Female deacons? Women Serving Communion? A Reader asks - By Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Ms. Prata makes another appearance in our blog, this time to try to explain deaconesses. She labors under some pretty substantial misconceptions. Part of the problem is the very bad translation of 1 Timothy 3:8–13. Another part of the problem is her uncritical acceptance of errant teaching.

We should also note that Ms. Prata writes nearly 1300 words with nary a Scripture quote. This is our continuing complaint about these so-called Bible teachers.

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A reader contacted me and asked the following question: “Understanding Paul’s instruction for men’s and women’s roles in the church in 1 Timothy, what are your thoughts on women deacons serving the communion elements to the body?”

Hmmm. Good question. In today’s culture, a thorny one too. Let’s first define terms.

The deacon’s qualifications are in 1 Timothy 3:8–13. (Let's quote the passage: 

1Ti. 3:8-13 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 1Ti. 3:9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 

11 In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

We think this is horribly bad translation. In particular,

• Deacons, likewise, are to be men... ["are to be men" does not appear in the Greek.]
• Likewise... [vs.8], and in the same way... [vs. 11] are the exact same Greek word!
• ...their wives... does not appear in the Greek.

Let's render the passage properly:

1Ti. 3:8-11 Deacons in the same way [as elders] must be dignified, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 

11 Women in the same way [as elders] must be dignified, worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

But what about verse 12? Doesn't it say deacons are men?

12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 

This seems to be definitive. However, let's again consult the Greek. Back in verse two, we find that elders are to be the husband of but one wife. The Greek is 

einai [to be, exist] mias [one] gynaikos [the woman] andra [the man]. 

No surprises here. But in verse 12 we find this: 

estōsan [let be] mias [one] gynaikos [woman] andres [men]. 

A couple of bad renderings are contained in this verse:

• The word should plural, "Men." 
• The word "his" does not appear in the Greek.

This is key. Men deacons are to be one woman men. Let's provide another rendering:

12 Men deacons are of one woman, well managing [their] own children and households. 

We needed to cover this ground, because this understanding should be in mind before we could consider Ms. Prata's presentation.)

Deacons were instituted to take logistical and practical load off the elders/bishops/overseers (AKA pastors) (No, not pastors. Biblically speaking, pastors do not sit at the top of the leadership pyramid.)

so the elders (Actually, apostles.)

could concentrate on preaching, teaching, and praying. Deacons are servants who manage the details of running the church and helping the members. They help in practical ways so the elders (Actually, apostles.)

can do their job of prayer, study, and sermon preparation.

The word deacon means simply a servant. (diakonos). ("Simply?" The word actually means,

diákonos (from 1223 /diá, "thoroughly" and konis, "dust") – properly, "thoroughly raise up dust by moving in a hurry, and so to minister" (WP, 1, 162); ministry (sacred service).

Deacons are key parts of the church and should not be diminished.) 

Everyone serves in the church. We’re all servants (deacons) in some way, diakonos-ing, lol. But by Acts 6 the role of general servant of the church was formalized into an office. (Well, no. The apostles asked the people to select deacons to serve. The apostles did not create an office. they didn't even select the deacons. However, deacons did evolve over time to become a formal position in the church.)

Why? The church had grown so much and some things were falling through the cracks. Elders (No, apostles.)

were spending a lot of time serving people and neglecting the study and preparation of the word. (No, the ministry of the word...)

Some of the people needing to be served were overlooked. So there needed to be a formalized division of labor. The office of deacon was born.

This is a formal role, where believers are chosen from the congregation to particularly serve, as opposed to the general service unto the Lord are members alle (sic) called to do.

The chapter describes “the choosing of the 7” to serve the daily food to the widows. This lifted the burden of the practical serving from the elders (No, Apostles.)

so they could serve by studying, preparing, and preaching of the sermons (and prayer). (Acts 6:2). In Acts they said to choose some men to serve at table who were were “from among you” (from that congregation) “seven men” (men) “of good reputation full of the Spirit and of wisdom whom we may put in charge of this task.” 

That was the history and explanation of how deacons came about. Now, to the question of female deacons.

I believe the Bible says no to women deacons who occupy the office of deacon. I know the Greek word for deacon is used in reference to women, and in those cases it simply means service or server. (Ms. Prata starts with her doctrine that women cannot be deacons, then concludes that women deacons are not deacons..)

Like Phoebe of Romans 16:1. In that verse, the word diakonos is used, and it means, “a waiter, servant; then of any one who performs any service, an administrator.” (So here we have a deaconess, but Ms. Prata walks right on by with a wave of the hand. 

Careful Bible students will notice that Phoebe was not introduced as a general servant or helper, but rather she was of the church in Cenchrea. That is, her servanthood was in the specific context of a particular church.

As we read farther we see her importance:

2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. 

Paul askes the Roman church to give her any assistance she needs. Clearly she was an important person, so much so that Paul recognized her ministry and instructed the Roman church to help her. We should therefore not be so quick to dismiss her as simply a general helper.)

First, in Acts, the elders (No, the Apostles.)

called the brothers and sisters together and were told to select 7 men. In every translation of Acts 6:3, the verse says that though sisters were involved in the selection, (No, the Bible says, 

Ac. 6:3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you...

Will Ms. Prata get anything right?)

the people being selected as deacons were men. (So the Apostles wanted men. Does that mean all deacons are men? Well, no. That would be an Argument From Silence.

In addition, "men" doesn't necessarily apply only to male persons. Paul wrote to the Roman church:

Ro. 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned...

So, did only men die when sin entered the world? Further, when Paul wrote to Timothy, saying...

1Ti. 2:8 I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

...are women not to pray without anger or disputing? Lastly, Paul wrote to the Corinthian church:

1Co. 12:6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Do only men receive manifestations of the Holy Spirit?)

Second, the qualifications for deacons are found in 1 Timothy 3:8–13 and are remarkably similar to the qualifications for overseer/elder (aka pastor). The Bible says deacons ‘are to be men’…’husbands of one woman’… etc. (As we noted, "are to be men" is not found in the Greek, and the plural "husbands" indicates a different meaning.)

I know there are arguments around verse 11, and I won’t get into the details and jots and tittles of it, but the overarching thrust of the New Testament is that women are active and valued members of the church but not leaders of the congregation. (On what basis does Ms. Prata assume deacons are leaders? She hasn't even discussed this!)

Thus, since the Bible does not indicate that deacons in the office can be women, and the consistent biblical stance is that women do not lead men, I think that women serving the communion elements would be a poor decision for any local church. (Why is the serving of elements considered leadership?)

As for any woman not a deacon simply serving the communion elements, this would also be a poor choice. If the person distributing the elements says a prayer over the congregation first, (Praying is not teaching.)

or explains the verses related to communion, then that would be a woman teaching in the congregation and violating 1 Timothy 2:12 (We discuss women teaching here.)

and she would not be silent as 1 Corinthians 14:34 says she must be. (Either Ms. Prata is ignorant, or she is lying to us. Let's quote it, since she seems reluctant to. Here's a larger part of the passage: 

1Co. 14:32-35 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 

As in all the congregations of the saints, 34 women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35 If they want to enquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

So our first discovery is that this is not a blanket prohibition regarding women speaking in church. Women were inquiring of their husbands during the gathering of the saints. This was out of order. They should ask their questions at home, not during church.

Now, let's take a quick journey back a couple of chapters:

1Co. 11:5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head...

The obvious question to ask Ms. Prata is, were these women praying and prophesying silently? Well of course not. 

Or maybe Ms. Prata thinks these instructions were not connected to being in church? Well, no. Paul writes,

1Co. 11:16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice — nor do the churches of God.

This was church practice. So women were not always silent in church. They were praying and prophesying, and needed to cover their heads while doing so.)

If the woman serving the elements is not explaining or praying over the congregation it’s still tricky. Nothing seems to forbid it in scripture, unless I overlooked a key verse. However, in my opinion, the ‘look’, or the ‘optics’ of a woman offering something to a man who is on his knees and he submissively taking it looks like a role reversal. ("On his knees?" What? 

Ms. Prata posted a picture of people receiving communion on their knees, which we redacted. This is because there is nothing in the Bible about administering communion, the posture while receiving communion, or who should do what during communion. 

Because there is no communion ceremony in the Bible. Ms. Prata's objection is based on an unbiblical practice. In fact, this entire article is based on an unbiblical practice. Astonishing.

We discuss communion in detail here.)

(...)