Acts 6:3
“Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”
The church of Jerusalem grew at a tremendous pace. The growth of the church caused the Apostles to get so busy that they were forsaking the people to whom they ministered. The solution to this problem was to find seven men whom they could appoint to be deacons in this church. These deacons were to help them in the areas that were being neglected. They had qualifications that these seven men were to have before they chose them to be deacons. These qualifications meant that these men were not just qualified, but that they were a better Christian than the average.
What is interesting is that they didn’t come to these men and tell them they must live up to these qualifications so they could be a deacon, but they were to have these qualifications before they were considered to be a deacon. In other words, these men whom they were considering to be a deacon in the church were to already have these qualifications. The qualifications were not a requirement, but an accomplishment.
You may never be a deacon in a church, but you should live your life according to the qualifications of a deacon so if your church needed one they could look to you. One of the common things pastors tell me when I travel is that they have no one qualified to be a deacon in their church. This is sad! These qualifications should not be done so you can be a deacon, but they should be done so you can be a better witness for Christ. Let me show you these qualifications.
First, they were to have an honest report. In other words, it is important what others think about you. The key word in this first qualification is “honest.” The longer I live, the more I find it is harder to find people who are honest. God cannot use you to your fullest potential unless you are honest. In other words, tell the truth all the time. Be honest in all your doings. Don’t be a person who is known as someone who can’t be trusted.
The second qualification is to be full of the Holy Ghost. Christian, you can do God’s work under your own power, or you can do it under the power of the Holy Ghost. I want you to notice that being full of the Holy Ghost is not only for the preacher, but it is for any Christian. Every Christian should be filled with the Holy Ghost. Every Christian is to have God’s power on their life. A person who is not filled with the Holy Ghost should never be considered for church leadership.
The third qualification is to be full of wisdom. You get wisdom by listening to and obeying godly instruction. You don’t have to have a college education to be wise. You simply have to obey godly instruction to be wise. Wisdom is simply doing what God tells you to do. When you hear the godly instruction, being wise is obeying that instruction. If you are wise enough to obey godly instruction, then God knows you can be trusted.
Do you meet these qualifications? If God needed someone to fill a role in your church, are you living up to these qualifications? Remember, the men who were to be considered for the position of deacon were to already have these qualifications on their résumé. In whatever area you lack, work on it so God can use you when the time comes to fill some position.