For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
Paul ends his instructions about deacons with a promise, not a warning: the man who serves well in the lowliest job gains something for himself. But what is that "good standing," and why should practical service build confidence in faith?
What the Word "Deacon" Means
The title carries none of the importance later attached to it. One writer traces the word back to its plain sense, then to his own boyhood.
G. C. WillisThe word "deacon" means simply "one who ministers" or "serves." "Minister" is really only another name for "servant." In the New Testament the word carries none of the meaning it has come to have today, a man in charge of a "church." It refers to the lowly service of love, linked with those who were younger in the truth, and perhaps not gifted in any particular way. They still have the service of the saints at heart, and they care about the little things in the practical life of the assembly: "serving tables," for example, as we find in Acts 6:1-6. When I was a boy, my father and I used to go early to the meeting room to get it ready. Part of my work was to dust the seats. One day my father told me that this was the work of a deacon.
What "a Good Standing" Means
The phrase is not a promotion notice. It means ground gained — and older translations read it "a good degree," the wording several writers use below.
William KellyChrist is preached by one of whom it could truly be said: after serving well as a deacon, he was gaining for himself a good standing, or step forward, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Paul adds this line for a reason. The deacon's job can easily look lower than the overseer's.
Hamilton SmithSomeone might think the office of a deacon was lower than that of an overseer. So the Apostle states plainly that those who use the office of a deacon well gain for themselves a good degree, and much boldness in faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Where the Boldness Comes From
The second half of the promise is courage. One writer shows where that courage comes from.
An Outline of Sound WordsWe see this in Stephen. He was one of the seven deacons chosen to serve in the daily distribution in Jerusalem. He served well, and the Spirit of God then used him to press home to the rulers of Israel their guilt in killing Jesus. How bold he was in faith as he did it, sealing his testimony with his blood (Acts 7). Boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus comes by serving God under the control of the Spirit of God, filled with the Spirit.
Stephen and Philip as the Proof
Two of the men chosen in Acts 6 to serve tables later became preachers. Where did their training happen?
W. T. P. WolstonBefore either Philip or Stephen began to preach, they had graduated — but not at a college or university, and not in any school of human learning or religious teaching. They had graduated in the beautiful work of caring for the poor, the widow, and the needy. They graduated by carrying out their office as deacons in Jerusalem, and they gained not only what is called "a good degree," but "great boldness in the faith."
Who Gains from the Service
Note who receives the benefit. The gain belongs to the servants themselves, and one writer names what kind of gain it is.
J. N. DarbyWhere the deacons carried out their charge faithfully and carefully, they also found their own spiritual profit in it... as we can see fully worked out in the cases of Stephen and Philip; Acts 6, 7 and 8.
The Rule Read Backwards
Faithfulness in small service opens the door to larger usefulness. Neglect of small service closes it.
C. KnappIf we must learn to obey before we are fit to rule, then just as truly we must be willing to serve in little things before God calls us to serve in greater ones. For example, if we have never taken an interest in the care of the meeting room, we can never expect any important place in the government of God's house, the Church of God.
Another writer uses the same rule to explain why so many believers never grow into useful service.
H. L. RossierSo many children of God are silent and unable in the ministry. Isn't the reason largely this? At the start, God put work in front of them to do for Him — work that called for effort, perseverance and the sacrifice of their time — and they would not bend their necks to their Lord's work.
Summary
- Serve. "Deacon" means servant. It is the person who cares for the small practical needs of the saints, down to dusting the seats.
- Serve well. The promise goes to those who fill the office well, not to those who merely hold it. God's school is caring for the poor, the widow and the needy.
- Gain a step. "A good standing" is ground gained, a step forward. This service is no lesser calling than oversight.
- Gain boldness. Courage in the faith grows in the servant who works under the Spirit's control. Stephen's testimony shows it.
- Or forfeit both. The rule runs both ways. Refuse the work that costs time and effort at the start, and the greater usefulness never comes.