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Understanding the Role of Deacons Introduction: The "office" of deacon is often over looked. There are only two positions in the local church. 1 & 2 Timothy were written to instruct Timothy in his work as an evangelist. From these 2 epistles we learn a lot about preaching the Gospel but also the divine pattern for the church. God's organization is for a purpose, 1 Corinthians 14.33. I) Old Testament A Examples 1. The way of the ark and tent of meeting were constructed 2. The positioning of the tribes around the tent of meeting 3. The division of the land to the tribes in Canaan 4. The giving of the cities to the Levites B) The giving of authority -- the power, or right to do something 1. It was not and is not a question of whether one can do something but do they have the right or authority to do it, Matthew 21.23 a. Man's authority is presumptuous, good intentions with unintended consequences, traditional b. God's authority is right, and wise 2. The Priest were given the authority to offer sacrifices and teach the people. a. The High Priest was given authority to enter the Holiest of Holies. b. Could others because the priest kill, butcher, and burn an animal? Yes, but they did not have the authority. c. Could other priest have gone into the Holiest of Holies and offered a sacrifice for the people? Yes, but it would have been rejected by God. 3. The Levites were to minister to the Priest, and they had specific duties. 4. Kings were to rule the people and not act as Priest, 1 Samuel 13. C) Each had a responsibility to perform their task assigned by God 1. Priest not only the only one's that could but they were commanded to do the work of offering sacrifices, Lev. 1.5,15;2.1-2 2. What would of happened if the tribe of Korah quit performing their duties? 3. See their specific duties: read Numbers 3.17; Gershon in Numbers 3.25ff ; Kohath in Numbers 4.4ff; Merari in Numbers 4.29. II) Relating This to Christians and Deacons, Phil. 1.1 A) All Christians are to be servants 1. The example of Jesus in John 13.12-18 2. The apostles referred to themselves as servants. Romans 1.1; Titus 1.1; 2 Peter 1.1; James 1.1 3. Men were selected to serve in Acts 6 4. There were women servants in the church, Romans 16.1; 2 Timothy 5.9-10 5. All Christians are to be willing to serve God and each other, John 12.26 B) Deacon - comes from one of two Greek words 1. Doulos -- generally means a bond servant, slave 2. Diakonos -- one who executes the commands of another, a servant, an attendant, minister. a. Literally the words mean raise dust by hastening b. In other words, deacons are to "kick up dust"; deacons are to be live wires and not dead heads. c. Translated as "deacon" three times; "servant" seven times; and "minister" twenty times. C) One account of servants in the church is Acts 6.1-6 1. They are not called "deacons" however we can understand the role of a servant; why this was necessary; and their qualifications. 2. They were to perform a task which had to be done (given the authority and responsibility to feed the needy widows). 3. This allowed the apostles to do more important things (spiritual) III) Deacons A) Office of deacon can be seen in Philippians 1.1; 1 Timothy 3.8 1. Office refers to the work of, they are the key to local church work and growth 2. Seen in connection with elders; no elders then no deacons. 3. Elders are to oversee the work of the church (emphasis on the spiritual work) 4. Deacons serve under the elders; and not necessarily a stepping stone to being an elder B) Their work 1. Tends to be more physical in taking care of the physical needs of the congregation. 2. Every congregation has task that are important and must be done such as taking care of the treasury, ordering materials for classes, paying bills, having teachers in classes, taking care of the building, etc. 3. Deacons can perform those task so as to allow the elders to concentrate on the souls of the congregation. C) The office of deacon is a work to be performed, 1 Timothy 3.13 1. Elders need to assign special and regular duties that need to be performed. Deacons need to know what they are to do. 2. Deacons need to be given the authority of performing their task. D) Why do we have deacons? 1. Can a person just do the work of a deacon and not be a deacon? Can a person just do the work of an elder and not be an elder? 2. If men are qualified then they need to be encouraged to serve as deacons. They need to be given the authority to do their job. They need to be praised for their good work. 3. If men are not qualified then the work must still be done but this places a greater burden on the elders. a. Either the elders winds us doing the work b. Or, they have to oversee the work more closely than if they had deacons do to it. Conclusion: We have talked about being a servant tonight. Are you a servant of Jesus?
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