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February 13, 2019 - May 25, 2020
Clericalism does not represent biblical, apostolic Christianity. Indeed, the real error to be contended with is not simply that one man provides leadership for the congregation, but that one person in the holy brotherhood has been sacralized apart from the brotherhood to an unscriptural status. In practice, the ordained clergyman—the minister, the reverend—is the Protestant priest.
Biblical eldership cannot exist in an environment of clericalism. Paul’s employment of the elder structure of government for the local church is clear, practical evidence against clericalism because the eldership is nonclerical in nature. The elders are always viewed in the Bible as “elders of the people,” or “elders of the congregation,” never “elders of God.” The elders represent the people as leading members from among the people.
When it functions properly, shared leadership requires a greater exercise of humble servanthood than does unitary leadership. In order for an eldership to operate effectively, the elders must show mutual regard for one another, submit themselves one to another, patiently wait upon one another, genuinely consider one another’s interests and perspectives, and defer to one another. Eldership, then, enhances brotherly love, humility, mutuality, patience, and loving interdependence—qualities that are to mark the servant church.
biblical eldership provides the structure through which leaders learn to work together in mutual love and humility.
Most important, biblical eldership guards and promotes the preeminence and position of Christ over the local church.
We Christians today, however, are so accustomed to speaking of “the pastor” that we do not stop to realize that the New Testament does not. This fact is profoundly significant, and we must not permit our customary practice to shield our minds from this important truth. There is only one flock and one Pastor (John 10:16), one body and one Head (Col. 1:18), one holy priesthood and one great High Priest (Heb. 4:14ff.), one brotherhood and one Elder Brother (Rom. 8:29), one building and one Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:5ff.), one Mediator, one Lord. Jesus Christ is “Senior Pastor,” and all others are
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Since the elder structure of government was established by Paul among Gentile churches (Acts 14:23) and, most likely, by the Twelve among Jewish churches (Acts 15:6; James 5:14), the New Testament writers assumed eldership to be a fixed, apostolic institution.
His instruction to Titus established an apostolic directive that should be followed by Christians today.
I conclude, therefore, that the instructions given to elders and about elders, as well as the eldership structure itself, are to be regarded as apostolic directives (Titus 1:5) that are normative for churches today.
two of the most significant texts on eldership: Acts 14:23 and 20:17-38.
At the beginning, the twelve apostles were the official overseers of the Christian community. But at an early, unrecorded date, a body of elders emerged that was fully recognized by the congregation and the apostles as leaders of the community.
Israel’s elders were the people’s official representatives. Hence they are called the “elders of the people” (Ex. 19:7) or the “elders of the congregation” (Judg. 21:16).
Israel’s elders are mentioned approximately one-hundred times in the Old Testament.
When Israel settled in the Land of Promise, each city, each tribe, and the nation as a whole had a council of elders.
The elders’ role as a judicial body is described in the legislative portions of the Old Testament.
The Old Testament elders were preeminently men of counsel and wisdom.
“Wisdom is with aged men, with long life is understanding” (Job 12:12, also 1 Kings 12:8,13).
To be an elder is to be a wise man a...
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Job refers to the sovereign God who takes away the discernment of the elders (Job 12:20; cf. Pss. 105:22; 119:100; Lam. 2:10; 5:14).
The Sanhedrin was the supreme court of the Jewish people, and the New Testament indicates a threefold classification of its members: high priests, scribes, and elders.
In adopting this familiar form of government, we can be certain that the apostles’ choice was no arbitrary decision. Prayer and the Spirit’s leading guided the twelve apostles and the first Jewish Christian community to establish leadership by a council of elders. As the church’s official community leaders, the elders received money for the poor and were responsible for its proper administration. They judged doctrinal issues, provided counsel, and spoke for the congregation.
They Receive And Administer Money
Luke mentions Christian church elders for the first time in Acts 11:30:
It was to the Jewish Christian elders that the Christians in Antioch sent their contribution for the poor (A.D. 47).
they were the church’s official representatives.
The Greek word for “elder” is presbyteros, which is derived from the adjective presbys, which means “old.”
presbyteros simply means “old” or “old man.”
Depending on the context, then, presbyteros can mean: (1) “older man” or “old man,” as in 1 Timothy 5:1: “Do not sharply rebuke an older man [presbyteros].” (2) a title for a community official, an “elder,” as in 1 Timothy 5:17: “Let the elders [presbyteroi] who rule well be considered worthy of double honor.”
Thus the term elder conveys positive concepts of maturity, respect, and wisdom. When presbyteros is used of a community leader, it is most commonly used in the plural form, presbyteroi. This is because the elder structure of leadership is leadership by a council of elders.
They Judge Doctrinal Issues
William Kelly (1821-1906), “to transfer the further discussion of the question to the source from which the mischief had come.”
It is essential to note that the decision to go to Jerusalem was a voluntary decision on the part of the church in Antioch.
So for the sake of unity among the churches, respect for Jerusalem and the apostles, the future Gentile mission, and the defeat of the false gospel, the church in Antioch sent its key leaders to Jerusalem to further debate the issue (Acts 15:2).
Antioch, not Jerusalem, initiated the conference.
This momentous meeting in Jerusalem in A.D. 49 is sometimes called “t...
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The elders’ close association with the apostles demonstrates their significant position and role in the church at Jerusalem.
The elders’ role, therefore, was absolutely essential in combating any legalistic error that might emanate from Jerusalem (Acts 15:5).
It is historical fact that no formal interchurch federation, denominational union, or fixed organizational framework linked churches together for the first two hundred years of the Christian era.
Each congregation was self-governing and independent, with the jurisdiction of its elders restricted to the local congregation:
Although each local church originally was a separate and complete entity that was dependent on no higher court or person, there were varied and important links between the first Christian churches.
Churches were to seek to conform to universal church practices as taught by the apostles (1 Cor. 7:17; 4:17; 14:33,36). Churches sacrificially shared their finances with poorer churches. Churches sent greetings and letters to one another. Teachers traveled freely among the congregations, and all believers had the responsibility to offer hospitality to traveling Christians and preachers. Believers from all churches were to pray for one another and love one another; they were to view themselves as a worldwide brotherhood that transcended all cultural and racial boundaries.
Church elders hear and judge doctrinal issues. They help resolve conflict. They protect the church from false teachers. They bear responsibility for the doctrines taught by the members of their flock. Elders, therefore, must be men who know God’s Word.
They Provide Counsel and Resolve Conflict
Luke seems to have little interest in James’ title or official position. A major reason for this disinterest is found in the revolutionary teachings of Jesus concerning brotherhood in the community of the risen Christ. Jesus sternly warned His disciples against the prideful obsession with titles and positions that characterized the typical religious leaders of His day.
“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers’“ (Matt. 23:6-12; italics added).
Although Luke mentions James four times in the book of Acts, he does not once identify his position in the church (Acts 1:14; 12:17; 15:13-21; 21:18).
The elders were clearly caught in the middle—a place elders frequently find themselves. Nevertheless, as the church’s leaders, they had to face the problems and provide answers to sensitive, theological questions.
Elders Of The Gentile Churches
And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed (Acts 14:23).
This text records the first appearance of Christian elders among Gentile churches. It reveals who decided on the eldership structure of government for the churches and who appointed the elders. No information like this exists concerning the origin of elders in either the Old Testament or among the Jewish Christian churches. Most important, the passage provides indispensable historical information on Paul’s method of organizing churches.
