The men were chosen and ordained to take charge of the “business” affairs of a local church. Such persons, in other scriptures, are called “deacons.” The Greek word “diakonos,” which is the New Testament is rendered “deacon,” is thus defined by Greenfield in his Greek lexicon: “Ministry in the church, deaconship, the office of collecting and distributing alms to the poor, or of inquiring into and relieving their wants.” COOD 68.1
The apostle Paul said of those who should properly fill the office of deacon, that “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 Timothy 3:13. This certainly was true in the case of Stephen and Philip, two of the seven, for we read of them as being powerful ministers of the word. Philip is afterward mentioned as an “evangelist,” as we learn from Acts 21:8. COOD 68.2