Beloved,
For a number of weeks now we have been seeing how Christ wields His loving authority in the church through a plurality of ruling and teaching elders. But there is another office He has instituted and endowed with authority for the good of the body. We call it the diaconate.
It is an office that arose in Acts 6 during what Paul Washer terms “the most dangerous moment in the history of the church.” What was the grave danger?
Distraction.
As the church grew rapidly through the Spirit and word, the number of physical and financial needs went through the roof. The apostles had been overseeing the church’s mercy ministry, but it was becoming all-consuming, detracting from their primary calling to pray and preach. The apostles were not super-human. They could continue serving tables and caring for orphans and widows in tangible and physical ways, but every moment spend doing that was a moment not fulfilling the apostolic task for which they had been set apart by Christ. So in the midst of a congregational meeting, they cry out, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables…But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:2,4).
The danger was mercy ministry dominating so that the church became nothing more than a soup kitchen, meeting physical needs. It was a grave danger because it was so subtle. A good thing distracting God’s messengers from the most important thing – the prayerful proclamation of His word.
Notice the strong response of the apostles: “It is not right!” In the post-apostolic era, elders must continue to say the same. Grappling with our limitations, we must devote ourselves to the work God has given us and not get distracted by good things which He has not given us to do. Sometimes the most loving thing I can say as a pastor is, “No.”
But there was another dimension to the danger faced by the Jerusalem church. The danger was that in their zeal to not let mercy ministry dominate that they disregard it altogether. Read through the prophets, and you will quickly realize that part of the reason for the exile was Israel’s failure to care for the poor and needy. It was wrong for the apostles to devote themselves to mercy ministry, but that did not mean the church could ignore those in need. The Israel of God must care for such! And so alongside of the apostles (who were elders, by the way; 1 Pet. 5:1), another office was established as the first deacons were appointed and ordained: “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty” (v. 3). The diaconate ensures two things:
- That the needy are properly cared for.
- That the elders are freed up to devote their time and energy to prayer and word ministry.
What was the result in Jerusalem? “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). The Spirit, in answer to prayer and through the preached word, extended the boarders of the kingdom in mighty proportions. Hence, the vital necessity of a strong, Spirit-filled diaconate in the life of the church!
As deacons oversee the mercy ministry of the church, God is exalted as the one who “executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing” (Deut. 10:18). Praise the LORD!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick