Acts 6:1 describes division in a church, a division rooted in cultural differences.
The solution was to create a new office, the office of deacon.
Just as "The Twelve" are the beginning of the office of elder (1 Peter 5:1), so "The Seven" are the model of the office of deacon.
Scripture makes it plain that these two offices should exist in each local congregation (Philippians 1:1), and Romans 16:1 points to Phoebe being a deaconess of the congregation at Cenchrea.
Scripture knows nothing of one-man rule: Each local congregation was to have at least two elders (Acts 14:23).
Paul left Titus in Crete to put things in order, and this involved appointing elders over every local church. As Titus 1:3, 5 make clear, All Elders are Bishops, and all Bishops are Elders.
When we look at Acts 6:2, 4, we see that the work of elders or bishops is identical to what we call a pastor. When I sign a marriage license, I sign it as a Minister of the Gospel. This is confirmed in 1 Timothy 3:1-15 and Acts 20:17, 28.
We also see in Acts 6:2-4 that the work of deacons is handling the "business" side of the church, making sure that people's physical needs are met.
The result was a vibrant, unified church that expanded by evangelism and witnessed the conversion of many Jewish priests (Acts 6:7). |
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