Thinking Biblically About Elders

Introduction

Over the next three weeks we are going to do a mini series.

My desire has been and will always be for Believers in Jesus Christ to think Biblically.

As I look at my time as pastor here drawing to a close, there are three areas I want to challenge Grace Church to think Biblically in.

Why?

Because I want Grace Church to be…

A Church That Functions biblically

Today we look at the first of these three areas.

SLIDE

As we begin, let’s pray.

I love a good fictional story.

To be more specific, I love stories with magic and special abilities.

There exists what I call my nerd jam.

My nerd jam is books, movies, or TV shows that merge science fiction with ancient times or things.

Recently I listened to a book that was my nerd jam.

It was about an ancient race of robots who had lived amongst us for millennia.

It was great.

There was one part of the book where the leader of the robots convinced all the other robots to join him in a multi-year sleep because they had conquered the world.

The problem was, he was lying.

He was actually going to harvest the energy from the other robots to keep himself alive.

What this story highlights is the necessity of having a good leader.

History is filled with men who were eloquent, passionate, and charismatic; but they were immoral.

These men were placed into positions of leadership and devastation was the result.

When a leader is not healthy, everyone suffers.

This holds true in the spiritual realm as well.

Today we are going to talk about elders.

Elders are essential to the healthy function of the local church.

However, the elders themselves must be healthy and know both their role and function.

In addition.

The membership of the local church must be able to identify what a healthy elder looks like and how he is to function.

Why? Because.

The health of the local church depends on having healthy leadership.

We could sum it up this way.

Christ desires His church to be healthy.

A healthy church requires healthy leaders who raise up healthy members.

Therefore, as a church, we must be able to identify healthy leaders.

Scripture is not silent on this issue.

Scripture provides detailed information about what a healthy leader looks like.

Today we will consider elders.

Principle:

Healthy elders are necessary for the local church.

Guidance:

There are three components of a healthy elder.

Outcome:

Where there are healthy leaders there will be a healthy church.

Component #1…

1. A Healthy Elder Is Qualified

It is an almost universal rule that you want someone in a position when they are the most qualified person for the job.

In the workforce, you want someone qualified to fill a role.

The Body of Christ is no different.

We need qualified people to serve in positions of leadership.

How do we know if someone is qualified to be an elder?

Great question!

Scripture gives us the qualifications of an elder in two passages.

We are going to briefly look at them this morning.

The qualifications listed in these two passages are very similar.

There are, however, two major differences.

In 1 Timothy, the difference is the answer to this question.

a. Does he want it? - 1 Timothy 3:1-7

1 Timothy 3:1 NKJV

1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.

Bishop - ἐπισκοπή (episkopē) visitation; position. church oversight n. — the office of watching over, directing, and caring for a church. Noun (genitive object), feminine.

Bishop - ἐπισκοπή (episkopē)

Literally, this word means overseer.

In other passages it is translated elder.

So bishop, overseer, pastor, and undershepherd are all descriptions of the same office.

This is a position, given to a man, through which he helps to lead a church.

Paul writes here that the person placed into this office needs to “desire” it.

There are two different Greek words translated “desire” here.

The idea being presented is that the position of elder needs to be something someone both longs for and is working toward or striving to achieve.

Let’s keep reading.

1 Timothy 3:2 NKJV

2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;

The primary qualification of an elder is found in this word “blameless”.

The rest of the description in this passage details for us how someone is blameless.

The husband of one wife - a one woman man.

This is one of the clues that lets us know that the office of elder is reserved only for Biblically qualified men.

Temperate - not extreme in behavior.

Sober-minded - Possessing and exercising self-control.

Good behavior - they act appropriately.

Hospitable - they treat guests and strangers well.

Able to teach - this is something that sets Elders apart from Deacons. Elders need to be able and willing to teach. There needs to be some skill, some ability, at teaching.

Let’s keep going.

1 Timothy 3:3–7 NKJV

3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Not given to wine - better translated “not addicted to wine.” You can drink, but don’t get drunk.

Not violent - not a bully. Not the kind of person who is looking for a fight.

Not greedy for money - this is a desire for money that doesn’t care how the money is obtained.

Gentle - kind, merciful and tolerant.

Not quarrelsome - they are peaceable.

Not covetous - They do not love money.

Rules his house well - He must be the leader of his home. His children need to be under his authority and behave with dignity.

This point brings up the reality that we are not talking about perfection. We are talking about the normal description of his life.

v. 5 asks an important rhetorical question.

The idea is this.

If we cannot lead our household well, we cannot lead the church well.

An elder must not be a new believer.

If a new believer is placed into this position the temptation for pride may be too much and he may fall.

Finally, someone who is an elder needs to have a good reputation among unbelievers.

These are the qualifications Paul listed for Timothy.

Here’s the bottom line.

An elder must desire the position and live a life that glorifies Christ.

Repeat - read aloud

None of us will fulfill these qualifications perfectly.

However, obvious violation of the things listed here leaves someone disqualified for the position of elder.

There is the question we get from 1 Timothy. Does he want it?

Paul’s instructions to Titus differ from those given to Timothy in the answer to this question.

b. Is he able? - Titus 1:5-9

Titus 1:5 NKJV

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—

Here we run into an important point.

In the local church there are to be a plurality of elders.

Meaning, there should be more than one.

Why? We’ll get to that.

Let’s keep reading.

Titus 1:6–8 NKJV

6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,

Most of this is a repetition of 1 Timothy.

Again we encounter the basic requirement, blamelessness.

Be above reproach. Unaccusable.

When talking about the children of an elder, they are here called to be faithful.

They need to be dependable, reliable.

What does that mean?

They cannot be charged with excessive behavior to the point of sin.

Nor can they be charged with defiant rebellious behavior.

An elder is to be blameless because he is a steward of God.

He is someone called by God to supervise the church, to lead and manage.

He cannot be self-willed. This means stubborn. It is the idea of being primarily concerned with self.

Quick-tempered - easily angered.

Not a drunkard, not a bully, not greedy.

Hospitable appears again, as does sober-minded.

Lover of what is good. This needs to characterize the life of an elder, a love for good things.

Just - righteous, moral.

Holy - Pure.

Self-controlled - his desires are under control.

Most of that sounds similar to 1 Timothy.

Here in v. 9 is where we get into some different territory.

Titus 1:9 NKJV

9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

The elder must be able to defend the truth.

How?

By holding to the Word he has been taught.

Holding fast – ἀντέχομαι (antechomai) be devoted to; help. to be devoted v. — to give oneself entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause. Verb, present, either middle or passive, participle, singular, accusative, masculine.

Holding fast – ἀντέχομαι (antechomai)

God’s Word is described here as faithful.

This word means reliable or certain.

An elder must be devoted to the Word of God.

He must view it as reliable and certain!

He also needs to have been taught.

This is not necessarily formal education, though it can be, what this represents is that They know the Word of God and have been trained in it by others.

Why?

Why is it important that an elder know the Word and be trained in it?

Because.

Part of an elders job is to use sound doctrine to exhort and convict those who contradict.

This is an ability that an elder must have!

One of the things I want to note is that all these qualifications are in the present tense.

These are things that must be true of a man at the moment he is being considered for the position of elder.

We don’t put someone in the position of elder and then work on the qualifications, to do so violates Scripture.

We place a qualified man in the position.

The end of v. 9 moves us from qualification to role, so we will deal with that in the next point.

Here’s the bottom line in this passage.

An elder must know the Word and be able to use it effectively to minister to others.

Repeat - read aloud

These are the qualifications of an elder.

These are not optional.

To be placed in the role of an elder, a man must meet these requirements.

This has all dealt with who an elder is, now we move to what an elder does.

There are three components to a healthy elder.

Component #1: A healthy elder is qualified.

Component #2…

2. A Healthy Elder Knows His Role

When we talk about someone’s role, we are discussing what they are to do.

In a sense, this is a job description.

In the work force, an unclear job description leaves everyone frustrated.

The worker is frustrated because they don’t know what is expected.

Everyone else is frustrated because things are not getting done.

To be effective in our service for Christ, all of us need to know what we are supposed to do.

The role of an elder is best seen in two passages.

The first of these passages reveals…

a. The Elders Priorities - Acts 6:1-4

Priority #1 - The Word of God.

Before we go to Acts, let’s finish Titus 1:9.

Titus 1:9 NKJV

9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

Sound doctrine means healthy teaching.

Correct and accurate instruction.

That is what people who contradict need!

It is the Word of God that changes lives!

Through the Word of God, the elder is to exhort and convict.

Exhort – παρακαλέω (parakaleō) urge; implore; exhort. to exhort v. — to earnestly support or encourage a response or action. Verb, present, active, complementary infinitive.

Exhort – παρακαλέω (parakaleō)

Convict – ἐλέγχω (elenchō) expose; reprove; convict. to sternly admonish v. — to admonish someone strongly; likely using argumentation to convince and refute. Verb, present, active, complementary infinitive.

Convict – ἐλέγχω (elenchō)

The elder is to be able to encourage and confront those who contradict.

Contradict - those who speak against, speak contrary and oppose the Word of God.

The teaching, defending, and explanation of the Word of God is a primary task of the elder.

We see this clearly in Acts 6. Go there with me.

Acts 6:1–2 NKJV

1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.

Verse 1 is the setup.

There was a problem in the church.

“Desirable” in v. 2 means acceptable, pleasing, or satisfactory.

The idea is that there needs to be men in the church who are devoted to the Word of God!

There are other men who are devoted to the task of practical service, we’ll get to that next week.

Priority #1 for the elder is the Word of God.

Priority #2 - Prayer.

Look at vv. 3-4.

Acts 6:3–4 NKJV

3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

“Give ourselves continually to” is one Greek word.

The idea of this word is “be devoted to”.

An elder is to devote himself to prayer.

The third priority is also mentioned in this verse.

Priority #3 - Ministering.

Ministry is the idea of service.

The elder is to devote himself to serving people through the Word of God.

These are the priorities of the elder.

The Word of God, prayer, and ministry.

Here’s our lesson.

An elder who knows his priorities is able to serve well.

Repeat - read aloud

This is the role of the elder, to know and function in the proper priorities.

Be a man of the Word, a man of prayer, and a man who serves.

As the elder serves in his role, he must know his priorities.

In our second passage we learn of…

b. The Elders Objective - Ephesians 4:11-15

Ephesians 4:11–15 NKJV

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

Verse 11 gives us the gifts that some elders will have, more on that later.

Verse 12 reveals the first objective.

Objective #1 - Equipping.

The word “for” is a preposition of purpose.

This is why those listed in v. 11 are given to the church.

To equip the saints for ministry.

This is the idea of preparation or completion.

The task of an elder is to prepare the body of Christ, the saints, to minister.

By the way, every single person who has believed in Jesus Christ is a saint.

That means that every single believer is called to do ministry.

Ministry just means service.

The elder equips believers for service.

Objective #2 - Edifying.

Edifying means to build something towards completion.

The elder is to build up others in the body of Christ!

For how long?

Ephesians 4:13 NKJV

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Until there is unity of faith and knowledge!

There will not be perfect unity this side of heaven.

We are to build others up until Christ calls us home.

The end of verse 13 introduces us to our third objective.

Objective #3 - Maturity.

“Perfect” means mature.

The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is the idea that one day we will be perfectly conformed to His image!

That will take place when we are glorified.

The elders task is to bring people toward maturity.

Look at verses 14-15.

Ephesians 4:14–15 NKJV

14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

No longer children, not immature.

A child is easily deceived and swayed.

The mature know truth and stand firm on it.

The mature speak the truth in love.

The mature look like Christ.

This is the objective of an elder.

We are to equip, edify, and mature the body of Christ.

All of these are accomplished through the teaching of the Word of God!

This is why we have elders. This is the objective.

An elder who knows his objective benefits others.

Repeat - read aloud

We help the body grow!

That is our goal.

This is the role of the elder.

To do these things.

There are three components to a healthy elder.

Component #1: A healthy elder is qualified.

Component #2: A healthy elder knows his role.

Component #3…

3. A Healthy Elder Knows His Function

We have a role, but we also have a function.

The idea here is that no two people are going to go about a given task the exact same way.

The task is to equip, edify, and mature.

How we accomplish that task is going to vary from elder to elder.

Let me put it another way.

The function of a healthy elder is determined by his gifting.

Our spiritual gifting is why no two elders will lead in exactly the same way.

Added to our spiritual gifting is our personality and our talents and abilities.

No two elders will lead in identical fashion.

That being said, it is also clear that there are two things every elder is responsible to do.

What are those two things?

That’s where we are going.

There are two ideas clearly laid out in Scripture.

To discover those ideas, we are going to look at two passages.

Two functions of an elder.

Function #1…

a. Teach the Word - Acts 20:17-35

I’m going to read some selected verses from this passage and make some comments.

Acts 20:17 NKJV

17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.

Notice. Elders (plural) of the church (singular).

The local church is to have a plurality of elders.

Why?

Because each man will have different gifts.

If one man had all the gifts we wouldn’t need one another.

Remember Ephesians 4:11?

Ephesians 4:11 NKJV

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

All of these gifts are necessary for the church to function well!

Traditionally it is those with the gift of teaching that we have placed in a position we call pastor.

Unfortunately, this has led to a confusion of the roles.

There are two gifts here. Pastor and teacher.

When we see this as one gift we get things confused and end up with unbiblical expectations.

What a church needs is a plurality of elders with a plurality of gifts.

You want a teacher to be the primary one who does what we call preaching, and you want the pastor to be the primary one who does visitation.

Why? Because that is their gifting.

We have made the mistake in our churches of calling one particular elder a pastor when he may or may not have that gift.

The Biblical model is never a one man show.

The Biblical model is that of a team effort.

The reason churches have chosen to support someone with the gift of teaching is so that he has the time to invest in the study of God’s Word.

However, someone with the gift of teaching will not be as gifted at shepherding, caring for the flock.

Does that mean he doesn’t do it?

No. All elders are called to shepherd the flock, we’ll look at that in a second.

My point is this.

If a church is functioning Biblically, it will have an elder whose primary gifting is teaching as well as one whose gift is shepherding.

It will also have the other gifts! Evangelist, administration, exhortation, discernment etc.

A healthy church has a team of men who serve the body, not just one person who does everything.

Alright, back to Acts.

Look at verses 20-21.

Acts 20:20–21 NKJV

20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul taught them everything that was helpful!

He gave them the gospel!

This is him teaching the Word.

Acts 20:25–27 NKJV

25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

Paul preached to them.

He declared to them the whole counsel of God!

This means that he didn’t just preach his favorite passages and he didn’t just preach the gospel.

Paul taught the truth of God’s Word from beginning to end.

This is the responsibility of an elder!

We teach the Word!

Acts 20:28–31 NKJV

28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to 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. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

Elders are to look to themselves first, that would be the qualifications we started with.

Then they are to shepherd the church.

Why?

Because wolves are coming.

Wolves are false teachers whose desire is to destroy the flock for their own gain.

Some in the church will speak error and draw people after themselves.

What is the solution to this?

Be on guard!

Our best defense against error is a thorough knowledge of truth.

We get this through the teaching of God’s Word.

Acts 20:32 NKJV

32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

It is the Word of God that builds us up.

That is why we declare it.

The function of the elder is to teach the Word.

Therefore,

An elder must know the Word and teach it with clarity and boldness.

Repeat - read aloud

This is the task before us.

The first function of an elder is to teach the Word.

Function #2…

b. Shepherd the flock - 1 Peter 5:1-4

We saw earlier in Ephesians that the goal is to mature the flock.

We accomplish that through the Word and through care.

How that will be played out in the life of an elder depends on their gifting and calling from God.

A teacher is going to shepherd the flock differently than an evangelist.

An administrator will approach the sheep differently than an exhorter will.

Every elder is to shepherd the flock according to his gifting.

Look with me at 1 Peter.

1 Peter 5:1–4 NKJV

1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

The image of a shepherd is intended to bring our good shepherd to mind.

Peter refers to Christ as our Chief Shepherd in v. 4.

Elders serve as under-shepherds.

We operate under Christ which means we are accountable to him.

The gift of “pastor” is this gift of shepherding.

While all elders are to shepherd, it will come most naturally to those with that gift.

We are overseers which means we lead and direct.

It also means that we take care of the flock.

We don’t do this because we have no choice!

We do it willingly as a call from God.

We shepherd intentionally to point people to Jesus!

We work and strive to see every person complete in Him.

We don’t do this to be rich.

Elders serve with one desire, the benefit of the body of Christ.

We are not trying to be masters of the sheep!

Instead we strive to be example to follow.

The sheep are entrusted to the care of the elder.

When we lead well, we receive a crown of glory.

With a tender heart, an elder must lead the sheep by example.

Repeat - read aloud

Shepherd the flock.

That is the call of the elder.

Conclusion

This is how we think Biblically about elders.

Elders are a team of men give to the local church for its growth and benefit.

He must be qualified and able to teach.

The primary task of an elder is to teach the Word, pray, and minister.

To do that, he must know the Word and be a man of integrity and discipline.

The elder’s goal is the growth and maturity of the body of Christ.

To that end, the elder teaches the Word and shepherds the flock.

Within all of this are some truths for every believer.

We are all called to know the Word, share the gospel, and live righteously.

We are to live disciplined lives and be people of prayer.

Do those things reflect who we are?

COMMITMENT:

Through Scripture and prayer I will seek to grow in Christ and minister to others.

Know the Biblical description of an elder.

Strive to be qualified to serve.

Be disciplined in Scripture and prayer.

Serve for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.