be.
* No minister is capable of preaching the Word as it should be, unless he spends time in prayer.
* There should be hours of study of the Word, searching the Word to feed his flock.
* Don’t misunderstand me ... The pastor should and ought to visit his members, his flock,
but I’m not supposed to do it all, because that’s unfair to the deacons.
E) A Pastor who preaches 3 sermons a week needs at least 35-40 hours of that week to be
used in preparation for his sermons.
* And many of those hours should be spent in prayer, seeking not only God’s will for the
message, but also the will of God for the flock.
* What a great responsibility ... No wonder a church needs deacons.
THE PASTOR AND DEACONS ARE A TEAM – v.5-6
A) Deacons are the pastor’s right hand of the ministry of the church.
* v.6 “They laid their hands on them.” ... This was a token of Christian love as well as that
the apostles and people were in agreement of these seven men.
B) v.7-8 – You’ll find the blessing of unity ... Two things happened .......
* One: The Word of God increased – Why? ... Because of v.4.
* Two: The number of the disciples multiplied – Why? ... Because of v.4.
* They experienced a great revival.
C) Every godly, spiritual deacon knows that he is a servant and not a boss.
* There are some deacons who think that they are the boss and run the church.
* Deacons have no more power or authority in the decision making process than any other
member in the church ... Nowhere in the Bible are deacons to oversee the overseer.
D) Deacons are not a ruling body, but a serving body who carry out policy, not create it.
* The deacons are the pastor’s helpers, not the pastor’s bosses.
* If a man is not willing to be a help to the pastor, then it would be improper and unscriptural
to call upon him to serve in the capacity of a deacon.
* Otherwise, the deacon would be detrimental rather than beneficial to the cause of Christ.
E) It is the pastor who appoints the deacons their duties, not vice-versa.
* At no time did the early church deacons work against the man of God or seek to make
things difficult for him.
* Instead of fighting against the pastor, they sought to fight with him and for him.
F) A godly deacon can be a tremendous asset to the pastor.
* But a deacon who is not godly can be a great hindrance to the pastor and to Christ.
* Woe be unto the deacon who hinders the church instead of helping both church and pastor.
G) The office of deacon is so important that the qualifications required are just as high as
those demanded of a bishop or pastor.
* Deacons must be qualified ... They must meet some personal qualifications.
* In this message today, we will also consider the scriptural qualifications for a deacon.
(1) BE GRAVE – v.8
A) The Greek word is “Semnos” ( sem-nos’ ) and means, “Honorable, dignified, reverent,
serious,” ... This means that he must be of a serious mind.
* That doesn’t mean that he must wear a long face, a sad look and never smile or have fun.
* A deacon should be happy, but when it comes to God’s work, be serious.
B) He shouldn’t be a shallow person ... He must be deep thinking, serious minded,
and approaching the things of God with a grave spirit, a serious spirit.
* I like what John Phillips says in his commentary ... “Men of serious outlook, men of high
principle, respectable, worthy of respect.”
* A man who does not take the faith seriously can hardly be expected to take the work of a
deacon seriously.
* Deacons ... Be happy and have fun, but be serious about God’s work.
(2) NOT DOUBLE TONGUED – v.8
A) The Greek word is “dilogos” (dil’-og-os) and means “telling a different story.”
* Saying one thing to one person, and something different to another person.
* Saying one thing to a person’s face and something else behind his back.
B) Don’t be guilty of saying one thing and meaning another ... Be consistent in your speech.
* If you make a promise, then keep it.
* If you undertake a matter to the glory of God and the church, then don’t give up until it’s
completed ... Don’t be a man who begins things and then stop short of the goal.
C) Be honest and truthful ... Do not stretch the truth.
* And don’t talk bad about your pastor, or your church, or its members.
* Be a man of integrity and help keep the love and unity in the church.
* Don’t talk one way at church and another way at work or out in public places.
(3) NOT GIVEN TO MUCH WINE – v.8
A) Greek word for “not,” is “me,” (may) and it means “never, none, nothing, without.”
* The Bible command concerning drinking wine is this .......
* Prov. 23:31 “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour .......”
* Prov. 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived .......”
B) The phrase “not given” means, “not paying attention, or giving thought to wine.”
* Certainly a deacon must not be guilty of drinking wine.
* When Paul said “not given to much wine,” he didn’t leave a loophole for deacons to drink,
so long as they don’t get drunk.
C) Deacons are not to yield to the temptation of drinking any kind of alcohol, including wine.
* If the pastor in v.3 cannot drink it, neither can the deacons.
(4) NOT GREEDY OF FILTHY LUCRE – v.8
A) Not having a lust for money – 1 Tim. 6:10 “For the love of money is the root .......”
* Since the first deacons were to collect and distribute food, clothing, and money to the needy,
this qualification was very essential.
B) The deacon must be a tither of his income.
* The pastor and deacons set the example.
* A deacon who is greedy and selfish and won’t tithe, don’t qualify to be a deacon.
C) There are some people think that they pay tithes in the form of their service to the Lord.
* Nothing could be further from the truth.
(5) HAVE A PURE CONSCIENCE AND LIVE BLAMELESS – v.9-10
A) Deacons are to hold the mystery of the faith and hold it in pure conscience.
* The mystery of the faith is given in v.16 .......
* The deacon must believe this Book without controversy and not be hypocritical about
his belief.
B) Notice that Paul said that a deacon must first be proved to be “blameless” in v.10.
* This does not mean sinless – The Greek word is “anegkletos” (an-eng’-klay-tos) and it means
“unaccused, irreproachable.”
* Christians talk about the impossibility of sinless perfection, and I agree that Jesus Christ is
the only One who ever lived entirely apart from sin.
C) No man has ever lived a sinless life, but we can live a life that is blameless.
* 1 Thess. 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God .......”
* Paul believed in, and preached, and practiced blameless living.
* Blameless living means that you live above reproach.
THE DEACONS’ WIVES
A) Please notice in v.11, “Even so must their wives .......”
* I would not offend anyone, but I must emphasize the fact that there is no place in the church
for a deaconess, or a woman deacon – Acts 6:3 “Look you out 7 MEN .......”
* The word men is the Greek word “aner” (an-ayr’) and means, “a man (properly as an
individual male) – Also translated “fellow, husband, man, sir in the KJV.
B) Deacons are to be MEN who have wives.
* And I don’t believe anyone would suggest that a woman could fill that qualification.
* There are churches who have them, and they may truly be born again.
* But they’ll lose their reward for being out of the will of God.
C) However, deacons wives do have some qualifications to meet also.
* A deacon whose wife does not measure up to the same spiritual qualities required of him,
is not to be chosen as a deacon.
* A man whose wife is bossy, a backbiter, and a tale-carrier, is not to be elected to the office
of a deacon.
HERE ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A DEACON’S WIFE
A) Wives must be grave ... Serious minded, honorable and respected.
* They are to take the work of God serious.
B) “Not slanderers,” ... The Greek word is “diabolos,” (dee-ab’-ol-os) ... It’s also the same
word that is translated “devil.”
* It means “a talebearer, gossiper, a person who goes about talking about others, stirring up
mischief and disturbance, false accuser, someone who spreads false reports.
* I’ve always said, “Believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see.”
C) “Sober,” ... The Greek word for “Sober,” is “nephaleos,” (nay-fal’-eh-os) .......
* It means “quiet, serious, solemn, dignified, calm and sensible.”
D) Then last, a deacon’s wife must strive with heart and soul to be “faithful in all things.”
* The Lord must be first in your life ... Then your husband, then your home, then your church.
* A deacon can be a better deacon if his wife qualifies.
CLOSE
A) v.12 ....... Two things in this verse that will not require your spiritual bifocals to see.
* This verse means just exactly what it says.
* One: The deacon is to be a married man, not a single boy.
* Two: The deacon is to be the husband of one wife ... He is to be a “one woman man.”
B) Polygamy was the common practice of society when the church was born.
* The Greek words for “husband (aner) of one wife,” is the Greek words, “mia gune,”
* And it means “one at a time.” ... It does not mean “married only once.”
* All of our deacons are married and are living with just one wife.
C) v.13 ....... A deacon who meets these qualifications and lives up to them .......
* And does his duties with faithfulness will win for himself a “good degree.”
* Not a PHD or a DD or a BA Degree ... The words mean, “a good standing.”
