Articles
Phoebe Was A Servant - Romans 16
Phoebe Was A Servant - Romans 16
People seem addicted to titles, even us that are all 'just' brethren have a penchant for titles. The problem for us is that many times a word is used in the bible to describe a function and we then turn it into a title of position. For example, look at the word 'apostle'. It is used of the 12 in some official sense in which they have a specific function (Matt. 10:2; Mark 3:14, Acts 2:42; etc.). It is ALSO used in a more generic sense simply of 'one who is sent'. John the baptist was a man 'sent' ("apostled") from God (John 1:6). Jesus is said to be the apostle and high priest of our confession (Heb. 3:1). After being sent out by the church in Antioch, both Paul and Barnabas were spoken of as apostles (Acts 14:14).
When we come to the word 'deacon' we see this usage of words yet again. Strong's lexicon says that Greek word 'diakonos' occurs 31 times in the NT and is translated variously as "minister" (20 times), "servant" (8 times), and "deacon" (3 times). I have met many men who had the 'title' of 'Minister' printed on their business card, I have yet to meet one that had 'servant of the church' printed on it. WHY not? We love titles and 'Minister' (with a capital M) sounds more authoritative and official than does 'servant'.
Brother James Cooper broke this down:
- The servants of the king (Matt. 22:13) at the wedding feast of his son. [The word douloi, "bond servants" is used in the same context; cf. verses 3,4,6,8,10].
- Household servants at the wedding at Cana of Galilee (Jn. 2:5,9).
- Jesus is called "a servant to the circumcision" (Rom. 15:8, NKJ).
- Any man who is a servant of Jesus Christ (Jn. 12:26).
- He who will be greatest among you "will be your servant " (Matt. 23:11).
- Phoebe, a servant [fem. of diakonos] of the church in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1).
http://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume33/GOT033302.html
The apostles did instruct the church to appoint certain men to be servants on a continuing relationship. We see that there were also certain qualifications given for such (cp. 1 Tim. 3:8-12). However, as you can see above, the word is mostly used to mean simply one who serves, a servant.
Paul wrote that Jesus "… gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12). ALL of God's people are to be 'deacons' to each other. He further instructed that 'by love, we are to serve (deacon) one another' (Gal. 5:13). We are to 'be fervent in spirit serving the Lord (Rom. 12:11). The believers in Thessalonica had "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (1Thess. 1:9). The writer of Hebrews commended the brethren for the "work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do" (Heb. 6:10). There is much that needs to be done by people that are more concerned with being servants than 'deacons'.
So, what do we then make of Phoebe? Only that in some capacity she served the church that was in Cenchrea. What was she doing? How long had she been doing it? How long was she expected to be doing it? Was she 'one of many'? Were there any qualifications stipulated for asking her to do this service? To all these questions, we simply answer "we do not know".
Brethren, both male and female, we don't need a title to be of service, we need to be busy. Who did you serve today?
Hugh DeLong
