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February 13, 2019 - May 25, 2020
Paul was a “wise master builder” (1 Cor. 3:10) who successfully laid the foundation of these first Gentile churches.
Paul and Barnabas knew that each local church needed some structure for governing itself in their absence.
the ministry of elders is not essential to the existence of a local church; the Holy Spirit’s presence is the only essential element.
No society can operate without leadership and structure, and the local Christian church is no exception.
Paul chose elders from among the members of each new church. The reason Paul could appoint elders so soon after their conversion was that these men were already schooled in the Old Testament Scriptures and the life of the synagogue. These God-fearing Gentiles and Jewish converts already knew God and the Scriptures, which is not true of all newly planted churches.
The word “appointed” is from the Greek verb cheirotoneō. Here the verb means “appoint,” “designate,” or “choose.”
context is conclusive that “appoint” is the only possible meaning.
Luke used a perfectly good Greek word to state that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for the churches.
It is important to note that Paul and Barnabas did not leave the new congregations in the care of apostles, priests, clerics, or even the newly appointed elders. They placed the new congregations in the care of Christ. The new believers had entered the life of faith, the life of prayer, and the life of obedience to and dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ. They would grow only as they depended on Him for everything. Like Abraham, and all the other great men and women of God before them, they had to learn to live by faith.
Every new generation of elders must grasp afresh the prophetic message to the Ephesian elders: Guard the church—wolves are coming!
“He shared all possible truth with all possible people in all possible ways. He taught the whole gospel to the whole city with his whole strength. His pastoral example must have been an unfailing inspiration to the Ephesian pastors.” (John Stott, The Spirit, the Church, and the World: The Message of Acts, 328)
“Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls (Heb. 13:17; cf. 1 Thess. 5:12).
The Elders’ Duty: Protect the Church
All pastor elders are to be fully qualified, formally examined, and publicly installed into office.
If the elders do not oversee the appointment process, disorder and mismanagement will ensue, and people will be hurt. Moreover, if the elders do not take the initiative, the process will stagnate.
If a brother desires to shepherd the church and truly exhibits that desire through appropriate action, and if he is morally qualified, then the elders are obligated to see that such a person is not frustrated in his desire. Such a brother needs to be officially made a member of the church eldership team.
God expects His saints to use the creativity and wisdom He has given to organize all such matters within the revealed guidelines of His Word.
Be we ever so precise about the modus operandi, it will be of no avail if the mechanism still succeeds in choosing the wrong people.
The Bible says, “if any man aspires to the office of overseer [eldership], it is a fine work he desires to do” (1 Tim. 3:1b). The first matter to consider in appointing elders is the candidate’s personal desire.
So the starting point is a Spirit-given desire to be a shepherd of God’s people.
A Spirit-given desire for pastoral eldership will naturally demonstrate itself in action. It cannot be held in. A man who desires to be a shepherd elder will let others know of his desire.
There is no such thing as a Spirit-given desire for eldership without the corresponding evidence of sacrificial, loving service and love for God’s Word.
So before a man is appointed to eldership, he is already proving himself by leading, teaching, and bearing responsibility in the church.
Scripture demands that a candidate for eldership meet certain objective qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).
Biblical elders want an informed, involved congregation. Biblical elders eagerly desire to listen to, consult with, and seek the wisdom of their fellow believers. The prospective elder or deacon will serve the congregation, so the people must have a voice in examining and approving their prospective elders and deacons.
The context in which 1 Timothy 3:10 appears lays out general instructions for the whole church (1 Tim 2:1-3:16), not just for the elders.
No candidate should be refused office because of someone’s personal bias. Members of the congregation must give scriptural reasons for their objections.
God’s standards alone, not group popularity, govern God’s house.
Remember, one of the qualifications for eldership is “that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus l:9b\ so time needs to be allotted to examine the prospective elder regarding his knowledge and ability to use his Bible to counsel people and direct the church.
For the Christian community, in which all members are priests, holy ones, humble ministers, and family members, the simple word appoint best expresses the placement of elders and deacons into office.
formal installation is an official starting point.
Once a man is appointed to the pastors’ council [eldership] he serves as long as he desires, functions in the work, and qualifies. It is unscriptural, harmful to the church, and demeaning to the elders to set limits on the time period a pastor elder can serve, or to limit the number of elders to a fixed number.
If the Holy Spirit makes men elders, then the church ought to be ruled by those men the Spirit has prepared.10 {p. 291}
Because the elders bear greater responsibility for the spiritual care of the entire congregation than other members, Scripture teaches that the congregation is to highly esteem, love, and honor its pastor elders (1 Thess. 5:12,13; 1 Tim. 5:17).
Christ’s presence is with the whole congregation, not just the elders. Christ ministers through all the members because all are Spirit-indwelt, but all members do not function as shepherds to the whole community—the council of elders does that. The congregation governs itself through the congregational elders. It is not governed by any external person or group.
The New Testament does not indicate that the congregation governs itself by majority vote, and there is no evidence that God has granted every member one equal vote with every other member.
Elders who understand the sacred nature and dynamic energy of the Spirit-empowered congregation know the necessity of congregational participation in all major decisions.
