Shiloh Baptist Ordains Seven Women as Deacons

[TCassidy]

1 Timothy 3:8 - 12 says"

1 Tim 3:8 Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money;
9 holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
10 Let them also first be tested; then let them serve if they are blameless.
11 Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.
12 Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

First the word translated "servants" or "deacons" is διακονοι, a plural masculine noun. But note also, one of the requirements to serve in that capacity is to be the husband of one wife and to rule his household well. That would seem to present some difficulty for women.

So, care must be given in determining if the reference is to serving the church, or holding an office in the church.

The first is certainly open to women. The second is questionable.

 

[Yeshua1]

This is another case where the bible would be a lot clearer if the translators would have translated the words instead of transliterating the words.

In this case the word διακονον is a singular, feminine noun meaning "servant." She was a servant of the church. Make of that what you will.

Whatever she was, was neither a pastor nor an Elder...

 

[Jerome]

In this case the word διακονον is a singular, feminine noun meaning "servant." She was a servant of the church.

Huh? Is that [which you claim is a] 'feminine noun' used for "female servant" anywhere else in Scripture? There are actual words meaning "female servant", used of Rhoda, for example.

Dr. Bob explained it is not a 'female servant' in Rom 16:1, but the same word form used elsewhere for church deacons:

BTW, Phoebe in Rom 16:1 served as a deacon (use of proper masculine noun that describes the office). Not...simply a female serving the assembly

Likewise Annsni explained:

The feminine form of diakonos did not appear in literature until about 300 years after St. Paul addresses Phoebe in the Epistle to the Romans. The Apostolic Constitutions [a Syriac document of about A.D. 375] is the first known Christian writing to use the feminine form of diakonos.

 

[TCassidy]

Dr. Bob explained it is not a 'female servant' in Rom 16:1, but the same word form used elsewhere for church deacons:

Sorry but both Dr. Bob and the person Annsni quoted are incorrect.

In Romans 16:1 the noun διακονον is a singular feminine.

And the feminine form of the word occurs 3 times in the New Testament, Romans 15:8, Romans 16:1, as already indicated above, and in 1 Thess 3:2.

 

[annsni]

In the Book of Acts, women prophesied (preached). You can't get around that if you accept scripture as authoritative.

I believe that there is a difference between the two and that the terms are not interchangeable.

 

[annsni]

Likewise Annsni explained:

I don't recall ever saying that.

 

[SheepWhisperer]

A "deacon" is supposed to be the "husband of one wife". Kind of hard for a woman to fill that requirement.

 

[Jerome]

I don't recall ever saying that.

Here's your post in the Women Deacons thread.

 

[TCassidy]

Here's your post in the Women Deacons thread.

She was quoting another. See her post #91 in the same thread to see her position on the subject, which I agree with and apologize for saying she was wrong without fully understanding her position.

 

[Yabruf]

Phoebe was "a deacon of the church." (see Romans 16:1-2)


The "husband of one wife" is a description of a person's character, like 1 Timothy 3:2-5. The presence of a noted female deacon who worked closely with Paul - noted in Romans 16:1-2 - demonstrates that gender is not an issue in regard to deacons.

"husband of one wife" is one of the qualifications to become a deacon, which in turn, defines a person’s character. 1 Timothy 3:2-5 lists similar qualifications except this list is for a bishop.

“husbands of one wife” is a qualification for both Bishop and Deacon.

Romans 16:1-2 Is a passage about where Phoebe, a servant of the church, delivers Paul’s epistle. Just because she worked closely with Paul doesn’t make her a deacon, anymore then it makes her the Pope…lol

So, yes you are correct, “gender is not an issue in regard to deacons”, because there simply is no issue. A Deacon is a role reserved solely for a man. And not just any man, but a man that meets God’s standards, clearly and plainly written in his perfect word.

 

[annsni]

Here's your post in the Women Deacons thread.

Oh wow! No wonder I don't remember it - it was 5 years ago! It was also a quote of something - not my opinion.

 

[annsni]

She was quoting another. See her post #91 in the same thread to see her position on the subject, which I agree with and apologize for saying she was wrong without fully understanding her position.

LOL - Yeah! Hey, I disagreed with my self too for a bit there!