ahavah7
Puritan Board Freshman
*Note: This thread grew out of a broader discussion of women deacons and the PCA. You can find that discussion here
The above argument boils down to this: The same word always means the same thing. We can think of many words not only in our own language but in the Greek as well for which this is not true. I think the burden of proof is as great for those who say it means the same thing as for those who contend that it's meaning is different (Rom 16:1 vs. 1 Tim 3:12).
In most places the word diakonos is translated servant but in 1 Tim 3 it is translated deacon. Why the difference? In 1 Tim 3 we see a list of qualifications and the injunction to "prove" or test these men. All Christians are called to be servants but the men in 1 Tim 3 are a special class or subset, chosen by God to serve His church in a special capacity. This alone is sufficient grounds to conclude two different (though related) meanings of diakonos in Rom 16:1 and 1 Tim 3.
Acts 6 is also very helpful in understanding whether the office is limited to men only. In Acts 6 the apostles tell the church to pick seven men to assist with administering the daily distribution to the widows. Not even one woman was appointed to this task; at task that was directed solely to widowed women. This is strong evidence that men only should be deacons and should control our understanding of other passages related to deacons in the NT.
[It is anti-feminism that is keeping many from seeing the Biblical issue here - which I will state again: The Bible says there were women deacons, using the same word, diakonos, in Romans 16:1, that was used to give the Biblical requirements for deacons.
The above argument boils down to this: The same word always means the same thing. We can think of many words not only in our own language but in the Greek as well for which this is not true. I think the burden of proof is as great for those who say it means the same thing as for those who contend that it's meaning is different (Rom 16:1 vs. 1 Tim 3:12).
In most places the word diakonos is translated servant but in 1 Tim 3 it is translated deacon. Why the difference? In 1 Tim 3 we see a list of qualifications and the injunction to "prove" or test these men. All Christians are called to be servants but the men in 1 Tim 3 are a special class or subset, chosen by God to serve His church in a special capacity. This alone is sufficient grounds to conclude two different (though related) meanings of diakonos in Rom 16:1 and 1 Tim 3.
Acts 6 is also very helpful in understanding whether the office is limited to men only. In Acts 6 the apostles tell the church to pick seven men to assist with administering the daily distribution to the widows. Not even one woman was appointed to this task; at task that was directed solely to widowed women. This is strong evidence that men only should be deacons and should control our understanding of other passages related to deacons in the NT.