Acts 6:1-7 — Church Leadership
Deacons: Servants who Strengthen the Church
Deacons are chosen servants whose lives exemplify Jesus and godly wisdom, functioning equally with other leaders to solve the church's internal problems and enable its growth.
The Context of Church Growth and Internal Problems
We’re continuing a series on church leadership that began with the importance of developing servant hearts in all of us, not just in leaders. Frank recently covered the subject of elders, and today we turn to deacons. Acts chapter 6, verses 1 through 7, is often used to discuss deacons, and while that’s a valid application, the passage reveals something deeper about how God works in the church. When you look at the structure of these verses, they form a kind of parenthesis: verse 1 opens with disciples increasing in number, and verse 7 closes with disciples multiplying rapidly. Between these bookends lies a story of internal disunity that must be resolved for the church to continue growing. Luke is demonstrating to us that the church grows despite opposition—both external persecution and internal discord—but only when these conflicts are handled in a way that preserves unity and allows leaders to focus on their primary callings.
The critical insight is this: God uses imperfect people to carry out his will and purpose. If you believe leaders must be perfect, this lesson is for you. Leaders are imperfect people whom God uses to serve his body, the church. Imperfect people create moments of disharmony, and when that happens, things get derailed. The plan of God is for his church to expand, and whether opposition comes from outside or within, it slows that process. What this passage ultimately shows is how internal discord and disunity must be handled in such a spiritual way that leaders—both those who preach and those who serve specific groups of people—can continue to help the church grow and expand.
Understanding the Real Problem: Language, Not Prejudice
Many have speculated that Acts 6 reveals prejudice in the early church, but a careful reading shows something different. The conflict exists between Hebraic-speaking Jews and Greek-speaking Jews. To understand this, we need to remember that during Passover, people from all over the known world came to Jerusalem. According to custom, those who traveled to Jerusalem for Passover would stay an extra forty days for the next feast, Pentecost. When the church was established in Acts 2, thousands of people were still in Jerusalem who did not call it home. They were strangers from across the world, but they were Jewish.
The problem arose from language. These people came from places where Aramaic was not the main language. When Peter and the apostles preached on that first day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave them the miraculous ability to speak in languages they had never prepared to speak. These visitors had intended to stay briefly but found themselves extending their time indefinitely. Their money exhausted, the church began to take care of their needs, particularly the widows among them, by distributing food daily.
Here’s the first clue Luke gives us: when the Grecian Jews complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution, that word “complained” carries a specific meaning. It means to make a complaint in private, not to announce publicly that they were being mistreated. Inherent within that word is privacy and quietness. Luke is telling us this is not where people felt they were intentionally being ignored. They understood there was a language problem, and because of that problem, people who needed to be fed weren’t getting fed.
The second clue appears in how the apostles respond. When the twelve gathered the disciples, they focused on finding a solution to the distribution problem. They never accused anyone of prejudice or questioned motives. The issue was purely functional—Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution because those distributing food didn’t speak their language.
The Qualities of Deacons and Functional Equality
To solve this problem, the apostles asked the disciples to choose seven men known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. The solution itself is revealing: all seven names were Greek names. They chose men from Greek descent, Hellenistic Jews rather than Hebraic Jews. This directly addressed the language barrier. When these Greek-speaking specialists entered the distribution program, they could announce to people in their own language where they could go to get food, or they could go directly to bring food to those in need.
What does it mean to be full of the spirit? It means the man thinks that God matters. He expresses that verbally, and when you look at his life, you have no doubt that he is exhibiting signs of trying to be led by God. Wisdom means he thinks like a follower of Jesus rather than like a person who lives in this world. He is patient, he thinks like Jesus thinks. His life obviously shows that he is all about what Jesus wants. He cares significantly that he thinks like Jesus rather than thinking like the world.
Notice what the apostles said: “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables.” The word translated as “wait” or “serve tables” is diakonos—it means to serve. In verse 4, they say, “We will give our attention to prayer and the diakonos of the Word.” There is functional difference here, but there is no hierarchy. The apostles are not standing up saying, “We’re in charge, so you do what we tell you.” They are saying, “We have a ministry that needs attention. If we divert from our ministry, the church won’t expand. We need you to take care of this function so we can stay focused on ours. Both are equally important.”
This is equality, not hierarchy. There is functional difference, but one is not above the other. The ministry of the deacon is just as important as the ministry of the apostle. It’s simply functionally different. We have to give up our business model about church. Within the kingdom of God, the only hierarchy that exists is God and everybody else. There is no hierarchy among believers. We are exposed to hierarchy in all facets of life—a boss, and their boss, and that boss’s boss—and before long the hierarchy becomes well established. But that is not how the body of Christ functions.
Leadership Qualities for All God’s People
When we look for deacons, we look for men whose lives exude Jesus and who clearly want to follow him. You can see it when you watch them, and you can hear it when they talk. They don’t think like the world thinks—they think like Jesus thinks, in terms of patience, encouragement, and building others up. When there’s complaining to be done, they do it privately, not to increase dissension but to preserve unity. They understand there’s a right way and a wrong way to complain. When done correctly, unity can be preserved. The private complaint is given because no one is questioning motives. The focus is on solving the problem together, not on being right.
But here’s the question we should ask ourselves: which of us shouldn’t exude Jesus? Which of us shouldn’t be thinking like Jesus rather than thinking like the world? Which of us shouldn’t operate from the perspective of wanting to maintain and grow our unity? Which of us shouldn’t want to solve problems together to preserve the body of Christ? These qualities aren’t just for deacons. They’re for all of us. Luke gives us three clues that demonstrate not only that the church expands when it handles internal conflict spiritually, but also the importance of choosing leaders who understand their imperfections and their need to serve with humility and wisdom. When children leave for ministry, it’s hard, but it’s also an exhilarating time, and you wouldn’t change it for anything. As we move forward, we’ll be asking you to consider and tell us about men you believe can serve as deacons in this congregation. Be on the lookout for that.
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