THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A DEACON

The diaconal office, like the office of elders, is a perpetual and ordinaryoffice in the New Testament; and thus, just as there are biblicalqualifications for elders, there are also biblical qualifications for deacons.These qualifications are given in Acts 6:3 and 1 Timothy 3:8–12. But before wediscuss these qualifications, we must note three things:

Firstly, unlike in the case of the qualifications for elders, every ofthe qualifications for deacons are what should be expected of every believer.That is, where we fail in any of these areas, we fail the Lord and sin againstHim. But, of course, what may be tolerated by the church when found in ordinarymembers, ought not to be tolerated in office bearers.

Secondly, since ordination does not impart any grace or gift, it followsthat when the church ordains anyone to an office, she merely recognises orratifies the call of Christ to the individual to serve in the church. This callof Christ is indicated to the church by the Lord, with an endowment upon theindividuals, of a greater than usual measure of gifts and fruits of the Spiritnecessary for the office. This personal call of Christ, though objective toChrist, He being omniscient, must be regarded by the church as subjective untilthe church elects and ordains the person into office.

But thirdly, it follows that the biblical qualifications for theoffice are not to be taken as entry requirements but as qualifications forlife, seeing the office is for life. Thus, for example, a man might be ordainedto be a deacon because at the time of election, he appeared to have met thequalifications given in the Word of God. But suppose after a few years, it isdiscovered that he is “greedy of filthy lucre,” then this deacon, if he doesnot repent, ought to remove from office by deposition. Otherwise, the name ofChrist would be greatly dishonoured, the standard of godliness in church wouldbe lowered as the members of the church are discouraged by the conduct of theoffice bearers and the church; and the church may poise herself forchastisement for tolerating scandal. Remember that what may not be regarded asscandalous for ordinary members of the church may be scandalous for officebearers, because a higher standard is required of them.

With these in mind, let us look at the qualifications for deacons:

Reputation

When the diaconal office was first instituted by the Apostles for the serviceof tables and the daily ministration of the church (Acts 6:1–2), the very firstqualifications which they required of the seven men to be appointed as deaconswere that they be “men of honest report” (Acts 6:3). Actually, the Greek is aparticiple (Grk: marturoumenous, Pres. Pas. Ptc., msc. pl. acc.of martureô) which, when translated literally, would be “men whoare being witnessed.” In other words, they must be men who are seen and knownby others and have a good reputation or testimony.

Although, we are not told whether the Apostles were referring to having a goodreputation of all including those outside the church, we cansafely infer this to be the case. A deacon is an officer of the church. If hehas a bad reputation among unbelievers, then whatever reputation he has amongthe brethren, his being in office would bring dishonour to the name of Christ.Moreover, the Apostle Peter tells us that as believers, we must have our“conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against [us]as evildoers, they may by [our] good works, which they shall behold, glorifyGod in the day of visitation” (1 Pet 2:12). If this is required of ordinarymembers of the church, how much more should we expect the same for the officersof the church (see also 1 Tim 3:7).

This being the case, all who would be ordained as deacons must be “proved” (Grk: dokimazô)or tested, and appointed to the office only if “found blameless” (Grk: anegklêtos,1 Timothy 3:10). He must not be quickly elevated to office because he is foundto be very enthusiastic with a few things he was appointed to do. A deacon shouldhave a consistent zeal that is grounded upon a mature love for Christ, and istherefore lasting and unfazed by difficulties. A lately observed burst ofenthusiasm coupled with testimonies of God’s grace, could be the beginning of alifetime of committed service to the Lord. But it could also be due to afleeting emotional surge founded upon other reasons, and thus it is alwaysdangerous to elevate anyone to office too quickly.

A deacon should be ordained to office only after there is sufficient time forthe church to observe his spiritual maturity and Christian conduct, and he isfound blameless or beyond reproach. Again, this does not mean that he must besinless or flawless, which is impossible in this life. What it means is thatthere should not be any glaring inconsistencies or faults in his life andconduct which, if found in an office bearer, could bring dishonour to Christand embarrassment to His Church.

It is exceedingly sad to hear of powerful deacons being defended by theirpastors and elders when a significant proportion of the congregation havestrong reservations about their character and conduct. This qualification ofblamelessness requires that any deacon (or elder) who is suspected ofwrong-doings and moral failures, even if it is by two or three members of thecongregation (Mt 18:16; 1 Tim 5:19) to be tried, and deposed if he cannot beexonerated satisfactorily.

Mental and SpiritualQualifications

The second qualification given by the Apostles in Jerusalem, for deacons, isthat they must be “full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). How do weknow if a person is full of the Holy Ghost? Perhaps in those days when the signgifts had not been withdrawn, they could be identified by the extraordinarygifts they possessed. But what about today? I would suggest, we may identifyhim not only by the way he prays, but also by the evident presence in his lifeof the fruit of the Spirit, namely: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering,gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance” (Gal 5:22–23).

Wisdom, on the other hand, may be identified through casual conversations,especially when the discussion enters realms where subjective spiritualjudgements are called for, because there is no immediate right or wrong answer.For instance, one such issue would be: “Should the church be involved inhelping the poor and destitute who are unbelievers, who are also receivinghelps from the pagan temples?” In such a controversial issue, wisdom may beseen and recognised regardless of one’s opinion, so long as intelligent probingquestions are asked and scriptural knowledge is brought to bear on the issue.

Knowledge and faith are, of course, important. The deacon must be “holding themystery of the faith in a pure conscience” (1 Tim 3:9). The phrase “mystery ofthe faith” has been the subject of much scholarly debates as to what it means,but I believe Calvin is right when he says it refers to the “sum of Christiandoctrine” which is “to be embraced with the deepest reverence” (com. inloc.).

A deacon holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, believes thecore verities of the Christian faith without mental reservations and withoutany glaring inconsistencies in his conduct which would contradict hisprofession of faith. Why is this qualification necessary for deacons, thoughthey are not called to teach? Calvin gives an excellent pastoral answer:

… although they do not hold theoffice of teaching, yet it would be exceedingly absurd to hold a public officein the Church, while they were ill informed in the Christian faith, moreespecially since they must frequently be laid under the necessity ofadministering advice and consolation, if they do not choose to neglect theirduties (Ibid.).

Note how Calvin refers to the Christian Faith rather than the Confession ofFaith of the church. Today, we usually make a distinction between the twoterms: the first being more general, whereas the second would include specificinterpretations and distinctives of the church. But it is very probable that,for Calvin, the two terms were more or less synonymous. This is because inthose days, there were not so many different expressions of Christianityclaiming to be evangelical and biblical, and so nothing in the Confession ofFaith could not be undisputedly given the appellation: “Christian Faith.” Inany case, some believe that Calvin would agree that this qualification of Paulrequires that deacons must, together with the elders, fully subscribe to theConfession of Faith of the church. Calvin is of course not infallible, thoughgreatly respected because of his experience and spiritual insights.

I believe full subscription to the Confession be an ideal situation in the casewhere the church is quite established and members have been well-taught as tothe biblical basis of the Confession of Faith. However, in the case of areforming church where a significant part of the congregation is still learningor studying the biblical basis of the Confession, then prudence may dictate aless stringent requirement for the diaconate while the church waits upon theLord to grow in unity of faith.

Domestic Qualifications

Deacons must be “husbands of one wife” (Grk: mias gunaikos andres,1 Timothy 3:12). This qualification is the same as for elders. Some believethat this means all deacons must be married, others believe that deacons shouldnot be polygamous, while others hold that deacons should not be divorced andre-married, especially if the divorce was on unbiblical ground. After weighingthe various meanings, it appears that a combination of the latter two is mostlikely correct. But beyond that, a deacon (or an elder) must be faithful to hiswife. We must remember that the Greek, rendered “husbands of one wife,” mayalso be rendered more literally: “one-woman men.” A man may not be polygamousor divorced and remarried, but fail to be a “one-woman man” because of maritalinfidelity.

Deacons must also be found “ruling their children and their own houses well” (1Tim 3:12). The word rendered “ruling” (Grk: proistêmi), may also betranslated “managing,” “maintaining,” and “leading.” As deacons are called notonly to the ministry of mercy and stewardship, but also to manage the temporalaffairs of the church as assistants to the elders, it is needful, if they aremarried, that they be well able to manage their own homes: not only in thespiritual aspects, but in the financial and logistical aspects as well. What issaid of elders may also be said of deacons: “For if a man know not how to rulehis own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” (1 Tim 3:5).

Moreover, while the wives of elders should not be prominent in the church, soas not to give occasions for any implicit claim or attribution of authority towomen, which is forbidden in the Word of God (1 Tim 2:11–12), the wives ofdeacons may often be required to lend a hand to support their husbands in theirassigned tasks. As such, the Apostle Paul includes the character of thedeacons’ wives under the qualification of deacons. Their wives must be “grave,not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things” (1 Tim 3:11). This qualificationof the wives, not only guard against disrepute to the diaconal office throughthe behaviour of their wives, but also ensure that the deacons’ efforts atfulfilling their duties be not undermined by their wives. The deacon and hiswife should be one in godliness and love for Christ and His people. Otherwise,it would be extremely discouraging and frustrating for both of them as thediaconal office will often require the deacon to spend so much time in the workof the church, that there is little time for leisure.

PersonalityQualifications

“Likewise must the deacons be grave” (1 Tim 3:8). This does not mean thatdeacons must be constantly serious faced, aloft and unsmiling. No, the word “grave”(Grk: semnos) means “worthy of respect or honour, noble, dignified,serious” (BAGD). No deacon should be elected into office simply becausehe is a popular person. Neither should a deacon be respected only because heholds an office. He must be respected by the members of the church even beforehe is called to the office. He must have an orderly, self-discipline life, anda serious and dignified demeanour, which emanates of warmth and love that makeshim worthy of respect by the members of the church.

At the same time, a deacon must “not [be] double-tongued” (1 Tim 3:8). To be“double-tongued” (Grk: dilogos) is to be insincere, or to say onething to one person, and another thing to another person. A double-tonguedperson, for example, may give the impression that he approves of what is saidby someone in front of the person, but behind the person, he may stronglydisagree with what was said. A deacon ought rather to be straightforward, openand honest. Though it may sometimes be painful to reveal the truth, it is farbetter to do so in love than to give a wrong impression. An atmosphere ofpoliticking and suspicion in the church often occur when office bearers andmembers of the church fail to say what they mean and to mean what they say.

Habitual Qualifications

A deacon must “not [be] given to much wine” (1 Tim 3:8). Paul is not sayingthat deacons must not drink at all. It would be legalism to think there isanything sinful with drinking wine per se. But at the same time, wemust think that Paul is only prohibiting anyone who is addicted to alcohol(cf. NASB) from the office. The word rendered “given to”(Grk: prosechô) is translated elsewhere as “take heed” (Mt 6:1),“give heed” (1 Tim 1:4), “give attendance to” (1 Tim 4:13), etc. The relativemildness of these verbs suggests to us that Paul has in mind that deaconsshould not indulge in much wine, whether or not they are addicted to it. Wine(or beer) drinking ought not to be a social or pleasurable past-time of thedeacon. This is especially so since he must maintain a clear mind, seeing hewill often have to handle the finances of the church.

Last, but very importantly, a deacon must “not [be] greedy of filthy lucre” (1Tim 3:8). That is, they must not be “fond of dishonest gain” or be “greedy for money.”Since deacons are charged with handling the church’s money, it is essentialthat they be not tempted to put their hands to the collection. Practically, adeacon should be generous with his own money, but when it comes to the church’smoney, which is entrusted to his care, he ought to be scrupulous and determinednot to dig into it even when he is suffering a financial crisis, and even if itis for a loan.

Conclusion

The biblical qualification for deacons may not be as stringent andcomprehensive as for elders, but it is no less a very high standard whenproperly considered. An existing deacon, who has a proper estimation ofhimself, studying this list, is more than likely to feel discouraged by his ownshortfalls. However, let him not entertain any thoughts of giving up ratherthan seeking God’s help and strength to persevere and improve. The highstandard required of deacons is really the same standard required for allbelievers. It is a standard which drives out self-sufficiency and shuts us up toChrist to cling on unto Him for help. Unless, the aspect in which we perceiveourselves to disqualify is not within our control, giving up would beequivalent to giving in to sin. Let us rather examine ourselves, and confessand repent of our faults rather than seeking to dull our conscience by askingto be deposed from office.

Of course, it would be quite different, if the church (through the elders),having examined a particular deacon and finds him disqualifying as a deacon. Insuch a case, the church should call the erring deacon to repentance. And ifafter a stipulated period of time, no observable change occurs, then the churchought to depose him, declaring his ordination to have been a mistake in thefirst place.

Let any potential deacon also not be discouraged by the high standard. As “theSon of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give hislife a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45), so let us desire to minister unto others.The word “minister” (Grk: diakoneô) is related to the word“deacon.” We may render it as “deaconise” or “serve as a deacon.” In a certainsense, Christ is the deacon par excellence, and the service of thedeacon is reflective of the ministry of the Lord. What a great privilege!Moreover, deacons who use the office well, “purchase to themselves a gooddegree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 3:13).They not only gain the respect and honour of the members of the church, so thatthey gain even more privilege of being used of the Lord, but they are alsogiven the privilege of boldness and assurance of perseverance in the faith,which every child of God will long to have.

—JJ Lim