The Leadership of the Body: Elders and Deacons

Introduction

We have been studying what it means to be a part of the body of Christ, the Church.

Today, we look at authority or leadership in the church.

The body is directed and controlled by its head.

The church is Christ’s body and He is her head.

Ephesians 5:23 “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.”

So when we ask who has authority in the church, or even more explicitly, in GBC, it is Christ

2LBCF 26:4 The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church. By the Father’s appointment, all authority is conferred on him in a supreme and sovereign manner to call, institute, order and govern the church.

Yet, even so, Christ has delegated some of His authority in the church, first, to the congregation as a body, and second, to the officers of the Church, elders and deacons.

And so the confession goes on to say in 26:8

A local church, gathered and fully organized according to the mind of Christ, consists of officers and members. The officers appointed by Christ are overseers or elders, and deacons. They are to be chosen and set apart by the church called and gathered in this way, for the distinctive purpose of administering ordinances and for carrying out any other power or duty Christ entrusts them with or calls them to. This pattern is to be continued to the end of the age.

So we turn in our study now to these two offices

Elders

What is an Elder?

The Name

Elder/Pastor/Bishop?

All are used synonymously in the NT

Acts 20:28 “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

1 Peter 5:1–2 “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;”

Definition

An elder is a member of the church, set apart by Christ, to serve as an example, leader, teacher, and administrator in the church

Pastors or Elders?

Just as a matter of course, we typically refer to elders who are on staff as pastors and elders who are not on staff as elders

Elder Distinctions

1 Timothy 5:17 “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.”

Presbyterians distinguish between teaching elders and ruling elders

We make a similar distinction between staff elders and lay elders

Qualifications of Elders

1 Timothy 3:2–7 “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”

Character

Above reproach

Sober-minded

Self-controlled

Respectable

Hospitable

Not a lover of money

Not quarrelsome

Ability

Able to manage his Household

Able to teach

Female Elders?

Paul’s assumption is that an overseer would be a man. “Husband of one wife”

Besides this, he gives explicit instructions that women ought not take positions of leadership

1 Timothy 2:11–14 “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”

The Church, families, societies, need women to be women and men to be men.

A woman is not mistreated if she is not allowed to be a deficient man

Duties of Elders

2LBCF 26:10 The work of pastors is to give constant attention to the service of Christ in his churches in the ministry of the word and prayer. They are to watch over the souls of church members as those who must give an account to Christ.

Lead the Congregation

Exercise oversight

Titus 1:7 “For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,”

A Steward manages the affairs of the house

They are overseers and stewards with a level of authority

They are to be obeyed Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

They are to rule. 1 Timothy 5:17 “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.”

Elders are members of the congregation who have been set apart by Christ to lead the congregation.

Shepherd the Flock

1 Peter 5:2 “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;”

Protect from false doctrine/teachers

Acts 20:28–29 “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;”

Titus 1:9 “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

Watch out for the souls of individual members

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Preach the Word

It is primarily by means of preaching and teaching that the elder exercises authority in the church and leads the congregation

Titus 1:9 “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”

2 Timothy 4:1–2 “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

Equip the saints for ministry

Ephesians 4:11 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,”

Deacons

What is a Deacon?

Διακόνος = Servant

Most often is just translated as ‘servant’ in the NT.

Is a deacon merely anyone who serves in the church, or is it a formal office?

While Diakonos is used to refer to some Christians (Paul in Col. 1:23. Apollos in 1Cor. 3:5. Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:6) who are not office holders in scripture, there is an office of deacon.

The First Deacons

Acts 6:1–7 “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.”

Men selected by the church, ordained for a particular ministry

They are to serve the practical and physical needs of the church so that the apostles could devote themselves to the ministry of the Word and prayer

They specifically serve tables. The word for serve being the verbal form of Diakonos

Deacons are men who are set apart for official service in the church

Qualification of Deacons

In Acts 6 we see that they must be of good repute, full of the Spirit and Wisdom

1 Timothy 3:8–13 “Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

We find a similar list in Titus 1:5-9.

They must not be greedy or drunkards

That is, they must be self-disciplined

They often have access to the funds of the church

He must have sound doctrine

He must be mature. (Tested)

He must be blameless

The husband of one wife

They must manage their household well

The deacon need not be able to teach because that is not his job

Female Deacons?

The assumption in 1 Tim. 3 is that the deacon is a man. He has a wife.

Duties of Deacons

Leaders but not authorities

Deacons are not like Elders in that there is no inherent authority in their office

If both office carried with it authority, what would be the point of having two distinct offices?

Deacons are not JV elders. Having less authority than the elder but more than the member.

Deacon is not elder training or a feeder team into eldership

Deacons have their own important and specific mission

But they are leaders in the congregation. They lead by example and by discipleship.

This is one reason why they need to be of good repute, so that others will look to their example and follow them

They are set apart and ordained for a special ministry and are therefore distinct from other members by their gifts, maturity and grace.

Service

The main work of the deacon is known from his title, he is a servant and is engaged in the ministry of service

Deacons see to the material and temporal welfare of the congregation so that the elders can remain engaged in their main work, the ministry of the Word.

Acts 6:2 “And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.”

“The work of the Deacon is to wait on tables, i.e. to see to provide for the Lord’s Table, the minister’s table, and the poor’s table.” -Benjamin Keach

“It would seem that the office of deacon exists to assist the leadership of the church by relieving the elders of distractions and pressures that would divert them from the ministry of the word and prayer and the general, visionary oversight of the church.” -John Piper

Membership Response to Officers

Honor them

1 Timothy 5:17 “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.”

Christ, through His church, has called out certain men to fulfill a difficult task. We are to honor them for their sacrifice, for their work, and for their office as under shepherds of Christ

Follow their example

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”

Sometimes more is caught than taught. So observe your elders and deacons and their way of life and learn to imitate them.

Heed their council

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Obedience to elders is not for their sakes only. Being a tough sheep is certainly of no advantage to your elders, but it is of no advantage to you either.

Disciple them

Elders and deacons are imperfect Christians too. We are members of this church too

We need your encouragement, exhortation, reminders of the truth.

Pray for them

We have a hard work, a dangerous work