A Message to the Church

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A teaching ministry dedicated to the restoration of the church, the body of Christ

October, 2003

Elders: The Appointed Leaders of the Church

By Lloyd Gardner

In a previous message we saw that it is the desire of God to move through His Spirit in the gatherings of His people. We saw that each believer is given a measure of the grace of God for ministry to the body of Christ for the mutual building up of the saints. In today’s church gatherings we see too much control by an elite group of selected “ministers” whose ministry usurps the ministry of the members of the body. The question then arises, “Why do we not see this open, Spirit-led ministry in our churches?”

The answer lies with disorder and disobedience in leadership. Paul sent Titus with the commission to “set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city” (Titus 1:5). Many are saying that God is recovering apostolic authority in these days and I agree with that assessment when it is accompanied with the understanding that apostles are sent to establish order. There is a divine order for the churches that will result in the saints coming to a place of repentance and restoration, and the establishment of divine order, so that the saints are allowed to minister where God has placed them. This will result in the building up of the body of Christ.

Let us look closely at what the word says about this crucial matter of leadership, and how it fosters body ministry instead of the controlling ministry of one person. Be forewarned that if you still hold tightly to the one-man pastor form of leadership you must at this point ask God to lead you by the Spirit as you open up to what is true. Do not lean on your own understanding or on past beliefs and traditions, but be willing to at least prove this matter in your heart once and for all. Paul says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. 5: 21, KJV). How can we truly hold fast to the will of God if we have not proven it in our hearts through the word of God as led by the Spirit?

There is no other form of leadership presented for the local church in the New Testament other than that of the elders or overseers. It is always a plural number of men who are given charge of the affairs of the local church. Sometimes they are called elders, which alludes to their maturity as older men of wisdom and spiritual experience (Acts 20:17; Titus 1:5). Other times they are called overseers, which refers to their actual assignment of watching over the flock of God as a shepherd watches over his sheep (Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:7).

Keep in mind that in the early church the saints gathered primarily in homes throughout their cities and the gathering was an informal family meeting. There was no clergy class—only mature believers who became leaders by their maturity in Christ. The church was simply Christians gathering together with Christ as the Guest of honor. Understanding this will help you see why leadership in the church was based on organic life rather than organizational structure.

Paul was on his final journey back to Jerusalem and was passing through the city of Miletus. From there he called for the elders of the church in Ephesus so that he could give them some final words of exhortation. Paul spoke these words to the elders: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).

In this passage we see that Paul assigns to the elders of the church several important responsibilities. First, he tells them to guard the flock of God. They are to stand guard in the spiritual sense over God’s people just as a literal shepherd stands guard over his sheep to protect them from attack from wild animals or other dangers. Secondly, he tells them that they have been made overseers of the people of God. The word overseer is the same word as the one used in 1 Timothy 3:1 and Titus 1:7 in reference to the elders. The word for overseer is episkopos, which means literally one who watches over others. The elders are provided by God for the spiritual protection of the sheep. Thirdly, Paul tells the elders that they are to shepherd the church of God. The word for shepherd is the one often translated “pastor.” The elders are pastors or shepherds of the people of God. Peter uses this same expression in 1 Peter 5:2, telling the elders to “shepherd the flock of God among you.” The elders are not necessarily pastors in the sense of the gift of pastor mentioned in Ephesians 4:11, but they are pastors or shepherds in the sense of their responsibility of oversight and protection. Since they have the delegated oversight of the church, they would have authority over the gift of pastor and the other equipping ministries of Ephesians 4:ll. The gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are equippers of the saints, but the elders are the leaders of the church.

Elders are mentioned many times in the book of Acts as the leaders of the local church. When the church in Antioch sent a financial contribution to the church in Jerusalem we are told that they sent it by way of Barnabas and Saul “to the elders” (Acts 11:30). Since the elders received the money it follows that they were the leaders of the church since they were in charge of the church’s affairs. On the return trip of their first apostolic journey, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in every church. They did so with prayer and fasting implying that this was a very important action (Acts 14:23).

When they went up to the church in Jerusalem concerning the issue of the Gentiles they were received by the apostles and elders (Acts 15:4). By this time then, the apostles had chosen elders as the leaders of the local ministry while they maintained their position as apostles. When it came time to make their decision, Luke tells us “…it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church…” (Acts 15:22). Again, it is the apostles and elders making the decision with the consent and agreement of the whole church. Throughout the book of Acts, the account of the birth and growth of the early church, a plurality of elders is the mode of leadership in the local church.

Never do Paul and his workers appoint a pastor or any one person as the sole leader of the church. Some try to make the point that James, the brother of Jesus, since he was the spokesman for the elders in Jerusalem, was really the pastor of the church. This is a giant leap from the clear presentation of the rest of the book of Acts since no pastor is ever mentioned as leading a church. Also, it is important to note that James wrote in his epistle, “Is anyone among you sick: Let him call for the elders of the church…” (James 5:14). James, whom some claim is the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, in his own words in this passage, validates the elder form of church leadership.

In the epistles of Timothy and Titus, Paul, the apostle, tells his apostolic helpers to appoint elders in the churches. He writes Timothy concerning the qualifications for overseers and deacons. The overseers are the leaders of the church and the deacons are servants who help in ministry, especially in meeting the physical needs of the church. He tells Titus to “set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed” (Titus 1:5). He then goes on to give the qualifications of the elders. Note that in verse five Paul refers to these leaders as elders and in verse seven he uses the word overseer. This clearly shows that elders and overseers are the same leadership office. The word for elder, presbuteros, is sometimes translated presbytery. For example Paul tells Timothy, “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed upon you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of the hands by the presbytery” (1 Tim. 4:14). This word alludes to the maturity of those who lead the church. They are older, mature, spiritual men, or elders.

The word translated “overseers” is epikopos. It is often translated “bishop,” and it is from this word that the word “episcopal” is derived. In the Bible and other ancient Greek writings the word had no religious connotation but simply referred to a person in charge of overseeing the affairs of other people. It is often translated with the word “superintendent”. So, this word refers to the duties of the church leaders whereas the word “elders” refers to their maturity and spiritual character.

Peter also refers to the leaders of the church as elders and exhorts them to “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3). The phrase “exercising oversight” refers to their overseeing responsibility and the term elder speaks here of their maturity. This passage is clear evidence that Peter recognized elders as the primary leaders of the local church.

That the elders are the leaders of the local church is clearly shown in several other passages of scripture. 1 Timothy 5:17 speaks of the “elders that rule well.” The word “rule” here means to be set over someone or to be placed in a position to pay attention to someone (Thayer, p. 539). Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember those who led you” and Hebrews 13:17 speaks of them as leaders. 1 Timothy 3:4,5 implies that the elders must manage the church much like parents manage their household. When Paul writes to the church in Philippi he addresses them with the words, “…to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons” (Phil. 1:1). Paul felt the need to include the leaders in his salutation and in so doing verifies once again God’s chosen mode of leadership in the church. Much more could be written about this scriptural principle but let it suffice at this point to simply say that the New Testament speaks only of this type of leadership in the local expression of the body of Christ.

If this is true as we clearly see, what then is the place of the person referred to as pastor in scripture? The pastor is one of the equipping gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4:11. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, were given as gifts from God for the equipping of the saints so that the body of Christ may be built up in God. In Ephesians 4:8 Paul quotes from the Psalms, “When He ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

The word for gifts here is from the Greek word doma, which simply means something given to someone as an expression of favor. In our culture we give gifts to people on their birthday or for Christmas. On the occasion of His glorification and victorious coronation at the right hand of the Father, Christ chose to give gifts to His victorious subjects. These are celebratory gifts to the body of Christ at the moment of Christ’s greatest victory, the victory over sin and Satan, the father of sin.

My point is that these ministries are gifts provided to the body of Christ but these gifts are not the authoritative leaders of the local church. They are equippers of the saints. They help restore and equip the believers so that they will be able to fulfill their part in the ministry of the body so the body may be built up in Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). These ministries are subject to the elders, who are the leaders of the local expression of the church.

In Acts chapter 15 for example we see the apostles and elders discussing together the problem of the Gentiles, but it was one of the elders of the church, James the brother of Jesus, who rendered the final judgment on the issue (Acts 15:13f.). Though the church in Corinth was ruled by elders we see that teachers, prophets, and other gifted believers are encouraged to participate in the formal ministry of the church under the leadership of the elders (1 Cor. 15:26-33). Ephesians 4, the consummate passage of scripture on the subject of the equipping gifts, is written to a church shepherded by a plurality of elders (Acts 20:17f.).

The difference between equipping ministries and elders is clear. One becomes an equipping ministry by virtue of gifting from God. On the other hand, one becomes an elder by growing into maturity over a period of many years under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. A pastor (shepherd) is a gift to the body of Christ. One is a shepherd not based on maturity but on the anointing of God’s grace for ministry. One is a teacher not because of maturity but because of gifting from God. The gifts are imparted to us by virtue of our place in the body, sometimes by the laying on of hands (1 Tim. 4:14). The elders, on the other hand, have grown into maturity over a period of years. It should be noted that there are no spiritual gifts mentioned in the qualifications for overseer or elder (1 Tim. 3:2-7; Titus 1:6-9). The qualifications of elders are manifestations of spiritual stability such as being the husband of one wife, having children who believe, being above reproach, and not being self-willed or quick tempered, and being men of the word who know how to teach others. These are mature men in Christ who know how to lead others because they have led families and are respected by others.

Because of this distinction, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers are under the direction of the elders in the local church. The elders are to be on guard for the flock of God and oversee and shepherd it (Acts 20:28). They are those whose faith can be imitated and who keep watch over the souls of the people of God (Heb. 13:7,17). The believers of the church have been allotted to their charge and are to faithfully exercise oversight according to the will of God (1 Peter 5:2,3). They are the ones who have the responsibility of seeing to it that the church grows and is built up in Christ into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God (Acts 20:17, Eph. 4:12-13). For this reason, those whom Christ has given to equip the saints come under their supervision and guidance.

Paul tells Timothy, “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed upon you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery” (1 Tim. 4:14). The presbytery is the body of elders in the church. We see in this passage that it is the elders who laid hands on him and imparted to him this spiritual gift. In this example we see the apostolic helper, Timothy, submitting to the elders who functioned through prophetic utterance to bestow this gift. The elders are clearly presented here as exercising primary authority in the church, even indirectly over the ministry of the apostle.

Today’s church has come to believe that just because someone is gifted in some aspect of ministry, such as teaching, they are then qualified to lead the church. They can help believers to be equipped through their ministry but their gift does not qualify them to be an elder or to lead the church. That comes only through time and experience. When a gifted person is elevated to the position of elder merely because he possesses a gift, he is misplaced and his ministry will tend to elevate his particular gift.

For this reason when one person, who is gifted as a teacher, is given the position of “pastor” he will tend to minister according to his gift, and because he is the primary minister, that gift will get undue emphasis in the church. The result will be an imbalance in which one of the five equipping ministries is emphasized while the others are neglected. Two things result from that: first many of the saints are not equipped for ministry, and secondly, the believers are not allowed to function where God has placed them. Their place is gradually usurped by the one person who is erroneously elevated to the position of sole minister of the church.

The leadership of a plural group of leaders, who seek God together and submit to one another, will result in all five of the equipping ministries being released to minister as the Spirit directs. According to Ephesians 4:11-13 this will result in the restoration and equipping of the saints for their ministries in God. With the restoration of the elders comes the restoration of balanced, Spirit-led ministry from the entire body of Christ.

Of course, some elders may be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers, but their plurality, maturity, and mutual accountability would keep one gift from being elevated. They would operate in the spiritual gifts in the unselfishness produced by their maturity. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching”(1 Tim. 5:17). So we see that it is probable that some elders would function in their gifts by preaching and teaching the word of God. Because of their mandate to shepherd the flock they would seek out others whom Christ has given to the church to equip them and help them grow and mature in Christ toward the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. The result would be balance and variety in ministry reaching out to all members of the body and helping them function in the place that God has put them.