Blessing of Godly Deacons Part 3

CAN WOMEN BE DEACONS?

1 Tim. 3:11

Deacons are one of the most underutilized, overlooked, but also an immensely important role/office in the church.

(Continuation of last week's sermon...)

Is v.11 talking about wives of deacons or women deacons?

What is the right interpretation of this verse?

When we approach this question, there are two dangers we need to be aware of:

1. Being too determined by our tradition - tradition is useful but "Scripure alone" says the Scripture is the authority.

2. Being too determined by worldly values (i.e. feminism)

Most churches in NZ have become egalitarian. Example of this is the existence of women pastors. Hence, this concern is becoming a hot topic recently.

The Bible is egalitarian when it comes to dignity, salvation, sin, etc., but the Bible is not egalitarian when it comes to nature and roles especially in the home and church.

Arguments IN FAVOUR of women deacons:

1. There is no possessive pronoun at the beginning of v.11

2. It seems odd for the wives of deacons to be mentioned here but the wives of elders are not mentioned in the previous section

3. Phoebe (a woman) being a "diakono" (Greek for "servant") mentioned in Romans 16:1

4. If Phoebe is just a "servant" of a church, why is she allowed to do the function of a deacon without being officially a deacon?

Arguments AGAINST women deacons:

1. If Paul intended for women to be deacons, why did he say that a deacon is to be a husband of one wife?

2. No other example of women deacons in NT except for Phoebe.

3. Women are not permitted to be deacons because of the authority associated with deacons (authority over men)

Though pastor/elder office is different from deaconship, it is worth asking "why don't women have authority to teach/preach?"

Answer found in 2 Tim 2:13

(a) Adam was created first, not Eve

(b) Eve was deceived

This doesn't preclude women from service and performing functions in church (practical service).

Eve's ambition in the garden would have been to be Adam's helper, support, and bearer of his children. It is a precious, venerable make-up of women.

Let's pray to be biblical when dealing with this topic.