Acts 6:1-7 (NKJV) 1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom,

Acts 6:1-7 (NKJV) whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.

Acts 6:1-7 (NKJV) 7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

The Government of The Church (PT. III) Acts 6:1-7

Government Of The Church Today we continue with part 3 of a lesson we began a couple of weeks ago That lesson was a continuation in our series on the distinctiveness of the NT church The lesson we continue with today is focused on the structure of the church

Government Of The Church A couple of weeks ago we looked at Christ as the head of the church Last week we focused on the elders, who are the shepherds of the church We looked at what an elder was, the qualifications of elders, and the responsibilities of the elders

Government Of The Church This week we shift our attention to those we refer to as the deacons of the church We also look at the preachers or evangelists of the body of Christ What does the Bible say about these two and what are their individual responsibilities?

Deacons The Bible speaks of elders as a group of men with a specific set of qualifications and responsibilities In the same manner, the Bible also speaks about deacons as a group of men with a specific set of qualifications and responsibilities

Deacons The word deacon is the Greek word diakonos That word simply means a servant; an attendant; a waiter It can be used to mean “servant” in general, but also referring to a specific position and service

Deacons Paul mentions the deacons along with the rest of the congregation in Philippians 1:1 We see from Paul writing to Timothy in I Timothy 3:8-13 that it is in fact a specific position of service We first see deacons in Acts 6 when the church first began

Deacons There was rapid growth in the first century, and along with growth many times comes problems A complaint arose because some of the widow’s were being neglected in the daily distribution The apostles were busy with preaching

Deacons They selected 7 qualified men to be the first deacons There were several qualifications mentioned in Acts 6 There are additional qualifications mentioned as well in I Timothy 3:8-13

Deacons Deacons are not bound only to “serve tables” We see that two of the first deacons, Stephen and Philip, also spent time teaching and preaching as well Deacons can also serve in other ways as well

Preachers What about preachers or evangelists? What are their jobs and what authority do they have? A preacher or evangelist is different from a pastor (Eph. 4:11) They proclaim the gospel and bring the good news

Preachers The Bible speaks of the necessity of preachers Romans 10:14-15 The church needs men who will stand and proclaim the gospel message Paul told Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (II Tim. 4:5)

Preachers The work of an evangelist is noted in the previous verses A preacher or evangelist serving at a local congregation is also under the watch and rule of the elders A preacher can serve as an elder if he meets those qualifications (I Tim. 5:17)

Preachers The Bible also gives the authority to pay a preacher “‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain’, and, ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.’” (I Tim. 5:18) Paul also addresses it in I Corinthians 9:6- 14