Church Order

Copyright 1998:
William A. Simpson

In the volume of the Bible, there is not much text explicitly detailing church order.  However, there is sufficient information available in diverse contexts for us to understand each of the offices in the church, and how they are to function, both individually and in coordination with one another.  In addition, it is clear how each member of the church is to conduct himself in the house in which the body meets.

It is clear that the early churches were organized.  They each had offices, and it appears that the offices were the same, though the type of government structure they applied may have differed.  In every congregation there were one or more pastors, a number of elders, and a number of deacons.  Although no specific office is named, there were also those who did volunteer work.  Paul names many faithful church members in his letters, emphasizing that there are certain roles in the church in which the non-office-holding church members, both male and female, are to serve.

What we find in Christian schools and churches is that the emphasis is more often placed on the qualifications for the various offices than on the actual work done by the persons holding those offices.  In this study we shall take the opposite approach.  That is, while we shall detail the qualifications for the offices, our primary purpose is to clarify the functions and interrelationships of those offices.  At the same time, the responsibilities of the offices in the church require a specific sort of person.  While the Bible seems at first glance to address the issue of qualifications more heavily than the actual work to be done, what we find upon careful examination is that the Bible does indeed address the issue of the jobs themselves.

Some church offices are no longer open.  For example, we no longer have apostles in the Church.   When the last of Jesus' apostles died, the Scriptures name no one to take their places, nor is there any indication that any would follow them.  Today, prophecy is not at all the same as it was during the apostolic age.  Then, it had to do with the foretelling of specific future events.   Churches had men who were designated by the Holy Spirit as prophets, and they were the men through whom God spoke to the churches until the Scriptures were completed and distributed.

Now, prophecy has more to do with the correct and detailed exposition of the Scriptures.  Whereas before, the prophets held an official position in the church, today, prophecy falls more in the category of a spiritual gift, the gift of prophecy.   Today, God does not speak through the prophet as He did in the Old Testament and during the first century or so of the New Testament.  Nowadays, God gives the prophet spiritual gifts whereby he is able to speak the truth simply, so that people can understand the great truths of the Bible.  But earlier, the prophets were absolutely infallible.  They were incapable of error.  Today, the spirits of the prophets are "subject to the prophets," and they are capable of doctrinal error.  An especially gifted teacher today might have the gift of prophecy;  he would be a "forthteller" of the Word of God.  But his gift would not be such that he would necessarily hold an office in the church, though many church "officers" do have the gift of prophecy.

Every church is to be ordered in accordance with the Word of God.  God Himself ordained certain offices in the church, and it is God who raises up and appoints those men whom He chooses to serve in them.  Every Christian is a priest, and all are ministers, but there are certain men who are prepared by God, and then called to a specific office.  These men are no more moral or special to God than the lowliest church member, though it is almost inevitable that a congregation will attempt to hold its officers to a higher level of morality than their own, only to be disappointed when no officer proves able to abide long under those unscriptural requirements.  God does not choose any officer because of his superior merit or morality, but because He alone has chosen to call that one, and has prepared him through diligent study and long experience, and by the impartation of spiritual gifts.  These men will have exercised those gifts in God's service, and will have demonstrated their faith by a consistent ministry to others.  God raises up ministers among us, and those men are the ones who become our temporal shepherds:   Ordinary men, charged with responsibilities beyond their abilities, yet gifted by God to fruitfully serve and to offer spiritual perspectives on earthly matters, keeping the flock together and feeding God's children His Word.

Churches have begun to establish hierarchies that go beyond the Scriptures and which change the functions of the offices.  The Bible knows of no Music Minister or Youth Minister.   Does a Youth Minister tell an elderly person that he cannot counsel them because it violates his job description?  Who is better qualified to impart wisdom to a small child, a twenty-five year old or a seventy-five year old?  Is a Music Minister not also to serve as a counselor or teacher of the Scriptures?    Every officer of every church ought first to consider himself a minister of the gospel, though he might also have other specific functions in the church such as leading the music, or leading the youth in sports and recreation.  There is no such thing as a Music Minister; there is an elder who also happens to conduct the music program.  There is no such thing as a Youth Minister in the Bible.  Instead, there is a pastor who, while maintaining his ministry to Christians young and old alike, also attends to the spiritual needs of the youth specifically.  There are three primary offices which we shall discuss herein.   They are: 

  1.)  Pastor
  2.)  Bishop
  3.)  Deacon.

In addition, we will look at the role of the church member in the church, women in the church, men in the church, committees, boards, and a proper hierarchy. We also would do well to take a look at the function of an evangelist, as well as the particular responsibilities of both young men and young women.  For all of these have their proper functions within the local assembly of believers.

It should be noted at the outset that not every denomination or local assembly organizes itself in the same manner.  The Baptists, for example, enjoy some degree of autonomy in the local churches, whereas Presbyterians and Methodists and others have regional, national and world governing bodies.  Little enough is said in the Scriptures that a fair case can be made for each of these scenarios.  In each, however, the three offices named above serve essentially the same function.

  Pastor

The word comes to us from the Greek "poimen" (poymane).  In the Strong's Concordance, the definition is found in the Greek dictionary under the number 4166.  Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nelson 1984,1996) offers the following definition:

"A shepherd, one who tends herds or flocks: (not merely one who feeds them), is used metaphorically of Christian "pastors," Eph 4:11.  "Pastors" guide as well as feed the flock; cf. Acts 20:28, which, with v. 17, indicates that this was the service committed to elders (overseers or bishops); so also in 1 Pet 5:1,2, "tend the flock...exercising the oversight," RV; this involves tender care and vigilant superintendence.

In his first epistle to Timothy, Paul does not prescribe certain qualifications for pastors, though he does do so in the case of elders (bishops or overseers) and deacons.   Neither in Titus does Paul delineate any specific requirements for pastors.  However, he does provide additional information concerning the qualifications for the office of elder, whether that elder is a pastor or a bishop.  In his letter to Titus, Paul does not add anything to his earlier list of qualifications for deacons.  Nowhere is there found a list of requirements for the office of pastor.

This intriguing situation may be easily explained.  It appears from the passage in Eph 4:11 that the office of pastor is quite positively established by the Holy Spirit as lying at the very top of the local church hierarchy.  This, because the evangelist, as shall be detailed later, is not an official of a local church, but is a gift to the entire body of believers, as well as to the entire unsaved world, though he may be a member of a local assembly of believers.  Since there are no longer any apostles, and since the office of prophet has been "demoted" to the standing of a spiritual gift, and since evangelists are not officers of a local assembly,  the head of the local church is the pastor.  The Acts 20 passage gives us some idea of the role of the pastor, though he is there referred to as an elder.  Notice that in the Ephesians passage, no mention is made of elders.  Why is there no list of specific instructions for pastors?  Because pastors are elders, and the qualifications for that office are clearly given. 

In that same vein, there are no specific instructions given for bishops either.  Both bishops and pastors are elders.  Both function in the same manner, but they serve different functions.

Paul was in Miletus, and called for the elders of the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17).  It was his purpose to present to them his farewell address.  He was hurriedly traveling to Jerusalem, against the specific pronouncements of the Holy Spirit, and would be taken from there, eventually, to Rome, where he would end his days.  He wanted to have a final word with these elders, using his own ministry as an example of sound leadership and instructing them in the conduct of their own ministries.  Why Paul only called for the elders from Ephesus, and not from other cities as well, is not revealed, except, perhaps, circumstantially. 

When Paul left Ephesus after a stay of three years, he left Timothy behind.  Timothy was a young man, and had some difficulty exercising his rightful authority (cp Eph 4:12) on account of his youth.  It is not clear precisely what Timothy's office was, but it was clear that Paul sought to validate his instructions to these elders.  Timothy was not numbered among these elders.

In this farewell address, Paul spoke mostly of himself and his ministry, holding it up as an example for them to follow.  He said,

Therefore take heed to yourselves and 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)

Ephesus was a city in decline.  For many hundreds of years, seafaring traders landed on the coasts of the Mediterranean, the Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Seas.  Their goal was not to conquer the land.  Rather, they sought to establish emporion (from which we get our term emporium, or   center of commerce).   They sought to establish ports of entry on the coast so that they might explore the commercial possibilities inland.  The first part of the land to be developed was the coastal regions, in order to support the shipping and caravan trade.

Ephesus was one of those port cities that had developed along the coast of the Aegean Sea.   Unfortunately, the harbor had been gathering silt for millennia.  By Paul's day, efforts had been made to clear the shipping lanes, but the work proved too costly and difficult.  The city literally began to dry up.

Ephesus, however, was a great city in its heyday, and would take more than a few generations to fail altogether.  It was not like there was shipping one day, and the next, there was not.  Rather, the harbor filled in gradually.  There was a lengthy, narrow channel leading from the sea to the closed harbor.  It became narrower slowly until, finally, ships could no longer pass through it.  For a long time, smaller vessels could traverse the passageway from the sea.  Today, there is a twenty-mile expanse of marshy salt flats that separates Ephesus from the Agean Sea.  But it was still a bustling city of considerable size in 60 A.D., when Paul wrote his letter to the Christians there.   According to Tacitus, the effort to dredge the channel did not occur until five years after Paul had written them.

Another interesting thing to understand is that Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians was not the only letter which was written to Ephesus.  When Paul wrote his letters to Timothy, that young man served in the church at Ephesus.  When John recorded our Lord's letters to the seven churches in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the first church which he chose to address was the Christians of Ephesus.  He said, "...I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place -- unless you repent."  Apparently they did not.  There were at least four letters which were addressed to specific men or to the church as a whole at Ephesus, more than any other city.

It may well be that there were a number of Christian assemblies in Ephesus, much as there are in cities today.  These elders that Pual sent for may have served in shepherding positions over all the churches in the area, or they may have been personally responsible for shepherding a particular band of sheep, or both.  In the various references to elders, it seems apparent that these men are the ones who hold the office of pastor, though elders are not necessarily limited to that local church office, as we shall see in our study of bishops.   A pastor must be an elder, but an elder is not necessarily a pastor, though he must also be qualified to be.  A pastor, it seems, applies to the individuals in a local assembly what the bishop applies to the greater body of believers.

The terms elder, pastor and bishop all seem to denote the same responsibilities and qualifications, though there seems to be a difference in the responsibilities of the two offices. An elder may serve as a bishop, as in the case ot Titus, who was placed in authority over the churches of Crete.  He may serve as a pastor of a local assembly.  Or he may serve as a "bishop" in his own local assembly.  One must be an elder if he is to serve in either of the offices of the church in any capacity other than as a deacon.

While it is proper for the pastor to serve in a single local assembly, doing the work of an elder, the one who is not necessarily confined to a local assembly is called a bishop but not a pastor.  Every pastor is an elder, but not every elder is also a pastor.  Every pastor is associated with a particular local church, and every local church is also to have its bishops. 

However, it also seems that the bishop, in his ministry to more than one church, fills the office of elder, as in the case of Titus.  In this capacity, he is something of a pastor's pastor, shepherding a larger group, but only by shepherding a smaller group of those who shepherd the individuals in the congregations.

Since the qualifications for elders are clearly drawn, and since all pastors are also elders, we shall turn our attention to the qualifications for and responsibilities of elders, drawing the distinction between the local pastor and the bishop as need dictates.

Elder

Two Greek words are used to denote those who hold the office of elder, "presbuteros" and "episkopoi."   The first, presbuteros, denotes one who has aged to a point of maturity and sound judgment, a senior.  The elders of the nation of Israel met in council to decide the directions of the people.  The heads of the twelve tribes were elders.  The Sanhedrin, the ruling body was composed of the chief priest, the elders, and the scribes.   The persons who held positions of civic responsibility in the cities of Israel were the elders of the cities.

Physical age alone, however, had only a small bearing on the qualification of a person for the office of elder.  While judgment is a function of age (God is eternal), the Holy Spirit chooses those whom He will for the job, and then equips that person to perform it fruitfully.  It wasn't necessarily the oldest person in the tribe who was appointed an elder, but that aged person had to possess also a modicum of wisdom.  Of the elder in the church, Vine writes:

In the Christian churches, those who, being raised up and qualified by the Holy Spirit, were appointed to have the spiritual care of, and to exercise oversight over, the churches (were elders).  To these the term "bishops," episkopoi, or "overseers," is applied...

The word presbuteros denotes the spiritual maturity of the episkopos, or overseer.  In the sense that a pastor is the overseer of the spiritual lives of the flock that has been committed to his care, a pastor is properly called episkopos, or overseer, though the term is not always used in contexts where the pastor is the focus.   He is called a shepherd (poimen), because this word characterizes that portion of his work which separates him from the episkopos or bishop.  In modern terms, the presbytery is the council of elders, applied both to a local assembly of believers and to the larger dispersed body of believers in the case of certain denominations.  An elder is a pastor, a bishop, and also serves as an elder.   A bishop is an elder, and a pastor is also an elder.  But when the three are named in the Scriptures, we find that the emphasis is different.  We shall see that they are the same office, but that the work differs.  Following those discussions we will look at deacons, and at the other groups mentioned above.

  The first thing to examine is the name itself.  We touched on this briefly at the top of this section, but did not look very closely.   The elders were the men who led the great cities and states of old.  While they did not rule as kings, they were the king's chief advisors.  Like a city council composed of men who have lived in a town all their lives, and are familiar with all its customs and history and character, the elders were aged men, learned in wisdom, and able to judge the direction of their communities.  They did not get caught up in the details of the day-to-day management of the cities, but sat in the gates and oversaw the whole.  They looked at the big picture.

The elders of a land might advise the king on the government of more than one city, indeed, upon many.  For as every city had its elders, so did the nations have theirs.  The elder was one who viewed his city or his nation from a more detached perspective, one who was able to step back and see, not the individual offices that composed a city's government, but the whole government itself.  In the case of nations, the role was the same.  The king was the king, but the elders were his overseers.  In the church, the King is the King, but the elders are the overseers, or  the bishops and shepherds.

This was true, not just of the Jews, but of the Gentile nations and cities as well.  Among the Jews of the nation of Israel, the elders served in the cities as judges, and as guides of the collective will.   They were the primary guardians of what was right in a city or region.  This was also true of the Gentile states, the elders of whose courts determined the courses of the people, even as today.  These were men, well-seasoned with the vicissitudes of the ages.  They understood the importance of the offices that they held, and took those responsibilities seriously.   It was not an honorary title;  it was a very serious job.  And the rewards of the labor were worthy of the task.   The council of elders of a state is well-tended to by the state, even today, and are held in high esteem in their cities and villages.  Every President has his advisors, and the chief advisors are well-trusted men who have each shown themselves to be sound in their deliberations and wise in their counsel. 

The elders of a land stood around the throne of the king whom they served.  According to the Word of God, the church will yet see its elders seated and crowned beside the throne of God (See Rev 4 and 5).  Is it an honor to be an elder in a nation of men?  Much more so, an elder in the church of the living God.  But let us return to more ancient times than our own.

At the time of Jesus, in Jerusalem, Israel's capitol, the elders of Israel formed the local governing body, the Sanhedrin, which ruled all of Israel, under the authority granted by the Roman government.  The head of the Sanhedrin was the high priest, or chief priest, always from the tribe of Levi, from whose descendants came the Law of Moses, who was himself descended from Levi.

By Jesus' day, the governing body, the Sanhedrin, had become divided.   Some of the elders had gotten so caught up in the Law that they became absorbed in the details and lost sight of the greater issues, justice and mercy and faith (See Mt 23: 13-39).  Others among the elders were not so much concerned with the Law, being sidetracked by the debate over whether a pragmatic, scientific approach to governance ought to dispense with the silly superstitions of miracles and supernatural events.

These elders became divided into two "political" parties, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  The Pharisees were so devoted to the minutiae of the Law that they could not see their own failure to understand that the Law was a spiritual instrument.  They did the deeds outwardly that the Law demanded, but they had long forgotten any spiritual significance.  They were arrogant enforcers of a Law whose spirit they violated with every breath and every word.  Much like many churches do today.  And they did it unknowingly.  As do the churches.

The Sadducees, were like the evolutionists of our day.  They were the scientists who applied far too much faith in reason and none in God.  Their ability to think and to reason became their god, and no One outside themselves was afforded any credence.   It is very much the attitude of the new-age movement today, reducing that God whom they cannot understand, and whom they refuse to accept, to a level beneath themselves.  More, they elevate themselves above God, so that they become God while He becomes god in their minds, if He exists at all.

While it was the responsibility of the elders of Israel to lead a united nation toward a coming Messiah, they became disrupted by partisan disputes.  And when that Messiah did come, the two parties did unite, but in rebellion against Him whom they had awaited so long.  

An apostate nation did not have elders who would lead God's people aright, and the nation fell in 70 A.D.

Today, Israel is not led by elders, but by popularly elected politicians.  The nation only exists through the authority of the United Nations, but will yet be brought into conformity to the Word of God by the Second Coming of the Messiah.  At that time, the elders of the tribes of Israel will resume the faithful and fruitful guidance of the nation of Israel, under the authority of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

  In the church, the elders have a dual role.  Some shepherd local assemblies, even as the elders shepherded the cities.  These are called pastors.  Some are less concerned with a particular church as with the state of the church as a whole, even as both the cities and the nations had their elders.  These are called bishops, and bishops may serve in a local assembly or in a broader scope, over several assemblies.  Where the pastor shepherds, or oversees, and as he serves a local assembly of believers by ministering to its parts, the individuals in it, the bishop observes the state of one or more assemblies, understanding the state of the greater body.  Neither job is "more important" than the other, but both are necessary.  One deals with the many, and the other deals with the whole.  The work is virtually identical in ministering to an individual or to the church.  For the Word of God does not change for any of the members of the true Church.  Neither does it change for the many local assemblies whom it serves.  The Word of God endures forever.

When Jesus established His church, He used forms that were familiar to the masses.  An Old Testament example of this same principle is found in the covenant that God entered into with Abraham (Gen 15:1-15), where God used a pagan ritual that was familiar to Abraham in order to confirm that covenant so that Abraham would be certain that it could not be broken.  But while church government is similar in form to the secular, it is also very different indeed.

In the same manner that a heavenly kingdom is different from an earthly kingdom, so also is the governance of a church to be different from that of an earthly body.  The very first precept that must be accepted is that the perspective of the elder, whether a pastor or a bishop, must be eternal and not temporal.  He cannot fear to lead by standing firmly upon the truth, even in the face of the severest criticisms or attacks.  For his King is no earthly king.  And he does not serve men, but God, through his service to men.

When the pastor counsels, he cannot be partial to one party or the other.  Rather, his responsibility is to assess the spiritual realities and urge all parties to adhere to Scriptural principles in all matters.  It is the pastor's job to provide counsel in times of need.  He is like the lighting technician, who directs people's attention to heavenly things by shining the Light upon them.  His job is not to show off his wisdom, but to teach the wisdom of God, to the praise of God, the increasing knowledge of God in every believer.

While the spiritually gifted pastor might have great understanding of the human condition, his first responsibility is to the Word of God, so that his counsel leads the flock, individually and collectively, to a greater understanding of God Himself (the knowledge of God) and of the realm in which He dwells. 

As the flock increases in the knowledge of God, its understanding of the will of God broadens and deepens, and it becomes more spiritual.  It grows in sanctification, increasingly separated from the world.  As the pastor shepherds God's flock, just like the elders of Israel, his first priority ought always to be to move them inexorably closer in heart and mind to the coming of the Messiah.  The first function of the pastor is to move the flock away from things temporal and toward things eternal.  Therein shall their fruit be found.   For therein alone may it be seen that earthly trials are but diversions from heavenly labor.  No doctrine more firmly affixes the mind and heart on heavenly things than the doctrine of the rapture of the Church, wherein lies all of our hope.

As the pastor assesses the spiritual state of the individuals within a given flock, so also the bishop assesses the spiritual state of the larger body.  When the hand is sick, the body is sick.  When the heart is well, the body is well also;  else the heart would not be well either.  But care must be taken to avoid becoming sacerdotal, or working from too rigid an hierarchy.  The shepherd does not beat his sheep into submission, but leads them where he would have them go.  In days of old, the sheep knew the tunes that their own shepherd whistled, and they followed him.  The Bible is our Shepherd's song catalogue, and His tunes never change.

On the other hand, sheep must be trained to follow a particular shepherd.  Most of the time, when lambs are born, they naturally follow their mother, who also follows her shepherd.  So that the lamb learns to follow by doing so.  A shepherd may lead a flock through many generations of sheep.  It is the leadership of the shepherd that determines the way of the flock.  Sheep with a good shepherd will be well-fed, protected, and led down paths that lead to fruitful pasture and blessed provision.  The shepherd will know each sheep and each lamb, and will exercise only that measure of discipline that is necessary to ensure the health and growth and profitability of the flock, by seeing to the needs of the individual sheep in it. 

Such is the job of the pastor.  He must know his flock intimately, understanding their cares and concerns, and knowing their spiritual needs.  He is a man chosen by God for the specific task of leading a particular flock of sheep toward the end of the age fruitfully, profitably for his Master.   His profit is counted in souls, and not in dollars and cents or the size of his Sunday School classes.  By attending to the needs of each sheep carefully, the shepherd nurtures the entire flock.  And thus does the pastor shepherd the flock of God.  He has a responsibility to the individuals that make up his assembly, and he has a responsibility to the whole.  By attending to the former, he accomplishes the latter. 

The notion of the pastor-teacher is not valid.  It is not a term that is found in the Bible, though some theologians use it frequently.  A pastor is a shepherd.  He does teach, but that is a smaller part of his work than tending to the sheep.  His first responsibility is to equip each and every saint adequately so that each member of that flock is able to fulfill a fruitful ministry.  Each of the members have different gifts, and each of those gifts must be exercised and strengthened, so  that the Christian may use those gifts for his own personal fruitfulness, for which he receives a reward;  but more, so that he can do his part to ensure the fruitfulness of the whole.  The pastor must also be a teacher, as every elder is required to be and to do, but that is only a part of his job.  Eldership involves serious responsibility.  The pastor who does not enter upon his life's work daily with fervent prayer and great solemnity is apt to mislead his flock and himself toward earthly affairs, and not heavenly.  How can one teach a heavenly walk while not walking thus himself?

The pastor teaches small groups as well as teaching the entire assembly individually.  Essentially, the pastor's responsibility in teaching is not only to teach, but to oversee the teachings of all who exercise that gift.  If a church has ten teachers who are teaching regularly, the pastor and the bishops have a great amount of work to do just to ensure that all of the various study groups are heading in healthy directions and applying sound theology.  The pastor must teach the gathered assembly, and must teach smaller groups too, but more, he and the other elders must oversee all of the teaching in the church.

As much as every Christian is a guardian of the truth (see 1 Tim 6:20), ensuring the safe passage of the Word of God from one generation to the next, so also does the pastor ensure that his own small portion of the greater flock maintains a unity of faith and service.  If the individual Christian is to safeguard the truth, the pastor must know the truth and see that it is taught.  A firm foundation of doctrinal knowledge and understanding is not optional equipment for the pastor who must himself equip God's sheep adequately for their own ministries.

The pastor's office has no optional retirement age.  When he gets too old to do the work, he does less.  But he does not quit serving God so that he may end his days serving himself.  What a ridiculous notion that is!  The one who is appointed to the office of pastor must be an elder.   He must have attained the spiritual stature of the elder.  And he must use his greater judgment and understanding until his earthly travail closes.

  There is quite a list of qualifications for elders in First Timothy.  The list in Titus is roughly the same, though it adds qualities not mentioned in 1st Timothy.  Paul said to Titus that an elder must also be a lover of what is good, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convict those who contradict.  The emphasis is on a man of singular devotion.  He is not a man who is easily swayed by earthly desires and emotional entrapments.

Temperate, sober-minded, serious about what he does, he is a man who loves;   not just his family, but the elder is one who attempts to understand others, and shares with them the burdens of their lives.  He is a man who looks out for the other's good and not his own, who sacrifices of himself in order to serve God fruitfully.   He does not groan when someone knocks on his door, nor begrudge answering the telephone.  He is hospitable.  He is a man who has studied long and diligently, learning the will of God, and able to teach the things of God.  He is not a party-goer.  He might attend social functions, but he does not get caught up in the worldly scene.  He is able to separate himself from worldly attractions because he has already been separated from them by God Himself, in order to be placed in his office in the first place.

The elder does not seek fortune or fame on earth, but in heaven.  His treasure must, must, must be heavenly treasure, and not earthly.   For the heart of the elder must ever be fixed on the things of the Spirit, and not on the things of the flesh.  And he is responsible so to incline the hearts of the flock entrusted to his care.  That is where their fruitful pastures always will lie.  He must be a single-minded man, whose very life is devoted to the service of God and the oversight of God's flock on the earth.  He must be a man of faith, trusting God in the most dire of circumstances, unflappable in his faith.

An elder must demonstrate proper order in his home if he is to be entrusted with the oversight of God's flock.  After all, if he cannot manage his own home, how shall he manage God's people?  Furthermore, he must have a sufficiency of experience in Christian work and service of ministry that he does not fall into the traps of the young and foolish, whose judgment has not yet been forged in the fires of experience.  He must be a man who is so aware of his own worthlessness for the office that he must rely upon God to lead him at every step of the way.  A humble man, one who does not exalt himself, but God.  Yet a man of steel character who is able and willing to stand against the wiles of the devil in all his attempts to introduce that which is unscriptural into the church.  It is a tall order.  No man is worthy, but God is still able.  And how wise is our God?

Whether he be a pastor or a bishop (in a council of elders there ought to be both), the elder is first of all to be a man of God, one who recognizes the absolute sovereignty of God over all that He has instituted or made, and one who adheres only to God's Word and the filling of His Spirit for guidance in the conduct of his office.  He is a man who is responsible to God for his stewardship and his shepherding of the flock of God on earth.  That is a fearsome responsibility, one that no man can live up to, but which God can somehow do in those whom he also places in those offices.

Growth is a process that occurs over the course of a person's entire Christian life.  The elder must have been saved a sufficient number of years to have attained sound judgment and due reverence toward both God and His Word.   The number of years varies from person to person, but the general rule is:   Not a novice.

The elder must be of such standing in the community that he does not bring disgrace upon the church.  Many people use many of these qualifications in order to disqualify rather than to qualify.   That is, they become pharisaic in their attitudes, desiring to make of their spiritual leaders something superhuman.  Elders are prone to the mistakes and foibles of humanity, just like their brethren in the Lord.  If too much emphasis is placed on the personal morality and social standing, no one will be found to serve.  There are none righteous.  No, not one.

An elder can't be some sort of con-man who is greedy for money.  He cannot be one who has so violent a temper that he is liable to take something so personally as to lose his head and go on a killing spree.  Your basic cat-burglar cannot serve as an elder in the church.  For every congregation will share the characteristics of its elders as surely as a generation of children will share the characteristics of their parents.  An elder must be a man who is steadfastly directed God-ward, and active in his ministry.

In many denominations, the pastors change on a fairly regular basis.  This ought not to be.  A pastor must know God's sheep, and have a personal friendship and relationship with each one.  He ought to know the specific details of their lives, know their children and their interests and talents.  A pastor must involve himself in other people's lives so that they are comfortable confiding in him their most secret troubles.  They must know him well enough to understand that his counsel will be Scripturally sound and directed toward their safe passage through whatever waters are troubling them.  That takes time.   Shall we, just as the pastor has begun to understand the needs of his flock, pull him out and put a stranger in his place?  Far too often, churches change preachers simply because he has embarrassed someone "important" in the church, or in other ways offended their sensibilities.  God does move His ministers around occasionally, but few of them hop from church to church. 

An elder, whether a pastor or bishop, ought never take both sides of an issue.  Just as the elders of Israel were to judge the disputes of the citizens by the Word of God, so also do both the pastor and the bishop do likewise.  The issue is never who is right.  The issue is always what is right.  If that is known, then there can be no dispute.  Again, however, it must be recognized that until we have been translated, we are all subject to error, and therefore, to disagreement.  We remain sinners.  Thy kingdom come!

However, the Word of God is an ever-steady beacon, illuminating proper conduct and service.  By it, the elder, whether bishop or pastor, is to be guided.  The elder is one who, by reason of use, has had his "senses exercised to discern both good and evil (See Heb 5:14)."  This, because, through years of study, he has honed his familiarity with the Scriptures and their blessed doctrines.   By reason of use his senses have been exercised in the discernment between heavenly and earthly pathways.

The elder himself, however, remains as subject to human failings as any man.  His own particular spiritual gifts are those of discernment and teaching, of sound but compassionate counsel, of care and concern, of an eternal perspective on temporal matters.  He is not to be held in high esteem on account of his personal integrity, though that ought to be of the highest caliber he can make it, but because he has received spiritual gifts in high offices, of which he is not worthy, and is endeavoring to exercise them for the sake of the body, in service to God in a divinely appointed office.  Not for his personal stature, but for the sake of the work that has been entrusted to him, and for the gifts of God which have been given to him for their application to all.  Paul said to esteem such men highly for their works' sake, and to pay them double, bishops and pastors.

Most churches today do not pay their bishops, and those men tend to be businessmen and professionals who support themselves.   The problem with that is that their perspectives are often worldly.  In those churches where the eldership is not employed in the world, the elders tend to study more deeply, having much more time to do so.  Those are the churches that are more blessed.  But it is difficult for small churches to support many ministers, and so their spiritual leadership is engaged in worldly pursuits.  It takes great commitment to serve God, and not many church members have much zeal for the work of the local church.   Nevertheless, God raises up those in every church who bear the bulk of the financial burden, so that every church has what it needs when its members are spiritual.

Whereas the pastor teaches and counsels and shepherds individuals in a local assembly, the bishop performs the same functions among the leadership of the assemblies over which he has been given oversight, whether it be one or many.  In the end, there is no hard and fast rule that is applied in these situations.   We are not an organization, but an organism, a living body with many interconnected parts and interrelated ministries.  Too much rigidity lends itself to sacerdotalism and bureaucracy.  Too little leads to doctrinal sloppiness.  The leadership style of the pastor or bishop is determined largely by the spiritual maturity of those whom he leads.

Whereas the deaconate is responsible to oversee the physical and material resources of the church, the eldership is responsible for exercising Scripturally correct judgment in matters that relate to the spiritual welfare of the church.  In the case of disputes, the elders are to serve as the arbiters, looking not so much at the details of who is right, but at the spiritual concepts of what is right.  When the eldership rules on a dispute, the decision is to be regarded as final, and is to be accepted by all parties involved in the dispute.  For this reason, there ought to be more than one elder in every local assembly.

It is certain that no elder is to be held in the esteem that the Catholics hold their pope.  An elder is not a dictator, but a leader and a teacher.  He doesn't issue decrees;  he directs and corrects and instructs.  He lacks the power to enforce his own corrections, but he has the authority of the Scriptures to enforce the will of God according to the Word of God.  Nay, not the authority, but the demanding responsibility.  If an elder does his job properly and the church does not respond, he has done his job nevertheless.

In several places, the rule of the elder is referred to, notably, 2 Cor 10:13, 1 Tim 5:17, Heb 13:7.  A ruler is not necessarily a dictator, and one who leads course corrections is not necessarily right.  But an elder who is spiritually mature will be one who is sincere, who understands the will of God, and who stands steadfastly on that Rock.  He will be one who faces controversy with faith, and reason with truth, rightly dividing the Word of truth.

J. Vernon McGee, in his wonderful commentary, THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH J. VERNON MCGEE, puts it this way:

The thing that must be understood is that you will be blamed for things if you hold an office, any office, in the church.  What is important is that the accusation must not be true.  An elder must be blameless in the sense that he will not be found guilty of anything he might be accused of. 

That is not to say that an elder is to be expected to be sinless, but that he is to ensure that his understanding of an issue is correct before taking a stand.  Leadership, especially good leadership, often involves controversy.  It often flies in the face of reason.  It is imperative that an elder know whereof he speaks.   However, neither his own faith nor the faith of the congregation ought to be in the person of the elder, but in God who leads him in that important ministry.  That is to say, an elder should hold his peace until something needs to be addressed.  Then he should address the issue clearly, and without respect of persons, in accordance with God's Word.  Whether pastor or bishop, the elder will have the foibles and sins that afflict us all, but his direction will be God-ward and his life will reflect that attitude.

Ordinarily, a bishop does not address the gathered assembly, though he may lead them in mutual prayer and worship.  When he does address the congregation, it is usually a matter of some spiritual importance (the deacons address the church on matters of resources), and he ought to be heeded.  Unfortunately, it is not unusual for the issue under discussion to be one where someone's toes will be stepped on.   Thus, the elder will be accused of unseemly things. 

Because God does not raise up men to the eldership (Acts 20:28) without equipping them for the work, and because the work that they do is occasionally controversial in matters of exercising judgment, Paul is careful to say that a local assembly ought to be very careful about bringing accusations against the eldership (See 1 Tim 5:17-19).   At the same time, the elder must ensure that he performs his own ministry to the church both fairly and with as little rancor as possible.  Nevertheless, an elder who leads well will have his accusers and his controversies.

Peter referred to himself as an elder, and it is clear that Paul so considered himself.  It is true that neither man mentioned the office of bishop in reference to themselves, but it is equally clear that they considered themselves responsible for the welfare of the churches in which they served.  Peter served as an elder in the church at Jerusalem.  Paul served in that same capacity over many churches.  But each of these men served in their capacity as apostles also, and it was in their special office of apostleship that they ruled over the first-century Church.  Nevertheless, both Peter and Paul were elders, and both served.  Titus served as a bishop over many churches, and others served as bishops in individual churches.

Because of the influence of the Roman church, the term "bishop" has come to signify some highly placed official who is nearer to God than others, and who exercises a higher authority than the pastor.  It is not so.   Bishops share in the rule of the particular churches they shepherd, but they are not "above" the pastor.  On the same "organizational" level, they perform different jobs, each complementing the other, whose combined perspectives on the things of the Spirit regarding a particular local church form a leadership that is of one mind and one spirit, with a unity of doctrine that glorifies God and not man.

In every function of the office of elder, whether pastor or bishop, this is an office that requires a prayerful and selfless devotion to God through service to the Church on earth.    The men who serve in this capacity must be spiritually mature, firm in their convictions, sound in doctrine, loving and hospitable, responsible at home and in the world, able and willing to teach, serious and sober-minded, temperate, peaceful, selfless, generous, just, holy, and experienced in counsel and service. 

Elders must take their responsibilities seriously, holding the local assembly to sound doctrine and practices, and exercising their oversight with diligence and an eye toward the Scriptures.  Anything less is not service but disservice.  And the hopes of the elders ever must be in the imminent return of the Lord for His Bride, and our glorious entrance into our blessed eternal estate with Him.  The elder must live expectantly, as though our Groom might come immediately, from moment to moment;  and he must live, seeking to be found doing what he ought to be doing.  His goal in life ought to be to hear the Savior say, "Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a few things;  here, I will make you ruler over many things"  (Mt 25:23; see also Lk 16: 10-12).Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a few things;  here, I will make you ruler over many things"  (Mt 25:23; see also Lk 16: 10-12).

    Deacons

If the pastorate and the eldership are important in a local church, the deaconate is no less so.  It must be recognized that this office is one that is filled by men who are appointed by men, whereas the eldership is filled with men appointed by God.  That is, the deaconate is not a "spiritual office."  That is, the concerns of the deacon in his service to the church have to do with the material resources and facilities of the church, and they oversee the church's charitable giving.  Nevertheless, this office is to be filled by those who have a good measure of spiritual maturity, for an unspiritual approach to the management of these resources will lead inevitably to an unscriptural result.  Indeed, many of the qualifications for eldership are also listed among the qualifications for deacons.  The very fact that Paul mentions deacons in the same passage in which he lays out the qualifications for eldership stresses the spiritual requirements of those who serve in this office. 

Deacons must, first of all, be reverent (See 1 Tim 3:8-13).   That is, they must recognize the authority of God, and of the Word of God, in administering the resources of the church.  They must have a sense of the seriousness of being stewards of the resources of the great and almighty God.  They must understand that faith is ever the guiding principle, and that all of the church's resources are to be directed toward the furtherance of the ministries of the church.  Fancy buildings and decorative robes and lavish appointments belong in secular establishments.  We are not here to glorify ourselves, but God, and; that not through our outward attractiveness, but by the Word of God.

The church is to be humble, not ostentatious;  rich in faith and in fruit, not in luxury and grandiose presentations of itself to a lost world which will only resent its expensive excesses.  Jesus did not dwell in castles and rich estates, but had nowhere to lay His head.  The deacons must remember that their foremost responsibility is to ensure that the ministries of the church go forward.

The same Greek word that is used of household servants is used of deacons (Mt 22:13), and refers to one who waits on tables.  Deacons must be single-minded in their approach to spiritual matters, understanding the doctrines of the Bible.  It is imperative that deacons understand that purity of doctrine and unity of faith are fundamental elements of fruitfulness, and that their every decision is to be made on spiritual grounds, with heavenly interests, and not earthly, trusting that God will provide the means to do the work.

Deacons should be temperate in all things, seeking their treasures in heaven rather than on earth.  Men who seek earthly treasures for themselves will apply worldly reasoning to spiritual matters, and will mishandle the resources of the church.  The church that depends upon God will be continually growing, like the mustard tree.  God will not put His Light in a city and then hide it under a basket.  The just shall live by faith.   And, whatever is not of faith is sin.  Deacons must apply faith more than reason in their decision-making processes.

There is a phrase used by Paul in his letter to Timothy that seems little understood.  Where it is understood, it seems little applied.  After he lists the qualifications for the deaconate, as delineated above, he adds, "...holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience."...holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience."  It is a very deep concept that is little dealt with in the Church, yet, one which would transform any and every church into a dynamic and extremely fruitful organism if it were applied more broadly, understood more clearly, and practiced more steadfastly. 

Let us diverge for a moment and examine this brief passage to see if we can determine what the heart of the deacon ought to be.  

  THE CONSCIENCE

There are two elements in those ten words:  "the mystery of the faith", and "a pure conscience."  The first is somthing that is held, and the second is that in which the first is held, in the heart of the believer.  We hold the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.  A pure conscience is our container for the mystery of the faith.   Therefore, if we do not have a pure conscience, we cannot hold the mystery of the faith.  Furthermore, if we do have a pure conscience, we must, necessarily, also hold the mystery of the faith.  The two are inseparable.

The questions then are two?   "What is a pure conscience?" and, "What are the mysteries of the faith?"  In order to understand the mystery, one must first have a pure conscience in which to hold it.  But in order to have a pure conscience, one must  first understand the mystery of the faith.  And that is the rub.  

Paul speaks of two kinds of conscience: evil and good, or pure.  He has other things to say about the conscience as well, but everything else will be found under either an evil conscience or a good, or pure, conscience.  Far too many preachers misunderstand and misrepresent this wonderful truth.

An evil conscience is one that convicts of sin;  a pure conscience is one that does not dwell on the things of the flesh, but on the things of the Spirit.  An evil conscience accuses.  But when one turns his thoughts to the things of the Spirit, there is reconciliation.  There is peace, and safety.  There is the love of God;  there are faith, service, justification, eternity, hope and every other promise in all of the riches of God's grace, to their very fullest.  One who has a pure conscience is not looking at the flesh, but is looking to God, who also directs his paths into the fulfillment of His purposes, and to the glory of His wisdom.

One who is Spirit led will live a joyful life, an earthly travail that is characterized by blessings rather than by chastenings and hard lessons.  Though persecuted from pillar to post, that one will live tranquilly amidst the trials and the vicissitudes of life.  One who is Spirit led will not see things the way the world sees them, but through eternal eyes.   One whose eyes are on the things of the Spirit will be confident and sure, knowing the certainty of the promises of God to His blessed children, both now and hereafter.  One whose eyes are filled with heaven cannot be frightened by the things of the world, nor will he do them.

It is not possible to walk according to the Spirit while also pursuing the things of the flesh.  Light and darkness do not mix.  But when the emphasis is placed on the things that the flesh is doing, immediately, the flesh begins doing the things of the flesh.

It is not about what we do;  it is about where we are looking.  When we look to the flesh, we see sin and darkness.  When our hearts are looking Godward, we see light, and every reason to serve.  It isn't about sin;  it is about service.  We are already saved from the penalty of our sins, but we cannot serve while we are looking to the flesh.   An evil conscience is one that drags the mind and the heart back into the darkness of the flesh.  An evil conscience leads to sin, whereas a pure conscience leads to service and fruitfulness.  An evil conscience defeats the saint; a pure conscience strengthens the sinner.

The mysteries of the faith all revolve around the cross.  Hear these wonderful words of Paul to the Christians at Ephesus:

In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth -- in Him.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the Guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Amen!  It starts with redemption through His blood.  The sin question has been settled.   It continues with riches, abundant grace, wisdom, prudence, understanding, inheritance, trust, truth, salvation, belief, an eternal seal, and a guarantee.  It ends with the praises of God's glory.

Where is doubting in those words?  Where is fear?  Those great and wonderful promises are not things that we hope to receive some day, after we have been forced fearfully through the portals of death.  Those things are the present possession of every Christian.  Redeemed, we each ought be in such a state of eager service that all the lost would hear the wonderful news within the next ten minutes if possible.

It isn't even about us at all;  it is about the praise of God's glory.    J. Vernon McGee quoted an unknown author when he wrote,

"When a church ceases to be in touch with another world, she is no longer in touch with this one."

And then consider these words.  Paul prays for the Christians of Ephesus:

... That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom, and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;   that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. 

Children of God, all of the fullness of God fills all of us at all times.  Often, however, we do not avail ourselves of that fullness.  We turn our thoughts to self-will and supposed pleasures.  (They only bring us discord and travail.)  But when our hearts return to Him, understanding something of the magnitude of His mercy toward us, and glimpsing the vast greatness of the riches of His grace in the promises that He makes to us, and the awesome power of His might in us, we do not live fearful lives, timid and afraid to sing God's praises to a lost and hopeless world.  Our hearts thirst for knowledge of Him, and our hopes and goals are not earthly, but steadfastly heavenly every day as we expectantly await that trumpeting shout.

The heart that is blessed with a pure conscience understands the great mystery of the faith.  Those mysteries are the redemption of the lost, the hope of the Christian, the presence of God in the Christian, the riches of God's grace, and the rapture of the Church, among others.  The mystery of the faith is found in the all-encompasing Gospel of Christ.  An understanding of these things will lead one toward God, not drive him away in fear of God.   The greater one's knowledge of God grows, the more secure he becomes and the more faithfully he serves, leading to fruitfulness and blessing.  And great treasure in heaven.

  The deacon, then, ought to be a person whose stewardship of the material resources of the local church should be characterized by reverence, single-mindedness, temperance, not focused upon worldly goals but heavenly.  He must be a person who understands with all humility the great goodness of God toward man.  He must be one whose faith is in God and not in himself.   A deacon should be characterized by a walk that is holy, or separate from the world, separated unto God by Himself.  He must be a person whose life is balanced, who understands the things of God, who guards the truths of the gospel, and who is willing and able to share them with others.  He must be married to one woman of exceptional character.

Contrary to widespread misunderstanding, it is nowhere declared that a deacon must be able to teach.  Although he should be a person of spiritual maturity, knowing the Scriptures, it is not required that he teach others.   Nevertheless, many do teach, and it is not improper for them to do so.  They simply are not required to teach in order to serve as deacons.

The office does not deal with spiritual matters, but with temporal.   It is not said that a deacon must be hospitable or even compassionate.  The elders and the pastors are responsible for the counseling and teaching;  the deacons are stewards of the church's material resources.  Just as the pastors and elders are not to engage themselves in the earthly affairs of the church, neither are the deacons to assume any authority over the spiritual ministries of the church.  They are to seek God's provision prayerfully, and faithfully, and steward His resources in such a fashion that the ministries of the church always go forward.  God blesses faith.

     The word, diakonos, is used of :

Christ Himself (Rom 15:8);
Servants and ministers of God (Mt 22:13; Jn 12:26);
Bondservants of God (Phil 1:1);
Ministers of Satan (2 Cor 11:15);
Servants of men (Mt 20:26; 23:11);
Human government (Rom 13:4);
Officers of the church (1 Tim 3:8);
Paul, Apollos, Timothy and others (1 Cor 3:5; Eph 6:21; Phil 1:1);
A woman, Phoebe (Rom 16:1), a servant of the church at Cenchrea.

It is used in many ways, but everywhere it implies service and/or ministry.  These are those who do the necessary work, the administration of order, the stewards.  The servant does not run the house, but he manages it so that his master can attend to other matters.  The wise servant manages the household in accordance with his master's needs and goals.  The Master of the deacons is not the pastor, but God.  The Master of the house is God, but the masters of the house are the pastor and the elders.  The deacons are stewards, whereas the elders direct the church.

There is a practice in many churches in the appointment of officers in which deacon selection is based primarily upon the business success of the individuals.  The more money a person has, the better he manages, so the greater is his qualification for the deaconate.  However, this practice is an abomination.   It goes against everything that the Bible teaches.  The deaconate is responsible for the physical plant as well as for the money.  There ought to be a diversity in the deaconate that would include janitors, maintenance people, experts in the law and accounting, as well as plumbers and builders and others.  The key requirement is not worldly success, but spiritual maturity.  Indeed, the opposite principle is often true.  That is, it is often the poor who are the strongest in the faith.   Deacons are not money-managers, though that is a part of their job.   Primarily, they are servants, men who facilitate the ministries of the church.

THE WIVES OF THE DEACONS

Reference is not made to the wives of the elders, except tangentially, in that an elder must manage his own home properly and well.  It is said also that an elder must be the husband of one wife.  But there is specific reference to the wives of deacons.  There are requirements that one must meet in order to be the wife of a deacon, and if the wife does not meet the requirements, the husband may not serve on the deaconate. 

In our loving brotherhood, we sometimes overlook things that we ought not.  These qualifications for elders and deacons were not written to fill space in the Bible.  Appointments ought not be made or recognized to any church office without the most solemn meditation upon the spiritual events taking place in that moment, and the most humble apprehension of the responsibilities that are being entrusted to the church officer.  This is not about earth, but about heaven, though the stewardship is on the earth.  It demands solemnity because of the might of Him who commands it.  And because of the treasure that a church officer amasses.  The responsibilities are great and profound.

It almost sounds like God wants the deacons' wives to be perfect.  Not so.  He only wants them to be saints.   Saints are not sinless;  they are saved.  Nobody's perfect.  But the mature saint will be characterized by these qualities.  Open rebellion and willfulness are the exception to the rule in the lives of the spiritually mature, though they still intrude far more frequently than is liable to make anyone comfortable, even the deacons and their wives themselves.  Therefore, our trust must be in God:  Because this does not apply only to deacons wives, but to elders also, as well as the deacons themselves.

It is probably because the deacons deal with the church's money needs that there is a special instruction concerning their wives.   Nothing will introduce division in a church faster than squabbles over money.   A deacon must be above reproach.  His integrity ought be tested before he is installed as a deacon.  This does not mean that he is to be subjected to some sort of written test, but simply that the church must come to know who the man is, and what he stands for, and how he represents what he stands for, both in the church and in the world, before it places him in such a solemn and responsible office.  It is not his business acumen that we are testing, but his spiritual integrity and maturity. 

Thus, the deacon's wife must be a grave, serious-minded, God-fearing woman who will not gossip about the church's affairs or the things that come to her attention through the counsel of her husband to those to whom he ministers.  For every spiritual person is a minister, and deacons have a responsibility to minister well and regularly in some fashion.  By their works, we will know their faith.

A deacon's wife cannot be a slanderer.  As befits one who is grave and God-fearing, the deacon's wife is temperate in everything.  She is not a loud and rebellious reveler, but a calm woman, not given to fits of temper or indecency.  As with the deacons themselves, who are to hold the mysteries of the faith with a pure conscience, so their wives are also required to be faithful women, not only to their husbands, but also to their God.  They must look to Him daily in the management of their own affairs, and trust Him to lead their husbands to lead them in the paths He would have them go.  If their husbands qualify for the deaconate themselves because of their character, then it will be no problem for their wives to qualify as well, simply by being who they are supposed to be anyway, godly wives in submission to godly men.

  THE REWARD

A good standing is promised to those who qualify for the deaconate, and who serve well.  This is no small thing.   While none of us deserves any honor at all before God, God does give some men honor before other men.  God gives some men good standing.  They are known in the church and in their community as spiritual men;  men who are godly in their church service, in their lives, and in their homes.  They are sinners, but they are also saints.   Mature saints. 

They have been proven to be men of integrity and faith.   Solomon wrote, "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold (See Prov. 22: 1)."A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold (See Prov. 22: 1)."  And the wife will also be given honor equal to her husband's, for it is through her good offices that her husband is able to sit in the gates of the city in his later years, and all the world knows it (See Prov 31: 10-31).

Infinitely more important, however, is the other reward that is promised both the deacon and his wife who serve well.  They are promised great boldness in the faith.  This implies several things.  First of all, a reverent respect for the Scriptures, and a heightened understanding of the great doctrines of the Gospel of Christ.  It also implies great fruitfulness, for it is through fruit-bearing that we grow in confidence.  It is as we begin to see God work in us that we begin to have confidence, not in ourselves, but in God.  As we mature in knowledge and understanding (knowledge is inventory; understanding is function; and wisdom is the right use of that which we understand), we exercise better judgment, more wisdom, and our sanctification increases, so that we see ourselves as more and more separated from the world, unto God, and our lives become more spiritual.  Our faith is then not only strong, but bold as well.  We begin to teach and to serve with authority, and to preach the gospel with a confidence that nothing in this world can possibly give us, a confidence that comes from the heart of God directly into our own hearts by His Spirit.

Oh, Christian, understand that the bold Christian is one who is laying up great treasures in heaven, whose heart is not on the earth but on the things of heaven, and he rapidly grows exceedingly rich in those eternal treasures that are above.  Life takes on a whole new cast, and the perspectives from which he operates are more and more eternal.  The bolder the faith the greater the hope.  The greater the hope, the bolder the faith.

But let us not be so bold as to overstep the bounds of what the Bible permits.  Remember, it is the deacon who serves well who receives these promises.  Humility is the first order of business.  A young person may be placed on the deaconate, at least by comparison with those who are placed in the eldership.  A deacon should have been a Christian long enough to have grown sufficiently mature that he will not let pride overrule sound doctrine.  So that he will not let reason overrule faith.   However, because the deacon who serves well is also given great boldness of faith (mind you, not just boldness, but great boldness), it is well to have a measure of seasoning in that faith, lest the youngster be puffed up in his good standing and his boldness, and act rashly, bringing shame instead of honor upon his Savior.

  But what does a deacon do?  Everything.  In a large church, a deacon may supervise a committee that does certain jobs, or serve as its chairman.  In a smaller church, he may do the work of that committee.  The deacons handle all of the church's worldly or earthly affairs.  They see to the money and the buildings and the grounds and the furnishings and the trappings and the debt and the reserves and the insurance and everything that pertains to the physical resources of the church.  They supervise the kitchen, library, the central heat & air, the vehicles, the window cleaners, or whatever.   If it has to do with ordering hymnals or hiring a secretary, it is done by the deacons, or by those to whom they delegate the authority.

The elders are not to be entangled in these matters.   But neither may the concerns of the deaconate override or overturn the spiritual directions of the elders.   In a church that is operating in accordance with the provisions of the Scriptures, the elders and the deacons will not overtax the resources of the deaconate, nor will the deaconate restrict the work of the elders and pastors.  In a properly run church, God provides the resources that the church needs to fulfill its ministries, which ministries He then provides the spiritual leadership to fulfill, and the deacons administer those resources accordingly.

The elders address the church on spiritual matters, whereas the deacons are to address the church on the needs of the church concerning money and material resources.  If it takes courage and boldness to address the spiritual needs of the church, stepping on toes without respect of persons, it also takes great boldness to address the money needs of the church.  Nobody likes to talk about money.  Well, everybody likes to talk about money, but nobody likes to get off much of it, unless it is somebody else getting off of it and giving it to him.  But the needs of the church ought to be paramount in the lives of every member of it.

We will get into that concept in our examination of the responsibilities of the non-office-holding church member.  For now, suffice it to say that the deaconate is responsible to report to the church body, both on the expenditures of the church's resources, and on its present and future needs.   The deaconate that shies away from doing its duties in this matter will also have little faith in other areas.

This is not to say that the deacons are to be the beggars to the church.  Rather, they are to present the needs in an orderly fashion, trusting God to move a sufficient number of hearts so that the ministries and other needs of the church will be met in full.  God will never let a faithful and fruitful ministry go backward as long as all involved are walking spiritually.  He would not set His children on a task and then fail to give them the resources sufficient for that task.  The deaconate oversees the material needs of the church, in subjection to the eldership, including the pastors and bishops.

We should not close this section without strongly emphasizing the need for the deaconate to be a prayerful body.  The deacons must be men who are spiritual, mature men who seek God's will in everything prayerfully,  and in accordance with His Word, exercising that bold faith in everything.

   Finally, both the elders and the deacons are called what they are called because the etymologies of their names both find their roots in the notion of service.  Although the offices require honorable men, men of integrity, they are to remember that they are first servants -- servants of God and servants of the church.  Both offices demand that those who fill them be spiritual men, with the deaconate further requiring spiritual wives.  The leadership of the church is not composed of lords who rule over lesser peasants, being served by them.  Rather the heart of the true servant of God understands that he is a servant to the church because he is a servant of God.  Therefore, he exercises his authority with humility, even while exercising bold faith.

Church Members

Every church has many members who do not hold a specific office.  They are commonly termed "laypersons" because they do not fill an office.  However, this is not doctrinally correct, and ought to be eliminated, even though this web site is called Theology for Laymen.  Where the term is used, it ought to be carefully explained.  Therefore let us begin by saying that every Christian is a minister of the gospel, charged with doing the work of an evangelist and fulfilling his or her own ministry.  Every Christian is a member of a royal priesthood, and is responsible to pray for others in the church and in the world, and to minister both God's grace and His counsel as God leads him.

For purposes of this discussion, we will use the term "laymen" to describe those who are not appointed to church offices, but who are members of a church.  While it is not technically incorrect to use the term, it is often used in a misleading way, causing Christians to view themselves as somehow lower in the spiritual order than those who do hold office.  It is almost as if those who do not hold office feel that they have been relieved of their own ministries, and are responsible only to attend church services and drop something in the collection plate every Sunday.  Nothing could be farther from the truth, but the devil uses our social customs to deceive us, making us unfruitful.  The poorest and most humble Christian may be as fruitful as the richest.  In fact, it is often those with the least, in terms of material resources, who are the most fruitful and energetic spiritually, and the ones who receive the greatest diversity of spiritual gifts.  So, while we use the term carefully, please understand that it is not to be considered in its usual light.  A layperson is not a person who does not hold office, but a minister at large, a roving ambassador, if you will, a servant of God.

     In determining the role of the layperson in the church, one must consider the function of the local church.  That is also badly misunderstood today.  Far too many Christians think that church is a building where they are required to go on a semi-regular basis to worship God and serve Him.  Churches certainly should pray and worship and sing together, but that is not their purpose.  Those things take place in the building that we call church, but those aren't the reasons that we are commanded to assemble ourselves together.  Rather, the purpose given in the Scriptures of the local church is to "equip the saints for the work of the ministry," as Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 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;  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, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ;  from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.  (Eph 4:11-16).

The purpose of the church is to instruct.  It isn't the place where Christians who are unable to present the gospel are to bring the unsaved.  The Bible was not written to the unsaved, but to the saved, and the local church is the place where the Christian receives his doctrinal education, so that he may go out into the world and present the gospel himself.  While it is never wrong to bring the unsaved to church, and while every sermon ought to present the gospel of God's grace in some form, so that the unsaved may hear and be saved, the purpose of the church is to teach the Christian in such a way that he or she is able to fulfill the ministry that God has given to each.  The local church is for the edification and instruction of the Christian, to make everyone born of God a zealous and doctrinally sound minister.

The local church is also a place for Christian fellowship, where like-minded people can gather and share their common bonds in God.   There is nothing wrong with a local church having softball teams or ice cream socials or picnics or weekend retreats.  These are all proper functions of Christian fellowship.  It is through our fellowship that we come to love one another as persons, and where we learn to interact spiritually as well as socially.  Too often, however, the social events take on a life of their own, ceasing to have anything to do with God except for the fact that they are coordinated through a church.

The social order of the local church is not constructed like a secular social club.  There are to be no cliques or classes.   The social strata of the world should disappear altogether when one joins in fellowship with other Christians.  While, from a practical and worldly perspective, birds of a feather tend to stick together, in a church fellowship the wealthy ought to mingle with the poor, ministering and being ministered to.  What one has, the other needs.  Love demands that the rich not be condescending with the poor, and it demands equally that the poor not be resentful of the rich.  Rather, a common bond of service should permeate the whole, so that we might love one another as we ought.  It is by our love for one another that the world sees our faith.  The rich are not rich so that they may consume their resources upon their lusts, but to serve God generously.   The poor are not to be a burden upon the rich, seeking to bring their own circumstances up to the level of the wealthy.  We are all to be content where God has placed us, serving with the resources that have been provided to us. 

In many churches today, the common practice is to place the successful men in the positions of honor, to raise up the wealthy as the standards to which we should all aspire.  The Bible knows nothing of such an attitude.  Rather, every member of every church has his own part to contribute to the overall health and fruitfulness of the local body.  The poorest member of the church is often the most valuable member of the church.  For, while it takes money to operate any large entity, without a strong spiritual purpose and understanding, there is no use whatsoever for the money.  This is not to imply that rich people are not spiritual.  Rather, it is to imply that some Christians are wealthy because those material resources are necessary to the growth of the church and the work of the gospel.

Giving is not required in the same manner that it was mandated in the Old Testament.  The rule today is not the tithe, but to give as God leads and supplies.  When a church is spiritually led, money will never be an issue.  There will always be enough money to do the work that God has given the church to do.  When money begins to run short and the leadership becomes nervous, it is because the church is not walking a spiritually correct path.  It is always the fault of the leadership, though the membership does not answer to the leadership, but to God.  That is, if a church is being properly fed, led, and edified, there will be that sense of common purpose and service, and all will contribute their own particular gifts and the church will grow and be fruitful.  It is not about money; it is about a spiritual approach to the responsibilities for and stewardship of the spiritual and material resources that God has given to each member of the body.  Not everyone gives the same amount, and no set percentage is dictated to the true Church, but giving is as much a spiritual gift as teaching, and God raises up those members in a church who have that gift, and He supplies the resources to them just as He also supplies knowledge and wisdom to the teacher.

Those who have the gift of giving and the complementary resources ought not feel beset by a church that looks to them for the greater portion of its sustenance.  That is why they are blessed with riches;   the only reason -- in order to further the work of the gospel, whether through the ministries of the local church, or through personal ministries of their own that require commensurate resources.  Not one Christian is rich so that he can set himself up above others and lord his social stature over the lesser endowed.

By the same token, those who offer other gifts to the church ought not seek to exploit the resources of those who supply the financial resources.  The one who gives is not to be considered greater than the one who teaches, and the others ought to be as zealous in the exercise of their own gifts as they expect the giver to be in his.  What if all the wealthy gave as they ought, but no one would step up to the plate and teach home Bible studies or visit the sick and imprisoned, or cut the grass, or change the light bulbs, or counsel the distressed, or arrange the church suppers or plan the menus or clean the kitchen?  What if a rich man donated a soup kitchen/mission to the ministries of a local church and there was no one to staff it?  No church ought to spend its resources frivolously, but every church ought to use all its resources for the work of the gospel.  Every member of every true local church ought to seek daily some measure of service to his church, for it is through properly ordered and spiritually led churches that we are to glean the knowledge and other resources that we need to fulfill our own ministries.  It is more than a brotherhood; it is a body.

Every member of the spiritual leadership of every local church ought to pray publicly regularly.  One of the chief complaints that the minister hears is that God's children do not know how to pray.  Prayer must be a part of every church gathering, for it is through praying that we learn to pray.  In most churches, only a handful ever pray publicly.  It ought to be that every member of every church yearned to pray in church, for that is the time when many pray together, led by one, together seeking God's will and blessing.  What a great privilege to address God when there are so many saved souls lifting up the same words to Him in support of your prayer.  Prayer ought to be such a part of every Christian gathering that no Christian ever complains, "I don't know how to pray."   Instead, we limp along, hoping that the preacher won't call upon us, embarrassed by our dull wits, and frightened over being embarrassed.  We prefer eloquence in our prayers over fervor.  Too much fervor is considered passe`.  We prefer pride over humility.

It isn't about coming to church on Sunday and dropping something in the plate and listening to the preacher pray.   It is not about sleeping through a boring sermon.  But the local church ought to be our earthly touchstone to things spiritual.  It ought to be the first place we want to go every week rather than a nuisance to be tolerated on Sundays.  The local church, really, should be the spur that drives us to our real spiritual touchstone, our Bibles, both in study and in ministry.