Study of Denomintions 03/21/2010

A Study of Denominations
Cont. from last week

The Deacon

The deacon is a servant; this is the exact definition of its Greek word, diakonos. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see that the position of the deacon is vested with any authority, nor is it called a position for "elders in training." We must remember this when we consider the position of the deacon.

Deacons Without Elders?

There are some who believe that churches may have deacons even if there are no men qualified to be elders. The Scriptures never speak of any such situation; nevertheless, considering that those serving in the office of a deacon are only mentioned in the context of elders, we have no reason to conclude that God has authorized any church to have deacons without elders. As long as the men of the congregation are willing to perform the tasks that are required for the church to go on, there should be no need for an official position.

Female Deacons [Deaconesses]

Some assert that females can be deacons, citing the example of Phoebe in Romans 16:1 :
1. I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church that is at Cenchreae.


In some translations, she is called a "deaconess." Does this mean that she holds the office of the deacon?

It must be first stated that the Greek term diakonos, or its feminine counterpart, diakona, means literally "a servant." As with the term "elder" (Greek presbuteros), that means either one serving in the office of an elder ( Acts 14:23 ) or simply one who is an old man ( 1 Timothy 5:1 ), so "deacon" can refer to either to one serving in the office of a deacon ( 1 Timothy 3:8-10 , 12 ), or simply as a servant. The term diakona in Romans 16:1 do not describe the office of the deacon, but simply the idea that Phoebeis a servant. This also is the same idea in Acts 6:1-6 , when Stephen and the others are appointed as servants to assist the widows in need. We can determine this to be true because Phoebe, and perhaps Stephen et al, meet the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 :
2. Deacons in like manner must be grave, not double-tongued, 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 serve as deacons, if they be blameless. Women in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.


We see that a deacon must be the husband of one wife, and the Greek term is specific for "wife," gunaikes. Therefore, Phoebe cannot be one who holds the position of a deacon, for she surely cannot be the husband of one wife. Furthermore, we know nothing of the families of Stephen et al; even if they perhaps met these qualifications, these men were given a certain task at a certain time for a certain purpose, and nothing in the New Testament associates them with the office of the deacon described later.

We can see, therefore, that while diakonos or a similar term is used often to describe servants of the church, not every use of diakonos refers to one holding the office of a deacon.

Female Elders

Some denominations have elders or other similar persons vested with authority who are female. Does such a practice originate in the New Testament?

Paul writes to Timothy the following in 1 Timothy 2:12 :
3. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness.


This, along with the requirement that the elder be the "husband of one wife" in 1 Timothy 3:2 , demonstrate that elders can only be men.

Female Evangelists

There are many denominations today (and the list of denominations grows ever longer) who now teach that women may perform the same evangelistic duties as men. Are these teachings in harmony with the Scriptures?

We do see that females were present in the work of evangelism, as seen with the example of Priscilla in Acts 18:26 :
4. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more accurately.


We have no reason to doubt that Priscilla took on some form of assistance in teaching Apollos, but it is also notable to see that her husband Aquila was also present.

We must always strive diligently to maintain the harmony of the Scriptures, and there is no exception when speaking concerning female evangelists. We have seen in 1 Timothy 2:12 above that a woman is not to have any form of dominion over a man, and this must be considered in our discussion: a woman may teach and preach to other women, certainly, and perhaps even a man according to the example of Priscilla and Aquila, but we do not see any evidence from the Scriptures that any woman took it upon herself to preach to a man. While women can assist in teaching the Gospel, women would be contradicting Paul's exhortation for women to not teach and usurp authority over men if they were to fulfill the responsibilities of evangelists to exhort and preach.

Argument: Junia was a female and she was counted among the Apostles.

Answer: We read about Junia in Romans 16:7 :
5. Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also have been in Christ before me.


We see that "Junias" (Junia) was "of note" among the Apostles; while it is possible that they were considered "apostles," this need not be so. It is just as possible that they were simply well-respected by the Apostles. Even if they are to be considered "apostles", the term is just like "elder" and "deacon" in that it can refer to a specific office or simply as a term referring to a person having been "sent out". Nevertheless, this verse does not demonstrate that Junia herself was an Apostle or taught men: she is mentioned along with Andronicus, who is most probably her husband, and they probably worked together in the same manner as Aquila and Priscilla did. Therefore, there is no conclusive evidence that Junia was an Apostle or a servant of Christ different in any way from Priscilla.

Homosexual Evangelists