Paul Gerardi Engineer, Student of the Word - living and written

As the word "deacon" or "deaconess" in English is a translation of the Greek word διάκονος (diakonos) for which the masculine and feminine form are the same, then yes, the word "deaconess" is in the Bible.

διάκονος (diakonos) and its cognates (words having the same linguistic derivation and root) occur 31 times in the New Testament and have different applications and meanings. For instance, Paul calls himself a minister (diakonos) of the Gospel (Col 1:23-25). Mary told the servants (diakonos) at the wedding feast in Cana to do whatever Jesus bade them do (John 2:5). The government is a minister (diakonos) of God for the people's good (Romans 13:4). The verb form "diakaneo" simply means "to serve" in practical terms such as an attendant, a teacher, a table server, etc. As in Jesus' statement that he did not come to be served but to serve (diakoneo) (Mark 10:45) or the Apostle's decision to have others serve (diakoneo) tables while they taught the Word (Acts 6:2)

As Christian men and women we are all to be servants (diakonos) of God, we are all to serve (diakoneo) one another, and are all to be ministers (diakonos) of the Gospel as we seek to bring the good news of salvation to a lost world and make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of us is therefore a deacon (diakonos) or deaconess (diakonos) - a servant.

If your question is meant to ask whether women can serve in the "office of deacon" (1 Tim 3:8-10) as deaconesses, the passage itself, using the most common and obvious meaning of the words, indicates the office of deacon to be a position intended for men: "Even so must their [the deacons] wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. (1 Tim 3:11-12)

This does not by any stretch of the imagination mean that the New Testament Church which Christ is building and of which He is the head is a "man's domain". And spiritual gifts are never spoken of as being gender specific. But the NT clearly does delineate some roles as specific for men, and some for women. Instead of worrying or arguing about what or why we can't have one role or another that we might want, we should be first fulfilling the roles that are clearly defined for us to do.

You might also be interested in the specific question "Can women serve as deacons in the Church?" located here:https://ebible.com/questions/1771-can-women-serve-as-deacons-in-the-church

March 14 2019 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report