Elder - deacon meeting teaching notes for September 2012

DEACON in the NT:

Servant/slave

Matt 28.13

Mark 9.35

33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34 But they held their peace : for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35 And he sat down , and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

John 2.5, 9; 12.26

Rulers

Romans 13.4; rulers

Jesus Christ

Rom.15.8;  Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God,

Pastors/apostles

1 Cor. 3.5  Paul and Apollos - ministers

2 Cor. 3.6; 6.4; 11.15; 11.23  of Paul and others

Gal. 2.17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!

Eph. 3.7 Paul a minister

1 Timothy 4.6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ...

As spiritual serving

Eph. 6.21 Tychicus - beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord

Phil. 1.1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Col. 1.7  Epapharus, our dear fellow servant

Col. 1.25  I became a servant

Col. 4.7  Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant

1 Thess 2.2 Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God.

Phoebe

Rom. 16.1 (27) I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,

Office

1 Timothy3.8, 12

A. CHARACTER:

8 Likewise deacons must be  (Like the elders)

>>>reverent, σεμνός, ή, όν: pertaining to appropriate, befitting behavior and implying dignity and respect—‘honorable, worthy of respect, of good character.’ διακόνους ὡσαύτως σεμνούς ‘helpers should be of good character’ or ‘deacons …’ 1 Tm 3:8.^[1]

>>>not double-tongued,  δίλογος, ον: pertaining to contradictory behavior based upon pretense or hypocrisy—‘double-tongued, two-faced, hypocritical.’ διακόνους ὡσαύτως σεμνούς, μὴ διλόγους ‘church helpers must be good and not be two- faced’ 1 Tm 3:8. In some languages the equivalent of δίλογος is ‘to speak in two directions’ or ‘to cover one’s thoughts by means of one’s words.’^[2]

>>>not given to much wine, συνέχομαι^c; προσέχω^d: to continue with close attention and devotion—‘to continue to give oneself to, to continue to apply oneself to.’

συνέχομαι^c: συνείχετο τῷ λόγῳ ὁ Παῦλος ‘Paul continued to give himself to (preaching) the word’ Ac 18:5.^[3]

>>>not greedy for money, αἰσχροκερδής: (lit. filthy or base gain) pertaining to being shamefully greedy for material gain or profit—‘shamefully greedy, greedily.’^[4]

>>>9 holding the mystery μυστήριον, ου n: the content of that which has not been known before but which has been revealed to an in-group or restricted constituency—‘secret, mystery.’ ^[5]

of the faith  The faith as a noun, what you believe (verses as a verb, the action of)

with a pure conscience. συνείδησις^b, εως f: (contrast συνείδησις^a ‘knowledge about something,’ 28.4) the psychological faculty which can distinguish between right and wrong—‘moral sensitivity, conscience.’ ^[6]

‘Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, is a significant association of faith with ethics.’ As Weiss puts it, ‘It is as if the pure conscience were the vessel in which the mystery of the faith is preserved.’ The idea is sound and valuable. A mere intellectual attitude toward the mystery which, in every age, attaches to the faith, will result in doubt, questioning, and wordy strife (see I Tim. 6:4, II Tim. 2:23, Tit. 3:9), sometimes in moral laxity, sometimes in despair. Loyalty and duty to God are compatible with more or less ignorance concerning the mystery. An intellect, however powerful and active, joined with an impure conscience, cannot solve but only aggravates the mystery; whereas a pure and loyal conscience, and a frank acceptance of imposed duty along with mystery, puts one in the best attitude for attaining whatever solution is possible.”^[7]

B. TESTED:

10 But let these also

first be tested;

then let them serve as deacons,

being found blameless.

The office of deacon is not a way to try someone out to see how they do?

Appl:  When you see someone who might do well as a deacon, give them something to do so that they can prove themselves. 

Not a “junior elder”, but an honored position in and of itself.

C. WIVES/WOMEN:

11 Likewise their wives must be

kjv, nkjv, esv, niv84, nlt, net--wives

ylt, nasb, wuest, tniv—women

note that the “their” has been supplied by the translators and is not required by a Greek construction.

It is hard to be dogmatic about which translation is correct.

WOMEN

The word “wives” is gunē (γυνη), “a woman.” The word when used in reference to the marriage relation, means “a wife.” Here, it should be translated “women.” It does not necessarily refer to the wives of the deacons, and for the following reasons:

>first, the words, “even so,” are the translation of hōsautōs (ὡσαυτως), which is used in introducing a second or third in a series. The series here is of Church officials;

>second, there is no possessive pronoun in the Greek, which would be needed if the women were the wives of the deacons;

>third, the four qualifications which follow correspond, with appropriate variations, to the first four required of deacons as regards demeanor, government of the tongue, use of wine, and trustworthiness; and

>fourth, this is a section dealing wholly with Church officials. The reference here is to women who hold the office of deaconess, as Phoebe (Rom. 16:1).^[8]

WIVES

>If he meant wives, there would not be a better word to use.

>It is sandwiched between the discussion of men deacons which would seem odd if he had meant a third office.

>The word deacon is not applied to the women here.  It seems he could have been more clear.

Current position of TBC on women:

• Women do not service as pastors or elders.
• Women are not to exposit / teach the Scriptures to men.
• Women are free to exposit / teach the Scriptures to women and children.
• Women are free to be ministry leaders and serve in the church (Women’s council, Nancy with church dinners, Franny administration in music ministry, Cindy in the kitchen, etc…)
• It is the practice of TBC to have only men serve as deacons, but we do not disapprove of churches which have women as deacons in an appropriate way.

>>>reverent,  feminine form of the word reverent for deacons

>>>not slanderers, διάβολος^c, ου m and f: (derivative of διαβάλλω ‘to slander,’ not occurring in the NT) one who engages in slander—‘slanderer.’ γυναῖκας ὡσαύτως σεμνάς, μὴ διαβόλους ‘their wives also must be of good character and not slanderers’ 1 Tm 3:11. In 1 Tm 3:11 it may be appropriate to render διαβόλους as ‘gossipers.’^[9]

>>>temperate, ηφάλιος, α, ον: (derivative of νήφω^b ‘to be restrained,’ 88.86) pertaining to behaving in a sober, restrained manner—‘sober, restrained.’ ἐπίσκοπον … νηφάλιον, σώφρονα, κόσμιον ‘a church leader … must be sober, self-controlled, and orderly’ 1 Tm 3:2. In a number of languages νηφάλιος may be idiomatically rendered as ‘one who holds himself in’ or ‘one who always has a halter on himself.’^[10]

>>>faithful in all things. πιστός^b, ή, όν: (derivative of πιστεύω^b ‘to trust,’ 31.85) pertaining to being trusted—‘faithful, trustworthy, dependable, reliable.’^[11]

Same word that can mean faith or trust in something or someone.

D. HOME:

12 Let deacons be

the husbands of one wife,  lit. “a man of one woman”

ruling their children and their own houses well.

προί̈σταμαι^a: to so influence others as to cause them to follow a recommended course of action—‘to guide, to direct, to lead.’^[12]

Vines Expository Dictionary of the N.T.: Over (To Be, to Have): lit., "to stand before," hence "to lead, to direct, attend to," is translated "rule," with reference to the family, in 1Ti 3:4, 5, 12; with reference to the church, in Rom 12:8; 1Th 5:12, "are over;" 1Ti 5:17, In Tts 3:8, 14, it signifies "to maintain."

Maintain: "to preside, rule," also means "to maintain" (good works)

Note: that it is his family and not his business that is identified here.  Serving a church is should be more like leading a family than running a business.

  

D. BLESSED:

13 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.

served διακονέω^a; διακονία^a, ας f: to render assistance or help by performing certain duties, often of a humble or menial nature—‘to serve, to render service, to help, service, help.’^[13]

     A willingness to work (v. 13). He is to use the office, not just fill it. The Greek word translated “degree” means “rank (as in the army), a base, a step, or rung on a ladder.” What an encouragement to a faithful deacon! God will “promote” him spiritually and give him more and more respect among the saints, which means greater opportunity for ministry. A faithful deacon has a good standing before God and men, and can be used of God to build the church. He has a spiritual boldness that makes for effective ministry.^[14]

 “Boldness” is from the word parrēsia (παρρησια), primarily, “free and bold speaking; speaking out every word.” Its dominant idea is boldness, confidence, as opposed to fear, ambiguity, or reserve. The idea of publicity is sometimes attached to it, but as secondary. “An assured position and blameless reputation in the church, with a pure conscience, would assure boldness of speech and of attitude in the Christian community and elsewhere” (Vincent). The words, “in faith,” are to he connected with the word “boldness” only. It speaks of boldness here as distinctively Christian, as founded on faith in the Lord Jesus.^[15]

DISSCUSSION:

1. What does the choice of the Greek word "deacon" teach us about this office and how it should be carried out?  Can you think of other mentions of deacons/servants in the NT that give more insight?

2. Discuss what each of these five characteristics look like in our culture  (1) reverent, 2) not double-tongued, 3) not given to much wine, 4. not greedy for money, 5. holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience ).  What makes each one difficult or easy? 

3. Which of the requirements are you focusing on now? Why and how?

4. How do you think our current cultures attitudes about women have affected our understanding of this passage.  It that good or bad?

5. Why do you think God mentions the deacon dealing with his family and not his business?

.

---

^[1] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (747). New York: United Bible societies.

^[2] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (766). New York: United Bible societies.

^[3] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (655). New York: United Bible societies.

^[4] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (291). New York: United Bible societies.

n neuter

^[5] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (344). New York: United Bible societies.

f feminine

^[6] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (323). New York: United Bible societies.

^[7] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader (1 Ti 3:8). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

^[8] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader (1 Ti 3:11). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

m masculine

f feminine

NT New Testament

^[9] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (433). New York: United Bible societies.

^[10] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (751). New York: United Bible societies.

^[11] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (376). New York: United Bible societies.

^[12] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (464). New York: United Bible societies.

f feminine

^[13] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (459). New York: United Bible societies.

^[14] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (1 Ti 3:8). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

^[15] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader (1 Ti 3:11–12). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.