DEACON, DEACONESS
This name is generally applied to the seven who were chosen to oversee the distribution of church funds in Acts. 6:3; but there they are not called deacons; Although the name can be applied to them, it cannot be restricted to that service.
The term applies to any unspecified service.
The Greek word is much more frequently translated “servant” and “minister” than “deacon.” It refers twice to Christ (Rom. 15:8; Gal. 2:17), also to Paul and others (Col. 1:7, 23, 25), to magistrates (Rom. 13:4) and even to the emissaries of Satan (2 Cor. 11:15).
The Epistle to the Philippians was addressed to the saints and to “bishops and deacons,” or overseers and servants. In 1 Ti. 3:8-13 the moral qualifications of the deacon or minister are given, but what his work was is not specified; It is evident that they carried out their functions in an official manner.
The service of a deacon should not be confused with a “gift.”
Phoebe was a deaconess of the assembly at Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1).