St. Philip the Evangelist: Deacon, Preacher, Scholar, Dad
St. Philip the Evangelist is best remembered for his witness to the Ethiopian eunuch, a conversion story recorded in Acts 8. But this is only one of the remarkable stories of Philip, who appears in the Book of Acts as a deacon, a preacher, a scholar, and a dad. In this article, I briefly survey Philip’s appearance in these four roles, and suggest what we might learn from his example.
Because Anglicans retain the office of the deacon in the church, Philip is especially helpful in expanding our understanding of the diaconate. Philip is a deacon who serves those in need and helps the church grow, who preaches, heals, and casts out demons, who speaks with both poor and great, who listens closely to the Spirit, carefully studies the scriptures, and directs the reader to Christ, who baptizes, builds a family, and raises his children in the knowledge and power of God.
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Philip the Deacon
After Pentecost, as the church in Jerusalem grew, a number of practical needs emerged. One of the most significant was the church’s charitable distribution of food, especially to a group of Greek-speaking widows who were being neglected. The apostles charged the church to select a group of seven men to become deacons and attend to this need:
It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
Acts 6:2-4
This is the context in which we first meet Philip the Evangelist (not to be confused with Philip the Apostle). The apostles chose him as one of the first seven deacons and ordained him to the role:
They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
Acts 6:5-6
Acts doesn’t tell us anything specific about Philip’s work in carrying out this first diaconal role, but evidently the corps of deacons served well and saw fruit in their ministry as the church continued to grow:
And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts 6:7
Philip the Preacher
Because the apostles commissioned the deacons for service in order to remain committed to the ministry of the word, we are sometimes surprised to see that the Deacons also did the work of preaching. Yet this is the strong emphasis of the next two chapters of Acts. In Acts 7, Stephen preaches boldly before the high priest and becomes the first martyr of the church.
In Acts 8, we see Philip also taking on the role of the preacher, especially after the beginning of Saul’s persecution:
Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
Acts 8:4-5
We might even call Philip a preacher-healer, since he did a variety of signs, including casting out demons and healing diseases. In this regard, Philip carries out the missionary model that Jesus had given his disciples, which included both the proclamation of the kingdom and the working of wonders. In Philip’s case, these two converted a magician named Simon, together with the people who had been under his sway.
But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
Acts 8:12-13
Philip the Scholar
Acts 8 also records the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. God sent Philip to a chariot, on the Gaza road, that contained an Ethiopian high official, who was reading the Isaiah scroll:
And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Acts 8:29-31
In addition to Philip’s evangelical boldness, this story also reveals that he was a scholar. How could he ask the Ethiopian about the Isaiah scroll if he did not know Isaiah himself? What comes next shows that Philip had studied the scriptures carefully and thoroughly.
First, the Ethiopian read a passage from Isaiah:
Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”
Acts 8:32-33
Next, when the Ethiopian asked what this could mean, Philip pointed him to Jesus:
And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
Acts 8:34-35
Finally, when the Ethiopian believed, Philip baptized him on the spot at a nearby water feature!
Philip’s scholarship is especially notable when we consider that his native language was probably Greek rather than Hebrew.
Philip the Dad
After the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip travels to Caesarea, and we lose track of his story. He does not appear again for decades. But in Acts 21, some 25 years later, when Luke and Paul travel to Caesarea, we finally meet him again! The description is short, but significant:
On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.
Acts 21:8-9
Not only has Philip settled down, we also see that his family has grown through the birth of children. We can’t know for sure the age of the children, but it is likely that they are fairly young if none are yet married. Evidently Philip is satisfying Paul’s family qualification for deacons (or perhaps it was Philip who served as an inspiration for Paul!):
Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.
1 Timothy 3:12
Philip’s daughters are evidently Christians who have the Holy Spirit and the gift of prophecy. Though this is the last moment that we see Philip in the scriptures, early church documents remembered Philip and even referred to his daughters (see Richard Baukham’s discussion of Polycrates in Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 440-445).
This short moment gives us a glimpse of the deacon as a dad, carrying out ministry in the context of his own family.
An Expansive Diaconal Ministry
Just as Stephen is not the only model for diaconal ministry (thank God!), neither is Philip. Each deacon must find his own diaconal calling.
Still, the example of Philip should expand our concept of what deacons do. Yes, deacons serve those in need and thereby assist the church as it grows. But deacons also preach, heal, study, teach, baptize, and raise children in the faith. In this they encourage all Christians, as we all take up the joyful work of the gospel.
Image: The Baptism of Queen Candace’s Eunuch (c. 1625–1630, attributed to Hendrick van Balen and Jan Brueghel the Younger), courtesy of Wikipedia. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
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