Amen. Amen. Let us turn then our scripture reading this morning. First Timothy. Chapter 3. We'll be reading verses 8 to 16. Page 1,263 in the Blue ESV Bibles under the seats. And just as you were turning there, I'll note the sermon title is The Roles of Men and Women in the Church, Part 3. And just to briefly summarize how we got here, Chapter 3, I've said, is not one of the more helpful chapter divisions. Chapter 2 and 3 should probably not have that big number 3 there. We should see them seamlessly connecting together. And so, all of this leading up to 3 verse 15, which we will be reading and is part of our text And that is that we all, we have these instructions about how one ought to behave in the household of God. And that many of these instructions are given specifically, and it's stated explicitly, you know, this is for men, this is for women, this is for women. And then the reason why there's a difference between men and women, at the end of chapter two, in two verse 13, for Adam was formed first and then Eve. And so that's why in the family, And in the family of faith, there are some distinct roles. And so then that leads into the qualifications for overseers or elders. And then also into the qualifications for deacons, another office for some men in the church. And that takes us to where we are, to 3 verse 8. So we'll be starting there, again, reading to the end of chapter 3. Let us hear the word of God. Deacons, likewise, must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first, then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives, likewise, must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. So far the reading, the grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our Lord endures forever. Well, dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the English language, one of our words is borrowed from the Greek. For the word deacon in English is just borrowed from the Greek word diakonos. It's the Greek word for service. And so in English, when we would speak about somebody serving in the church, and there's many, many ways that that can be done, we use the word service. We speak about serving, servants, service. And when we talk about the office of deacon, we have a separate word. We have the word deacon that we've borrowed from the Greek. And we say there are men who serve as deacons. Well, in the Greek, they're not two separate words. The word diakonos is the Greek word for service, for servant. And so that word throughout the New Testament is used to describe the servants of Christ and the service that they give. And so that's true of men and women throughout the New Testament, that they serve, that they're servants, that they serve the Lord in various ways. It's true, of course, in a special way of the faithful servant, Jesus Christ, who came not to serve, not to be served, but to serve, Matthew 20, 28. But there are times when it is plain that the word diakonos is being used not to just speak about service or servants in a general way but to speak about an office in the church and here is one of those times. Diakonos here refers to not just service but to an office which is so closely associated with faithful service in the church that the word for service becomes the name of the office. Deacons, likewise, must be dignified. There is some overlap, then, with the office of overseer, the office of elder, which we looked at last week for those who were here, but there is also a clear distinction. It is its own office. And so we consider this office, and then the mystery of the faith, which deacons and which all Christians must hold to. And we look at those things this morning with this theme. God calls men and women to specific roles with the same confession, with the same confession within the church. And so first that office of deacon, verses 8 to 13. And we know that the qualifications for men called to this office of service begins with qualities focused on responsible self-control. The man called to this office must be dignified. He must be self-controlled. And we can use that language of control to flesh out the following words. He must be able to control his tongue. He must not be double-tongued. Now this is one of the most difficult and one of the most important traits of a deacon because part of the work of the deacon is to oversee the works of mercy within the church. And so a deacon will know who needs special mercy, who needs perhaps special monetary mercies in specific times and this and that. And so it is especially important that the deacon not be a gossip, not be someone who would just spread wildfire stories about everything that they're called to do and all of those whom they're called to help in different situations in the life of the church. And so right from the start we have one of these most difficult and most important traits of the deacon. They must be self-controlled with their tongue. And then they are to be controlled in their use of wine, of alcohol. It does not say that may not ever have any wine, but it says they must be controlled in their use of wine, not addicted to much wine. They must be controlled in how they use wine. They must not be controlled by wine or alcohol. And then this word control can also speak to what comes next with regard to money. They must be self-controlled in how they handle money and their very view of money, their very hard attitude towards money. They must not be greedy. The end of verse 8, for dishonest gain. Looking back at the end of verse 7, we know that the devil likes to attack and seek to snare the leaders of Christ's church. So that's said there with reference to overseers, but the same is true for deacons. Even as it's true for anyone, the devil will seek to snare. He's the prowling lion. Well, when the devil would seek to go after a deacon, one of the duties of the deacon is to have a responsible charge for the offerings in Christ's church. And so, as our church order, summarizes it. Part of the duties of the deacon include, quote, gathering and managing the offerings of God's people in Christ's name and distributing those offerings according to need and encouraging and comforting with the word of God those who receive the gifts of Christ's mercy. So notice, encouraging and comforting with the word of God, those who receive gifts of mercy, is much different than gossiping about those who need gifts of mercy. And so that goes back to the beginning of verse eight. But let us just simply say, managing the offerings of God's people in Christ's name, it would be one of the snares of the devil to grab hold of a deacon and make a deacon to be a lover of money. and to be a stealer of money. We can imagine the headline, deacon steals from the church, and how that's a snare of the devil, and it would be a way that the devil would seek to damage the reputation of God's people. It would be a headline almost as damaging as some other headlines about sad moral failings that can happen in church families. In either case, it's the devil who's seeking to destroy the church. Even so, at this point, let's think back to one specific time when the devil sought to snare one who had charge of Christ's money bags. This was before the office of deacon existed. But among the apostles, there was one apostle who had charge of the money bags. His name was Judas Iscariot. We're told in John 12, verse 6, that Judas did not care about the poor, but rather that he was a thief who, John 12, 6, having charge of the money bag, used to help himself to what was put into it. And then the love of money from Judas Iscariot would play a part in his very betrayal of Jesus Christ. He took 30 pieces of silver to betray a place where the Pharisees could grab hold of Christ under the cover of darkness. Well, this was a plan of the devil. But just as finally no plan of the devil will ever destroy the church, even though we are sad when we see those snares and when we would see leaders of the church fail, even though that is a sad thing, it is never a final victory. for the devil. Just as the 30 pieces of silver from Judas, the lover of money, and for his betrayal of Jesus Christ was not a victory of the devil, for Christ, betrayed, crucified, put to death on a cross, all of it was finally leading to the great victory of the eternal Son of God. who went to that cross willingly to pay the price that money could never buy, to pay the price of the forgiveness of sins with the payment of his own blood. And the final victory belongs to Christ. The snares of the devil will never win the day. Christ rose from the grave and conquered death. Even so, Judas Iscariot stands as an example of one who was controlled by money and for Judas Iscariot, the end was death without resurrection. Well, now the focus on responsibility goes into the family realm as we jump ahead to verse 12. The deacon must be a responsible man. He must be a morally upright man. And it's expressed in terms of the family unit. He must be the husband of one wife. But just as the seventh commandment, which is expressed in terms of a married relationship, you shall not commit adultery, just as the seventh commandment also applies to all sexual immorality. So this is one way to say that any deacon, whether he's married or not, should be a sexually faithful man. He should not be immoral. He should not be a violator of the seventh commandment. Now, the faithfulness of the deacon can be tested in a specific way in the life of the family. For there are few things that test the daily character of a man like the leading of the wife and the family. few things that expose our sins like living in a family unit. A man will sin against those closest to him more than anyone else. Why? Because we're all sinners. So when you're in the family unit, your weaknesses, your sins are going to be exposed. That's true for all of us, men and women alike. And so the family unit is spoken of because that is a place where the daily testing of a man is seen in a very visible way. And also it is a way that the Apostle Paul can remind everyone that the family is a good thing, that there should be covenant families. And now we're anticipating next week a little bit, but look ahead to chapter four, verse three, What did the false teachers do? One of the things that they did, chapter four, verse three, was to forbid marriage. And so by speaking of the qualifications for deacon in this way, Paul, the apostle, is reminding everyone that marriage and the family unit are good things. Now, let's go back to verse 10. And let them also be tested first. So now let's put all of this together. The testing of the man's daily character and how he leads his wife and family if he's married. The testing of the man's character in all these other ways. Where are we supposed to test this? Are we supposed to get out a written exam and circle A, B, C, or D? What's the best way to do this? Well, a written exam could have some use. I know of some churches that use some kind of written exam as part of putting up men for office. But please turn back with me to Acts chapter six. Please turn with me to Acts chapter six. This is the foundational text for the office of deacon. This is when the office of deacon was instituted shortly after the death of Jesus Christ by Christ's apostles. And I'll read it in full. I'll read all of verses 1 to 6. Listen. including our younger members, and see if you can find where the test is. Is it a written test or is it a different kind of test that was used here? So begin reading in Acts chapter 6 verse 1. Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected. in the daily distribution. And the Twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them." So did you see where the test was? It's right there in verse three. It's a test of their character as chosen by the brothers, by the brethren, by the congregation, by the church. And so the church is tasked with choosing men who have demonstrated godliness, who have a good repute, who demonstrate In visible fruit, the qualifications, the qualities, such as those listed here in 1 Timothy 3, verse 8 to 13, which closely relate to the briefer list of Acts 6, verse 3. And so the test is a test of the congregation. It's a test of how are the qualities of a man seen? How do we see the fruit of faith in his life? Now with this, brothers and sisters, before we get to verse 13, let's go back to 1 Timothy 3 verse 11. Because what is going on there? We have all these things addressed directly to the deacons. and let the deacons, and let the serve as deacons, and let deacons each. And then we have this one verse that is like this parentheses, and it stands out differently. And now the wives of the deacons are addressed. What is going on here in verse 11? Well, brothers and sisters, if we step back and we think in purely practical terms, this verse makes perfect sense for how we ought to behave in the Church of God, because Are there things that a man should not do on his own such as visiting the single young women who at that time you couldn't find any work if you were a single young woman. You would have been among those who needed monetary aid. You would have been those who needed the gifts of the church or single young widows. Indeed, we're anticipating Chapter 5 a little bit which will talk about women. doing that work. There are some things which men, single men or married men on their own, should not do. Just practically speaking, there will be tasks of the deacons which will be best performed by a deacon together with, what's the most logical choice? His wife. So verse 11 seems a little odd, but when we put it together with verse 15, how one ought to behave in the household of God, it makes perfect practical sense that we would have one verse speaking also about the wives of deacons. Because there will be times when the task of the deacon is best done by the man together with his wife. And then notice that the qualities included are not slanderers. So the importance of a deacon not being a gossip applies also to his wife. This does not mean a deacon must be married, but it can be a great blessing and a great practical benefit to the church when one or more of the deacons have faithful and trustworthy wives who can even accompany them in some of their labors of mercy. Well, there's all these qualities and characteristics, but brothers and sisters, what pulls it all together? We're not just looking at what a man does, we're not just looking at the fruits of faith, we also must see faith. And so that is at the start and at the end of this text. Look at verse 9 and verse 13. He must, verse 9, hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And then verse 13, as he serves, his faith will be increased. It's greater to give than to receive. And when a faithful man serves in the office of deacon, his faith will be increased. Brothers and sisters, I have been blessed to hear the testimony of this from the lips of our own deacons, those currently serving and those who have served. To hear faithful men speaking about the blessing of seeing God's provision for his church and for his church family. It is greater to give than to receive. And it is, when a faithful man serves, it can be strengthening in the faith when he takes this office of deacon and the duties upon himself. And so there must be faith. And so that brings us to our second point. That brings us to the mystery of faith. That brings us to faith in Jesus Christ, which we must all have, which all members of the church are united together in. Point two, the confession we all share. We see these words, they were written so that you may know how we're not to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Hear how the church is described in the New Testament. This is closely related to an illustration found elsewhere in the New Testament where Christ is the chief cornerstone, Christ is the foundation. Only Christ himself saves, only standing upon Christ are we firm and on the rock. But, Listen to how the Church itself, the Church does not save, only Christ Himself saves. But listen to how the Church is described. The Church is the pillar, it's the buttress which stands upon the foundation, the cornerstone, who is Christ. And so, as Christ is truth Himself, as Christ Himself saves us, Christ loves His Church, and Christ uses His Church to be the pillar of truth. Now brothers and sisters, may that be true in our own lives, and may we be truly part of Christ's truth to be the pillar of truth in our own communities. In other words, may the church, even as Christ himself saves, may you see how Christ uses the church which he loves, which he dies for, which he calls the pillar of truth, May the church be those supporting pillars of truth in your life. As you attend to the ordinary means of grace in God's house, in the household of faith, may that be pillars, may that be the buttresses, the supporting beams of truth in your life and in your heart, all upon the one foundation, who is Christ himself. Christ uses His church. Christ uses His church. And then in the community, may our church be a pillar of truth. And from age to age, the lies of the world are shouted loudly. It's often one lie in this century, and another lie in that century, and then another lie, and another lie, and then today, we know there are lies in our community and in our world. May our church, and may we as the members of the church, stand as a pillar for truth, even as we're surrounded by loud lies. So Christ uses his church. The ordinary means of grace are the preaching of his word, the sacraments, the people gathered together for these things. Now, in extraordinary circumstances, since Christ himself saves, it's no surprise that in extraordinary circumstances, Christ can strengthen those who can't be in the church. Well, what are some examples of that? Well, those who are shut in. They are not able to be in the full fellowship of the household of faith as they want to be, as they once were. They cannot attend to the ordinary means of grace in the same way. Now, does the church itself save? No. Christ himself saves. And so does Christ give extraordinary measures of grace to those who are not able to attend the ordinary measures of grace? Yes, he does. And I have seen And I hope and trust you have seen elderly saints shut in, no longer able to attend to the ordinary means of grace as they wish to, and yet they rejoice in the Lord. And one of the first things on their lips will be, the Lord is good to me. The Lord is near to me. Well, we should not think that because God gives those extraordinary graces in extraordinary circumstances. We should not think that as we are healthy and able to attend the ordinary means of grace, we should not expect the same thing in the same way. Do you see what I'm saying? Just because, yes, Christ himself saves, and yes, Christ can give extraordinary means of grace to those who are shut in, to those who are persecuted, right? There have been those who have been persecuted severely to the point where they're not able to gather together with the believers in the same way. That's happened many times. There have been those who have been imprisoned because of their faith. And so, can they attend the ordinary means of grace in the same way? No. Does God give extraordinary means of grace in those situations? Yes. Now, in my life, I'm healthy. I'm able to attend God's ordinary means of grace. I'm able to be a part of the church, which is the pillar of truth in my community, which should be the pillar of truth in my life. Now, if I am able to attend those ordinary things, then that is what I should do. And I should not think that I'll have extraordinary graces if I'm not in extraordinary circumstances. This is God's ordinary means of grace. Christ speaks of his church in elevated terms, even as only Christ himself is finally exalted and our Savior. Think of our call to worship from Psalm 50. It almost sounds like something we shouldn't say. It almost sounds like something we shouldn't say. Out of Zion, What's Zion? That's the mountain upon which the temple was built. That's the place of worship. That's the church in New Testament language. Psalm 50 verse 2. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. That almost sounds like something we shouldn't say. As our salvation is finally in Christ himself, the church, the place of worship, Zion, is described in exalted terms. Let us not forsake the ordinary means that God has given to us and the families of faith that we are called to join as brothers and sisters together. Now, what do we say together? And what unites us together? It does all come back to Christ himself. That's verse 16. Great indeed we confess is the mystery of godliness. Now this is not a mystery in the sense of it was hidden and it's still hidden. This is a mystery that has been revealed. How is God going to save sinners? That was a certain mystery all through the Old Testament. Now there was trust by faith in God's promises, but it was not known how exactly God would do that. But that mystery has been revealed. He has come. Jesus Christ has come. It is only by faith, looking back to the end of verse 13, faith that is in Christ Jesus. And so it all comes back to Him. It all comes back to our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. He was manifested in the flesh. He came. His humility. He was the eternal Son of God and yet He came and He was born in the form of man. He was manifested in the flesh. He was vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations. See those middle two lines of the six lines? He is known by all. There is no one that can deny this. It is not done in an obscure corner of the world. It is not hidden. It is that which is to be proclaimed from Jerusalem, that crossroads of the world where Jesus died, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And it's not only known in the visible realm, it's not only proclaimed among the nations, it's known also in the heavenly realm. Christ is seen by angels, and even the fallen angels, even the demons, know and tremble. And even Satan, who was allowed some access into heaven before this mystery was revealed, now that Christ has paid for sin, he can be there no more. There's no more accusation. that he can say, all things have been revealed. This is how God saves sinners. He sent his son to die for us. It's known in the angelic realm. It's known among men. So then the question is, the question is, as it is proclaimed to all, will you be the one who believes or the one who does not believe? It's proclaimed among the nations. Believed on in the world. There will be true believers as the Word of Power, as the Good News goes forth. And as we see, yes, I am a sinner. Yes, it is a mystery apart from Christ how I could ever be saved. But as I repent of my sins and trust in Him, I see the mystery revealed. It is all revealed in Him. It is all accomplished by Him. I am a sinner saved by Jesus Christ. I believe the Word that is proclaimed. I believe the One who came. And then it has been said that this great hymn or this great confession, it has a little bit of a rhythm even in the English. It has more of a rhythm and a beautiful balance in the Greek. It was either a hymn or a creed or both. It is this beautiful statement of faith. And what is it? Well, it doesn't follow a strictly chronological line. It follows a theological line. Notice how it starts and ends. It starts with the humiliation of Christ. He is the eternal Son of God. But He came in the flesh. He took on human flesh. That's His incarnation. That's the beginning of His humility. He was born of the Virgin Mary. And where does it end? It ends with His glorification. With His exaltation. He was taken up in glory. Now, if you try to read these six lines and try to put them in chronological order, well then, that's not the order it's given in. It's a theological line. It begins with Christ's humiliation and it ends with His exaltation. And that is where our salvation begins and ends. We are sinners. How we could ever be made righteous is a mystery. It's a mystery revealed in Christ. And He came to die for us, and He conquered death and sin, and He is glorified, He is risen, He is ascended, and He will take us to be with Him. And so we have all these practical things, And it's a blessing to have all those practical details laid out, especially from chapter 2, verse 1, to chapter 3, verse 15, all these things about how we ought to behave. And yes, let us hear that and let us live by that. But it all comes back to the theological confession. It all comes back to the content of faith. It all comes back to the one we must believe in. It all comes back. to Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the one whom we all, brothers and sisters together, as part of the family of God, must confess. Amen. Let us pray. Lord God, You send Your Son in the flesh as our Savior.