Deacons in the Church: Essential Personal Qualities
Truths to Discover
A Good Reputation (Acts 6:3)
Potential deacons must have a good reputation in both the congregation and community at large. Imagine that your church is considering a man in the church to be a new deacon. Before you ask him, you conduct spontaneous interviews, inside and outside the church, asking people for a candid opinion of this man. If he has a “good reputation,” then you would receive a lot of positive feedback about him. If not, then you would receive bad or mixed reviews instead.
A good reputation is necessary because deacons handle the financial and material matters of the church. They receive funds, manage funds, and distribute them. They must be counted on to handle such affairs with confidentiality, impartiality, and integrity. In the church at Jerusalem, the Hellenist believers (Greek-speaking Jews) worried about favoritism towards the Hebrew-speaking widows. Therefore, it was crucial for the church choose deacons who would be impartial and trustworthy.
Full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3, 5)
Luke mentions twice that a deacon must be full of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the spiritual nature of their ministry and guarding against a merely secular approach. The word full describes a man who is permeated by the influence of the Holy Spirit, fully yielded to God’s control and leadership.
While it may seem difficult to tell whether a man is yielded to the invisible Spirit, Scripture provides at least five observable indicators. First, he shares his faith with courage (Acts 2:2, 4; 3:10; 4:8, 31; 5:3, 17, 28; 9:17; 13:9, 45, 52; 14:17; 19:29).
He also memorizes and meditates on Scripture (Col 3:16). Paul equates this quality to being filled with the Spirit in a parallel passage (Eph 5:18). This is significant, because a congregation must have confidence that a potential deacon’s actions, choices, and priorities will be guided by the Word of God. A man who is filled with the Spirit and the Word will exhibit three additional qualities.
- He praises God from the heart and sings with his church (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16).
- He exhibits a thankful spirit (Eph 5:20; Col 3:17).
- He also exhibits a humble approach to human relationships which elevates the needs of others over his own (Eph 5:21).
Full of Wisdom (Acts 6:3)
Luke teaches that a prospective deacon must be full of wisdom, which is an ability to make skillful choices. Deacons make many important choices, big and small, which require thoughtfulness, maturity, and a commitment to biblical principles and priorities.
Such wisdom is especially necessary when decisions and tasks affect human feelings, finances, and other sensitive factors. This wisdom must be more than common business expertise and common sense (Jam 3:14-16). It must be biblical in content and spiritual in nature and must not be carnal or political (Jam 3:13, 17-18). Such wisdom can be learned only through a personal study of Scripture and humble and prayerful trust in God (2 Chron 1:10; Prov 2:1-5; Jam 1:5).
Full of Faith (Acts 6:5)
Luke teaches that a prospective deacon must be full of faith. To describe a man as “permeated with faith” implies firm confidence in the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, unrelenting reliance on God and faithful obedience to Scripture. In the most evident sense, such a man would be willing to share his faith and identify with Christ, even when confronted with martyrdom like Stephen (Acts 7:54-60). Such a man is also able to make difficult but necessary choices which require confidence in God, even when an element of necessary risk is involved.
Questions to Discuss
- What does it mean to have a good reputation?
- Why is it important for a deacon to have such a reputation?
- What does it mean for a person to be “full of the Holy Spirit”?
- What are some indicators that a man is filled with the Spirit?
- What does it mean for a person to be “full of wisdom”?
- Why is this important for a deacon?
- How does a man get this wisdom?
- In your own words, describe what it means for a man to be “full of faith”?
- How does the example of Stephen show us what this means?
