God's Design for His Church
This
is a continuation in a series on Biblical Eldership. So far we have covered:
Jesus: The Source, Means and End
To say ‘it’s all
about Jesus’ is one thing; to practically understand and live out its
implications is quite another. A close
look at Ephesians 4:11-13 reminds us that Jesus Christ is the Source, Means,
and End (goal) of the Church!
‘And
He at one time has, of His own good will and purpose, placed and appointed,
affirming according to His perfect design, apostles (those sent out by His
commission to represent Him), prophets (who make God's specific will known by
exhortation and reproof), evangelists (proclaimers of the Gospel), spiritual
shepherds, and teachers of His redemptive plan, (12) for the purpose of repairing
and preparing those God has set apart for Himself for perfection in Christ, for
their determined calling of service, for the spiritual profit (strength and
size) of the Church, which is the body of Christ, (13) to the point where we may, individually and
corporately, have arrived at a place of oneness
and unanimity in the gospel of Christ, a commitment to active participation in
acquiring and personal involvement in applying this truth about Jesus, the Son
of God, to full grown and vigorous understanding, faith and virtue, to the
attainment of the state and stature of a man in Christ, to full maturity in
Christian knowledge and love.’ – Ephesians 4:11-13, my
word study paraphrase
Everything in our
local churches must be measured by Christ, i.e. is what we are doing from Him,
through Him, and for Him? In what way do
our activities relate to becoming more like Jesus, both individually and
corporately?
To make disciples requires
that we be disciples, and this requires that we follow both the words of Jesus (John
8:31-32) and the patterns that He has given us in His word. Key aspects of those patterns follow.
Elders and Deacons (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1,
Hebrews 13)
A deep dive into
these precious Scriptures reveals the following:
·
Roles – Elder and Deacon are the only prescribed
roles for local churches, and they are both essential.
·
Character – the qualifications for both roles are
character qualifications.
·
Skill – the only skill qualification applies to
elders, and that is ‘able to teach’
·
Responsibility – the ability to teach is further detailed
in Titus 1:9, namely, ‘…holding fast the faithful word which is in
accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in
sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.’ (emphasis mine)
·
Structure
/ Plurality – the counsel
of the Scriptures throughout is distinctly a plurality of leaders, as contrasted
with a structure under a king or president.
We see this in seminal passages such as Exodus 18, Acts 6, and Titus 1
(especially Titus 1:5).
·
Example – Hebrews 13, particularly Hebrews 13:7
and Hebrews 13:17, further remind us of the need for elders to be examined for
their example.
Gifts, Ministries, and Effects (1
Corinthians 12)
One of the
unfortunate results of deviating from God’s design in church history has been
the elevating of leadership gifts as superior to others in the body of
Christ. Consider the words of 2
Corinthians 12:4-7:
‘Now there are varieties of gifts,
but the same Spirit. [5] And there are varieties of ministries,
and the same Lord. [6] There are varieties of effects,
but the same God who works all things in all
persons. [7] But to each one is given the manifestation
of the Spirit for the common good.’ (emphasis mine)
I believe that
each Christian – and each true individual church – has been given by God a
unique set of gifts, ministries, and effects (impact) uniquely designed by God,
each equally necessary and valuable expressions of the Holy
Spirit to build His church. This is not
to diminish the honor (e.g. 1 Timothy 5:17) and accountability (e.g. see James
3:1) prescribed by God for His undershepherds.
We also recognize
that in God’s economy leaders are not superior to followers, nor followers
inferior to leaders. The example of
Christ is our reference point, the One who came to serve and to empty Himself
for the Church (e.g. see Mark 10:45, John 13:1-20, Philippians 2:1-11).
Next, we’ll take a
closer look at God’s purpose for His people, namely, calling, qualifications,
mindset, and modeling.
In His Grip,
Mark
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