Deacons in the Church: Some Essential Clarifications
Not Necessarily Able to Teach
Having considered the qualifications for prospective deacons, churches should also recognize one noteworthy quality that Scripture does not require. They must not be required to show an aptitude for teaching ministry. Scripture strongly requires that pastors be able to teach, but there is no such requirement for deacons (1 Tim 3:2). Though a deacon may certainly be able to teach, this ability is not required. If churches fail to recognize this, they will overlook God-given, qualified men for serving as deacons in the church.
Not Perfect
Altogether, the deacon qualities and qualifications may be combined and summarized as being “blameless” (1 Tim 3:10). This does not mean perfection or no man could ever serve as a deacon. What this means instead is that no one should be able to accuse a prospective deacon of noteworthy misconduct or inconsistency. From a theological standpoint, we know that every Christian is blameless before God. Paul tells us that Christ will present every genuine believer blameless before God (Col 1:22-23). This is encouraging news!
But the matter of a deacon’s blameless reputation concerns something else. It concerns the accusations of people around us and not our gracious, forgiving God. It especially concerns the accusations of unsaved people (1 Tim 3:7). Whereas brothers and sisters in Christ will generally be forgiving towards one another, the unsaved often look for opportunities to point fingers at the church and the gospel she represents. For this reason, prospective deacons should not carry with them any valid charge of known wrongdoing which has not satisfactorily been reversed or made right.
Not Equal by Comparison
As a church learns to identify potential deacons, they also should not expect every candidate to exhibit necessary qualities to the same degree. While all candidates should exhibit the qualities prescribed by Scripture, some will do so more distinctly. Luke hints at this by the way he lists the men chosen by the church at Jerusalem. He names Stephen first, then mentions some of his personal qualities immediately afterward. By doing this, he does not imply that Stephen was the only deacon who possessed these qualities.
Instead, he indicates that while these qualities described all seven men, they described Stephen in a very distinct way. In fact, Luke reiterates this man’s outstanding testimony in subsequent statements (Acts 6:8, 10; 7:55). Knowing this, congregations should refrain from comparing deacons against one another, whether active or prospective, just as they should refrain from doing so with pastors or with each other (1 Cor 10:12). Though some candidates will exhibit certain qualities more distinctly than others, none will do so perfectly or to the same degree.
Questions to Discuss
- What is one requirement for pastors that is not a requirement for deacons?
- Why is it important for a church to recognize this?
- What does being blameless not mean?
- What does it mean to be blameless?
- How does Luke indicate that the qualifications of some deacons may be more obvious than others?
- Why is it important not to compare one deacon with another?
