The Calling and Blessing of a Deacon - Tuesdays with Timothy #33

1 Timothy 3:8 - 13  Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

The deacon must be a man of faith, a man of wisdom, full of the Holy Spirit and knowledgeable in the Word of God (Acts 6:3). He must hold the mystery of the faith which is more than having knowledge about the Scriptures. The man must hold to the truth and own the truth. 

The deacons need to be “proved” or tried before called to the office. This, like that pastor, must be an act of judgment and discernment by the church and patient service by the man seeking to fill this role. Paul instructs churches to not hear what the man plans to do but look at what he is doing and has already done. The apostles determined that there was a need for the office of deacon and then the church looked at their number and selected men who were already qualified, gifted, and knowledgeable in the Scripture to fill that role. 

There is a bit of a controversy when it comes to verse 11. Does this verse refers to deaconesses or deacon's wives? The context of the passage points to this being about the wife of a deacon. It would be strange indeed to talk of the qualification of women deacons followed by the imperative that deacons be the husband of one wife. 

But why particularly are the deacon’s wives to be especially faithful? I believe it has to do with the nature of the office. The deacon is to be looking after and helping the church members in their physical needs. She will likely know a lot of the problems going on and disagreements among members. If she is not faithful, she will put her husband and the church in a bad situation by flaming the fires of discontent. Not only does the deacon need to guard his mouth against slander, but so does his wife. Like the pastor, a deacon needs to have his house in order.

When the man is called into the office of deacon, he is called to a good and honorable work. They have purchased for themselves a good degree - which means that he is gaining for himself spiritual blessings in the work of the Lord. The Spirit blesses His faithful servants when the are busy about His work. When God's men use the gifts He gives them, He blesses them with strength to do the job when they put their hand to the plow. The deacon, which means servant, is not taking a downward step by becoming a servant of Christ. In fact, serving the church is the way to blessing, as our Lord both taught and demonstrated  (John 13:1-17; Luke 22:25-27). This is not, as some commentators have suggested, a step up in the ranks of the political hierarchy of the church. Those who sacrifice to serve Christ by serving the church will be blessed by Christ. King Jesus approves of faithful men who stoop to serve by blessing them with boldness in the faith, future rewards for serving His bride.