The Office of Deacon

The office of deacon is one of the most neglected offices in the church of Jesus Christ. Many churches do not have deacons, or if they do, the deacons do not perform their Biblical function in the church.

In most churches that have deacons the deacons do the work of elders, ruling the church. In other cases they merely take care of the financial affairs of the church, something for which ordination is not necessary.

To understand the office of deacon it is necessary to turn to Acts 6 where the story of the first deacons is told. Now, it true that word translated "deacon" in Scripture is simply the Greek word for servant and Scripture uses it to describe anyone who serves in any capacity in the church or among believers (Jn. 12:26, Rom. 16:1). Nevertheless, Acts 6 makes it clear that some are "servants" in a special sense.

Acts 6 teaches us, first, that the office of deacon is an office to which one must be ordained (vs. 6 - cf. also Phil. 1:1 and I Tim. 3:10, 13). This implies already that the office is more than a matter of keeping the church's books. It also implies that certain spiritual qualifications are necessary (vs. 3, cf. also I Tim. 3:8-13).

Acts 6 also suggests (and I Tim. 3:8-13 confirms it) that deacons, like elders and ministers, should be men. This follows from the fact that it is an ordained office involving the exercise of authority in the church, though not the same ruling authority that the elders have. Churches that have women as deacons are as much in disobedience to God's Word as those that have women elders and preachers.

We also learn from Acts 6 what the office and function of the deacons is. Their business involves especially the care of those who are in need, in Acts 6 the Grecian widows. That this involves more than the care of widows and waiting on tables, however, is clear from Acts 4:35. There we see that the "business" which the Apostles turned over to the deacons involved collecting for and distributing to all who were in need.

We would emphasize, too, that in doing this as ordained officers of the church called by Christ Himself, their work is more than mere charity work. It must follow that having been ordained in Christ's service to this work, they are responsible for helping in Christ's Name and for His sake: "It is very beneficial, that they do not only administer relief to the poor and indigent with external gifts, but also with comfortable words from Scripture" (Form of Ordination of Elders and Deacons of the Reformed Churches).

In doing this, they are fulfilling a certain priestly function in the church. Like the OT priests, theirs is an office of mercy, in that they receive the gifts that are brought and "offer" them in the service of Christ and His people.

We believe that they must follow the rule of Galatians 6:10 in their work, but that their office first and especially is for the church. When their office is restored then it will be true in the church: "Yet have I not see the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Ps. 37:25).