A Divinely Ordained Order:
What are deacons? What do they do? What role do they play in the local church? These are some of the questions that surround the practical implementation of a biblically faithful church, these are some of the questions that must surround churches that strive to apply the biblical offices—namely, the elders and deacons—found within the Scriptures into the local covenant community (Eph. 4:11).
In God’s infinite wisdom, He has structured the church and gifted her with offices as a means of grace in bringing forth order and spiritual growth (cf. 1 Cor. 12:25-26; 14:1-14; Eph. 4:1-16). If we are to, then, strive toward greater faithfulness and fruitfulness, we must surrender ourselves to the biblical model of church life. As Thomas R. Schreiner contends, “The building up of the body leads to its unity and its stability and maturity. Such maturity means that the church becomes more like Jesus Christ, and at the same time the church will be a doctrinal solidity. . . The church represents the character of Christ and the thinking of Christ so that it is both godly and vigilant for the truth of the Gospel.”[1] Therefore, the work of these offices—in particular, the work of deacons—are not merely formulated to check-the-box of administrative tasks. Rather, it provides a space for the ministry of the Word and the spiritual edification of the people to take root and blossom for the sake of Christ and the church’s mission. That is, the deacons’ service, though practical in its nature, function to support the spiritual development of the covenant community.
Throwing Dimes:
The aim of this blog, then, is to identify the nature and task of the office of deacon. It is to provide biblical categories and illustrate how their function operates in light of the larger organism that is the local church. We will examine three central layers: (1) deacons as assistants to the elders, (2) deacons as hands of the elders, and (3) deacons as serving the covenant people.
Assistants to the Elders. First of all, it’s important to state that deacons are an office given by God through the Apostles (1 Tim. 3:8-13; cf. Acts 6:1-7). Deacon comes from the Greek term diakonos which its meaning, according to Alex Strauch, can be stretched “from a sacred, divinely commissioned messenger (that is, an ambassador or emissary), to a lowly, slave-like table waiter or household servant, or even to an authorized official with authority to carry out the command of a superior.”[2] They are, then, categorized within the frame of overseers while functioning subordinately to the elders (for more click here). They serve as assistants in organizing and structuring the church toward greater faithfulness in the sanctification of the church and her mission to herald the Gospel to the nations (Acts 20:28; Titus 1:7). That is to say, one central marker that distinguishes elders from deacons and vice versa is an ability to teach (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17); that is, the nature of an elders’ role is to preach and teach the Word while deacons are in the vein of service.
To this end, “the officials called diakonoi are in fact aides or assistants of the overseer. They are designated diakonoi precisely because of their relationship with the episkopoi (or rather, the overseers or pastor/shepherds).”[3] Or simply put, deacons serve as assistants to the elders fulfilling the administrative tasks and duties in order to provide space for the elders to focus upon the preaching/teaching of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4).[4]
Hands of the Elders. Secondly, as assistants, deacons become the hands and feet of the elders. They engage with organizational service while structuring the church’s ministries by administering faithful touchpoints with the people of God (Acts 6:2-3).[5] The early church has them serving in a much needed, significantly important role in meeting the practical needs of the covenant community. We can see, then, that their physical ministry is not merely one dimensional; that is, they fulfill a much-needed spiritual service for the organic church—unity.[6] Mark Dever describes this reality by saying, “The deacons were appointed to head off disunity in the church. Their job was to act as the shock absorbers for the body.”[7] Or simply put, deacons support the ministry of the elders by being the hands of the elders in meeting the needs of the organic covenant body.
Serving the People. Whereas the elders focus upon the preaching/teaching of the Word and prayer, deacons operate on the ground level with the people. Now, in saying this, it’s not as though the elders don’t intimately interact with the covenant members themselves. However, the duty of the elders is to “teach what accords with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1; cf. 1 Tim. 1:10-11; 2 Tim. 4:3-5). That is, the primary responsibility of an elder is to teach (1 Tim. 3:2b).[8] Conversely, the deacons—being assistants of the elders and the hands of the church—serve directly the covenant people of God. This is consistent with the character and qualification of the office.[9]
For example, according to Paul, deacons must “not [be] greedy for dishonest gain.” Meaning, it may imply that deacons are to (or at least they can) serve in the financial care of the church. In addition, deacons are to “[manage] their children and their own household well” (1 Tim. 3:12). This, in turn, implies that they may and will have an ability to provide administrative oversight to church ministries, functions, and activities. Lastly, the wife of a deacon “must be dignified, not slanderers” (1 Tim. 3:11a; italics mine). That is to say, deacons may provide biblical counseling for the people of God in such a way that the wife of a deacon must be able to hold that information confidentially as well as not allow that content to cause they themselves to stumble (cf. Gal. 6:1).
Simply put, deacons serve the covenant people face-to-face which is in concert with the elders’ role in teaching sound doctrine for the sake of the community’s conformity to Christ.
A Team Effort:
God is a God of order, not chaos (1 Cor. 14:33). Therefore, the Word—administered through His divinely appointed apostles—brings forth structure for the good of the church and the glory of His Name. The offices; namely, the elders and deacons, are established for the mission and aim of the church.[10] That is, elders are to shape the covenant community through the preaching/teaching of the Word. The deacons, additionally, are to serve in such a way as to bring forth unity and camaraderie in being the people of God. All of this is to fortify the church’s identity and, in turn, spur her mission in making Christ known to the nations and beyond.[11]
The saints, then, are distinct individuals united through the blood of Christ by the power of His Spirit to be a community—a church—on mission together.[12] This togetherness demands a team effort that grants His people the privilege of being a part of something that transcends their individual existence; that is, it points to the eternal glory of the Creator God Himself. Consequently, deacons serve a monumental role along with the elders in building the covenant community in sharpening her for the task of magnifying Christ in all of life. May this partnership between elders and deacons be declarative of the goodness of God in Christ. May Covenant City Church embody the biblical formation and structure of God’s wisdom for the church. Soli Deo Gloria!
***footnotes***
[1] Thomas R. Schreiner, Spiritual Gifts: What They Are & Why They Matter (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 48-49.
[2] Alexander Strauch, Paul’s Vision for the Deacons: Assisting the Elders with the Care of God’s Church (Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth Publishers, 2018), 52-53.
[3] Ibid., 57.
[4] Bruce A. Ware, “Putting It All Together: A Theology of Church Leadership” in Shepherding God’s Flock: Biblical Leadership in the New Testament and Beyond, ed. Benjamin L. Merkle and Thomas R. Schreiner (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Ministry, 2014), 297.
[5] See Benjamin L. Merkle, “The Office of Deacon” in Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age, ed. Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2015), 311-324.
[6] See Mark E. Dever, “The Church” in A Theology for the Church, ed. Daniel L. Akin, 2nd Ed. (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2014), 626-628.
[7] Ibid., 627.
[8] See Boersma, Hans. Scripture as Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017. See also Dever, Mark and Greg Gilbert. Preach: Theology Meets Practice. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2012. Kuruvilla, Abraham. A Vision for Preaching: Understanding the Heart of Pastoral Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.
[9] See Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 1130-1131.
[10] See James M. Hamilton Jr. “Did the Church Borrow Leadership Structures from the Old Testament or Synagogue?” in Shepherding God’s Flock: Biblical Leadership in the New Testament and Beyond, ed. Benjamin L. Merkle and Thomas R. Schreiner (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Ministry, 2014), 13-31. See also Andreas J. Köstenberger, “Shepherds and Shepherding in the Gospels” in in Shepherding God’s Flock: Biblical Leadership in the New Testament and Beyond, ed. Benjamin L. Merkle and Thomas R. Schreiner (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Ministry, 2014), 33-58.
[11] See Kostenberger, Andreas J. with T. Desmond Alexander. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission. 2nded. NSBT. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020.
[12] See DeYoung, Kevin and Greg Gilbert. What is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011.
McYoung Y. Yang (MDiv, SBTS; ThM, MBTS) is the husband to Debbie and a father to their four children. He is a Pastor of Preaching/Teaching at Covenant City Church in St. Paul, MN and the Executive Editor of Covenant City Church Content Team. Along with his ministerial duties, he is a homeschool dad. McYoung is continuing his doctoral studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO, and his ambition is to use his training as a means to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.