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Part 3> Servants Are Brethren Who Humbly Serve: Servants in the Body of Christ

In this article, I examine some of the minor words that are translated "minister" and show their specialized nature. But I especially want to take a good look at Matthew 23:1-12 to reveal how this passage is so often and blatantly violated today.

In the last article, we saw that servants in the assembly, ministers in the assembly, and deacons are all the same thing and are based on the same Greek word—diakonos. The best word to use to translate diakonos is “servant” because it clearly shows what these people do—serve—without adding confusing baggage from unbiblical church traditions. Some of these servants, those who meet certain criteria found in 1 Timothy 3, are recognized by the assembly as servants. It is something like politicians who are vetted. When dealing with these men, you knew that, as far as the assembly could determine, you were dealing with an honorable, sober man with a good record who showed his leadership abilities through leading his family. None of it is very formal, and being a servant in the assembly is not an “office,” something the Bible knows nothing of.

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Part 2> Ministers and Deacons, or Just Servants? Servants in the Body of Christ

English translations of the Bible use various words to describe what are usually called "offices" in the church. In this article, I want to examine what the Bible says about ministers and deacons, examine the Greek words behind these English translations, and see whether there might be some better translations. I am also going to take a look at Acts 6:1-6 to explore whether these verses really tell us of the ordination of the first deacons.

In the previous article in this series, we found that the Bible says nothing about offices in the assembly. We found, in fact, that there are no offices in God’s assembly. We also saw that the Bible says nothing about clergy, although the etymological root of the word “clergy” is applied to all of God’s people. While the Bible says nothing about offices or clergy in the assembly, it does have much to say about several functions of service. In this article, I want to begin examining the various roles named in the New Testament.

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