Topical Studies
Elder, Function of
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Acts 20:28 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Paul tells the elders to be careful how they shepherd the flock. He emphasizes that it is a God-given duty and responsibility. He says, "The Holy Spirit has made you overseers." Elders, ministers, are especially called out to watch over the flock, to guard it, to help it, to lead it. This is no light matter: The ones they are to help are the precious redeemed of God. Jesus Christ has given His life's blood for these people, and they are precious in God's sight. So the ministry is to be very careful how they watch over the people.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Jude
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1 Corinthians 3:9-10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
If God places us within an office in the church—as an elder or a deacon—it must be looked upon as a blessing that is a responsibility, not a reward! It is given for God's purposes. Paul even had his office as apostle because it was given to him. It is implied that all the powers to perform it were also given. He used them to lay the foundation. Everybody else is the same way. The important thing is that each one of us must use our gifts to build. Paul says, "Be careful how you build." The foundation that was laid is Jesus Christ. When we begin to expand on it, it consists of the apostles and the prophets as well—the things that they wrote and the examples that they set. Everybody is to build on the same foundation! God gives everybody the gifts to enable them to do so. To some, God gives gifts to be apostles; to others, He gives gifts to be an evangelist, pastor, teacher, or whatever. They are given, though, and every time God gives an office, He gives all that is needed for the person to fulfill that office—including overcoming sin. The Bible consistently teaches that an office is not a place from which to exercise power, but a position from which to exercise service. The authority is certainly there, since God gives it. He always gives the authority to go with the office, but having it means that the elder or deacon must also have the right perspective on how to use the office God has given him. The office is given, not earned.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Grace Upon Grace
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Ephesians 4:11-12 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
An apostle is "one sent forth" with Christ's gospel message of the coming Kingdom of God. The apostle also supervises the proclaiming of that message to the world by means and persons other than himself. Also, an apostle has supervision over all the local congregations or churches of God (I Corinthians 16:1; II Corinthians 11:28). The prophets set in the foundation of the church are those of the Old Testament era, whose writings were used to form a considerable part of New Testament teaching and functioning. The word "prophesy" is often used in the sense of "to preach or proclaim." So some of the preachers in God's church might well be termed "prophets"—but no literal prophets in the early New Testament church are mentioned as having any executive, administrative, or preaching functions. Evangelists in Paul's day were leading ministers proclaiming the gospel to the public, even raising up local churches and having supervision over some churches under an apostle. Therefore, an evangelist may hold executive function under the apostle in the church today. An evangelist is not necessarily stationed in one place. Pastors are ministers placed over a local church or group of local churches. In the early New Testament church there were also teachers who were not necessarily preachers. Yet all ministers and teachers are called elders in other New Testament passages. Therefore, in God's church today there are both preaching and non-preaching elders. Preaching elders pastor local churches. Then some elders, not all of whom are preachers, are called local elders in the church today.
What and Why the Church?
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1 Timothy 3:1 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
It is not wrong to want to be an elder, or an overseer, or a pastor. If one's motives are right, it is not an improper ambition. Being a pastor of a church and helping the people are good works, if they are pursued in a godly way.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Countering Presumptuousness
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1 Peter 5:1-5 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Notice all the words that suggest leading and/or following: elder(s), shepherd, flock, serving, overseers, lords, entrusted, and examples. This clearly establishes that God's church is a body in which He has placed leaders to oversee and care for His people. Further, the leadership is to provide examples for them to follow. The Bible nowhere anticipates independent Christians in its instructions, but it always assumes the body has ministers given by Christ to provide teaching and guidance. Too frequently, people separate from one group then regroup around a person whom Christ has not appointed to teach His Word. It is not that this person cannot teach at all but that Christ has not given him the gifts to teach His people in His behalf. He was not placed in the body for that purpose. Steady spiritual degeneration within that group occurs.
John W. Ritenbaugh
'I'll Never Follow Another Man!'
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