Yes to Female Deacons—A Comprehensive Study
“Why not make the declaration now?” I asked our assembled elders.
We’d been teaching through 1st Timothy in homegroup and in the coming week, chapters 3, verses 8-12 loomed, the qualifications for deacons. Women or wives? Which was it?
They all enthusiastically agreed.
Our church plant wrestled with the issue several years ago. We had five elders at the time, two fully convinced that female deacons were biblical and two either opposed or uncertain. The teaching elder and ostensible tiebreaker was on the fence. As we had not yet appointed deacons and wouldn’t for several years, we remained grid-locked on the issue, so we punted.
Fast forward several years, through the appointment of our first deacons, it seemed we were finally off the fence and ready to commit.
We affirm that God, as revealed in Scripture, allows for the appointment of female deacons.
Guardrails to Orthodoxy
God has given us several graces to keep the church within the bounds of orthodoxy.
1. He has given us His word and the Holy Spirit of God indwelling the believer to illuminate the truth of Scripture. This is a ministry of the Holy Spirit, Sola Scriptura as it were. Yet, we are not biblicists, we need other helps. Every heretic has a Bible verse.
2. Creeds and Confessions. For 2000 years, the Holy Spirit of God has been at work in the hearts of believers, and they have written things down which, though not on the level of Scripture, help serve as guardrails, keeping us within the bounds of orthodoxy. Our church affirms the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message and considers the 1689 London Baptist Confession a reasonable expression of the faith.
3. Church History. If you come up with an idea or an interpretation that has not been affirmed or practiced in the 2000 years of the church, that ought to be a red flag.
4. Church Universal. Consider the affirmation or practice of like-minded Christians.
5. Community. Contrary to contemporary notions, the primary place for the study of Scripture is the corporate gathering. For nearly 1500 years, no one had a Bible, many couldn’t have read one even if they had one. Corporate study drives our personal study.
As such, the elders of the Way set about to determine whether it was biblically permissible to appoint female deacons.
Fear of Liberal Slide
One of our previous elders readily admitted that the reason he would not agree with female deacons was a fear of being branded a theological liberal. To the best of my knowledge, not one of the Southern Baptist churches in our local association appoints female deacons.
Granted, the descent into theological liberalism is normally a long and gradual slide into heterodoxy. No denominations or churches wake up and say, “We’re going progressive.” Almost always, it starts with a denial of the inerrancy of Scripture followed by the appointment of female pastors or clergy. Like clockwork, the next step is the affirmation of same-sex marriage and the inevitable appointment of homosexual clergy. This is the pattern we’ve seen in the Episcopal, Lutheran, and now Methodist denominations amongst others.
Scripture describes two offices for God’s church, the office of elder and the office of deacon. Scripture uses the words for elder, pastor, and overseer or bishop interchangeably. They are the same office, the teaching and leading office of the church. And Scripture is clear that the office of elder is reserved for men, that men are to teach and lead the church. (1 Timothy 2:11-14, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9) Not only should women not occupy the office, but they ought not perform the function of the office, that is preaching and teaching to men.
The elders of the Way are in unanimous agreement in this regard, firmly complementarian in our convictions. To deny this is to deny the clear teaching of Scripture, its authority. God places equal value in women and men, and He gifts women for great service in the church, just not the office of elder.
Additionally, no historically reformed or conservative denomination has ever appointed female elders, and we’ve even seen the formation of entire new conservative denominations in response to the appointment of female elders.
Confessionally, chapter 6 of the 2000 BF&M reads, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Chapter 26.9 of the LBC also restricts the office to men.
Pretty clear, but what about deacons?
Of the Diaconate
Acts 6 seems to describe the formation of the diaconate. The Hellenistic widows are being left out of the daily distribution of food, so the Apostles appoint seven men to oversee the distribution ministry. The Apostles cannot conduct the ministry of the table, needing to reserve their efforts for the ministry of the Word and prayer. No definitive link exists between this account and the office of deacon, but it is certainly a hermeneutical leap that most interpreters, as well as the elders of the Way, readily make. The ministry of the seven, the ministry of deacons is to serve.
Creeds, Confessions, and the Diaconate
Starting here, we can make a point to set our expectations before going to Scripture. All of the confessions and creeds, including our own, are silent on the issue of female deacons. That is, this is not an issue of orthodoxy. As we’ll see, Scripture seems to make room for both points of view. Both points of view can be defended by Scripture and good and faithful Christians fall on either side of the issue.
My heart was grieved in noting several commentators whom I respect slandering those who would appoint female deacons with the charge of theological liberalism. It is not an issue to divide over, even within denominations. It is a tertiary issue for sure, in line with one’s view of eschatology or church polity. Important for sure, just not a measure of one’s orthodoxy.
What is defended in the confessions is Christian liberty, that is, the freedom to express the faith in ways that are not forbidden in Scripture. (Romans 14) What is condemned in the confessions is the binding of the conscience of the saints, laying upon them burdens and unscriptural restrictions. Per the confessions, the issue of female deacons would be one open to the interpretation of local congregations.
That being settled, let’s get to Scripture.
Scripture and the Diaconate
Two texts govern the discussion, a didactic (teaching) text from 1 Timothy 3:8-13 and a descriptive text from Romans 16:1-2.
1 Timothy 3:8-13
After giving the qualifications for eldership, Paul then gives the qualifications for a deacon. Initially, it has distinctive masculine wording. Verse 8, “Deacons likewise must be men of dignity.” Verse 10, “these men must also first be tested.” Verse 11 is where the confusion sets in. Paul writes:
“[Women/Wives] must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate,
faithful in all things.”
The word “likewise” introduces a new class of people. Is it women as in female deacons or is it wives as in the wives of deacons? Let’s consult the English translations.
The NASB ’95 and the NIV both render it “women”.
The ESV and the KJV translate it “Their wives”.
The CSB renders it only as “wives”.
The limitations of the Greek language contribute to the confusion. The word is γυναῖκας or gynaikas which can be translated as either wives or women. There is no separate word in the Greek for wives. Context must determine the rendering.
Two arguments from silence start to push the needle.
We can immediately dismiss the translation of “their wives” because the possessive pronoun “their” is not present in the Greek. The translators of the ESV and KJV made an interpretation instead of sticking to translation in adding the possessive pronoun. It is either “wives” or it is “women”. Adding the possessive pronoun is hermeneutically improper. It makes sense that Paul, if speaking of deacon’s wives, would include the possessive pronoun. If he just meant “wives”, well, which wives? All wives? Elder’s wives? Only deacon’s wives? The clearer translation is “women”.
The other argument from silence speaks to the context. Why would Paul stipulate requirements for the wife of a deacon and NOT for the wife of an elder? The office of elder is at least as prominent in the life of the church than the office of deacon if not more so. Yet, it makes no sense that Paul would place a requirement upon the wife of a deacon and not that of an elder. The only argument I’ve found to address this is that the nature of deacon ministry, serving and interacting with people, would naturally require a husband and wife to serve together in this capacity, thereby necessitating requirements for the wife. This argument falls woefully short. Surely the wife of an elder interacts with the people, maybe in a different capacity, but just as much as a deacon’s wife. It would make more sense if there were qualifications for an elder’s wife and NOT for a deacon’s wife, as the office of elder is the leader of the church. Shouldn’t the wives of the leaders of the church need to represent him and the church well? Paul’s silence on elder’s wives naturally yields the rendering of “women” for verse 11.
Follow the logical flow. Paul gives the qualifications for elders, men. Then gives the qualifications for deacons, as men, before stipulating, women also, here are the qualifications, before returning to address the deacons as men in verse 12. Opponents will point to the logical break in the flow of Paul’s thoughts in verse 11 to address women. Either way, there is a break in the flow, to address women or to address wives. Given the context, “women” is the more likely rendering.
Romans 16:1-2
Paul concludes his letter to the Romans with a series of greetings. He opens the section with:
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a [servant/deacon] of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.
Phoebe is a diakonos. It is a masculine noun. There is no feminine version of the noun. Is she a servant as in, all Christians are servants and Paul feels led to describe her as such or, is she a servant in the technical sense of the word, occupying the office of deacon in an official capacity. Grammatically, both renderings are possible, but as with the text in 1 Timothy, the literary context seems to push the needle toward the translation of “deacon”.
First, she is described as a diakonos “of the church which is at Cenchrea”. In every instance where diakonos is used in the non-technical sense—elsewhere, Paul describes himself as a diakonos—it is never applied to a specific church, only here. The addition of the modifying clause seems to indicate that she is acting in an official capacity representing her church, as in the office of deacon. Further, Paul describes her as ousan diakonos, “being” a deacon. Ousan is a feminine accusative present participle. This construct is used in three other places, always referring to someone being in an official capacity or office:
“Caiaphas, being high priest that year,” (John 11:49)
“Gallio, being proconsul of Achaia,” (Acts 18:12)
“you [Felix], being a judge to this nation,” (Acts 24:10)
The literary context presents a strong case for Phoebe being a deacon.
The historical context in verse 2 strengthens the case. What was Pheobe doing in her official capacity? She is described as a “helper” in verse 2, a prostatis. While “helper” is an adequate rendering of the word, Strongs describes it as “a woman set over others” or “a female guardian, protectress, patroness, caring for the affairs of others and aiding them with her resources”. It’s stronger than “helper”, implying more responsibility. She was perhaps a patron of Paul’s, funding his ministry and travels. Many commentators suspect her of being a courier for the actual letter to the Romans. In other words, she is likely performing duties in line with an official capacity i.e. that of a deacon.
Again, on its own merits, Romans 16:1-2 would hardly make the case, but when combined with the exegesis of 1 Timothy 3:11, a textual consensus begins to emerge, that of female deacons.
Argument of Authority
The major case against female deacons boils down to a position on authority. In the previous chapter, Paul writes to Timothy, “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.” (1 Timothy 2:12) Proving that this is no cultural peculiarity, Paul grounds his argument in creation. “For it as Adam who was first created, and then Eve.” (v. 13) Thus, any office denotes authority, any official capacity, even the office of deacon. The office would certainly require handling finances, assigning roles, making judgement calls i.e. authority. Therefore, the argument goes, appointing women as deacons would clearly violate Paul’s command.
Yet, the context here is in terms of the teaching office and the public gathering. I’ve been taught by many women. I learn as much from my wife, maybe more than she learns from me when we study Scripture together. At informal church gatherings, we have wonderful Gospel conversations including men and women where I’ve learned much. I recall one occasion when a woman from our church, the wife of an elder, spoke at a funeral. To be clear, she spoke prophetically at a funeral, and I learned. To say that men cannot and should not learn from women is preposterous. Paul’s reference here is to the teaching office and the corporate gathering of the church.
A woman ought not teach or exercise authority in the corporate gathering whereby teaching is an exercise of authority. Immediately following this section, Paul delves into the qualifications for an elder, the teaching and leadership office of the church, reserved for men only. It is instructive that the major difference between the qualifications of an elder and a deacon is that an elder must be “able to teach”. (1 Timothy 3:2) The deacon has no requirement to be able to teach, which happens to be the singular vocation denied a woman in the gathering of the church.
Further, to say that a woman can NEVER exercise authority over a man in the church is also ludicrous. I guarantee you, maybe unless you are from the IFB, that women exercise authority over men in your church. Does a woman run your nursery; a common duty relegated frequently to the pastor’s wife? If so, then she likely expresses authority over men in the congregation in terms of scheduling, assigning slots, directing pick-up or drop-off procedures. In other words, authority. Our church accountant is a woman, making decisions about the handling of money. Authority. We see a similar authority in the home. Per Scripture and practice, the husband is the head of the home and his wife, but to say that the wife NEVER expresses any authority is likewise unreasonable. Even if it is something as mundane as telling her husband when dinner is or what time he needs to be ready for an event, this is an expression of authority in some ways. Now, as in the home, ultimate authority resides in Christ as delegated to the husband. In the church, Christ is the ultimate authority, delegating leadership to the elders, so any authority expressed by anyone must ultimately reside in the eldership of the church. As such, the nursery leader expresses the authority of the elders in running the nursery.
Scripture describes two offices, that of elders who teach and lead and deacons who serve. Though not prescribed for the church, adherence to this structure reserves true expression of authority through the teaching of God’s word to the men of the eldership. Most modern churches, particularly in our denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, have strayed from this type of organization. Many employ a board of deacons who functionally govern the church and exercise oversight, even over the pastor. In this model, clearly a female deacon would be expressing unbiblical authority.
Biblical church polity eliminates the issue of authority.
Church History and the Diaconate
By itself, it would not stand, but in conjunction with the textual evidence, church history strengthens the case.
Pliny the Younger was the governor of Bithynia a province of the Roman empire in what is now called Turkey. In A.D. 112, he wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan who had appointed him to the job, seeking advice on how to deal with Christians who recanted their faith while under examination. In his letter, Pliny describes these Christians, including two women whom he describes as “ministrae” in the Latin, which is a likely translation of the Greek word, “diakonoi”. They were deacons.
“Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called ‘deacons’. But I discovered nothing more than depraved and excessive superstition.”
Consider the dating of the letter, that the church in Bithynia certainly had direct apostolic ties.
Here is a quote from the third century Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, a guidebook written for church plants based on the teaching of the apostles:
“And let the deaconess be diligent in taking care of the women; but both of them ready to carry messages, to travel about, to minister, and to serve . . . Let every one therefore know his proper place, and discharge it diligently with one consent, with one mind, as knowing the reward of their ministration.”
The early church wrote a prayer for the installation of women deacons:
“O Eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of man and of woman, who didst replenish with the Spirit Miriam, and Deborah, and Anna, and Huldah; who didst not disdain that Thy only begotten Son should be born of a woman; who also in the tabernacle of the testimony, and in the temple, didst ordain women to be keepers of Thy holy gates,— do Thou now also look down upon this Thy servant, who is to be ordained to the office of a deaconess, and grant her Thy Holy Spirit, and ‘cleanse her from all filthiness of flesh and spirit,’ that she may worthily discharge the work which is committed to her to Thy glory, and the praise of Thy Christ, with whom glory and adoration be to Thee and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.”
John Calvin, in his commentary on Romans, considered Phoebe a deacon. The lack of grammatical agreement between Phoebe (feminine) and the word deacon/servant as a masculine noun swayed his assessment. He wrote of Paul’s mention of Phoebe that, “he commends her on account of her office [emphasis mine], for she performed a most honorable and a most holy function in the Church…” According to the footnote in Calvin’s commentary, Chrysostom, a patristic father, also considered Phoebe a deacon. Calvin wrote, “For deaconesses [emphasis mine] were created not to appease God with songs or unintelligible mumbling, not to live the rest of the time in idleness, but to discharge the public ministry of the church toward the poor and to strive with all zeal, constancy, and diligence in the task of love.”
Charles Spurgeon does not defend the office but states it as a matter of fact. He wrote that, “Deaconesses [emphasis mine], an office that most certainly was recognised in the apostolic churches,” and “It would be a great mercy if God gave us the privilege of having many sons who all preached the gospel, and many daughters who were all eminent in the church as teachers, deaconesses [emphasis mine], missionaries, and the like.”
Church Universal and the Diaconate
Numerous reputable pastors and theologians in our present-day affirm female deacons. These are conservative evangelicals who adhere to the absolute authority and inerrancy of Scripture, men such as John MacArthur, Tim Keller, Tom Schreiner, Mark Dever, and others. Again, by themselves, they would make no case, but in conjunction with the other factors, their stance is compelling.
One last factor, and here, we’ll stray briefly into opinion and conjecture, though we won’t dwell there long. When we look at the office and function of a deacon, to serve, and then we look at the gifting of women and ask, what is it that women do? Women are natural servants, naturally selfless. Women nurture. Women care for others. Men are, by nature, takers. Women are, by nature, givers. As such, we see a natural giftedness in the heart of a woman to serve in the office of deacon.
Community and the Diaconate
As such, the elders of the Way studied this issue first, in the community of the eldership, four men of our church commissioned by God to lead and to teach, and second, in the presence of our assembled body of congregants. After presenting all of the above factors and some great discussion involving, you guessed it, authority, our church collectively decided to affirm the Scriptural basis and allow for the appointment of female deacons, to the glory of God.
