Acts Study #24: The apostles appointed seven men (deacons) to assist them in the ministry of the church at Jerusalem (6:1 - 8)
Hechos Estudio #24: Los apóstoles designaron a siete hombres (diáconos) para ayudarlos en el ministerio de la iglesia en Jerusalén (6:1 - 8)
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“This is the work of Jehovah! It is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23
Acts, Chapter 1.3: The Sanhedrin violently rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ from Stephen (6:1 - 8:4)
§Unique Introduction: The apostles appointed seven men (deacons) to assist them in the ministry of the church at Jerusalem (6:1 - 8)
¶Opposite The apostles ask the members of the church at Jerusalem to choose seven men to take charge of the daily distribution of food (6:1 - 4)
¶Opposite The appointment of the seven deacons resulted in a great increase of the church membership at Jerusalem (6:5 - 8)
§Complement Body: Stephen laid the theological basis to accuse the Sanhedrin of murdering their Messiah (6:9 - 7:43)
¶Unique The enemies of Stephen caused him to be falsely arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin (6:9 - 7:1)
¶Complement God called Abraham to serve Him and gave his seed the land of Canaan (7:2 - 8)
¶Complement Joseph called his father Jacob to come down to Egypt with his family (7:9 - 16)
¶Opposite God trained Moses for leadership by placing him in the household of Pharaoh (Acts 7:17 - 29)
¶Opposite But the people initially rejected Moses, the leader given them by God (7:30 - 43)
§Complement Conclusion: Stephen accused the Sanhedrin of murdering their Messiah: resulting in his death and a general persecution (7:44 - 8:4)
¶Complement Stephen accused the Sanhedrin of murdering their Messiah, the true Temple of Jehovah, and the Prophet like Moses (7:44 - 54)
¶Complement The death of Stephen resulted in a general persecution of all believers in Christ (7:55 - 8:4)
Comments: We begin our study of Chapter 1.3 of Acts with the event that sets the stage for the other events in this Chapter, all dealing with Stephen, one of the deacons chosen by the church membership.
Bible Text with outline of paragraph 1:
Acts, Chapter 1.3: The Sanhedrin violently rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ from Stephen (6:1 - 8:4)
§Unique Introduction: The apostles appointed seven men (deacons) to assist them in the ministry of the church at Jerusalem (6:1 - 8)
¶Opposite The apostles asked the church to choose seven men to take charge of the daily distribution of food (6:1 - 4)
Unique And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food.
Complement Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples, and said, “It is not reasonable that we, having left behind the Word of God, should be serving tables.
Complement “Therefore, brethren, seek out among yourselves seven men of honest reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom; whom we may appoint over this business.”
Opposite “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer,
Opposite “and to the ministry of the Word.”
Comments: Remember that the Book of Acts is a historical document that describes, among other things, how the institution of the Assembly (often translated as the “church”) evolved during the 1st Century A.D.
Christ started the first Assembly (or Ecclesia) in Matthew 16:18: “And also I say to you, that you are a small pebble; but upon this foundation Rock will I build my Assembly [or, Ecclesia]; and the gates of Hell shall not withstand it.”
At that time, there were no “deacons”; there were only a group of 12 apostles with Christ as their Pastor, or Shepherd. They had no church buildings with chairs, pulpit, or piano: only the open fields and mountains; and sometimes, the seaside.
Although Christ Himself never appointed any “deacons”, the apostle Paul, as the authoritative Teacher of the Gentiles, wrote that deacons were, in fact, a scriptural office in the Assembly (1 Timothy 3:8-13).
After the Ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven (Acts 1:9), there were only the apostles, Mary the mother of Jesus, the half-brothers of Christ, and other members of the church in Jerusalem that totaled about 120 people (Acts 1:15). They had no pastor at that time; the apostles collectively led the church, with the apostle Peter as their leader.
This situation continued for a number of years, probably a decade or more, until James, the half-brother of Jesus, assumed the role of pastor of the church in Jerusalem. The Bible doesn’t tell us when this transition occurred.
However, in Acts 15: 19 at the first church council, James speaks as the decision-maker above all of the apostles, including Peter: “Therefore my decision is, that we do not trouble them that from among the Gentiles are turning to God...” “MY DECISION IS” came after Peter and the other apostles had made their speeches about the controversy over Gentiles keeping the Law of Moses.
So now, the church in Jerusalem had a new pastor, who was the half-brother of Jesus; and the apostles, while still leaders in the church, had been down-graded (as it were) to roles as elders in the church assembly. Sort of like a pastor, only James was a “first among equals”.
Obviously, the Bible text shows that Peter was not the leader of the church in Jerusalem; nor was he the leader of any other church. He was widely respected among the apostles and among Christians, but he was no more than an elder in the church in Jerusalem, just like the other 11 apostles in that church.
I Peter 5:1 - 3: “The elders which are among you I exhort (who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed): shepherd the flock of God which is among you; overseeing them not by compulsion, but willingly; not for dishonest gain, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.”
Notice that Peter identified himself as “an elder”, just like “the elders which are among you”. He did not identify himself as a “pope” (because there was no such office in the early church).
And everything Peter said about what an elder should be is exactly the opposite of how the popes of Rome have behaved over the centuries, who are greedy for gold and for earthly power over kings and peoples.
At the beginning of the Book of Acts, Peter was the leader of the apostles; and by default, the leader of the church in Jerusalem. But by the church meeting in Acts 15, two or more decades later, Peter was NOT the leader of the church anymore; nor was Peter a “pope”.
There were no popes in the early church; but there were “popes” in Rome, even before the birth of Christ; except that these “popes” were pagan popes (called Pontifex Maximus) who worshiped demon idol gods and led the nation of Rome in their worship of these idols.
"The Pontifex Maximus was the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This position was the most important in the ancient Roman religion1. Initially, it was open only to patricians, but from 254 BC, plebeians could also hold the office.
The role of the Pontifex Maximus evolved over time. Under the early Roman Republic, it was a distinctly religious office. However, it gradually became politicized, and starting with Augustus, it was subsumed into the position of the emperor. Emperors continued to hold the title of Pontifex Maximus well into Late Antiquity.
The title Pontifex Maximus means "supreme pontiff" in Latin. The term "pontiff" itself is derived from the Latin word for "bridge" and the suffix for "maker," though its exact origins are uncertain. The title was later adopted by the Roman Catholic Church for the pope as its chief bishop." (Copilot)
Several centuries after the apostles, the “bishop of Rome” assigned to himself the title of “pope”, because the Roman Empire was weak, and from then on, the popes assumed the office of both emperor and leader of the “Church” (as they defined it).
But the Bible has no mention whatsoever of the title of “pope”, because it is a pagan title, with no foundation whatsoever in the Holy Scriptures. Neither does it ever mention “monks”, “nuns”, “friars”, or “Cardinals”. None of these titles are Scriptural titles: they are man-made and not ordained of God.
However, other pagan religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism also have “nuns” and “monks”, with prayer beads like the Rosary, and celibacy among their “priests” just like Roman Catholicism.
Why is it that Roman Catholicism has so much in common with pagan religions, but so very little in common with the Bible? It is because a decision or a series of decisions were made after the apostles died to gradually incorporate the practices and beliefs of paganism into the Christian churches of their day, starting with infant baptism; and over the centuries, the Roman “church” has departed so far from the Bible that they are worshiping idols (which is condemned by the Scriptures), and trusting in Mary for salvation instead of Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” John 14:6.
Roman Catholicism is little more than baptized Baal worship, with idols of the Babylonian witch Semiramis and her son Tammuz (or Baal) in every Catholic "church" that they claim are Mary and her son Jesus. THIS IS NOT BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY!
Revelation 17:1-5: "And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls; and he talked with me, saying to me, “Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored Beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls; having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name written: “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Bible Text with outline of paragraph 2:
¶Opposite The appointment of the seven deacons resulted in a great increase of the church membership at Jerusalem (6:5 - 8)
Opposite And the saying pleased the whole multitude.
Opposite And they chose Stephen (a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit), and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch.
Complement Whom they presented to the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
Complement And the Word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great number of the priests were obedient to the Faith.
Unique And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
The offices of the church (or, the assembly) in the Bible
Comments: The letters of Paul tell us that there are only two Scriptural titles for Christian church leaders:
1) Pastor (also called an elder, overseer, or shepherd) (1 Timothy 3:1-7 "In the KJV, the word for 'Bishop' is "επισκοπης", which means "overseer". )
2) Deacon (Acts 6:5-8; I Timothy 3:8-13). This office is ideally chosen by the members of the church and appointed by the pastor. In some churches, the pastor does the choosing. This has been done to reduce the chance of unfit men being allowed into the leadership of the church through the ignorance and carnality of the members of the church. The process of becoming a deacon in a church that is carnal can become a political struggle and end up with a church split. So this process must be approached with great caution and prayer!
Translation issues
The word for 1 Timothy 3:1 "ἐπισκοπή" is translated as “bishop” in the King James Version of the Bible, but remember that the KJV was translated by the Church of England. They had to use the word “Bishop”, because their church has “bishops”, similar to the Roman Catholic religion. If they had used the literal sense of the Greek word, they would have translated it as “overseer”. So “Bishop” is another man-made term with no foundation in the Scriptures.
Notice again how Peter described his office:
I Peter 5:1 - 3: “The elders which are among you I exhort (who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed): shepherd the flock of God which is among you; overseeing them not by compulsion, but willingly; not for dishonest gain, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.”
Peter applied the same terms of "overseer", "shepherd" (or "pastor") and "elder" to the same men! In other words, these are simply terms that describe the authority and duties of a pastor of a local church. There can only be one pastor or leader or overseer of a local congregation/assembly of believers; but there may be multiple subordinate "pastors" who take charge of the Sunday school, the young people or teenagers, the elderly, the bus ministry, and so on. If you want to call them "elders", this is a Biblical term; but to reduce confusion, it is best to just use one term: pastor.
Peter was an elder in his church; and he exhorted the other elders in his church to “shepherd [or pastor] the flock of God”; “shepherd” is the same as “pastor”.
Peter also said “overseeing them not by compulsion, but willingly”; so the office of “elder” included the work of “pastoring” and “overseeing”. So there is no reason to separate these responsibilities into separate offices. These tasks and responsibilities are all included in the office of “elder”.
1 Timothy 4:14: "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the elders."
In this text, the original word for "elders" is "πρεσβυτεριου", translated literally as "presbytery" in the KJV; but it only means a group of elders. It is not something different than a group of pastors.
In Baptist churches, when a man is ordained to the Gospel ministry, the ceremony typically involves a group of other men who have also been ordained to the Gospel ministry, typically pastors, evangelists, and/or missionaries. After a round of preaching, the men impose their hands on the candidate and pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of the Lord on the man and his future ministry.
So these men (pastors, evangelists, and missionaries) are performing the role of "elders" in this capacity, although they have other titles in their normal roles.
Pastor, elder, or overseer are the same office for the same man
So whether you use the title of Pastor or elder, you are saying exactly the same thing: it is the same office with a multitude of tasks:
1) to lead the local Assembly of Believers in Jesus Christ
2) to preach the Gospel and teach the Scriptures to the local Assembly of Believers in Jesus Christ;
3) and by extension, to preach the Gospel and teach the Scriptures to the entire world through the ministry of supporting other elders or missionaries “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria; and unto the uttermost part of the Earth.” (Acts 1:8). In our modern era, that could include preaching the Gospel through electronic means such as Facebook or a website.
On the other hand, to be a Biblical pastor, a man must have a congregation of believers with deacons! He cannot be someone who only posts Bible studies on the internet! Such a man can assist local congregations of believers remotely; but he cannot be their pastor. This is a very important distinction.
These three titles have been abused by many sects
Beginning with the Roman Catholic Baal religion, groups that claim to be Christian have abused these titles, separating them into different offices within their sect: Bishop, elders, and pastors. But as we have seen, these titles all belong to one man: the leader of the local congregation or assembly of believers.
The Roman Catholic religion of Semiramis and Baal (supposedly "Mary" and "Jesus") created many false offices such as "pope", "monks", "nuns", "friars", etc. All of these terms came from pagan religions! Buddhists also have "monks" and "nuns" with "prayer beads" and so on. Catholicism adopted these things from other religions as a way to help conquer and absorb the people of other countries into the religion of Rome. It is called "syncretism":
"Syncretism refers to the blending or merging of different religious, cultural, or philosophical traditions and practices. This process can result in the creation of new belief systems, rituals, or cultural practices that incorporate elements from the original sources." (Copilot)
The office of "apostle" was temporary; and the apostles recognized this
Peter and the other apostles recognized that their office was a temporary one, and allowed someone other than an apostle to be elevated above them in the church in Jerusalem. So the pattern for all churches going forward from that time until now is that pastors are the leaders of their churches, not “apostles”. The office of an apostle was a temporary bridge to the permanent office of Pastor/Overseer/Elder (all describing the same office).
If the office of an apostle were intended to be permanent, would not Paul (who was the authoritative Teacher of Christianity) have included “apostle” as one of the offices in the Assembly in 1st Timothy? Absolutely. But he did not. Only Pastor/Overseer/Elder (I Timothy 3:1 - 7) is mentioned, along with deacons (I Timothy 3:8-13).
The church model that was taught by the apostles in the Bible
Most Baptist churches have only pastors (which includes the senior pastor and any number of assistant pastors) and deacons. Both the pastor and the deacons are chosen by the church membership. The pastor and deacons are not imposed on the local church by any outside person or agency. This practice follows the Biblical model, which is called the “congregational” model, where the power in the church flows UP from the membership to the office of the pastor. This is a model which is followed by the Constitution of the United States, where the people choose representatives in elections, who then are empowered to make the laws for the people.
Protestants follow the Roman Catholic "Semiramis and Baal" model of church governance
Protestant churches vary, depending on which denomination you are looking at, but generally, they have a vertical authority system, where the power in their denomination is “top-down”: the leader of their denomination makes the decisions (like the pope in Roman Catholicism), and the authority to make decisions flows down from the leader(s) (or the "Presbytery") to the people. The individual churches have their leaders appointed to them by the leaders of their denomination, just like in Catholicism where the “priests” are appointed by the “bishop” to the churches. The people have little or no say in who rules them. This is the "authoritarian" model of church governance, which is exactly the same as a dictatorship.
Which one is the best model for church leadership: God’s model or man’s model? It should be obvious that God’s model is the best model. The members of each church are not to be ruled by their pastors as “lords over God’s heritage”, but as servants of the flock. God does not want pastors to be like communist dictators, but as humble servants of God, teaching the Word of God, and living the Word of God as examples to their flocks and to the world at large.
“And when the ten heard this, they were moved with indignation against the two brothers. But Jesus called them to himself, and said, “You know that the princes of the Gentiles lord it over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be this way among you; but whosoever wishes to have great authority among you must be your servant; and whosoever wishes to be first among you must be your bondslave. Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:24 -28
Are you a member of a Protestant or a Roman Catholic church? You should join a church that follows the good Biblical model, not the evil model of dictatorship. If you need help locating such a church, contact me through Facebook and ask for assistance. I will be happy to find a good church for you in your area, if one exists.
How to be saved!
But in order to join a Biblical church, you must first be born again. Have you been born again through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ?
Luke 13:5: “I tell you, no; but, unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish.”
John 3:5: “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and [also] of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.””
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life.”
Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
John 14:6 “Jesus says to him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, except through me.”
Mary is not the Way to Heaven.
The “church” (Baptist, Protestant, Catholic, whatever) is not the Way to Heaven.
Baptism is not the Way to Heaven.
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or any religion is not the Way into Heaven.
Jesus Himself is the ONLY and EXCLUSIVE Way into Heaven.
Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” John 10:1
Do you want to be in Heaven rather than Hell when you die?
Here is a prayer that you can use to repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior right now, because you may not live to get saved tomorrow:
“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”
If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.