The deacons do exercise authority. God in His providence showed the early church that the physical needs of the body should not fall onto the elders’ shoulders alone, and so seven men were chosen from among the people. These men were granted authority from the apostles & elders to perform acts of service ministry in the name of the church. As shown in the early church account in Acts 6, this responsibility to care for the physically needy originally lay with the elders.
The support for women being ordained to the diaconate is a movement that, for whatever reason, simply will not go away. It is persistently brought to the fore of various Reformed churches within the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC). As I viewed the 219th General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) this week, I was struck by what I thought of as somewhat nebulous argumentation on the part of those who spoke in favor of retaining their denomination’s status quo. Since 1972, the ARP’s Form of Government has allowed local church sessions the freedom to choose whether or not to ordain women to the diaconate. Some estimates place the number of churches that ordain women as deacons as accounting for roughly a quarter of the ARP.
The arguments in favor of keeping this practice sounded very similar to the talking points one would hear from vocal proponents of adopting female deacons in my own church, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). In fact, as recently as 2019, overtures were sent to our general assembly explicitly asking for the PCA’s approval of ordaining women as deacons. These arguments are common enough that they deserve to be addressed.
1. The “Non-Authoritative” Role of Deacons
Paul’s apostolic word to Timothy that he refrain from allowing women to “exercise authority” (1 Tim. 2:12) is a hallmark passage in the discussion concerning church offices. The topic of “authority” has even become something of an artificial dividing line between the realms of deacon’s service & elders’ leadership. The basic notion is that elders possess & wield authority and deacons do not, because their office is based on service & mercy, not on direct spiritual leadership.
The argument goes something like this: deacons do not exercise authority, so therefore 1 Timothy 2:12 does not apply to deacons and as a result the diaconate should be open to women.
This stance is incorrect. The deacons do exercise authority. God in His providence showed the early church that the physical needs of the body should not fall onto the elders’ shoulders alone, and so seven men were chosen from among the people. These men were granted authority from the apostles & elders to perform acts of service ministry in the name of the church. As shown in the early church account in Acts 6, this responsibility to care for the physically needy originally lay with the elders. The PCA’s Book of Church Order states: “In the discharge of their duties the deacons are under the supervision and authority of the Session. In a church in which it is impossible for any reason to secure deacons, the duties of the office shall devolve upon the ruling elders.” (BCO 9-2)