What are Deacons?

We’ve covered this particular topic previously on the blog, but I’m studying through the subject of church leadership again, so I thought I’d take the time to do a quick overview of the subject of deacons. There are a few major questions that pop up to create division in the body, the calendar and Holy Days being two of the main ones, ironically.  

Now, as far as the leadership structure in the church goes, there is really only one level of government: the elders, who do the work of oversight. 

We’re not getting into that today; we’re only going to look at what a deacon is, because many Churches have made the role of deacon into a rank above the rest of the body or a title, which it is not. 

First, every man and woman should be God’s deacon.

It may surprise you to hear me say that, given what I’ve written about men and women in the past, but it’s true. 

John 12:26 NKJV - "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him [My] Father will honor.

It only mentions men here, but we’ll see other places where women are included. Now, I said we should all be God’s deacons, and I meant it. 

We should all be God’s deacons, because deacon means “servant.”

Διάκονος noun

One who executes the commands of another, especially of a master; a servant, attendant, minister

If you execute the commands of another, especially of a master, as our Lord Jesus is, then you are their servant. That’s what the word diakonos means at its base level, and such a servant could also be called a minister. 

MIN'ISTER, verb intransitive 

To attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular.

Diakonos also has a verb form diakoneo which means to serve, as in, the action of serving. A diakonos is one who diakoneos.

Διακονέω verb

To be a servant, attendant, domestic; to serve, wait upon.

The word is used of anything regarding service, as you might expect a word that means “service” to do. 

Luke 10:40 NKJV - But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."

A deacon, then, is a servant, and anyone in any capacity in the Body could rightly be called a deacon. If you serve in the kitchen, on the sound board, through speaking, or in managing the finances, you are acting as a deacon. 

We’re going to look at several of the places the word diakonos is used, so we can get a better and more complete picture of the usage of the word. 

It’s used to describe those who are servants of a specific person, such as a king or God. 

Matthew 22:13 NKJV - "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Matthew 23:11 NKJV - "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

John 2:5 NKJV - His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do [it]."

John 12:26 NKJV - "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him [My] Father will honor.

It’s used to describe kings as servants of God, not meaning that they intend to be His servants, but that they are ultimately God’s tool for wrath upon the wicked.

Romans 13:4 NKJV - For he is God's servant to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's servant, an avenger to [execute] wrath on him who practices evil.

It’s then used of Jesus to describe His service to the Jews to bring them into His family. It’s a major problem if the word denotes someone of a lower rank, or indeed, imparts any rank at all. 

Jesus is a diakonos.  

Romans 15:8 NKJV - Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises [made] to the fathers,

It’s also used of Phoebe to describe her serving one of the congregations, an act that could have been anything service-related, including serving food, cooking, caring for the sick and poor, etc. 

Romans 16:1 NKJV - I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,

Diakonos is used to describe the apostles, the workers of the gospel, which again is an issue if deacon denotes an office or rank rather than a function. Paul is also an elder, which means that if it’s a rank, he would be holding two separate ranks or offices simultaneously.  

1 Corinthians 3:5 NKJV - Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but servants through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?

2 Corinthians 3:6 NKJV - who also made us sufficient as servants of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 6:4 NKJV - But in all [things] we commend ourselves as servants of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,

Ephesians 3:7 NKJV - of which I became a servant according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

Ephesians 6:21 NKJV - But that you also may know my affairs [and] how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make all things known to you;

Colossians 1:7 NKJV - as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave, who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf,

1 Timothy 4:6 NKJV - If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good servant of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

Finally, it’s used to declare Jesus is not a servant of sin. 

Galatians 2:17 NKJV - "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, [is] Christ therefore a servant of sin? Certainly not!

 

All of those usages function as "servant" with no issue, and it’s easy to see that they should be translated that way in every scenario. 

However, there are two places where it could be argued that the word should actually refer to a special office rather than a generic role of service. 

We’ll look at these two places next, because at first glance and with a standard translation, it seems pretty cut and dried; clearly, there is an office of “deacon.”  

1 Timothy 3:8 NKJV - Likewise deacons [must be] reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money,

1 Timothy 3:9 NKJV - holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.

1 Timothy 3:10 NKJV - But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being [found] blameless.

1 Timothy 3:11 NKJV - Likewise, [their] wives [must be] reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.

1 Timothy 3:12 NKJV - Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling [their] children and their own houses well.

1 Timothy 3:13 NKJV - For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

LSV 8 Servants, in like manner, dignified, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not given to shameful gain, 

9 having the secret of the faith in a pure conscience, 

10 and let these also first be proved, then let them minister, being unblameable. 

11 Women/wives, in like manner, dignified, not false accusers, vigilant, faithful in all things. 

12 Servants—let them be husbands of one wife, leading the children well, and their own houses, 

13 for those who ministered well acquire a good step to themselves, and much boldness in faith that [is] in Christ Jesus.

In the second translation, the reading is a little clearer, but it is still not quite as cut and dried as we would like. 

Why such strenuous qualifications for men who are just going to set up chairs?

Read that list again, especially the part about how they must have their own house under control. That’s a lot to ask of someone just to set up chairs or help out with the cooking, which we see that exact sort of diakoneo in other places, some of which we have already examined. 

What if there’s something else going on here?

These are men and women entrusted with a specific task that requires a great deal of faithfulness. 

These aren’t people who are going to be tasked simply with setting up chairs or cooking a meal; they are going to be entrusted with special missions, such as carrying messages, visiting widows, caring for the sick, handling the money, and other tasks requiring a great deal of maturity and trust. 

Timothy was to identify the men and women he could rely on because they were mature servants of God, and then those were the people he would task with the special missions.

There’s a message needing to be carried, funds needing to be delivered, or a meeting needing to be organized?

These are the ones who would be tasked with that. 

Trusted servants.

You don’t have to take my word for this, however, because we can see clear examples of this demonstrated in the usage of diakonos we have already surveyed.

Tradition has Phoebe delivering the letter to the Romans.

Romans 16:1 NKJV - I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 

Tychicus carried and explained the letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 6:21 NKJV - But that you also may know my affairs [and] how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you;

Timothy was sent back to the Thessalonians and brought the report back to Paul and Silas which resulted in the first letter to the Thessalonians. 

1 Thessalonians 3:1 NKJV - Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone,

1 Thessalonians 3:2 NKJV - and sent Timothy, our brother and servant of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith,

Tychicus again carried and explained the letter to the Colossians.

Colossians 4:7 NKJV - Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.

Paul constantly names and commends faithful men and women in his letters, signaling that they are faithful and trustworthy for those tasks that require diligence and maturity. 

You don’t want a wayward and lazy woman visiting the sick, in charge of the kitchen, or carrying a letter, and you don’t want a lazy and careless man tending to the funds, delivering food to a congregation in starvation, carrying and explaining a letter, or any number of other things. 

You need men and women you know are faithful servants of God that you know you can count on to accomplish the task given to them, because they are acting on behalf of either the apostles or the assembly. 

They’ve been entrusted with a great mission, even if it’s simply caring for the poor and sick. 

Now, I said there were two places, and this is the other place where it could be argued that diakonos describes an office. 

 

Philippians 1:1 NKJV - Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

 

LSV 1 Paul and Timotheus, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with overseers and servants:

 

The only reason I say it could be argued that servant is an office here is that it is included with overseer as though there is a list of officers, but it also easily reads as simply “servants.” 

In other words, the passage does not require us to conclude that diakonos is a separate rank in the same sense as overseer. It still fits naturally with the broader use of the word as “servant,” which is why the wording is not as decisive as it first appears.

Now, just because some are more faithful servants, servants entrusted with special tasks, that does not establish a special office or rank in the congregation; it simply establishes a list of qualifications one must meet if they are going to be entrusted with special business. 

Whether it’s a one-time task of delivering a message to another congregation or a recurring service like teaching the Assembly or running the sound, they must meet those qualifications. 

It also does not preclude the fact that everyone in the congregation should be a servant or diakonos. 

So we see that there are two uses of the word “servant” in the New Testament: one that applies to everyone, regardless of how small the task, and another that applies to those entrusted with tasks requiring great maturity.

Do you need to meet that list of requirements to serve by setting up chairs, cooking, or any number of other tasks? 

No!

We should strive to attain to that list of requirements, because that is the list of characteristics of what constitutes a faithful servant of Jesus, irrespective of whether or not there is a specific office of “deacon.”  

We don’t need a title the Apostles did not give, and we don’t need the honor and regard of men. 

We are simply what the Apostles were—servants of God. 

© Kyle Bacher 2026