Deacons & Deaconesses Roles

Deacons & Deaconesses Roles

Deacon

Role in Brief

The deacon, like the elder, is an elected and ordained role. The deacon’s primary roles are the assistance in running of services, the visitation of members, the care of the sick and the maintenance of church property.

Background

The office of deacon is described in the New Testament (1 Tim. 3:8-13), where the Greek word diakonos is used from which the English “deacon” is derived. The Greek word is variously interpreted as “servant, minister, writer, attendant” and in Christian circles acquired the specialized meaning now attached to “deacon.” Scripture clearly endorses the office in the New Testament church: “They that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 3:13). On this authority, the church elects some of its members to serve in eminently practical ways, caring for several aspects of church services, as well as for church property.

The deacon is elected to office, serving for a term of one or two years as determined by the local church.

Importance of the Office

In the account of the choosing of the men who came to be known as the seven deacons of the apostolic church, as recorded in Acts 6:1-8, we are told that they were chosen and ordained to attend to the “business” of the church.

But the call to the office of deacon included more than caring for the business of the fast-growing Christian community. The deacons were engaged in an important part of the Lord’s work, demanding qualifications but slightly less exacting than those of an elder. (See 1 Tim. 3:8-13.) “The fact that these brethren had been ordained for the special work of looking after the needs of the poor did not exclude them from teaching the faith. On the contrary, they were fully qualified to instruct others in the truth, and they engaged in the work with great earnestness and success.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 90. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and Philip, afterward called “the evangelist,” were among the first seven deacons chosen in the Christian church (Acts 6:5, 6; 8:5-26; 21:8).

This inspired arrangement resulted in great progress in the building up of the work of the early church. “The appointment of the seven to take the oversight of special lines of work proved a great blessing to the church. These officers gave careful consideration to individual needs as well as to the general financial interests of the church, and by their prudent management and their godly example they were an important aid to their fellow officers in binding together the various interests of the church into a united whole.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 89.

The appointment of deacons in the present-day church through election by the church brings similar blessings in church administration by relieving pastors, elders, and other officers of duties that may well be performed by deacons. “The time and strength of those who in the providence of God have been placed in leading positions of responsibility in the church should be spent in dealing with the weightier matters demanding special wisdom and largeness of heart. It is not in the order of God that such men should be appealed to for the adjustment of minor matters that others are well qualified to handle.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 93.

Board of Deacons

Where a church has a sufficient number of deacons to warrant the formation of a board of deacons it is well to organize such a board, with the head deacon as chairman and with another deacon serving as secretary. Such a body affords a well-ordered means of distributing responsibility and coordinates deacon contributions to the well-being of the church. It also provides a training ground where younger men, rightly recruited as deacons, may be instructed in their duties. The head deacon is a member of the church board.

Deacons Must Be Ordained

A newly elected deacon cannot fill his office until he has been set apart by an ordained minister who holds current credentials from the conference/mission/field.

The sacred rite of ordination should be simply performed in the presence of the church by an ordained minister, and may consist of a brief reference to the office of deacon, the qualities required of such a servant of the church, and the principal duties he will be authorized to perform for the church. After a short exhortation to faithfulness in service, the minister, assisted by an elder where appropriate, ordains the deacon by prayer and the laying on of hands. If he has been once ordained as deacon, and has maintained his membership, it is not necessary for him to be ordained again even though he has transferred to another church. When the term for which he was elected expires, he must be re-elected if he is to continue to serve as deacon. Should one who has been ordained as elder be elected as deacon of a church, it is not necessary for him to be ordained as deacon; his ordination as elder covers this office.

Deacons Not Authorized to Preside

The deacon is not authorized to preside at any of the ordinances of the church, nor can he perform the marriage ceremony. He may not preside at any of the business meetings of the church, neither may he officiate at the reception or transfer of members. Where a church has no one authorized to perform such duties, the church shall contact the conference/mission/field for assistance.

Duties of Deacons

The work of the deacons involves a wide range of practical services for the church, including:

1. Assistance at Services and Meetings—At church services, the deacons are usually responsible for welcoming members and visitors as they enter the church, and for assisting them, where necessary, to find seats. They also stand ready to cooperate with pastor and elders for the smooth functioning of the meetings conducted in the church.

2. Visitation of Members—An important duty belonging to deacons is that of visiting church members in their homes. In many churches this is arranged by a distribution of membership by districts, assigning a deacon to each district, with the expectation that he will visit each home at least once a quarter.

3. Preparation for Baptismal Services—The deacons should do their part in making the necessary preparations for this service; there should be no confusion or delay.

4. Assistance at the Communion Service—At the celebration of the ordinance of foot-washing, the deacons or deaconesses provide everything that is needed for the service, such as: towels, basins, water (at a comfortable temperature as the occasion may require), buckets, et cetera. After the service they should see that the vessels and linen used are washed and returned to their proper place.

Following the Lord’s Supper, great care should be exercised in disposing of any bread or wine left over after all have partaken of these emblems. Any remaining wine that was blessed is to be respectfully poured out. Any remaining bread that was blessed should be buried, burned, or respectfully disposed of in another appropriate manner but in no event returned to common usage.

5. Care of the Sick and the Poor—Another important responsibility of deacons is the care of the sick, relieving the poor, and aiding the unfortunate. Money should be provided for this work from the church fund for the needy. The treasurer, on recommendation from the church board, will pass over to the deacons or deaconesses whatever may be needed for use in needy cases. This work is the particular charge of the deacons and the deaconesses, but the church is to be kept fully acquainted with the needs, in order to enlist the membership’s support.

6. Care and Maintenance of Church Property—In some churches, where the responsibility for the care and maintenance of the church property is not assigned to a building committee, the deacons have this responsibility.

Deaconess

Deaconesses Must Be Ordained

As with the deacon, newly elected deaconess cannot fill her office until she has been set apart by an ordained minister who holds current credentials from the conference/mission/field. This is a relatively new requirement, having been decided by the world wide church in the world meetings held in 2010 General Conference Session held in Atlanta, USA, and the instruction appears in the latest church manual church manual (p. 38.78 & 79).

Role in Brief

The duties of a deaconess are very similar to the deacon, with particular emphasis placed on assistance in running services and the care of the sick.

Deaconesses were included in the official staff of the early Christian churches. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae, that you may receive her in the Lord as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many and of myself as well” (Rom. 16:1, 2, RSV).

The deaconess is elected to office, serving for a term of one or two years as determined by the local church. It does not follow that the wife of a man chosen as deacon thereby becomes a deaconess, nor is it incumbent upon a church to choose the wife of a deacon as deaconess because her husband is a deacon. The deaconess is to be chosen from the standpoint of consecration and other qualifications that fit her to discharge the duties of the office.

Duties of Deaconesses

Deaconesses serve the church in a wide variety of important activities, including:

1. Assistance at Baptisms—Deaconesses assist at the baptismal services, ensuring that female candidates are cared for both before and after the ceremony. They also give such counsel and help as may be necessary regarding suitable garments for baptism. Robes of suitable material should be provided. Where robes are used, the deaconesses should see that they are laundered and carefully set aside for future use.

2. Arrangements for the Communion Service—The deaconesses assist in the ordinance of foot-washing, giving special aid to women visitors or those who have newly joined the church. It is the duty of the deaconesses to arrange everything needed for this service, such as seeing that the table linen, towels, et cetera, used in the celebration of ordinances are laundered and carefully stored.

The deaconesses make arrangements for the communion table, including: preparing the bread and wine, arranging the ordinance table, pouring the wine, placing the plates of unleavened bread, and covering the table with the linen provided for that purpose. All these matters should be cared for before the service begins.

3. The Care of the Sick and the Poor—Deaconesses are to do their part in caring for the sick, the needy, and the unfortunate, 

cooperating with the deacons in this work.

Board of Deaconesses

Where several deaconesses have been elected, a board of deaconesses should be formed, with the head deaconess serving as chairperson and another as secretary. This board is authorized to assign duties to individual deaconesses, and cooperates closely with the board of deacons, especially in welcoming membersand visitors and in home visitation.

5 Things for Financial Success by Dave Ramsey

Bethel Apostolic Church 16th Pastoral Anniversary

21 Days Of Corporate Prayer And Fasting

Gospel Mime, Silent Scream

Face Down 4 / Intercessory Prayer for The Sick

SAUL'S DISOBEDIENCE UNDER PRESSURE

1 Samuel 13 - Saul's Disobedience

A. The Philistine threat.

1. (1-2) Saul assembles Israel's first standing army.

Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.

a. Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: This was the first "regular" army for Israel. Previously Israel only had a militia that assembled in times of national threat. Now for the first time Israel had a professional army.

b. A thousand were with Jonathan: This is the first mention of Saul's son Jonathan. He will be a prominent and wonderful part of 1 Samuel.

i. "This is the first place in which this brave and excellent man appears; a man who bears one of the most amiable characters in the Bible." (Clarke)

2. (3-4) Jonathan initiates conflict with the Philistines.

And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!" Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.

a. Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines: Jonathan was a remarkable military leader. He repeatedly demonstrated the ability to lead a successful attack. Yet this attack merely wakened the Philistines. Israel had enjoyed the "peace" of subjected people: everything will be fine as long as you take your place of subjugation. Through this attack Jonathan proclaimed, "We won't meekly surrender to the Philistines any longer."

i. It clearly says, "Israel had become an abomination to the Philistines." As long as the Israelites stayed in their weak, defeated place, the Philistines thought they were great guys. As soon as the Israelites showed boldness and courage against the LORD's enemies, the Philistines considered the Israelites an abomination.

ii. The same principle is true spiritually in our lives. We don't war against armies of Philistines; our enemies are principalities . . . powers . . . the rulers of the darkness of this age . . . spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). But our spiritual enemies have the same attitude as the Philistines. As long as we are weak and subjected to our spiritual enemies, they don't mind us at all. They may even kind of like us. But as soon as we show some boldness and courage against the LORD's enemies, our spiritual foes consider us an abomination. If peace with the devil is more important to you than victory in the LORD, you will often be defeated and subjected.

b. In Geba: Archaeologists have found this Philistine fortress at Geba (also known as Gibeah). The archaeological evidence shows that it was destroyed but later rebuilt by Saul, and became his palace and fortress.

c. All Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines: Saul plainly took credit for Jonathan's bold attack on the garrison of the Philistines. This was a bad sign in the heart and character of Saul. His own sense of insecurity will not allow any of his associates (even his own son) to receive credit. He needed to drink in praise like thirsty men drink water.

3. (5-7) The Philistines prepare their army.

Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

a. Thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude: The Philistines, angered by the Israelites, gathered a huge army to crush Israel.

i. Thirty thousand chariots is a massive number, and some doubt the accuracy of this number. "This number seems incredible to infidels; to whom it may be sufficient to reply, that it is far more rational to acknowledged a mistake in him that copied out the sacred text in such numeral or historical passages, wherein the doctrine of faith and good life in not directly concerned, than upon such a pretense to question the truth and divinity of the Holy Scriptures, which are so fully attested, and evidently demonstrated. And the mistake is not great in the Hebrew, schalosh for shelishim; and so indeed those two ancient translators, the Syriac and Arabic, translate it, and are supposed to have read in their Hebrew copies, three thousand." (Poole)

b. When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger: Jonathan was bold enough to launch the initial attack against the Philistines but the men of Israel were not bold enough to now stand strong against their enemy. In great fear (the people were distressed) they hid anywhere they could (in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits) or they fled across the Jordan River (to the land of Gad and Gilead). This was a low point for Israel.

i. Probably many of them thought, "What we really need is a king. A king would solve our problems." Now they have a king and the problems are still there. We often think things will "fix" problems when they won't at all. "And hereby God intended to teach them the vanity of all carnal confidence in men; and that they did not one jot less need the help and favour of God now than they did before, when they had no king." (Poole)

c. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal: Saul's position as king was confirmed at Gilgal (1 Samuel 11:15). He was still there many months later (1 Samuel 13:1). It may be that Saul wanted to keep re-living the glorious day when Samuel recognized and confirmed him as king before the entire nation. Now that he was king, the men of Israel expected greater things from him.

d. The people followed him trembling: They still honored Saul as king, but they were really frightened. It must be better to have trembling followers than no followers at all, but how much better if Israel would have really trusted the LORD here.

B. Saul's unlawful sacrifice.

1. (8-9) Saul offers the burnt offering.

Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering.

a. He waited seven days: Saul was in Gilgal for many months. In the press of the current crisis, every day now seemed much more important. He knew the Philistines were assembling a huge army against him, and that once they were organized they would be much harder to beat. Saul probably felt that a quick response gave them the best chance to win the battle.

b. According to the time set by Samuel: Samuel told Saul to wait for him at Gilgal. Then Samuel would preside over sacrifices and Israel would be spiritually ready for battle.

c. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him: This added to Saul's anxiety. First the waiting for Samuel was stressful because he felt time was his enemy. Second, the people were scattered from him feeling that the battle wouldn't be fought and that the plan wasn't working out.

i. We may imagine that in the early part of the week, Saul explained his thinking in a pep talk to the troops: "Men, we're going into battle against the Philistines. They have more men, more chariots, more horses, and better swords and spears than we have. So we have to trust God and make a quick attack before they can get organized. Soon Samuel will come and lead us in sacrifice before God. Then we'll go out and whip the Philistines!" But it didn't happen like that. The days dragged on and Samuel didn't come. The troops were losing confidence in Saul as a leader, and beginning to scatter. Saul felt he was in a lot of trouble.

d. And he offered the burnt offering: This was plainly sinful. First, Saul plainly disobeyed Samuel. Second, Saul was a king, not a priest, and only priests were to offer sacrifices. Saul had no business doing what only a priest should do.

i. History shows how dangerous it is to combine religious and civic authority and God would not allow the kings of Israel to be priests and the priests to be kings. In 2 Chronicles 26 King Uzziah tried to do the work of priest and God struck him with leprosy.

ii. Out of fear, out of panic, out of not knowing what else to do, Saul did something clearly sinful. "If Saul was among the prophets before, will he now be among the priests? Can there be any devotion in disobedience? O vain man! What can it avail to sacrifice to God, against God?" (Trapp)

2. (10-12) Samuel arrives and Saul tries to explain what he did.

Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. And Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering."

a. As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering: Saul decided to perform the sacrifice not more than an hour before Samuel arrived. If he trusted God and waited one more hour, how different things could have been! The last moments of waiting are usually the most difficult and they powerfully tempt us to take matters into our own hands.

b. Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him: Now Saul really overstepped his bounds. Literally, the Hebrew says that Saul wanted to bless Samuel - perhaps as a priest blesses the people. Now Saul really saw himself as a priest, first offering sacrifice and then giving a blessing.

i. In wanting to bless Samuel, Saul may also be trying to show Samuel how spiritual he is. He is like a child who gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar and then says to his mother, "Let's pray!"

c. Samuel said, "What have you done?" Samuel knew Saul did something wrong. He could probably smell the sacrifice in the air. But Samuel did not look for reasons or excuses because there were no valid reasons or excuses. All Samuel wanted to hear was confession and repentance.

d. And Saul said: Saul's response is a classic example of excuse making and failure to trust God. Line upon line, Saul made his sin worse with excuses.

i. I saw that the people were scattered from me: "I had to do something to impress the people and gain back their support." But if Saul had obeyed and trusted God, God would have seen him to victory over the Philistines with or without the people. Perhaps many Israelites admired Saul for offering the sacrifice. "My, there's a man of action! He gets things done. I never understood why the priests were so special anyway." Saul could have positive response in the polling data but if God were not with him, it would all crumble. He should have been more concerned with pleasing God instead of the people.

ii. You did not come within the days appointed: "You see Samuel, it was really your fault. If you came earlier, I wouldn't have done this." But if Saul obeyed and trusted God, God would take care of Samuel and the timing. Even if Samuel was totally in the wrong, it didn't justify Saul's sin. We often try to blame our sin on someone else.

iii. The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD: "We really needed God's help against the Philistines, and we needed it now, so I had to do it." But if Saul would have obeyed and trusted God, the LORD would take care of the Philistines. Saul could have made supplication to the LORD in any number of ways. He could have cried out the LORD for the whole nation with a humble heart, but instead he did the one thing he must not do: offer a sacrifice.

iv. Therefore I felt compelled: "I had to. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I couldn't wait any longer." Even though Saul felt compelled, he was not supposed to be ruled by his feelings. He didn't have to sin though he felt like sinning.

d. The whole manner of Saul's explanation makes it clear this was no misunderstanding. He didn't say to Samuel, "Did I do something wrong?" He knew exactly what he did and probably thought of the excuses ahead of time.

3. (13-14) Samuel proclaims God's judgment upon Saul's household.

And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to becommander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."

a. You have done foolishly: This is a stronger phrase than we might think. Samuel did not mean Saul was unintelligent or silly. The Bible speaks of the fool as someone morally and spiritually lacking.

b. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you: Despite all the excuses, all the reasons, all the blaming of someone else, the bottom line was still the bottom line. Samuel put it plainly: you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God. God commanded him to do something, and he did the opposite.

c. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever: The whole point in being a king was to establish a dynasty, where one's sons sat on the throne afterwards. God told Saul that his descendants would not reign after him. Though he was a king, he would not establish the monarchy in Israel.

d. But now your kingdom shall not continue: From these words we might expect Saul to be "impeached" as king right then and there. But Saul would actually reign another 20 years. He will still be on the throne as a king, but it will never be the same, because the end of his kingdom is certain.

i. This was no small sin. "To disobey God in the smallest matter is sin enough: there can be no sin little, because there is no little God to sin against." (Trapp)

ii. Because the actual judgment for this sin was so far off we should regard Samuel's pronouncement of judgment as an invitation to repentance. Many times when God announces judgment, He will relent if His people repent. "Though God threaten Saul with the loss of his kingdom for this sin, yet it is not improbable that there was a tacit condition implied, as is usual in such cases." (Poole)

e. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people: Though God rejected Saul He did not reject Israel. Because God loved Israel He would raise up a king, a man after His own heart.

i. Saul was a man after Israel's heart. He was all about image, prestige, and the things men look at. But God will now give Israel a man after His own heart, and raise that man up to be the next king.

ii. It would be easy to say that the kingdom was taken from Saul because he sinned and on one level, that was true; but it was more than that. David also sinned yet God never took the kingdom from David and his descendants. The issue was bigger than an incident of sin; the issue was being a man after God's own heart.

f. A man after His own heart: What does this mean? We can discover this by looking at the man who was not a man after His own heart (Saul) and comparing him to the man who was a man after His own heart (David).

i. A man after God's heart honors the LORD. Saul was more concerned with his will than God's will. David knew God's will was most important. Even when David didn't do God's will, he still knew God's will was more important. All sin is a disregard of God, but David sinned more out of weakness and Saul more out of a disregard for God.

ii. A man after God's heart enthrones God as king. For Saul, Saul was king. For David, the LORD God was king. Both David and Saul knew sacrifice before battle was important. But David thought it was important because it pleased and honored God. Saul thought it was important because it might help him win the battle. Saul thought God would help him achieve his goals. David thought that God was the goal.

iii. A man after God's heart has a soft, repentant heart. When Saul was confronted with his sin he offered excuses. When David was confronted with his sin he confessed his sin and repented (2 Samuel 12:13).

iv. A man after God's heart loves other people. Saul became increasingly bitter against people and lived more and more unto himself, but David loved people. When David was down and out he still loved and served those who were even more down and out (1 Samuel 22:1-2).

g. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart: God was looking for this kind of man and God found this man in an unlikely place. In fact at this time, he wasn't a man at all! God is still looking for men and women after His own heart.

i. If David had some of our sins then we can have his heart. We can love and pursue God with the kind of focus and passion David had.

C. The Philistine threat.

1. (15-18) The Philistines begin their raids.

Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men. Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned to the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

a. Then Samuel arose: Samuel left probably knowing that the announcement of judgment was an invitation to repentance, and probably knowing that Saul would not repent.

b. About six hundred men: Earlier, Saul had about 3,000 in his regular army (1 Samuel 13:2). Now he is down to 600 because many soldiers scattered while Saul waited for Samuel (1 Samuel 13:8). The loss of so many men was probably the reason why Saul offered the sacrifice without Samuel, and it displayed a heart of distrust and disobedience to God.

i. According to 1 Samuel 13:5 the Philistines already had a huge army, easily outmatching Saul's 3,000 men. Saul saw his already mismatched force shrink to one-fifth of its previous size (from 3,000 to 600). God allowed this to test Saul's faith, to see if he believed God was great enough to deliver from so many with so few.

c. Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines: With so many troops the Philistines could raid at will. They were a fearless and fearsome army against Saul and Israel.

2. (19-23) The technological superiority of the Philistines.

Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, "Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears." But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man's plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

a. There was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel: The Philistines had superior military technology and they wanted to keep it that way. Since they were a seafaring people, the Philistines traded with the technologically sophisticated cultures to the west, especially the Greeks. They imported weapons and know-how from those distant lands.

i. "For decades archaeologists working at many different sites have unearthed iron artifacts in bewildering number and variety dating from the period of greatest Philistine power and leading to the general consensus that the metal was introduced into Canaan - at least for weapons, agricultural tools, and jewelry - by the Philistines." (Youngblood)

b. All the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man's plowshare: By carefully guarding their military technology, the Philistines kept the Israelites in a subservient place.

i. We might imagine that the Philistine blacksmiths, even though they charged each Israelite a pim for sharpening, would never put too fine an edge on anything. First, this was because these farm tools were the only weapons the Israelites had, so why make them so sharp? Secondly, if you make it really sharp, it will be longer before they come back with another pim to get their ax sharpened.

c. There was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people . . . they were found with Saul and Jonathan: There were so few iron weapons available that only the royal family could be properly equipped. The rest of Israel fought with whatever they could.

i. It was bad enough to be outnumbered so badly. Now, we see God allowed the Philistines to have a huge technological advantage over the Israelites. The only way the Israelites could ever win was to trust in God for everything.

©2013 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

The "Put Off - Put On" Dynamic

Christians often fail to change because they try to change solely by breaking bad habits. However, change that lasts will not take place until one replaces the bad habit with a godly habit. Ephesians 4:22-24 explains this as the "Principle of Replacement." This process of change is described in the Bible by the terms Put-Off, Renew, and Put-On. Christians are to Put Off the old sinful way of life, renew their mind with Biblical truth, and Put On the new godly way of life.

     The process of change is not complete by simply telling God or others our regret or asking forgiveness. It is not enough for a habitual thief to tell God he is sorry every time he steals. For true change to take place, the thief must now become a habitual laborer and gift giver (Ephesians 4:25). It is not enough to Put Off the old man; you must also Put On the new man for true and lasting change to take place (Ephesians 4:24).

     God intends for Christians to pursue the Putting On of the biblical alternatives to whatever they are trying to Put Off. Concentrating on what needs to be Put On is necessary in overcoming sinful tendencies (Philippians 3:12-14; 4:8). These sinful tendencies, i.e., habits, are patterns of learned ways of living. Therefore, they must be unlearned and replaced with new biblical habits, patterns and tendencies (Hebrews 5:14; 1 Timothy 4:7; Philippians 4:11; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Romans 6:16-17). This change is a gradual process that takes place as one puts into practice the new biblical principles for living. In time, old sinful ways will begin to disappear.

The Process of Renewal

     Ephesians 4:22-24 describes the biblical process of change. Christians must be "be Renewed in the spirit of your mind" (v.23). This speaks of an inner renewal. The "spirit of your mind" is the inner person - the core of our being: our motives, desires, attitudes and thoughts. It is that inner disposition of the heart which influences our outer behavior, actions, reactions, choices, decisions and words. (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 12:35; 15:19; 23:25-26; Luke 6:45.) The Scriptures teach that sin begins in the heart and works outward. A change in behavior begins with a change in the heart. It is the heart which rules our actions and behavior.

How does this inner renewal take place?

     

The primary tool God uses is His Word contained the Bible. Personal transformation is the process by which the Spirit of God uses the Word of God and changes us to become like Christ. This is a lifelong process. We are being renewed by:

     1. God's work of illumination in our heart (Ephesians 1:15-18).

     2. We are renewed when we continually grasp and appropriate the truths of God's Word (John 17:17).

     3. We are being renewed when our desires, motives, attitudes and thoughts become more Christ-like. Each time we choose to replace a sinful desire, motive, attitude or thought with a more biblical one, we are being renewed. This inner renewal will lead to Putting Off the old way of life and Putting On a new way of life that is pleasing to God.

This is a process that takes time and the exercise of our will in the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Timothy 4:7; Romans 6:11-14, 16-19).

It is not easy to change sinful patterns and habits that have been practiced for years. A great struggle can be expected at first. However, as we persevere with a desire to please God, eventually the old ways will fade and become less and less dominant in our life.

Get Specific

     Personal transformation will take place in our life when we identify specifically what it is that God wants us to change. We will not make much progress if we are general or vague. We must have a clear understanding of exactly what should be put off.

     Here is a Put Off/Put On list with Scriptures that apply to each. Identify the Put-Offs: sinful habits, patterns and tendencies that God wants to change. Identify the Put-Ons: habits and patters that God wants you to be, do or become. Do not be overwhelmed if you find that you have many put-offs / put-ons to work on. Concentrate only on two or three at a time. Select a verse that describes the incorrect and incorrect behavior. Make the verse your "Stop Sign" and commit it to memory. In time, change will come and God will bless your for it. (James 1:21-25).

~Gateway Biblical Counseling