διάκονος names a servant, minister, attendant, or deacon, with context deciding whether ordinary service, gospel ministry, or the recognized church role is in view. In 1 Timothy 3, deacons must be dignified, truthful, sober, not greedy, tested, faithful in household life, and worthy of confidence.
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Reader summary
Full entry for διάκονος (G1249) · Open the biblical lexicon
διάκονος names a servant, minister, attendant, or deacon, with context deciding whether ordinary service, gospel ministry, or the recognized church role is in view. In 1 Timothy 3, deacons must be dignified, truthful, sober, not greedy, tested, faithful in household life, and worthy of confidence.
The BSB source-word alignment has 29 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include servant (9), servants (7), a servant (4), deacons (2), minister (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 20:26. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Corinthians (5), Colossians (4), Romans (4), 1 Timothy (3).
διάκονος names a servant, minister, attendant, or deacon, with context deciding whether ordinary service, gospel ministry, or the recognized church role is in view. In 1 Timothy 3, deacons must be dignified, truthful, sober, not greedy, tested, faithful in household life, and worthy of confidence. In 1 Timothy 4:6, Timothy is called a good servant of Christ Jesus as he nourishes the brothers with sound teaching.
The wider canon shows servant-greatness in Jesus’ instruction, Phoebe as a servant of the church, and ministers of the new covenant qualified by God. The word therefore joins humble service, trustworthy character, practical usefulness, and gospel faithfulness without making service a lesser form of discipleship.
διάκονος can describe a servant broadly, a gospel worker, or the recognized deacon role. The Pastoral Epistles use it for deacons with tested character and for Timothy as a good servant of Christ. Canonical usage keeps servant language close to Jesus’ teaching on greatness, Phoebe’s church service, new-covenant ministry, and faithful coworkers.
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
Deacons must be dignified, truthful, sober, and free from greed. Service in the church requires tested character, not only willingness.
A deacon must be the husband of but one wife, a good manager of his children and of his own household.
A deacon must be faithful in marriage and household management. The recognized role is tested in ordinary life before public trust.
By pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of faith and sound instruction that you have followed.
Timothy is a good servant of Christ Jesus by nourishing the brothers with faith and sound instruction. Service includes doctrinal care.
But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
Jesus teaches that greatness among His people takes the form of becoming a servant. The word overturns status-seeking ambition.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
Phoebe is commended as a servant of the church in Cenchrea. The word can name trusted, recognized service in a local congregation.
And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
God qualifies ministers of a new covenant. Service depends on God’s sufficiency and the Spirit’s life-giving work.
You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
Epaphras is a beloved fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ. Servant language can honor reliable gospel coworkers.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Servant defined by work performed rather than status held; emphasizes function over hierarchical position.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 30 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read versea waiter, servant, administrator
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 7 selected witnesses from 29 lexical occurrence verses.
διάκονος is built from this root:
Describes rulers as servants under God’s purposes.1 Timothy 3:8-13
Describes faithful service within the church.1 Timothy 4:6-10
Defines kingdom leadership.Mark 9:33–37
Service is formalized and honored in the church, showing that practical ministry is vital to the body’s health.Romans 13:1-7
Timothy’s identity as servant defines ministry as humble, Christ-centered service.Romans 16:1-16
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
διάκονος helps the church honor service without sentimentalizing it. First Timothy 3 does not treat deacons as casual volunteers. Their character, speech, appetites, money habits, household life, and tested faithfulness matter. Yet the word is broader than the office. Timothy is a good servant of Christ when he nourishes the brothers with sound teaching. Jesus teaches that greatness among His disciples takes servant form.
Paul can commend Phoebe as a servant of a church and speak of ministers of the new covenant. The word therefore refuses both pride and trivialization. Service is not beneath mature believers, and trusted service must be shaped by character, doctrine, humility, and love.
1Tim.3.8
διάκονος is a noun for a servant, minister, attendant, or deacon. The same word can refer to ordinary service, recognized church office, or gospel ministry. Readers must let the immediate context determine whether office is in view.
Scripture honors service that flows from covenant faithfulness rather than self-display. In Christ, servant greatness is not a strategy for advancement but a way of life shaped by the Lord who came to serve.