Deacons in the Church: A Biblical and Historical Role

Truths to Discover

Deacons play an important role in a growing, biblical church.

They give the kind of help and service that counteracts Satan’s attempts to both disrupt the unity and peace a church should enjoy and spoil its public reputation (Acts 6:1).

Sadly, deacons often accomplish the opposite of their God-given purpose and are the cause of division in churches and the reason why churches have bad reputations in the community.

Maintaining unity in a church is essential to accomplishing God’s purpose for the church (Eph 4:1-3).

In fact, on the night of his crucifixion, Christ prayed fervently for unity among believers (John 17:20-23). Christ’s prayer is answered whenever faithful deacons, by their service in the church, encourage unity in churches throughout the world.

Therefore, it is necessary to understand and practice what the Bible teaches about this office. Doing so will strengthen our church and prepare it for new growth.

Deacons are not a modern church innovation. They have served alongside pastors from the outset of church history, appearing first in the Jerusalem congregation not long after Pentecost (Acts 6:1-7). This is the first time that deacons appear in the Bible.

Years later, Paul named both pastors and deacons as two biblical roles in the church (Phil 1:1).

In a letter to Timothy, he named deacons again in tandem with pastors, only this time he gave a set of qualifications for men who may become a deacon (1 Tim 3:8-13).

Beyond these references, some suggest that Peter also alluded to pastors and deacons respectively as “those who speak” and “those who minister” (1 Pet 4:11).

Regardless of what Peter meant, the trail of other evidence shows that the role of deacons in a church is both biblical and historical. Most importantly, we should note that these are the only two official positions that the Bible establishes within the church.

Questions to Discuss

• How can deacons divide a church and harm its reputation in the community?
• How can deacons bring about unity and a good reputation for a church?
• Does the Bible require every church to have deacons?
• What is a trustee and where are they mentioned in the Bible?