THE OFFICE OF AN ELDER

Every organised body must have leaders. The Church of Godis not excepted. Under the Old Covenant, the leaders of the Church were thePriests, Levites and Prophets. Under the New Covenant, there were Apostles,prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers (Eph 4:11). These New Testamentoffices are of two sorts: extraordinary and ordinary. The extraordinaryofficers were men in the church who were endowed with supernatural gifts andextraordinary authority in order to attest to the divine of origin of the New Testament Church and to settle theconstitution and administration of the Church into its ordinary and permanentform. Such were the Apostles, prophets and evangelists. Once the Church wasestablished and the canon of Scripture completed, however, these offices ceasedtheir functions. Thus, we do not read of any instruction to appoint apostles,prophets or evangelists to succeed those who pass from the scene. Neither do weread of qualifications necessary for these offices. On the other hand, we doread of the Apostles ordaining elders in every church (Acts 14:23); and we aregiven specific qualifications necessary for elders and deacons, so that we mayappoint them to the offices in the church (e.g., 1 Tim 3:1–13). Elders and deaconsare therefore, the perpetual and ordinary officers of the Church.

In this article, we shall look at the office of an elder, and next week, Godwilling, we shall study about the office of a deacon.

One Office, FourFunctions

We begin by noting the fact that there is a difference of opinions amongReformed ministers on how many ordinary offices there are in the church. TheWestminster Form of Presbyterial Church Government, which followsCalvin’s view closely, states that “The officers which Christ hath appointedfor the edification of His Church, and the perfecting of the saints, are someextraordinary, as apostles, evangelists, and prophets, which are ceased. Othersordinary and perpetual, as pastors, teachers, and other church governors, anddeacons.” This appears to suggest that there are four different offices in theChurch. The scriptural proofs cited for this division are Romans 12:7–8 and 1Corinthians 12:28.

However, Romans 12:7–8 is clearly about gifts rather than offices in the churchsince the Apostle Paul precedes the entire passage with: “Having then giftsdiffering according to the grace that is given us….” Similarly 1 Corinthians12:28 is not entirely about offices. The verse reads: “And God hath set some inthe church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after thatmiracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”What is clearly seen in the Greek can also be seen in the English, viz.:the second part of the verse,—following the words “after that” (Grk. epeita),—speaksabout gifts rather than offices. On the other hand, there is evidence to showthat “pastors,” “teachers” and “church governors” all refer to just one office,with different functions. In the case of pastors and teachers, it can be seenthat they are the same office in Ephesians 4:11. Notice that in this verse, theword “some” (Grk.ho) occurs before every office mentioned except that of“teacher.” This suggests (according to a Greek syntax rule known as Sharp’sRule) that the “pastors and teachers” are the same office. That is, apastor must be a teacher and a teacher must be a pastor, though it is possiblethat some are more gifted to be teachers and others more gifted to be pastors.Similarly, the New Testament appears to speak of two offices of eldership: oneknown as “bishops” or “overseers” (Grk.episkopos) and the other known as“elders” or “presbyters” (Grk. presbuteros). However, there arestrong evidences that these two terms are synonymous. Firstly, in Acts 20:17,we read of Paul calling for the “elders” (Grk. presbuteros) of theChurch of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus, but when he met them, he referred tothem as the “overseers” (Grk. episkopos) of the Church. Secondly,in Titus 1:5, Paul reminds Titus that one of his duties was to ordain “elders”(Grk.presbuteros), but he then proceed to give the qualifications of a“bishop” (Grk.episkopos), without so much as mentioning thequalifications of an elder. The conclusion is obvious: the two terms aresynonymous.

Furthermore, it is strongly evident that a pastor-teacher is but a teachingelder, i.e., an elder specially gifted to preach and teach, and supported bythe church for that purpose. Firstly, the New Testament does not list anyqualifications for the office of a pastor, which suggests that the office isprobably that of the elder. Secondly, Paul refers to elders who were appointedto be “overseers, to feed the church of God” (Acts 20:28); and to elders whonot only rule but “labour in the word and doctrine” (1 Tim 5:17). He taughtthat such elders ought to be remunerated by the church (1 Tim 5:18).

The conclusion is inevitable, I believe. The terms“pastors,” “teachers” and “elders” all refer to the same office, though servingin different capacities. The implications are:

Implications

Firstly, that each local assembly should have a plurality of elders withdifferent functions. Thus, Paul and Barnabas “ordained them elders in everychurch” (Acts 14:23).

Secondly, it shows that each elder in the local assembly has the sameauthority. The pastor is but one of the elders. He may be theologically trainedwhile the rest are not, and his views on doctrines and theological issuesshould be given due respect, but he does not have final say in the matters ofthe church. Or, to put it in another way, he has the same number of votes asthe rest of the members of the session.

Thirdly, it shows us that the basic criteria for all elders in a localassembly should be the same. They must, for example, be “apt to teach” (1 Tim3:2; 2 Tim 2:24), whether or not they are serving as teaching elders.

Fourthly, elders have four principle responsibilities corresponding tothe four titles used in Scripture. Depending on the gifts and training of theelder, he may serve with particular emphasis in certain capacity, but everyelder in a church must be responsible for all four presbyterial duties. Theseare:

Duties of the Elders

Oversight and Pastorate of the Church. Paul’s instruction to the elders of Ephesus is applicable to all elders today:“take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the HolyGhost hath made you overseers” (Acts 20:28). Similarly, the Apostle Peter’sexhortation is applicable: “Feed the flock of God which is among you, takingthe oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre,but of a ready mind” (1 Pet 5:2). It is instructive for us to note that theGreek word translated “flock” in Acts 20:28 is poimnion. The verbalform of this word is poimainô, which is the word translated “feedthe flock” in 1 Peter 5:2. Furthermore, a person who does poimainô isthe poimên, which is translated as “pastor” in Ephesians 4:11. Inother words, an elder is also a pastor or an under-shepherd overseeing theflock. Though it is customary to call the minister of the Gospel as the pastorof the congregation, because it is his primary and full-time vocation, we mustnot forget that every elder is also a pastor in the church. Every elder mustcare for the flock, and watch over their spiritual well-being. No elder oughtto be in the session, who does not know the flock. The charge of Solomonapplies to every elder: “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, andlook well to thy herds” (Prov 27:23).

Rulership. The author of Hebrews refers to elders as those who haverule or leadership over the church (Heb 13:7). The elder must rule over theaffairs of the church just as a father rules over his family (1 Tim 3:4). He isnot to be lord over God’s heritage, but he is to lead by example (1 Pet 5:3; 1Tim 4:12), and as he is set over the congregation (1 Thes 5:12), he isresponsible for their well-being and will have to give an account to the Lordconcerning them (Heb 13:17). To do so the elder must not only be an overseerand shepherd, but he must be involved in setting the directions, and making thedecisions of the church on behalf of the congregation. Conversely, the membersof the church must obey and submit themselves in the Lord to the authority ofelders set over the flock (Heb 13:17).

Teaching. Paul list “apt to teach” as a qualification for theelder. This is because an elder must “feed the flock” (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet 5:2).How does he feed the flock but by teaching and exhortation (2 Tim 2:2; Tit1:9)? The word translated “exhort” (Tit 1:9) is the Greek parakaleô,which may also be translated “encouraged,” “urge,” or even “comfort.” Thus, theelder’s teaching is not restricted to formal teaching duties, but includesinformal counselling, and words of encouragement. The elder should also be ableto “convince the gainsayers” by sound doctrine (Tit 1:7–9). The word translated“gainsayers” (Grk. antilegô), may be literally translated “thosewho speak against,” i.e., those who oppose the “faithful word as he hath beentaught.” Ideally, it would appear then, that the elder should be so familiarwith the doctrines and practices in the church that he can give a reasonableresponse to queries and objections to the doctrines held. This, of course, doesnot mean that every elder must be equally knowledgeable and gifted to thistask. Otherwise, it would make little sense for Paul to speak of a class ofelders who “labour in the word and doctrine” (1 Tim 5:17). As mentionedearlier, we customarily call this class of elders, ministers, pastors orteachers.

Conclusion

May the Lord grant us, therefore, that He may raise up elders meeting thecriteria set forth in the Word of God (1 Tim 3:1–7; and Tit 1:7–9); and readyto serve Him by pastoring, overseeing, ruling, and teaching the flock purchasedwith the blood of the Great Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ.

—J.J. Lim