Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.
The First Deacons
"The apostles did not focus attention on the complaining attitude toward the leadership. Nor did they talk about the priority of the spiritual and the relative unimportance of earthly food, as some may have done. There was a genuine problem, and the best way to quell doubts about prejudice was to solve the problem first. Thus, the apostles made an administrative decision. Thereby they not only averted a serious crisis of disunity, but also led the church to take a significant leap forward in terms of organizational structure.
Though Luke does not use the word “deacon” here to describe the Seven, this decision laid the foundation for the diaconal order, which, while taking different forms in the history of the church, has rendered great service in mediating Christ’s love to needy people. Barclay observes, “It is extremely interesting to note that the first office-bearers to be appointed were chosen not to talk but for practical service.”
The procedure adopted in choosing the Seven is instructive. The complaint came from the Grecians, “so the Twelve gathered all the disciples together” (v. 2). The entire group was given the task of choosing seven officials (v. 3). The apostles insisted that their own main task was to concentrate on “the ministry of the word” (v. 4 adds “prayer”). Therefore seven people had to be chosen to oversee the work of distributing food (vv. 2–3)." [1] (emphasis mine)
There's a lot of very good and very important stuff that is laid out in just a few verses: an example of how to deal with problems, different roles of servants in the church, how deacons should be selected, and the some of the criteria for selecting them.
So what about the criteria? You'll notice that you don't see "good with money" or "a great leader". Instead we see these requirements:
1. Of good repute
2. Full of the Spirit
3. Wise
4. Full of faith (Stephen in v. 5)
Deacons (though they aren't called that here) are above all faithful people who are willing to serve. The word itself (Greek: διάκονος) means "agent; assistant; servant". [2] We'll come back to this later, but if you want to get a better idea of deacons, check out the requirements listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. If you're interested on the difference between a pastor/elder/overseer vs. deacon, check out the helpful article over at the 9 Marks website: Biblical Qualifications and Responsibilities of Deacons.
Questions? Comments?
The First Deacons
"The apostles did not focus attention on the complaining attitude toward the leadership. Nor did they talk about the priority of the spiritual and the relative unimportance of earthly food, as some may have done. There was a genuine problem, and the best way to quell doubts about prejudice was to solve the problem first. Thus, the apostles made an administrative decision. Thereby they not only averted a serious crisis of disunity, but also led the church to take a significant leap forward in terms of organizational structure.
Though Luke does not use the word “deacon” here to describe the Seven, this decision laid the foundation for the diaconal order, which, while taking different forms in the history of the church, has rendered great service in mediating Christ’s love to needy people. Barclay observes, “It is extremely interesting to note that the first office-bearers to be appointed were chosen not to talk but for practical service.”
The procedure adopted in choosing the Seven is instructive. The complaint came from the Grecians, “so the Twelve gathered all the disciples together” (v. 2). The entire group was given the task of choosing seven officials (v. 3). The apostles insisted that their own main task was to concentrate on “the ministry of the word” (v. 4 adds “prayer”). Therefore seven people had to be chosen to oversee the work of distributing food (vv. 2–3)." [1] (emphasis mine)
There's a lot of very good and very important stuff that is laid out in just a few verses: an example of how to deal with problems, different roles of servants in the church, how deacons should be selected, and the some of the criteria for selecting them.
So what about the criteria? You'll notice that you don't see "good with money" or "a great leader". Instead we see these requirements:
1. Of good repute
2. Full of the Spirit
3. Wise
4. Full of faith (Stephen in v. 5)
Deacons (though they aren't called that here) are above all faithful people who are willing to serve. The word itself (Greek: διάκονος) means "agent; assistant; servant". [2] We'll come back to this later, but if you want to get a better idea of deacons, check out the requirements listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. If you're interested on the difference between a pastor/elder/overseer vs. deacon, check out the helpful article over at the 9 Marks website: Biblical Qualifications and Responsibilities of Deacons.
Questions? Comments?
[1] Ajith Fernando, Acts, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), 226-27.
[2] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 230.
[2] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 230.
RSS Feed
