“They must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons. Wives, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything. Deacons are to be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently. For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”
The big question that you are probably asking is, can women be deacons? We will get there today! But let’s start with the first verse. Paul has already given five qualifications for deacons. He now writes, “They must also be tested first; If they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons.” Is he proposing that there is some sort of test a deacon must pass before he is appointed? Of course not! But just as an elder/overseer must not be a new convert (vs 6), a deacon must have life experience and have gone through trials successfully. James puts it this way: “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4). A deacon should be “mature and complete, lacking nothing” as James writes in verse 4.
Now for the big question. Can women be deacons? This next verse has been taken as both yes and no, and I will look at both sides, but I am inclined to think that yes, they can.
We will first look at the argument that they cannot be deacons. On the surface, it is addressed “wives.” They must be women of good character and not bring any disrespect to their husbands. Also, in Acts 6, only men were appointed to care for the widows. Another argument is that leadership roles in the church are only for men, and that even though a deacon is a service role, it is still a role with some spiritual authority and therefore it is an inappropriate role for a woman to hold.
Now let’s look at some of the pro arguments. The first one I want to look at is the word deacon. This word was used for both men and women. The word Paul uses here is gynaikas in Greek. The word gyne can be translated as either “woman” or “wife.” Andreas J. Köstenberger writes in his commentary, “The reason Paul didn’t call these women ‘deaconesses’ is that in his day the word διάκονος (plus the respective article to indicate gender) was still used for both males and females; the term diakonissa was coined only later (Apos. Con. 8.19, 20, 28). Phoebe is called a διάκονος of the church at Cenchrea in Rom 16:1.” If women were forbidden from helping in the church by Paul, why is he commending Phoebe?
This leads to my second reason. Phoebe is mentioned in Romans 16: 1-2 by Paul. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae. So you should welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever matter she may require your help. For indeed she has been a benefactor of many—and of me also.” The word servant used here is the same word as deacon.
The third reason is a grammatical one. Paul says, “Wives, likewise, should be worthy of respect…” There is no qualifier given. In other words, Paul does not say “Their wives…” Both Andreas J. Köstenberger and Michael Eaton bring this up in their commentaries. Eaton writes, “At this point, in the middle of a paragraph about the deacons, Paul speaks of ‘the women’…What does he mean by ‘the women’? He cannot mean ‘wives’ because that would use the Greek words for ‘their women’. Could he be referring to deacons or (as we might say) to deaconesses? Quite likely, but he actually does not use either of these terms in 3:11. These women are obviously connected with the deacons. They are the women who work with the deacons in some way.”
The last reason that I am going to give is that for all the qualifications for elders and deacons there are parallels until we get to this one. Notice that there are no qualifications given for elders wives. Why would Paul include qualifications for deacons’ wives, but not elders’ wives? That is why I am inclined to believe that these are qualifications for women who serve as the role of deacons.
Let’s look at what these qualifications are. “Wives, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything.” These are very similar to the qualifications for those given for the deacon. Again, a deacon does not need to be able to teach, so this does not go against what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2 about not teaching or having authority over a man. It does, however, fit with the verses that follow. “Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel, but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God” (2:9-10).
My final thoughts on this issue are that it does not matter if women are called deacons, deaconesses, servant-leaders, or what-have-you, the examples that we have in the Bible show that women can be in these positions. Phoebe is a prime example. I am not egalitarian-I do believe that men and women have differing, but complementary roles ordained by God-but this does not mean women have no role in the church. I have recommended Mike Winger’s excellent series on Women in Ministry before and I will recommend it here again. If you don’t have the hours it will take to watch all the videos, take the time to watch the last one where he sums it all up. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuBtpJlwi7F5JYw3N5pKyLC
Let’s move on. Paul moves back to the deacons by saying that “They are to be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently.” Again this is a direct parallel to the elders’ qualification of “the husband of one wife” (vs. 2) and “He must manage his own house competently and have his children under control with all dignity” (vs. 4).
Paul ends this section on deacons similarly to how he started the section on the elders. He began the section on elders with “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work” (vs 1). Now he ends by telling the deacons, “For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” Thomas Hale writes in The Applied New Testament Commentary, “Deacons who serve faithfully will receive a reward for their faithfulness: namely, a sure place in the kingdom of heaven and a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:1–4). They will also gain an excellent standing in the eyes of men, and they will have great assurance in their faith as they bear witness to Christ.”
I will end with these two passages.
“The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart—
who does not slander with his tongue,
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,
who despises the one rejected by the Lord
but honors those who fear the Lord,
who keeps his word whatever the cost,
who does not lend his silver at interest
or take a bribe against the innocent—
the one who does these things will never be shaken.” (Psalm 15:2-5)
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’” (Matthew 25:21)
Grace be with you!
Abundant Joy 