Dear BPCWAians, There are 3 Offices in the leadership of the church – that of Pastor, Elder and Deacon. Those elected in will hold these Offices for 3 years in BPCWA. Article 13.1 of our Constitution states that “Candidates shall satisfy the requirements listed in 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1 and 1 Peter 5. Additionally, and to ensure further objectivity in selection,” our Constitution also includes other relevant Biblical criteria that must be assessed. When a member is voting in the church elections, on what basis should they be assessing the candidate upon? For each Office, what are the Biblical requirements, and how it should be reflected in their lives? These 2 weeks, we will look at the office of a Deacon.
A Deacon’s Role. As we saw last week, the first elections arose out of a need for men to “serve tables” (Acts 6:2) so that the Apostles could put their priority on the ministration of the Word and prayer. The title comes from the Greek word diakonos, meaning servant. In this role, we see the first duties of the New Testament Deacons were that of ministering to the poor. While many and indeed all who are redeemed by God should serve Him out of gratitude, Deacons are, by their very title and Office, people who have “addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints” (1 Cor 16:15). This means that they are not leaders in the sense merely of supervision, but in actual service together with that of supervision. In fact, a Deacon should lead by being the first to act and to volunteer to work, not to wait and be told to do so. So, a Deacon is a servant, not merely a supervisor.
Spiritual Gifts.Being a leader in service, he would have the spiritual gift of ministry (diakoniain Rom 12:7), ie serving for the spiritual benefit of the saints. This can be seen, for example, in the ability to plan, organise and serve effectively and diligently in God’s work in the church. The gifts may vary in their area of ministration, as the body has many members with differing functions, but Deacons must certainly be proficient, active, willing, and able in that role that they fill.
Spiritual Qualifications.1 Tim 3:8-12 has a comprehensive list of qualifications that every Deacon must meet without exception. All of these must be present in the person because it is God’s listed requirements. We cannot hope that missing areas may grow into existence after he becomes a Deacon.
Grave and not doubletongued– This means that they must be honourable men who are worthy of respect. This would speak of men of dignity who are reputed to be of good and godly character as well as serious when it comes to God’s work. This reputation is not about secular achievements. The word doubletongued is translated literally as “two words”, meaning two-faced, or someone who says one thing with one person, and the opposite with another. Hypocrites and men pleasers must never be found in the leadership of the church.
Not given to much wine– This speaks of men who were given to taking alcohol for alcohol’s sake. In the Bible, the English word “wine” represents various different words in Hebrew and Greek. These words can mean beverages that are high alcoholic content, juices, or a mixture wherein alcohol was added to cleanse the unpurified water. The Hebrew or Greek words and the context inform us which kind it is. Today’s wine is the very kind that is prohibited by God. As Bible-Presbyterians, the Deacon must be convicted and committed to total abstention from alcoholic beverages. This is not because it is a “BP thing” but because it is biblical – just like how many other Christians also hold on to this belief. It should be understood that we can use wine to cook food, provided the alcohol is burnt up or evaporated in the cooking process.
Not greedy of filthy lucre – Literally translated, this means “not eager of base gain”. The person must serve for service’s sake, and not that they may gain from that service. This applies in their service, and in their lives. They must not be men who are covetous, greedily desiring what the world offers, and lusting after fleshly things. Instead, these men must demonstrate in their lives their hearts’ desire after spiritual things, loving and holding steadfastly to their faith, living by it and defending it. Anyone who serves for personal gain and benefit will be partial instead of objectively doing what is biblical.
We shall consider the remaining 3 qualifications next week.
Yours in our Lord’s service
Pastor