Those Who Desire To Be Elders – PT.1
(Eph. 4:11-16)
Last week
we looked at the three different types of government establishments that are
possible within the Church. We talked about an autocracy, where one man sees
himself in complete control. We talked about a democracy where the authority
lies in the popular vote. And we also talked about a theocracy, where God has
the authority. Hopefully, we saw that the theocracy is the scriptural way to
govern the Church. If we didn’t, we missed something extremely important
somewhere.
In this
theocracy, we also know that no man is the head of the Church. Christ and only
Christ can claim that position.
But, we
still have to concede that there are men who are given to the Church by Christ
to be the leaders, or perhaps a more accurate term might be representatives of
Christ, in His Church. There are four functions that we see were given to the
Church by Christ. Two were temporary and the other two are permanent. The two
which are temporary were the apostles and the prophets. Those are no longer
needed because we have their teachings in God’s complete revelation: The Holy
Bible. The other two, the evangelist and the pastor/teacher or elder are still
needed to this very day and will always be a part of God’s blueprint for his
Church. Today, I want to begin speaking about the function of elder.
As I said,
the Church does need men to fulfill the function of elder. Why? Because God’s
Church is built upon His foundation that Jesus is His One and Only begotten Son
and that Foundation is what we’re to build upon. But even if you have a solid
foundation, if you don’t abide by the blueprint; if you place the load bearing
walls in the wrong place, the structure itself won’t hold up. It won’t last.
And the reason is a very simple one: you didn’t follow the plans given to you
by the Master Architect, The Lord God Almighty!
And God
takes us following His directions very seriously. He gave Noah exact
instructions on how to build the ark; something that no one had even seen
before. He gave Moses specific instructions on how to build the Ark of The
Covenant, the Tabernacle, and the Priesthood. He went into such great detail
with His instruction that the garments that the priests wore were to be woven
and sewn in the exact manner that He directed (Ex. 28 + 39).
But why am
I telling you all this when I said that I was going to speak of elders? What do
those things have to do with it? Well, the answer is this: God directed that
there be elders in His Church, and Jesus gave them to His Church as a gift to
be used. Elders then, have a purpose in God’s plan.
So, I guess
the next logical question would be: what men should be elders? If God directs
there to be elders in His Church, shouldn’t we hurry up and make some men or
more men of our congregation elders so we know that we’re following God’s
instructions? Well…NO.
You see,
there are not only instructions about how to structure God’s Church, but there
are also instructions on what kind of materials to use. Typically, when you use
cheap materials you wind up with a cheap product. And if you rush through your
work, there are bound to be mistakes made. First, let’s talk a minute about the
rush job.
I used to work at a factory where
we produced different types of cabinetry. The parts for these cabinets weren’t made
by hand. They were mass produced on machines.
It didn’t
take me long to realize that, even though I was supposed to work as quickly as
I could, or have my machine work as quickly as it could, if I or my machine
worked too fast, the machine would produce bad parts and I’d not notice them.
So, I learned that things could go too fast, but there was a point to where
quantity and quality could both be met.
Yes, God
requires elders. But does He require them at the expense of quality? Paul answers
that question in 1Tim 5:22
“Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby
share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.”
So we can see that putting men into
the role of elder just for the sake of having elders in the Church is a
direction that we’re told specifically not to go. And the reason is that you
can’t sacrifice quality for quantity.
So how do we make men into elders?
Well, that’s the trick, you see. If a man’s not an elder before he’s ordained,
he won’t be one afterwards. In other words, we can’t make elders. Either a man
has the natural tendency or gift of being an elder or he doesn’t. We can’t make
men into elders. Oh, we can call them elders. We can give them the “title” of
elder. But being an elder actually begins within the heart of the man, and that
we have no control over. That is totally between him and God.
And then, if a man has the heart of
an elder, does he have the desire to actually be one. 1Tim 3:1 puts it this
way: “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,
he desires a noble task.” Paul’s not saying here that we in the
congregation should be arm twisting to put men into the eldership, but that the
man is to aspire to be an elder. And if he accepts that role, that function,
and that responsibility, he desires a “good work” or a “noble task”.
We could, at this point, begin to
go through the qualifications for a man to be an elder because there are some
who say that the qualifications include the functions, but I disagree. See,
there are some other issues I think we need to discuss. Such as, what is this
noble task? What good work is Paul referring to?
Well, first of all, I’d like to
point out what Paul didn’t say. Paul didn’t say that he accepts a noble title.
Paul didn’t say that he accepts a noble office. Paul didn’t say that he accepts
a noble position. Paul didn’t say that there was anything noble about being an
elder except the task; the work; the function that he desires to perform. Oh,
we could go on and on with this qualification and that qualification. But even
with all the qualification in the world, is a man truly an elder unless he
functions as an elder?
One of my personal passions is
hunting. I love to get into the woods or the fields. I’m happy with hunting
pretty much anything that’s in season. One of my favorite things to hunt
though, is rabbits.
I’ve hunted for rabbits in a couple
of different ways. One way is to kick, walk, and stumble through the brush
hoping to jump a rabbit and get off a shot at it before it disappears because
after it’s gone, it’s gone. There ain’t no finding it again. The other way to
hunt rabbits is to use dogs; the most preferred being beagles.
Hunting rabbits is what beagles
were bred to do. And, in the past, I’ve had some really good beagles that ran rabbits.
I was really glad to have them and really proud to have them. For a rabbit
hunter, there’s little like hearing your beagle tearing up a trail and running
the rabbit back to you. But, I’ve also had beagles that couldn’t run a rabbit
if you held the rabbit on a leash.
Now what I had was a beagle; a dog
that was bred to perform the function of chasing rabbits. But for some reason,
some of them didn’t do what they were meant to do. What was the problem? Could
it have been their nose? Maybe they didn’t have the tools or “gift”, if you
will, of running a rabbit. Could it have been that they were afraid to go off
by themselves to accomplish what they were meant to do? Could it have been that
they had no real desire to go chasing after rabbits? Whatever it was, even
though they were beagles, qualified to run rabbits, they didn’t function as
beagles. Not only did they do me no good whatsoever, they were actually an
annoyance and hindrance to my goal of having rabbit for supper. Now, let’s get
back to elders.
Looking at both lists of
qualifications from 1Timothy and Titus, there are a total of 15 qualifications.
At first glance there might appear to be more, but some are or mean the same
thing, and we’ll get into those in the near future. But more to the point: 15
qualifications seem like a lot for a man to be able to achieve. And yet, within
the congregations of Christ’s Church, elders we have. So, apparently, there are
men who can meet all of the qualifications for eldership. The question is
though, like the beagles that I’ve had, do they have what it takes to function
as an elder? Do they have the personal ability to function as an elder? Are
they afraid of the responsibility of functioning as an elder? Do they have the
desire to function as an elder? I believe that even before qualification is
looked at, these questions must be answered. A man who aspires to be an elder
must have not just the Biblical qualifications, but also the ability, the
courage, and the desire to serve Christ and His Church in this capacity.
I hope you’ve noticed that whenever
I’ve referred to who and what an elder is, I’ve spoken about function and not
said word one about office. If you’re wondering why that is, or even if you’re
not, I’m going to explain myself.
There seems to be some controversy
over the use of the word “office” when it refers to a position within the
church. Some will say that the word is most definitely legitimate in that the
authoritative position they hold gives them the right to carry the “title”.
Others say that the idea of carrying the title and holding it out for all to
see has nothing to do with spirituality. To be perfectly frank, I don’t know if
anyone in the church is an office-holder or not. A lot of our translations use
the word office in 1Tim 3:1, but some don’t. I looked up the Greek word and it
can be defined that way, but not always.
This Greek word is used three times
in the New Testament. First, is Acts 1:20: “For it is
written in the book of Psalms: 'Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no
one live in it'; and, 'Let another take his office.” Next is again in
1Tim 3:1. Some translations say “This is a faithful
saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”
while other may have, “This is a true saying, If a man
desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” But when we
look at the third, 1Pe 2:12 ,
the word takes on an entirely new meaning. “Having
your conversation honest among the Gentiles: 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.” The meaning here being the visitation of
God. The general meaning is: a watching over or a visitation.
To be honest with you, I personally
don’t like to use the word “office” because many places where there are
offices, there is also bureaucracy, and I’m sure we all have had experience
with that. So, instead of focusing on the “office”, I much prefer to focus on
the function. Now I don’t mean to say that the title doesn’t matter. It does.
We need to know who our elders and deacons are and who our evangelist is. I’m
only saying that if you don’t perform the function, the office you hold is
meaningless. Paul told Timothy to “do the work of an
evangelist” (2Tim 4:5) But is to “do the work” only meant for the
evangelist? Is there not work to be done by the elder as well? Of course there
is. Why else would Paul say, “If a man desires the
position of a bishop, he desires a good work”? So, whether you prefer to
use the term “office” or not, we all, especially those who hold the offices,
have to understand that we must not just hold the office, but perform our
function.
So, just what is the function of
the elder? Well, to give a simple answer, it’s to shepherd the flock.
In 1Pe 5:1, Peter, speaking to
elders, calls himself a fellow elder.
But let’s get back to that. First, I’d like to tell you about something that
Jesus said concerning leadership.
John 13: 3-17 says, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into
His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got
up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded
Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples'
feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to
Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" Jesus
answered and said to him, "What I do you do
not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my
feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do
not wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon
Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands
and my head." Jesus said to him, "He
who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you
are clean, but not all of you." For He
knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean." So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments
and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and
Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher,
washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an
example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a
slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the
one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
Now, lets get back to what Peter
was telling the elders in his first letter. We know that in verse one of
chapter five, Peter calls himself an elder. But we need to also see in the
following verses, he tells them some of their duties.
He continues by writing, “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. And when the Chief
Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
Paul also instructed the Ephesian
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
“Be on
guard for yourselves and for all the flock.” Against what? Men who speak
perverse things. In other words, false teaching. Elders are to guard against
false doctrine. But who did Paul say it could be from? We all know that there
are evangelists that don’t teach the truth. All you have to do to see that is
turn on your TV and look for the “pastor” on there. But Paul here didn’t say to
just keep your eye on the preacher, but from your own selves, the elders will
begin teaching false doctrine. So are the elders supposed to make sure the
preacher is teaching the true gospel? Absolutely! Are they to keep an eye on
each other? Well, according to the Spirit inspired words of Paul, yes!
These are just a few examples of
the very important role of the elder. So, I have a question for you men to
ponder. If you’re capable of being an elder, why wouldn’t you want to be one? I
guess what I’m asking is: If you’d like to serve God in a deeper way than you
are now, why are you letting your desire and talent for service go to waste?
Who of us doesn’t want to serve our Lord in a way that would give more glory to
Him?
I’d like to close with a
conversation between Jesus and an elder.
Simon
Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee ,
and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter
*said to them, "I am going fishing." They *said to him, "We will
also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and that night
they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the
beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus *said to
them, "Children, you do not have any fish,
do you?" They answered Him,
"No." And He said to them, "Cast
the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in
because of the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved
*said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it
was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and
threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat,
for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging
the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they *saw a charcoal
fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus *said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large
fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was
not torn. Jesus *said to them, "Come and
have breakfast." None of the disciples
ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the
Lord. Jesus *came and *took the bread and *gave it to them, and the fish
likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples,
after He was raised from the dead. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus
*said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John,
do you love Me more than these?" He *said
to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Tend My lambs." He
*said to him again a second time, "Simon,
son of John, do you love Me?" He *said to
Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."
He *said to him the third time, "Simon, son
of John, do you love Me?" Peter was
grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do
you love Me?" And he said to Him,
"Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus *said to
him, "Tend My sheep.” (John 21: 2-17)
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