The Office of Elder
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
(1 Peter 5:1-5)
Introduction
This series of articles has been a deep dive into the doctrine of the church, or ecclesiology. At the heart of this area of study is 1 Peter 2:9 which says “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (ESV, italics added). From that verse, we not only get the title of this series of articles, but the central theme of what it means to be the church. We belong to God, and he belongs to us. We are his people. We are chosen, saved, and made holy for him.
In previous articles, we’ve looked at how this relationship is specific to the church. No other institution or society or group of people in the world, past, present, or future, has a relationship with Christ as Head of his body and Bridegroom to his bride.
We have also discussed how there are many different expressions of the visible church, from different traditions, denominations, with distinctive theologies and church government. Yet, where the true marks of the church exist (preaching the gospel, administering the sacraments, and exercising church discipline), the church exists. We are one such expression of the visible church.
That has led us, then, to consider our particular church, and our particular form of church government and polity, which we discussed in the previous article in this series. Now, we are ready to turn our attention to the offices of the church: elders and deacons. We will look at each office in separate articles. And we’ll consider the office of elder in this article by looking at 1 Peter 5:1-5.
The Office and Authority of the Elder
From this passage we learn about the nature of the office of elder—what kind of ministry an elder is called to do, and who is qualified to the office. And we learn about the authority the elder has in the church. Let’s first look at the nature of the office, and then turn our attention to the important, but too often neglected, question about the authority of elders in the church.
The Office of the Elder
1 Peter 5:1-5 is an important passage for our discussion of the office of elder because it contains three different biblical words that are used synonymously for that office. Here is what Peter writes in verses 1-2
1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight…
Peter is writing to elders (as a fellow elder himself), and he exhorts them to shepherd and exercise oversight. That is the office of the elder. An elder is an elder, he is also the shepherd or pastor of his flock, and he is the overseer, the one who exercises oversight, which is the Greek word from which we get the word Bishop.In the New Testament, these three words: elder, shepherd, overseer, are used interchangeably, each highlighting different facets of the responsibilities of the one office of elder.
Now, it is important to know that there is disagreement on this point within different churches. Especially whether or not the overseer or bishop should be a separate and distinct office.
Out of humility and much respect to those different traditions, I disagree on this point. And I want to give a few reasons why we should understand overseer and elder and shepherd to be three descriptions of the same office.
The first reason is found directly in this passage. If you are using the ESV like I am, you will see a footnote after the words, exercising oversight, which notate for us that some ancient manuscripts of 1 Peter do not include this word here.
This is a participle from the root word of overseer. If this word is original, Peter is saying that the elders are to shepherd the flock of God, oversighting them. That is, doing the work of the overseer, as they do the work of the shepherd and elder.
But is this word original to Peter’s letter that he wrote, or was it for some reason added later? It is most likely original, because Peter addresses his audience as a “fellow elder” in verse 1. He gives no indication that he understands himself to be functioning in a separate office of overseer, nor does he seem to indicate that there is such a distinct office either.
That’s the first reason we should understand these to be the same office, but there are other examples in Scripture from which we reach the same conclusion.
Earlier in his letter, in 1 Peter 2:25, Christ is identified in terms of his office as the Shepherd and the Overseer of our souls. As Christ is given these two titles of Shepherd and Overseer, and as the office of elder is the calling to be the undershepherds to the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet 5:4), then it would follow that the work of overseer also belongs to the elder.
Paul would agree with Peter that these are the same office. In Titus 1:5, Paul gives Titus instructions to “appoint elders in every town” as directed, and then two verses later in verse 7 he gives the qualifications for such men by saying, “For an overseer…” He is using those words interchangeably. Likewise, these same qualifications are given to Timothy (1 Timothy 3:1-7) with similar language to Titus. It would seem unlikely that Paul had two different offices in view.
Finally, and convincingly, in Acts 20, Paul gathers the elders at the church in Ephesus together and gives his farewell address in which he reminds them to pay careful attention to their flock “in which the Holy Spirit has made [them] overseers.”
It is right, then, for us to understand the office of elder to be one office, in which those men are called to do the task of shepherding and overseeing. These are different titles that express the various duties of the office of elder.
If the office of elder consists of men called to be shepherds and overseers, and if those three designations (elder, shepherd, overseer) all represent the same office albeit from different perspectives, what then is the ministry of the elder?
The Ministry of the Elder
Each of these words, elder, shepherd, and overseer, are used of the same office, but describe different, and sometimes overlapping, ministry responsibilities. Let’s consider each of these words individually.
First, ministry as an overseer.
Acts 20:28 says “Pay careful attention to yourselves and of all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
The elder is given the responsibility of caring and watching over that which is so precious to God, because he has obtained it with his own precious blood. Jesus loves his church so much. He loves you, dear Christian, so much. And he has entrusted you to a group of men called to be elders, in every particular church, with the responsibility of watching over your souls. They are to pay careful attention to all the flock.
Paul also says they are to pay careful attention to themselves. Why is that? In the next verse of Acts 20, Paul gives the reason in the following verses “...I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.”
The elder must exercise oversight, not only for the flock, but even among themselves, because while Jesus loves the church, there is an enemy that hates the church. And false teaching can arise even among elders.
That is why it is so important that the elders operate as a group, not individually, at every level. And, while it is all of our responsibilities to seek after the truth and to love God will all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to the elders, God has given the important task of oversight to protect the church and to care for souls.
Second, with regard to the task of caring for the souls of the flock of Christ, elders are rightly called pastors or shepherds.
We are in the business of soul care, providing for the Chief Shepherd’s flock as undershepherds. There is one Good Shepherd, He is the savior of your soul, and our job is to point you back to him, and to minister his gifts to you. We can supply you with nothing from ourselves. We have no power in ourselves, no salvation, no peace. Rather, we point you to the one who has everything.
Psalm 23 begins by saying, the Lord is my shepherd. And because that is true, I shall not want. Put in more modern terms, there is nothing that I lack. As pastor and shepherd, we point you to the Chief Shepherd in whom you lack nothing.
Third, elders (as elders) are to be spiritually fruitful, dignified, and an example to the flock, governing wisely the household of God. They are to be models of Christian living, sober minded, and above reproach.
Each of these words, then, describes a different aspect of the ministry of the elder.
In our denomination, the Presbyterian Church of America, we have what’s called a Book of Church Order. As the name suggests, this book instructs us how we govern, or put into order, our churches. In it, we have this helpful description of the office of elder:
BCO 8-3: “They [elders] must exercise government and discipline, and take oversight not only of the spiritual interests of the particular church, but also the Church generally when called thereunto. They should visit the people at their homes, especially the sick. They should instruct the ignorant, comfort the mourner, nourish and guard the children of the Church. They should set a worthy example to the flock entrusted to their care by their zeal to evangelize the unconverted, make disciples, and demonstrate hospitality…They should pray with and for the people, being careful and diligent in seeking the fruit of the preached Word among the flock.”
That is the office and ministry of the elder, laid out for us in holy Scripture. The elder is to be a shepherd of souls, and overseer of the Church, and always an example to the flock entrusted to their care. But who is called to such an office? That is the question of qualifications.
The Qualifications of the Elder
The qualifications for elder are seen within the ministry described. They are tied to one another. Here is how Peter described it:
…not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
From this, we already get a picture of the kind of man who is called to this ministry. It is one who would not do this work under compulsion, but with a willing heart. Not one who would do it for any personal, shameful gain, but eagerly to see the fruit of righteousness grow among his people. Not one who desires power in order to dominate, bully, intimidate, or lead harshly. But rather one who would lead by example, doing his best to model his life after Christ, the very Christ who describes himself as one gentle and lowly in heart.
Even in this brief exhortation we get a glimpse of the kind of qualifications that are needed to be a pastor and elder in Jesus’ church. And these descriptions match up exactly with what Paul lists as the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
(1 Timothy 3:1-7)
Listed out they read like this,
Above reproach
Husband of one wife
Sober-minded
Self-controlled
Respectable
Hospitable
Able to teach
Not a drunkard
Gentle, not violent
Not quarrelsome
No lover of money
A manager of his own household
Many things could be said about this list of qualifications. But notice that from this list the vast majority of qualifications refer to the man’s character, not his competency.
Now, “able to teach” is a clear cut qualification. That is necessary. But it is smack in the middle of many qualifications that have to do with the man’s character, not his ability. That is not in any way to belittle or diminish theological training and biblical competency. Rather, it is to elevate and make sure we always remember that such competency is only one among many qualifications.
This list can be summarized well by the very first item, “above reproach.” Peter and Paul, then, agree on what makes a good elder. He is first and foremost one who has understood he is a sinner in need of grace, and has dedicated himself completely, body and soul, to his Savior, Jesus Christ.
That does not mean he is perfect, far from it. But that he has surrendered his life to Christ, and is seeking to make Christ known to everyone, especially those Christ has placed under his care. That is what Peter says:
Shepherd the flock, exercise oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
The office of elder, then, ultimately comes back to Christ. The office is given by Christ to his church. The office is for ministering Christ and his gifts to his people. And this office is reserved for those qualified—those who have surrendered their lives to Christ, to be willing and eager examples of the blessing of self denial and cross-bearing in the name of Jesus.
That is the nature of the office of the elder. Let’s now consider the authority this office contains.
Authority in the Church
By virtue of the office of elder, as undershepherds to Christ, there is a certain level of authority and power that goes along with it. Elders are given the authority in the church as overseers, governing the church and her people. This is a noble calling, which is worthy of respect and honor.
The natural question, then, is How much authority do elders have? What is the extent of their authority and their power, and by extension that of the Church government? Is it limited in any way?
We know that there is, to some extent at least, authority given in this office. In verse 5 we see that those who are younger are to be subject to the elders. That is true generally in all our relationships, (we are to respect those older than us), but within the church, it is also true regarding the office of elder.
This concept of biblical submission to godly leadership is seen in passages like Hebrews 13:17 which says “Obey your leaders and submit to them.” Or 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.”
It is clear. There is a level of authority and respect that is due to the elders as the leaders in the church. But, and this is so important, it is not absolute authority or power.
Notice, in Thessalonians it says these leaders are over them, but in the Lord. That is an important qualifier. In Hebrews 13:17, that full verse says to “Obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.”
And in 1 Peter 5 verse 4, like we’ve already seen, there is a Chief Shepherd, and he is coming again.
How can we make sense of these realities, that there is authority within the church, but that this is not an unlimited authority. What exactly, then, is the extent of the power and authority given to the church government, and to the elders?
It is a sad reality that churches and church leaders can go beyond their biblical level of authority and become domineering, hurting the church and her people. In response, churches can react too far in the other direction, and reject any kind of God-given authority within the church and her officers.
But, where the authority of the church is understood properly, that is where the churches, and the people in them, can best thrive.
My goal in the remainder of this article is to present the biblical understanding of the church authority vested to the elders, the extent of that authority, and how, when exercised biblically, truly does advance the glory of Christ, the peace and purity of the church, and the good and well-being of all her members.
In order to accomplish this, let’s look at the source of power in the church, the scope of that power, and how that power is exercised.
The Source of Power: Christ is Head of the Church
Do the elders in the church have power and authority? The answer must be yes. We’ve seen from Scripture that they are given authority to govern and exercise oversight among the flock to which they have been called.
It is given to them to welcome members into the church, to admit such to the Lord’s Supper, to administer the sacraments, to preach the Word, and when the circumstances require it to exercise church discipline. That is what the elders have been authorized and empowered to do.
But where is the source of this power? Is this power innate within him—that comes from himself? Or does it flow from someone else? It must be the latter. The source of the church's power is from Christ, and from him alone.
There is a Chief Shepherd. In calling other men to shepherd the flock of Christ, Christ does not then cease to be the Shepherd of his people. Christ alone is the only Head of the church.
This point is so crucial. Christ alone is Head of the Church. All authority that elders have, that the church has in its government, is a representative authority. It is not innate in the person who governs the church, but the only source of power resides in Christ alone.
This point has several important implications.
That means that no man, nowhere on earth, is Head of the church in place of Christ. It does not matter if he is called the Pope and titles himself the Vicar of Christ on earth, or if he is the self-proclaimed Apostle or Spirit-leader of the “one true church” down the street.
No one assumes the power in himself that Christ alone has, as the only Head of the Church. To try and do so is to seek something that Christ has not permitted. He has called elders to shepherd and watch over the flock, as those under authority themselves, accountable to Christ.
So, we use the language of vesting, of conferring or entrusting, power in them. Christ vests his power in capable men who then lead his church. But the authority vested in them is representative authority.
A great example of this is in our confession of sin during our service. We have no power in and of ourselves as elders to absolve, forgive, or remove your sin from you. As a pastor, I have no power to forgive your sins. I do not have that authority. Only God can forgive sins. The authority I do have as a minister of the gospel is to declare to you the power of the gospel, that if you confess your sins to Jesus, he is able, powerful, and faithful to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. There is a world of difference between those two realities.
That leads us to the next point about the authority of the elder. We have seen that there is real authority vested in the elder, but it is a representative authority. Christ alone is the source. Now that we understand the source of this power and authority, we can consider the scope, or limits, of this power and authority.
The Scope of Power: Ministerial and Declarative
One of the talking points we hear a lot in politics today is about the Supreme Court, and how they are “legislating from the bench.” That is, instead of interpreting the law, they are creating the law—legislating—through their decisions. I cannot say how much this actually happens (though I am sure it does to a certain extent). But behind that phrase is a real concern. In our nation’s system of government, the Legislature is to legislate, to make laws. And the Court is to interpret those laws.
That distinction and separation of powers, whether it truly occurs in practice, is good in theory. The scope (or limit, or extent) of the power of the judicial branch of government is to interpret and apply the law. It has no power to legislate.
This is analogous to the scope of power within the church. We use two words to describe the scope of power the church has: Ministerial and Declarative. That is to say, we do not legislate. We do not make laws. There is only one lawgiver, and that is Christ. He alone determines the laws of his kingdom and for his kingdom-people, the church. We have no power to do this. Only Christ, through his Spirit, inspires his Word to be the holy Standard by which we live.
We have holy Scripture, which is our rule for faith and life. We cannot add to it, nor can we take away from it. What we can do, as elders, is declare what God’s Word says, and we can minister God’s gifts to his people on his behalf. And that’s it. Ministerial and declarative, not legislative.
This is why we refer to our group of elders as a Session, and at times refer to these groups of elders as the courts of the church. It is not to bring up imagery of stuffy men in robes being punitive and banging a gavel. Rather, it is because we take seriously this separation of powers, that the power of the elders is that of a court. It has no power to make news laws above and beyond what Christ has done, but only to interpret and declare those laws to the people, applying them to their lives and ministering to their needs.
That is it. Unfortunately many people have first hand experience when pastors or elders go beyond the scope of their authority. When they have tried to legislate from the bench, as it were.
The biblical example of this is in the many laws of the Pharisees. Mark 7:5-8 is a striking example.
And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
The only commandments that bear any weight upon the consciences of God’s people are God’s commandments, not the commandments of any pastor, group of elders, or any church, no matter how famous or how much earthly power they might have.
God, and God alone, is Lord of the conscience. And we must only follow his commandments.
That does not mean tradition is bad. That does not mean we abandon all of that. The fault was not the office of elder, but that their teachings had usurped their proper place above Scripture. They were not declaring God’s word to the people, but replacing it with their own.
The historic example of this is the medieval church enacting a system of indulgences and penance. A system that is nowhere taught in Scripture, but was foisted upon the people from the abuse of the church's power.
Another example that developed within the medieval church was the restriction of clergy from marriage. This was an abuse of Scripture in which the church bound the consciences of men and women where God had given them freedom to marry. The reformation rightly corrected both of these false teachings.
There are countless examples we can find today, where pastors bind the consciences of their people by requiring of them that which Christ nowhere requires in his Word. Where they have created their own commandments, which, like the Pharisees, have superseded the commandments of God. We could list several, but here are a few examples.
Requiring certain dress/clothing for the church service.
Requirements for where and how parents must school their children.
Mandatory tithing.
That if you don’t have a vivid, emotional experience during the worship service, there is something wrong with you.
In contrast, elders must not add to Scripture, but declare what Scripture teaches—nothing more or less. Joel Beeke gives a helpful example in his Family Worship Bible Guide.
In the introduction, he offers advice to parents as they instruct their children and set godly limits for them, what they can and cannot do, and when discipline should be used. He instructs parents to tell their children this: "We will allow you every privilege an open Bible will allow us to give you—but if we say no to you, you must know that flows out of our love." (Family Worship Bible Guide, xiv)
Did you hear the scope of power in that quote? Christian, you are free in Christ to every privilege an open Bible gives you. Far be it from any pastor, elder, or church, to bind you to follow their unbiblical commands.
Yet, at the same time, your elders have the authority, as loving parents to children, to declare unto you what the Word teaches. They must do so from a heart of love toward you, for your good, ministering to your needs.
And that is why it is so important that we all must be people of the Word, so that the elder’s words can be tested according to Scripture. And that is also why it is so important that it is never just one man exercising this power. Rather, there needs to be a plurality of elders.
That leads us to the third point, the exercise of power.
The Exercise of Power: Individually and Jointly
We have seen the source of power, that Christ alone is head of the church. That title cannot be appropriated by anyone. And we have seen the scope of power, that though elders have true authority, it is only and ever ministerial and declarative. They are bound to the Word of God, and cannot add to it or take away from it.
Finally, then, we need to consider the exercise of this power. How do the elders go about ministering to God’s people and declaring God’s Word to them?
They do this work in two ways. At times this power is exercised individually, but many times and most often it is done jointly.
Some things are done individually. Preaching is a great example of that.
One of my favorite shows is Whose Line Is it Anyway. If you have seen it, one of the games they play is the Three-headed broadway star, where they have to come up with and sing a song, the three of them, going in turn, each singing one word at a time. Can you imagine preaching a sermon like that?
In many things, we exercise the office of elder individually. Preaching, counseling, meeting with the sick, praying, etc. But, even when we do those things individually, we are never doing them separately, or from our own authority, but we are all accountable to one another.
Within the PCA, we make a distinction within the office of elder between Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders. This distinction is made because of how we understand the office of elder to exercise this power.
Both Teaching and Ruling Elders hold the same office of elder, but are distinguished into two orders or classes. The Teaching Elder is given the primary responsibility of preaching, teaching, and administering the sacraments.
But he has no ultimate authority in the church. He is only one among many. All the elders in the church are given the work of governing, shepherding, teaching, protecting, and ministering to the flock.
This is the biblical model for church leadership. It is never one person making all the decisions. But a group of elders, who themselves are elected by the will of the congregation. They are given the responsibility of exercising this power, together. For the glory of God and the good of his people whom he loves so much.
Conclusion
The elder has no authority that comes from himself, but is only and ever a representative of the only Chief Shepherd, and only Head of the Church, Jesus.
The elder cannot make any laws. He cannot add to the Commandments of Christ his own commandments. There is only one Lawgiver, Jesus. The elder is only a table setter. What people need, deep down, is Christ. The elder’s job is to take Christ’s Words and declare them to the people: the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting that Christ alone offers. And to minister Christ’s gifts to his people, the comfort of the gospel, the sacraments of the church.
And, the elder cannot do this alone. But he is one among many brothers, who share in this responsibility, and to whom he is always accountable, while they all are accountable as undershepherds to the Chief Shepherd, who himself is the Savior of their own souls.
In all of this, may Christ our Elder, Chief Shepherd, and the Overseer of our souls, receive all the glory.
