Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

previous to the event narrated in Acts 6, always used in the general sense of servant,
subsequently began to be employed, and in course of time served exclusively, to
designate those who were engaged in works of mercy and charity. The only reason that
can be assigned for this is found in Acts 6. (2) The seven men mentioned there were
charged with the task of distributing properly the gifts that were brought for the agapae,
a ministry that is elsewhere more particularly described by the word diakonia, Acts
11:29, Rom. 12:7; II Cor. 8:4; 9:1,12,13; Rev. 2:19. (3) The requirements for the office, as
mentioned in Acts 6, are rather exacting, and in that respect agree with the demands
mentioned in I Tim. 3:8-10,12. (4) Very little can be said in favor of the pet idea of some
critics that the diaconate was not developed until later, about the time when the
episcopal office made its appearance.
3. THE CALLING OF THE OFFICERS AND THEIR INDUCTION INTO OFFICE. A distinction
should be made between the calling of the extraordinary officers, such as apostles, and
that of the ordinary officers. The former were called in an extraordinary way with an
immediate calling from God, and the latter, in the ordinary manner and through the
agency of the Church. We are concerned more particularly with the calling of the
ordinary officers.
a. The calling of the ordinary officers. This is twofold:
(1) Internal calling. It is sometimes thought that the internal calling to an office in the
Church consists in some extraordinary indication of God to the effect that one is called,
— a sort of special revelation. But this is not correct. It consists rather in certain ordinary
providential indications given by God, and includes especially three things: (a) the
consciousness of being impelled to some special task in the Kingdom of God, by love to
God and His cause; (b) the conviction that one is at least in a measure intellectually and
spiritually qualified for the office sought; and (c) the experience that God is clearly
paving the way to the goal.
(2) External calling. This is the call that comes to one through the instrumentality of
the Church. It is not issued by the Pope (Roman Catholic), nor by a bishop or a college
of bishops (Episcopalian), but by the local church. Both the officers and the ordinary
members of the church have a part in it. That the officers have a guiding hand in it, but
not to the exclusion of the people, is evident from such passages as Acts 1:15-26; 6:2-6;
14:23. The people were recognized even in the choice of an apostle, according to Acts
1:15-26. It would seem that in the apostolic age the officers guided the choice of the
people by calling attention to the necessary qualifications that were required for the
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