ACTS CHAPTER 6:1-7, “The First
Deacons”
by
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
The book of Acts is a book
of first things as we have noticed several times already, and in this next
section we will see how that the first men who were called ‘ministers’, or
‘deacons’, were chosen
1.2.
We will look at what the
qualifications are to be for those who minister within the church
1.3.
We will look at how that
those who lead in the church are to be servant leaders
1.3.1.
We will look at what
constitutes greatness in God’s kingdom
1.4.
We will look at the role of
elders and deacons in the body of Christ
2.
VS 6:1 - “1 Now at this time while the disciples
were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic
Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in
the daily serving of food. (NASB)” -
The Helenistic Jews complained about the way they were being treated by
the native Jews
2.1.
In the church
there is always a potential for partiality and prejudice to occur, where some
people within the church are treated better or worse than others. Either of these two actions are sinful and
should not be done. James wrote in Ja.
2:1-4, “2:1 My brethren,
do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2
For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine
clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay
special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit
here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or
sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves,
and become judges with evil motives?”.
2.2.
In the church
in
2.2.1.
There were
the Jews who were raised in
2.2.2.
Then, there
were also Jews who were ‘Helenists’, meaning that they were Grecian Jews, Jews
who were raised outside of Israel and spoke Greek as their native
language.
2.3.
There was
some contention which had grown between these two groups. The church had implemented a welfare program
which provided support for some widows among them. Likewise, these widows had to dedicate
themselves to serving the Lord in some sorts of ministries in order to be on
the list of the widows. Those of the
Helenist Jews felt that their widows on the list had been not treated as well
as the Jewish born widows.
2.4.
We are not
sure if the Helenist widows were actually being overlooked or whether there was
undue mistrust on the part of the Helenist brethren.
2.5.
The apostles
responded quickly and decisively to the complaint and as a result headed off
much dissension which would have occurred otherwise.
2.6.
We in the
church today must realize that there will be problems within the church
concerning how different ethnic and cultural groups are treated. This is because man has a sin nature,
however. Contentions and preferential
treatment has always had a potential for occurring, and will always have a
potential for occurring. However, it must
be dealt with whenever it rears its ugly head.
2.7.
When problems
occur in the church as a result of people getting out of their God-given role,
etc., then the church leadership is usually wise if they do as the apostles in
3.
VS 6:2-4 - “2 And the twelve summoned the congregation
of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of
God in order to serve tables. 3 “But select from among you, brethren, seven men
of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge
of this task. 4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of
the word.”” - The twelve
apostles urge the congregation to select seven deacons to serve the widows at
the tables
3.1.
The Greek
word ‘diakoneo’ translated ‘serve’
in verse 2 is the word from which we get the word ‘deacon’, however the word simply means to
serve others, and in other parts of scripture the word is translated as
“minister”, “minister unto”, and “serve”
3.2.
These men
were not given a “title” of deacon, they were just given responsibilities of
ministry.
3.2.1.
There is a
heart motive that is wrong when some people need to have a special “title” in
order to minister to people.
3.3.
The apostles
felt that it would be good to involve the church in deciding who should serve
in this ministry, so the church took the initiative and selected these men who
then were responsible for the serving of the widows.
3.4.
The apostles
thought that the number of the men should be ‘seven’ (for whatever reason), and
that there were to be three qualifications which each of these men must
meet. They must be:
3.4.1.
of good reputation
3.4.1.1.To be ‘of good reputation’ meant that they must be
looked up to with respect among both believers and unbelievers (as much as is
reasonable since ungodly men find Christians to be despicable for wrong reasons
sometimes).
3.4.2.
full of the Spirit
3.4.2.1.These men must be ‘full of the Spirit’ even though
this particular ministry they were to be in charge of was just a menial task in
most ways.
3.4.2.2.They must have looked for men who displayed the fruits
of the Spirit in their lives, for men who had been radically reconstructed by
Jesus.
3.4.3.
full of wisdom
3.4.3.1.Likewise, these deacons must be ‘full of wisdom’, as
they would need that inward godly sense of how to apply God’s word practically
to real life situations.
3.5.
Later in his
epistles, the apostle Paul simply expands upon each of these qualifications
when he outlines the qualifications for elders and deacons.
3.6.
These
qualifications for the seven to serve should be the qualifications required for
all of those who serve in ministries within the church.
3.6.1.
Churches
which lower the qualifications in order to meet the needs that exist have
created a time bomb that one day is going to explode.
3.6.2.
People must
be appointed to ministries who have been raised up by the Lord (and thus their
qualifications for ministry have become obvious) and prepared for those
specific ministries.
3.6.3.
If the Lord
has not raised up the people for a ministry, then the ministry should not be
entered upon at this time.
3.7.
Now in the
past I’ve always heard and even taught that in this situation in Acts 6 that
the apostles were genuinely concerned that this problem was taken care of and
that the strictest fairness was brought into play concerning the serving of
food and meeting of other needs. But,
they also knew that as important as that concern was, they had a more important
concern for themselves, namely, that of praying and studying of God’s Word for
the teaching of the people, and thus they chose to have these men selected for
this ministry. Interestingly however,
both Gayle Erwin and Malcolm Wild at the Midwest Pastor’s Conference that I
attended a few weeks ago questioned the motives of the apostles in making this
decision to leave the menial serving to others further down the leadership
chain.
3.7.1.
Jesus’
disciples were always arguing with each other about who of them is the greatest
in the Kingdom, and Jesus sought to straighten out their thinking by teaching
them in Matt. 18 the following principles about greatness in God’s kingdom:
3.7.1.1.In Matt. 18:2-5, Jesus taught that you have
to become like a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven and that whoever ‘humbles himself as a little child’ shall be the greatest in the
kingdom, “2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and
said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children,
you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Whoever then humbles himself as
this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
3.7.1.1.1.Children aren’t good at
deception
3.7.1.1.2.They tend to be honest and
when they speak and, ‘tell it like it is’
3.7.1.2.In Luke 22:26, Jesus taught that the
greatest in the kingdom shall be ‘as the youngest’, “26 “But
not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the
youngest, and the leader as the servant.”
3.7.1.2.1.When we as Christians think
that we are mature and know what we are doing, then that is when we are sure to
fall, for the Lord wants us to look to Him and not lean on our own
understanding
3.7.1.2.1.1.Prov. 3:5-6 says this exact thing, “5 Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own
understanding. 6 In all your ways
acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”
3.7.1.3.In Mark 10:44, Jesus taught that the
greatest in the Kingdom shall be the ‘servant of all’, “44And
whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”
3.7.1.3.1.Jesus modeled and taught
‘servant leadership’, i.e. the idea that the leader should be the greatest
servant
3.7.1.4.Pastor Chuck Smith stands as
the role model for all of us Calvary Chapel pastors as a servant leader, and I
personally am very thankful for his example in leading in this way
3.7.1.5.Being a servant is a
lifestyle that is not easily learned, for many selfish and self-centered habits
have to be reversed in order for you to be a servant leader
3.7.1.6.In the secular world the
people higher up the ladder in a corporation are usually catered to and receive
the most preferential treatment, and they tend to lead by intimidation instead
of by example and serving others
3.7.1.7.Many leaders in the
mainstream church today are just living off of the ministry and wanting to be
served themselves rather than serve, and they really follow the same
hierarchical structure and customs as the secular world in their organizations
3.7.1.7.1.For instance, one particular
leader of a major Christian organization told someone I know once concerning
stress in the ministry from having to work with people, ‘I don’t get ulcers I
give them’
3.7.1.7.2.Jesus didn’t lead by
intimidation, and he was so approachable that children were always drawn to
Him, and it was while He was holding and playing with some children that He
taught the principles of greatness in His kingdom which I listed above
3.7.1.8.Well, as I mentioned both
Gayle Erwin and Malcolm Wild felt that perhaps the apostles were a little off
base in their leadership style concerning this decision here, and Malcolm
mentioned that he thought that his idea about this, ‘was a little more real’ to
life.
3.7.1.8.1.Though the apostles were now
filled with the Spirit they might not necessarily yet have grown and matured to
be servant leaders as Christ was.
3.7.1.9.I believe that the apostle
Paul was a servant leader for he told the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 4:16, “16 I
exhort you therefore, be imitators of me”, and in Philippians 3:17 he told the Philippians, “17 Brethren,
join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the
pattern you have in us”
3.7.1.9.1.Paul knew that if people
followed his conduct and example ‘in all things’ that they would be where the
Lord wanted them to be and be used greatly by Him
3.7.1.9.2.In application I have to ask
you whether or not you are striving to live your life in such a way that you
could say the same thing as Paul did here, ‘follow my example’? If not, that should be your goal as a
Christian…
3.8.
The Lord
wants us to be faithful in the ‘small things’, for if we are faithful in those small things in our
lives He desires to and will give us larger responsibilities.
3.8.1.
It would be
very foolish to immediately give men great ministry responsibilities when they
had not been proven in smaller ministering roles.
3.8.2.
In the
church, men must be willing to perform menial works of service before they are
trusted with greater ministering opportunities in peoples’ lives.
3.8.2.1.Men who are willing to role up their sleeves and help
out in the church whenever there are tasks that need to be performed will be
recognized and eventually perhaps have the opportunity to become elders or
deacons serving in a greater ministering role.
3.8.3.
We must also
remember the concept of a “body ministry” though and that each of us in the
body of Christ must minister according to the spiritual gifts that the Lord has
given us, whatever they may be, and not all faithful men are gifted to serve as
leaders in the church.
3.8.4.
The looking
after the serving of the food for these grippy Jewish widows was not a glorious
task at all, however we will see later in the book of Acts that this man
Phillip was faithful in this small thing and that the Lord later leads him up
to Samaria and as an evangelist he leads a great revival there.
3.8.4.1.I don’t know that he had any idea that he maybe even
had the gift of evangelism here at this time, but God had plans for him after
he had served his time in this role
3.8.4.2.When this revival in
3.8.4.2.1.It is believed that this man
went back to
3.8.4.3.Then, even later we hear of
Phillip that he has raised four virgin daughters who were prophetesses, and to
have raised these girls to faithfully serve the Lord as virgins again shows
Phillips faithfulness to the Lord, and then, perhaps his greatest ministry was
actually through his raising of these four daughters.
3.8.4.4.My point is that if we are
just faithful to be an obedient servant to the Lord right where we are, being
faithful in those small things, God will raise us up in ministry to the
place(s) where He wants to use us, all in His timing and according to His will
(which we are confident cannot be improved upon).
3.9.
Now, while we are on the subject of ‘what are the roles of elders and
deacons’, let me explain what the distinctives are in the Calvary Chapels for
these roles
3.9.1.
‘Elders’ are typically charged to watch over the ‘spiritual welfare’ of
the body of Christ where they serve.
3.9.1.1.In this role they serve with
the pastor in teaching the word of God, praying for the sick, giving counsel to
those who need it, etc.
3.9.2.
‘Deacons’ are typically charged to watch over the physical and material
needs of the body of Christ as well as the facilities which the church uses.
3.9.2.1.In this role they might
oversee ministries to people whose cars need repair, help those who need
financial assistance, make sure that the facilities are cleaned and maintained
periodically, etc.
3.10.
Note here
what it was that the apostles said that they needed to have time allotted
for them to do:
3.10.1.The apostles placed ‘prayer’ above ‘study of
the Word’ in importance.
3.10.1.1.We Christians, and especially pastors, must become
disciplined men of prayer.
3.10.1.2.If we have not sought God’s heart in prayer, then our
ministry is not likely to reach anyone else’s heart either.
3.10.1.3.The power of God necessary for effective ministry is
gained in prayer primarily, and God’s ministry through any Christian will be
stifled unless that person learns to come often and stay long before the Lord
as a prayer warrior for his flock.
3.10.1.4.Dr. Ralph Byron once said that he had studied men of
God who were greatly used by God in history past, and every one of them prayed
a minimum of one hour of every day. If
we are to be used greatly by God, then we must be taught of God to seek Him in
prayer as the early church leaders sought Him.
3.10.1.5.Certainly a fervent prayer life is probably the most
important thing that any leader does
3.10.1.5.1.Have you ever noticed that prayer is probably the
hardest thing to do in the Christian life in a consistent and meaningful
way? I believe that the reason that it
is so hard to do is precisely because it is the most important thing that we do
as Christians, and Satan tries to hinder us from praying.
3.10.2.The teaching of and ‘ministry of the Word’ of
God is so key to the life of a Christian church.
3.10.2.1.Pastors and leaders do have to be careful not to get
too involved in too many temporal issues at the expense of their study of God’s
Word, for they must study much if they are to be good teachers and feed God’s
sheep good meals.
3.10.2.2.Pastors and leaders must learn to avoid many of the
temptations to get too involved in activities that well-meaning people in their
congregations think that they should be doing.
3.11.
As we are on
this subject of ministering in the church, I do want to encourage you who are
part of the core of this body of Christ, as the Lord leads you, to take more
ownership and responsibility for the church, for it is important for all of us
to fulfill that calling that God has for us within the body of Christ and fan
to flame the spiritual gift(s) that the Lord has given to us.
4.
VS
6:5-6 - “5 And the statement found
approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of
faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas
and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.6 And these they brought before the
apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.” - The seven deacons were selected and they laid
their hands on them
4.1.
Of this group
only Stephen and Philip are heard from again in the book of Acts.
4.1.1.
Stephen
begins performing great signs and wonders and preaching the gospel
mightily. He then becomes the first
martyr amongst the disciples.
4.1.2.
Philip ends
up becoming a very effective evangelist in the book of Acts.
4.2.
Notice the
sequence of events that occurred here:
4.2.1.
The
congregation brought the seven men whom they had prayerfully chosen to serve in
ministry to the widows to the apostles in order to obtain their blessing upon
their choice of the men.
4.2.2.
The apostles
then brought the choice up to the Lord in prayer to seek His approval
4.2.3.
Then after
seeking the Lord’s leading in prayer the apostles laid their hands on the seven
men to ordain them for their chosen ministry in the welfare program ministry.
4.2.3.1.Since the church belongs to Christ the head, it is
important that every decision be made first as a result of prayer and waiting
upon the Lord for his leading and blessing
4.2.3.2.Many churches don’t seek the Lord and His leading in
their decisions, rather they just do whatever seems right in their own minds
4.3.
Each of the
seven men who were appointed had Greek names and it has been supposed by some
that perhaps to avoid having people saying that they were still being partial,
that they picked all Hellenist Christians.
However, we cannot be sure that all of these men were in fact Hellenists
just because of their Greek names.
5.
VS 6:7 - “7 And the word of God kept on spreading;
and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and
a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”
- The church kept growing and many
priests came to be saved
5.1.
Because of
the preaching of the gospel as well as the teaching of the Word of God Luke
records that ‘the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in
5.1.1.
Because the
apostles dedicated their lives to prayer and study, this greatly increased
their effectiveness in building up and equipping the body for the work of
service (Eph. 4:12).
5.2.
Luke adds an
interesting footnote here saying that many of the Jewish priests in
5.2.1.
Becoming a
Christian probably meant that they would not be able to make their living any
longer as priests.
5.2.2.
These priests
may have realized that since they were so often required to sacrifice blood on
behalf of sins, that Christ and His blood shed once and for all is foreseen in
all of these required blood sacrifices.
5.2.3.
These priests
came to realize that “the blood of bulls and goats cannot remove sin” (as Paul
said in the book of Hebrews), that is, unless these blood sacrifices pointed to
that one sacrifice of all time of God’s only begotten Son.