May 18, 2014
Acts 6:5-7
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Quick running head start… Acts 6:1-4, “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. 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.”
Acts 6 opened with a potential crisis for this young, first-century church. Hurting people and overextended leadership presented a true receipt for disaster and division. And while the neglect of these widows had been unintentional, the reality widows had been neglected highlighted two important problems within this church:
1. It highlighted the growing inability of the Apostles to effectively care for both the physical and spiritual needs of the church. To their credit the Apostles did not dismiss the complaint or make excuses as to why these widows had been neglected, but instead they simply acknowledged their inability to effectively handle all of the ministry needs of this growing church.
2. A lack of organizational structure needed to insure issues like this didn’t arise. To remedy this oversight, the Apostles wisely seek to define their job description while also establishing a mechanism by which other qualified servants could be recruited to help in the work of the ministry.
In the end this would result in the establishment of two basic church offices:
1. Elders… Those who would care for the spiritual needs of the church.
2. Deacons… Those who care for the physical needs of the church.
At Calvary316 we believe that it’s wise to proactively structure the organization of the church in order to sustain growth and maintain ministry effectiveness right from the beginning. This is why last Sunday I took a little liberty to explain what the role of an Elder is and how this specifically applies to the men who serve at Calvary316.
We believe that sharing the responsibility of caring for the spiritual needs of our church among a group of Elders will insure no one person is overburdened, our families are not sacrificed on the alter of ministry, we can more effectively minister to the people who call Calvary316 home, and that this structure will be sustainable with growth.
That said… If this passage hammers home any one point it’s that a healthy church must do more than tend to the spiritual needs of the people. A healthy church must also meet the physical needs of people as well… Widows should not be neglected.
In this situation the Apostles decide that in order to free themselves up to better care for the spiritual needs of the people (their principle responsibility) they needed to appoint new recruits to help met the physical needs of the church.
Even though in Acts 6 these men are not referred to as “deacons” (this will come in 1 Timothy 3) there seems to be consensus among Biblical scholars that this passage was the initial establishment of this important office within the church.
Arguments against this position fail to acknowledge that Paul clearly believed such an office existed, and they also fail to consider that church history confirms that in the post-apostolic period deacons were very active in church life.
Note: Though in Acts 6 we only find men in this role, it should be mentioned that there are multiple places in Scripture that point to the existence of female deacons.
Understand, this division of roles did not mean there was a distinction of service.
As one Greek scholar pointed out the two words “serve tables” and “ministry of the word” presented the same activity with just a different emphasis. Both groups (Elders and Deacons) were serving King Jesus, the only difference was that their service targeted different needs within the church community.
In the Greek the word translated “deacon” is “diakonos” which means “servant or the one who waits tables.” Though this word along with its derivatives (“diakoneo” and “diakonia”) can be simply translated as “servant” or refer to a “designated doer,” in other instances (specifically here and in 1 Timothy 3) the word “deacon” implies more than just doing a job, but carrying a responsibility.
Though every believer is commanded to serve, the word “diakonos” presented the idea of a person being an “overseer of servants.” Though a deacon is still a servant in the house of the master, because of their faithfulness and character this person has earned the right to now oversee the work of other servants.
This is why at Calvary316 we reject a lot of the ways the office of deacon has evolved within church life. We do not believe the deacons run the church (this presents an unBiblical, over-emphasis of the role)… Nor do we believe a deacon simply exists to serve (since all believers are called to serve, this presents a confusing under-emphasis of the role)… Instead, we believe a deacon exists to oversee the service of servants. Which explains why the Apostles intentionally present requirements for this office based on the internal quality of these men and not their outward giftings and abilities.
The Apostles present 4 Qualifications to be a Deacon:
1. “Seek out from among you seven men…” This indicated that those chosen for the role of deacon could not be strangers or even new believers. They were not to be outsiders. In order to lead others they needed to be known servants themselves. Note: Though in this passage we find “seven men,” there seems to be no Scriptural indicator that seven was to be seen as a requirement.
2. “Of good reputation…” Basically, those chosen for the role of deacon needed to be living lives that were above reproach. In essence, they need to be the same person away from church as they were within church. There could be nothing fishy.
3. “Full of the Holy Spirit…” The idea is that a deacon needed to be a person controlled by the Spirit of God. The gifts and fruit of the Spirit needed to be self-evident. To lead others a deacon needed to be spiritually minded. This is also important because though the role was to care for the physical needs of the church a spiritual intuition was still necessary. Understand, when it’s all said and done every serve to Jesus is spiritual in nature.
4. “And full of wisdom.” In addition to being spiritually sensitive, these leaders would also need to be practical people. Because a deacon managed other servants they needed to know how to handle situations and work with others.
Paul would add to this list in 1 Timothy 3:8-13, “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.”
How deacons are selected has been a topic of much debate within church history.
Some believe it’s the job of the congregation to select the deacons… They’ll even point out that the Apostles instructed the church to “seek out from among you.”
Others believe it’s the job of the church leadership to select the deacons… They’ll point out that even in this passage where there seems to be a congregational vote, the ultimate decision still rested with the Apostles… “Seek out from among you seven men… whom we may appoint over this business.”
Then there are those who take Acts 6 very literally… They believe the church should nominate people in whom the church leadership can then choose from.
And while I would agree with a literal reading of Acts 6 (the church picked and the Apostles confirmed), what makes a dogmatic stand on any one approach so difficult is that there is no other passages in Scripture that addresses the issue specifically.
As a matter of fact it would seem the only Biblical constant concerning both the church and leadership’s role in the process centered not on the selecting of deacons, but the confirming of deacons. Don’t forget Paul said concerning this issue, “But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons.” “Confirming” is the emphasis with the methodology of “selection” seemingly secondary.
At Calvary316 we believe it is the responsibility of the Elders to select deacons. Because the Elders are intimately involved in the day-to-day ministry of the church, they’re provided a better vantage point to identify perspective deacons as oppose to a congregation often oblivious to these behind-the-scene servants.
But we also believe the congregation has a significant role in confirming deacons. Because an Elder’s exposure to people is often limited to ministry within the church, including the church when it comes to confirming a perspective deacon better insures the individual actually fits the qualifications that have been laid out for the office.
Which brings us to another important point concerning church organization… In the grand scheme of things we understand that both the Elders and the Deacons exist to serve God by serving the needs of the church. And while, both groups are accountable to the people they serve there does seem to be a hierarchy within the organization of the church.
Jesus is the head of the church and the Elders are called to follow His lead and are ultimately responsible for all that happens under their leadership. Because Deacons are selected by the Elders to help in the physical care of the people, the Deacons get their cues directly from the Elders and not from the church they serve.
In Acts 6 there was a real problem within this church. Widows had been neglected. And instead of dismissing this complaint, these Apostles showed great leadership by owning up to the problem and presenting a wise solution. In order to insure situations like this wouldn’t happen again, they defined their role and delegated responsibly…
Acts 6:5-7, “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. Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
To the credit of all those involved, because this conflict was handled properly… The problem was solved, Satan was denied a foothold, ministry roles became defined, organization was established, more servants were included, overall ministry became more effective, unity was maintained, and the church prospered. You have to say this was the optimal result for a situation that could have resulted in a church split!
But also note… As a direct result of the way this situation was handled Luke tells us “a great many of the priest were obedient to the faith.” According to Josephus there were approximately 20,000 priests serving in Herod’s Temple during this time. What would constitute as being a “great many” of 20,000?
The big question to consider… Why was the handling of this situation directly attributed to this incredible revival taking place among the priestly tribe of Israel?
These priests knew the Scriptures… Had personally witnessed the ministry and death of Jesus… Were there when the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost… Heard Peter boldly preach Christ’s resurrection… Had seen the miracles preformed by the Apostles… Understood that lives were being transformed…
And yet, while none of these things tipped the scales and spawned saving faith, the way the church handled conflict was to convincing to be denied? Why?
Understand… Because human beings are marred by sin, divisions and separations are simply the norm. People naturally gravitated to the company of others who think and look the way they do and conflict between these differing groups inherently manifest. Races war against other races. Nationalities war against other nationalities. Political interests war against other political interests. And religions war against other religions. Though you would think religion would combat this trend, sadly, more people have died in the name of religion than virtually any other thing that divides humanity.
But this is what’s interesting about religion… Though all religions provide a path by which humanity might attain restoration with God, the very mechanism by which this restoration is attained (works and law) only serves to further divide people within the religion itself.
While it’s true that every religious system (including Christianity) divides humanity into two basic categories: the righteous and wicked… A works-based system only further divides the first human category into varying levels of righteousness. In the case of Judaism, because righteousness was based on a person’s adherence of the law through works, the system itself bread internal divisions. Note: We find the same result within almost every other major religion including segments of Christianity.
When we began our examination of this conflict between the Hebrews and Hellenists we pointed out that these two groups not only historically harbored great distain for one another, but Judaism had done nothing to remedy these lines of racial distinction and cultural demarcation. In many ways the system actually fostered them. Judaism not only justified their prejudice towards Gentiles, but had created a structure of spiritual superiorities among people of the same basic beliefs and practices. The Hebrew Jews thought they were more righteous than the Hellenistic Jews because they held to a stricter obedience of the law.
Reality: When any religion is established upon human righteousness based upon human effort it naturally sets the conditions for prejudice and judgmentalism. At it’s core religion not only fails to provide a remedy for human conflict, but in the end tragically encourages further and more extreme divisions.
And yet, the teachings of Jesus challenged this entire way of thinking. While it’s true Christianity agrees with the basic division of humanity into the two categories of the righteous and the wicked, the comparisons really end there. Scripture clearly states that there has only ever been one righteous man (Jesus) and the rest of humanity is wicked. And since salvation for the wicked is not a matter of works but instead a matter of faith in Jesus no man can discriminate against another.
Since all Christians have been saved “by grace through faith” we are afforded a commonality that yields unity, not divisions. Where religion only furthered the division of people, a common relationship with Jesus establishes the framework for forgiveness and love. “Where the law had driven a wedge - grace had built a bridge.”
1 Peter 2:9-10, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
I am convinced this unifying effect produced by the Spirit of God when differing people groups (who would never naturally get along) coexist in community might very well be the single greatest proof as to the power of God and uniqueness of Jesus.
And beyond this… When these different groups deliberately lay aside hurts and contentions like we see here in Acts 6 in order to maintain unity, the world (like these priest) is forced to recognize the supernatural because the reaction isn’t natural.
Understand… When Christianity is known by grace and our love for one another the world takes note, but when Christianity is known as being divisive and petty we loose our uniqueness and become simply another failed religious system.
In discussing this very reality Bill Maher presented a correct and honest assessment when he opined, “Jesus is great -- is there a better role model? No. It's religion, it's the people who get in between -- the bureaucracy, you know... It's the way people abuse Jesus. Was there ever a greater victim of name dropping?”
Over the next several weeks our travels through Acts will focus on two of these seven men: Stephen and Philip. In the remaining portion of Acts 6 and throughout Acts 7 we’re going to see God use Stephen in an incredible way. Then in Acts 8 our attention will turn to the work God does in and through the life of Philip.
Though we don’t know when these men converted or how long they had been followers of Jesus, it’s clear from our passage they both had a reputation of faithful service and Godly character among the people. This will become all the more evident in the next 2 chapters.
And because they were faithful over little when the time came they found themselves being appointed to the role of deacon by the Apostles. These men transition from being servants to now leading servants. And yet, as we’ll see in the coming weeks, this was only the beginning of what God would do in and through these men.
In conclusion… Notice what happens once they settled on these seven men.
“They set them before the Apostles…” The selecting and confirming of the deacons was something designed to occur publicly which insured the process was not only transparent but satisfied some practical functions as well.
First, since these men were going to be in charge of caring for the physical needs of the church, presenting these seven men in a public forum insured everyone knew who the deacons were and therefore knew who was responsible.
Secondly, unlike Elders who are recognized by other Elders and then presented to the church (we believe God chooses Elders and our job is to simply affirm the calling God has already placed on their lives), deacons are appointed. This means when someone becomes a deacon with the title comes a greater level of responsibility and accountability. This person is no longer just one of many servants. They have now been given the task of leading servants.
“They prayed for them and laid hands on them…” The act of “laying hands” was an ancient way of identifying with that person. Not only did they pray for God’s fresh filling and equipping, but the Apostles were letting them know they weren’t alone.
Though roles were being defined and everyone understood what their responsibilities were, they also recognized they were all on the same team working towards the same fundamental goals of caring for the needs of the church.