So, we’ve seen Jesus call the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, and we know that being teachers of the law, and being hypocrites at the same time, landed this rebuke for them, and such a rebuke or chastisement from the Lord none of us want to see; a warning to us all who say one thing but do another! I believe most of us have been guilty of that at one time or another, possibly even still. Reminds me of a Christian book title I recently saw that went something along the lines of “Who Are You When No One Is Looking?” Needless to say I didn’t rush over to grab THAT one!
But then that is what all of our bible study is for. To convict us, to change us, to transform us by the living Word of God more and more into that glorious reflection of Him that we once displayed so well in the garden...before sin entered in. To see what was done in error, and armed with that knowledge and the grace of God, hope to avoid the same errors. And yet, we have a loving Father that even when we do sin, is willing to forgive us, if we but ask for it with sincere and contrite hearts. For that I am most thankful, as many times I prove to be the weakest of them all.
The study we are currently in has to do with church organization, prompted by Phoebe, who is called a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1-2). Part of this study includes looking at the part traditions play in our church structure and programs today, and to determine whether those traditions are of God or of men. What is to be done with that information once determined will be up to each individual as God leads them. But my hope has always been that each of us would know what we believe and why we believe it, rather than being led around as in the “blind leading the blind.” My hope for the church today (the body of believers world-wide) is that we are led by God rather than man, not with a sense of rebellion against the things of man, but by being light (exposing darkness), always speaking the truth in love, with a humble spirit, not setting ourselves up higher than others.
So, now that we have looked at the Judaic traditions, where and how they went astray, let’s next turn to what the apostles taught within the same century in which Jesus lived and died and lived again. How was the new-born church of Jesus Christ to be organized? What guidelines (or Godly traditions) does the Bible give us?
Paul gave Timothy much instruction on what to do with new churches popping up all over as the Good News was spread abroad by the power of the Holy Spirit working in mere men. He didn’t instruct Timothy in this because Timothy was about to become a pastor to one of these churches, in fact, Timothy was an apostle just as Paul was, as evidenced by Paul’s words in which he says to Timothy:
“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou might charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.” 1 Timothy 1:3-4
Paul had already sent Timothy to Philippi with the Good News, in fulfillment of his promise to the Philippians (Phil. 2:19-23), and later Timothy rejoined Paul who was already at Ephesus; Paul then telling Timothy to remain at Ephesus while he, Paul, went on to Macedonia. This letter to Timothy was written from Macedonia. All of this shows that Timothy was not a stationary pastor of a church, he was a fellow apostle like Paul, moving from place to place and being taught in many things by Paul. While we don’t see biblical evidence of it, Timothy might well have been representing Paul in various other churches in Asia, not just at Ephesus.
We do see that Paul later urged Timothy to try to come to see him at his Roman jail cell before his impending death (2 Timothy 4:6-8 and verse 21), but we don’t know whether Timothy arrived in time to see Paul or not.
We won’t get into what a typical church “service” looked like back then, not quite yet anyway; we want to focus on the structure and organization of the church first, which begins in 1 Timothy chapter 3:
“This is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that rules well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity...” 1 Tim. 3:1-4
Paul goes on to say in that same chapter verse 8: “likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine; not greedy of filthy lucre...”
And then finally, elders are mentioned in 1 Timothy 5:17 “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.”
But let’s look at the term “bishop” first. The Greek word translated as “bishop” by my King James version is: EPISKOPOS. It means, overseer, superintendent, and interestingly it also means “visitation” as used in 1 Peter 2:12:
“...that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
In fact, the NIV version replaces the term “bishop” with a more proper term, I believe, of “overseer”, as does also the NASB version, giving the term a less hierarchical sound.
Now let’s look at the term “elders”. The Greek word for “elder” is: PRESBUTEROS and Strong’s Concordance gives this definition of that Greek word: an old man. Bet you would never have guessed that “presbuteros” means old man, but we all understand the word elder of course, as being at least an older person, whether in physical age or in spiritual maturity!
But Strong’s goes on to say: “In the Christian churches those who, being raised up and qualified by the work of the Holy Spirit, were appointed to have the spiritual care of, and to exercise oversight over, the churches. To these the term “bishops” or “overseers” is applied, the latter term indicating the nature of their work, their maturity of spiritual experience. The divine arrangement seen throughout the New Testament was for a plurality of these to be appointed in each church.”
We see this plurality in Acts 20:17 “...and from Miletus, he [Paul] sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.” There was one church at Ephesus with elders, plural, not just one. But further in that same statement of Paul’s in verse 28 the same elders are called “overseers” and there is a “pastoral” metaphor used for the overseers are responsible to “shepherd” the flock. So, now the term elders, overseers, and pastors seem to be somewhat synonymous.
Peter helps clarify this, (1 Peter 5:1-4) when he addresses the elders in verse 1, calling on them to shepherd (“feed”) the flock, and to oversee them in verse 2, leaving us with the impression that the “office” is elder, but the “work” of the elder is to pastor and oversee.
So what we see is:
1) Whether the term used is “bishops” or “elders” they are one and the same, and that the service of both (not the title or office or position) is to oversee and to shepherd the flock. I believe too that pastoring is a result or manifestation of a spiritual gifting or a ministry rather than an office or titled position (we will see that when we get into the spiritual gifts, the second part of this study). And while the elders are charged to oversee “neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock”, having no one single person, pastor or priest in authority then leaves the “Head” of the church (the believers) to be Christ Himself.
2) They are to be raised up (from within the church that they become elders over, not shipped in from another church) and spiritually mature (the church in which they matured would be confident then of their spiritual maturity since they were able to actually observe this in them)
3) We see that the elders are men (husbands of one wife). We must be careful not to become ensnared by modern-day cultural thinking, or to believe that men were named as elders only because of the “culture” of biblical times (feminism). The precepts of God do not change according to the culture around us, they are constant and they are God’s wisdom, not be to replaced with our own. I believe that women have a God-given dignity and significance that all of God’s Word is designed to cherish and protect. We are, both men and women, equal and joint-heirs in all of God’s promises.
4) We see that the elders are to be plural, not just one bishop or elder over one church, but several. For me, today’s church would do well to have elders (plural) and not one pastor (singular) as we are all frail and very susceptible to pride and error, something that might be avoided in plurality of leadership. And I believe the stress load of pastors would be alleviated considerably if instead of the responsibility falling on one set of shoulders it fell on several (the elders), all accountable to AND encouraged by AND strengthened by the body of believers known as the church. (“Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.” I Peter 5:5)
Let’s stop there for today. Tomorrow we’ll look at the office of deacons.
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