Is there any Scripture passage that refers to deacons in the official sense?
Having explored several passages that are general or questionable in reference to the office of deacon, it is necessary to turn to the one passage in the New Testament that can definitely be said to refer to that office: 1 Timothy 3. Verse 8 says, “Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain.” An interpretive key to that verse is “likewise.” It refers back to verse 1, in which we find the statement, “If any man aspires to the office of overseer…” That indicates deacons occupy a recognized office just as elders do. So in the church there is to be a plurality of godly men–elders–who oversee the Lord’s work in the church. They are assisted in their work by deacons. The basic offices of a church do not need to be more sophisticated than that. By A.D. 64, when this epistle was probably written, the church had developed to the point where the spiritual qualifications for church leaders are specific, yet the instructions for
