The leadership is to be such a Christian example they have earned the trust through their service and examples of submission to the needs of the congregation. We see Christians are taught in the Bible to submit to the leadership of the congregation, but it is not to be a blind submission.
1 Corinthians 16:15-16 "I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth."
We see the type of leadership a congregation should have. If this type of leadership exists, the question would never arise, “Do I need to follow the things being taught by the leadership of this congregation?” We see members and new-born babes in Christ are to submit to the leadership, but not just someone who wants to be a boss, but to leaders who have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. These are men who are extremely dedicated to serving the needs of the entire congregation. When the members of a congregation find someone who has addicted themselves to the work of the Lord, through the example of their life, then in turn the members of the congregation would naturally submit to those leaders who have shown they care deeply for the growth of the congregation by proving time and again that they are striving to be pleasing to God.
Hebrews 10:24 "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
The attitude a Christian should have is one of concern for every brother and sister in Christ. Every action I take in regard to my brothers and sisters in Christ should be based on the question, “What can I do to encourage every Christian to grow unto love and good work?” So basically every one of our actions, everything we do or say, should be designed to encourage each and every other Christian to grow unto spiritual maturity.
This is the attitude each member of the congregation should have, thus it needs to be clearly seen in the leadership of the local congregation in order the example is there for all to see.
1 Peter 5:1-5 "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."
The purpose for the eldership and for all leadership positions in a local congregation is to take the oversight of the congregation, not as lords, but as examples. Through these examples the leaders are to teach the congregation how to act, speak, think, and teach. Another example the leadership is to teach as is clearly shown in these verses is how to submit to one another. YES, the leadership is to submit to the congregation as an example and means of teaching each member of the local congregation and in particular the babes in Christ how to submit properly.
We as a local congregation are to be subject one to another for the purpose, among other things, of teaching humility, because God resists the proud and extends grace to the humble. We do not want God to resist us, but rather we need all of God’s grace we can get. This is only achieved through humbling ourselves and serving each other.
Luke 22:24-27 "And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth."
These verses seem to be overlooked by many in teaching about such things as Evangelist authority, the authority of the Elders, and the place of the leadership in the local congregation. It is my opinion one can even not even begin to grasp the concepts of Christianity until they understand these verses. These verses show very clearly, there is a complete difference between how the world views things and how a Christian should view them.
The simple truth is the apostles of Jesus at this time in their lives, still thought like the world as do many who should have progressed further in their Christian growth. The truth being taught here is about the difference between a Christian’s attitude and the attitude of the world. The world worries about their position in the world and other people’s perception of their position. Jesus points out this difference when he talks about the kings of the Gentiles exercising lordship over their subjects. When an earthly king gives an order, he expects it to be obeyed because of who he is. After all, he is King! His subjects do not question, but they obey because if they do not, they suffer the consequences. The way you tell who is considered the greatest is who is giving the orders and who is carrying them out.
Jesus uses himself as an example. Did Jesus order his disciples around and have them waiting on him? NO, instead Jesus was as a servant. Many Christians seem to forget the command Jesus does give here. After stating how the kings of the Gentiles are, Jesus says, “But ye shall not be so! But he is the greatest let him be as the younger.” In simple English, Jesus is asking and answering an important question. “Do you want God to consider you as great in My Church?” Instead of pushing your own ideas and trying to get your own way, submit yourself to the rest of the congregation, encouraging their ideas over yours, build up the rest of the congregation. Then and only then will God exalt you and lift you up. But it seems these scriptures get overlooked whenever we hear of so called leaders in the Church fighting over opinions.
Hebrews 13:17 "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."
We are told to obey them that have the rule over us and to submit ourselves to them. But as we noticed earlier this rule over is not in the sense of being the Boss, because the Bible clearly teaches in the gospels in several places there would not be rulers in the worldly sense in the Church. This submission is to be a conditional submission based on the leadership being in submission to God in both the examples they set and in the things they ask the members to do. If a leader in the local congregation ever tells you to do something that is contrary to the will of God, our answer must be NO!!! Then we need to start double checking every time leader asks us to do something. The leadership must be very careful in the things it expects of the congregation.
Here in Hebrews, we see a reason given as to why we are to submit to the leadership of the local congregation. This reason is God has given the leadership the responsibility to watch for our souls as they that must give an account. So we understand the Elders, teachers, and Evangelists not only have to give an account to God for their lives, as every other person must do, but in addition God will hold them accountable for the souls of the members of the local congregation which they accepted responsibility for when they began teaching or when they were ordained to the leadership office they are in.
The Bible teaches one needs to think very carefully before they decide to accept a leadership role in the local congregation, because of the responsibility that goes with the office. No office of the Church is to be entered into lightly, but one needs to understand both the responsibility of the office and the scope of work that is entailed in the office before accepting the responsibility for it. They will be held accountable by God in the final day, if they accept the responsibility.
Does this mean because one of the members of the congregation ends up losing their soul, the leadership will automatically be lost? NO, it does not, but I believe it means for each member of the congregation who is lost, the leadership will be expected to give an account of what they did, to try and prevent loss and what they did to help encourage the lost person to grow as a Christian. It does not profit anyone when Christians refuse to submit to the leadership of the local congregation because they are rebellious.
James 4:6-7 "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
We see God is not pleased when people are proud and think more of their abilities than they should. When we resist the leadership of the congregation we are not submitting to God. When we resist the leadership of the congregation are we resisting the devil as God wants us to? The answer is obvious, NO! The first thing we must do to overcome Satan is to submit to God, then only after we submit to God can we resist the Devil and overcome sin. This is one of the reasons we need to submit to the leadership in the local congregation. So we can have help and advice in our spiritual fight against the Devil. Whenever we resist the leadership in the local congregation by refusing to do simple things they ask us to do, such as studying the word of God, leading a song or anything we are asked to do, we are being proud and God will resist us. We need to make sure what we are being asked to do is unscriptural before we refuse to submit. Too many times we act like we know more than the leadership in the congregation, by the attitude we display. The reason the leadership probably is asking us to conduct a study or to take part in a study is for not only our spiritual growth, but for perhaps for the spiritual growth of others as well.
Ephesians 5:18-21 "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."
Here in Ephesians, Paul starts off teaching us as Christians we should not be drunk with wine, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul proceeds to tell the Ephesian brethren how to do this, and by extension, us today. How does Paul tell us to be filled with the Holy Spirit? There are three things Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us are necessary for this to happen. First, we need to be speaking to ourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our heart. Second, we need to appreciate the blessings God has showered down upon us and give thanks to God for them. And third we need to submit ourselves to one another in the fear of God. Imagine that!!! If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you need to learn how to submit to one another and to serve one another. This shows me, as much as anything the importance of submission in becoming a mature Christian.
1 Samuel 15:22-23 "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king."
It is all summed up in Samuel, where we learn how God feels about a rebellious attitude. It is as the sin of witchcraft. It goes on to say stubbornness a lack of submission is as bad in the eyes of God as the sin of lawlessness and the worshipping of idols. To obey is better than sacrifice and to listen and submit to the leaders who have addicted themselves to the ministry of God is better than the fat of lambs. When we reject the word of the Lord by refusing to submit to the leadership of the congregation, God in turn will reject us just as He rejected Saul from being King of Israel.
THE PURPOSE OF THE LEADERSHIP
In the Bible God has given several reasons for the various leadership offices in the Church. When we better understand these purposes, we will better understand the role the men in these offices are to play in becoming a mature Christian. Then we can better understand our relationship to these offices. I think there is a lot of misunderstanding in the brotherhood about the offices God has put in the Church and as a result the Church has suffered.
Ephesians 4:11-16 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."
We see each of the offices in the Church was given for the same purpose, the scope and the qualifications for the offices being the main difference between them. The purpose of these offices is for the perfecting (maturing) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. This is done to bring us all into the unity of the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, to help cause each of us to grow into mature Christians, until we grow unto a measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. This causes the body of Christ to fit together as God intended, where the body increases through the edifying of itself in love. This is even clearer in the New King James Version, where it reads:
Ephesians 4:11-16 "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."
The New King James Version shows very clearly the offices of the Church, which today are the Evangelist, the Pastor (or Elder) and teachers, are for the purpose of equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry, to edify the body of Christ, to help the Church to grow unto what God intended for it to be. Here we clearly see the purpose of the offices of the Church is to first help the members recognize the work God has given them, then to train the individual members to do their work. When the members do their job then the body of Christ will grow in the way God has planned.
Ezekiel 3:16-21 "And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul."
When someone understands what is being taught here in Ezekiel, then and only then can the understand the importance of fulfilling the vow the leaders of the Church make to God either formally as in the office of the Evangelist and the Elders when they were ordained or informally when they take on the responsibility of teaching in the local congregation. These verses teach when God gives one responsibility they cannot just quit in the middle of the job and escape unpunished. Can you imagine the watchman who is on the mountain looks out and sees an army coming, he looks around and the other watchmen have quit. Is he supposed to quit? NO! Do you think this relieves the watchman of his responsibility to warn the people? His work is more important if only one watchman is left. God will still hold him responsible if anyone dies. The same is true if someone accepts the responsibility of the Eldership, Evangelist, or teacher in the local congregation. They have made a vow to God and woe to them if they do not fulfill their vow. Combine this with the fact the Bible teaches very clearly in Matthew 20:25-27 the offices of the Church are offices of service rather than offices of authority, the fear against having one Elder remain in office, if all of the other Elders die, is irrational as long as the remaining Elder knows his proper position is to serve the congregation, not to be lord over the local congregation.
Ezekiel 33:1-9 "Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul."
Here in Ezekiel chapter 33, in the New King James version, this warning is repeated about God holding His people responsible for any duty they undertake, whether it is the job of parents, or Evangelist or Elder or teacher. Again God, through Ezekiel, is clearly spelling out what he expects from His people. This to me, seems to parallel the Parable of the Talents, where we find God holds his people responsible for developing and fulfilling their talents and abilities. If the watchman fulfills his job and warns the people, he has fulfilled his responsibility and the responsibility for their life, lies with each of person to either heed the warning or ignore it. But if the watchman does not give the warning, for any reason, the responsibility for the blood or death of anyone who is lost or dies, God will demand at the watchman’s hands. The same is true of the teachers, Evangelist, and Elders in a local congregation. If they take on a responsibility and do not fulfill it for any reason, God will hold them accountable for anyone who is lost. This means if a congregation matures to the point of having Elders and if all of the Elders in a local congregation die except for one, the one remaining Elder must fulfill his vow to God. This becomes especially important since he would be the sole watchman left to warn the congregation. It also means he must be very careful not to allow himself to become a lord or a dictator over the flock of God.
Hebrews 5:12-14 "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
Here in Hebrews, we see God expects each Christian to grow until they can teach others the gospel of Christ. Each and every Christian also is given the responsibility to grow and learn from studying the word of God, the Bible. This means one can not just blame the leadership of the local congregation and not be held accountable themselves to God. Even if the leadership does not fulfill their responsibility, one cannot claim they have no responsibility in their failure to grow. God has given each and every Christian, the responsibility to grow and if they do not grow, they will be held accountable by God. As a matter of fact, as we had noticed in Ephesians 4:11-16, the purpose of the leadership is to train the members to fulfill their responsibility in the body and to each other. God does not want the leadership doing the job of each member, but rather to train each member to fulfill their function. What good would it do for me to blame the leadership of the local congregation in the Day of Judgment? None! The leadership may be held accountable by God for not doing their job, but it does not free me from my responsibility to do the work of the ministry through fulfilling my part in the body of Christ.
We want to notice anyone who is unskillful in the word of righteousness is still a babe in Christ. This means in many cases there are too many spiritual babies who have been members of the Church for years. In order for me to grow from being a spiritual baby to being a mature adult Christian, means I need to accept responsibility to visit the sick, both physically and spiritually, to call or send cards to the members of the Church who are elderly and do what I can to help. Only by exercising my spiritual body will it grow until I can discern both good and evil. So every time I am asked to do something by a leader in the Church and I refuse, I am acting like a spoiled child and am not growing as a Christian and at the same time I making it difficult for the leaders in the congregation to fulfil their responsibility joyfully and I am keeping myself as well as the other members of the body of Christ who depend on me for doing their jobs from growing as they should.
2 Timothy 4:3-5 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry."
We see there are many Christians who after they obey the gospel who will not want to follow the gospel, the things Jesus has commanded his disciples to do. As these verses teach, “they will not endure sound doctrine.” Implying they do not want to be bound by the commandments and lifestyle Jesus wants and demands they follow. They will begin to refuse to submit to sound leadership and will heap to themselves teachers who will say whatever the listeners wanted to hear.
We see Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, warns Christians, teachers, and Elders, to be careful in their attitudes because from among their own midst would arise those who do not take their God-given responsibility seriously, but would be guided by their own lusts. In the United States, one of the major problems Christians have to overcome, is for all of our lives, we have been told we are as good as anyone else and we learn to demand our rights, where as Christians, we are taught the exact opposite, it is all about submission and responsibility, not about rights.
Proverbs 17:10-12 "A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly."
We see the Bible teaches it is the wise man who listens to reproof and applies it to their spiritual lives. A simple word of reproof is more effective to a wise man than a hundred lashes would do for a fool. How true this is, especially if a wise leader of the Church, in the same way Peter did when he caused division in the Church over not eating with Gentiles, repented and changed his ways when Paul confronted him to his face and rebuked him before all.
God considers a Christian who is rebellious and not submissive as evil. One of the purposes of the leadership is to help keep the congregation and the individual members of the congregation on the straight and narrow way Jesus has taught through his word. If one refuses to submit to a wise spiritual leadership in things that are for their own good, these verses teach us that person is evil and will spend an eternity separated from God. Solomon here uses words in a way that makes this very clear. In comparing the rebellious man to a fool, he wants us to realize it is better for us to run into a mother bear who has lost her cubs than to spend time in the company of a fool while he is in his folly.
2 Corinthians 5:10-11 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences."
These verses sum up the entire purpose of the leadership positions of the local congregation. The purpose of the leadership of the Church and all members of the Church is to spread the gospel to a lost and dying world and to save the lost. If this is not happening then why does God need us?
We will all stand before God on the Judgment Day and will either be rewarded with a home in Heaven with God or we will spend an eternity separated from God in the lake of fire. The entire purpose of the Church is to provide a means of keeping people out of the lake of fire.
Chapter Summary
- 1. God gives a tremendous responsibility to the leadership of the local congregation.
2. God demands the responsibility He gives to anyone to be fulfilled no matter what the cost.
3. God expects the leadership of the local congregation to submit to and serve the congregation.
4. The offices in the Church are not offices of authority or rank, but are offices of service.
5. God expects each Christian to provoke each other to love and good works.
6. God expects each Christian to submit to the leadership of the local congregation as long as the leadership does not ask them to do something contrary to the will of God.
7. The positions of leadership of the Church today are the teachers, the Elders, and the Evangelists.
8. The scope of responsibility of the elder is limited to the one local congregation.
9. The scope of teachers is basically limited to the local congregation, even though teachers can teach at more than one congregation, if asked.
10. The scope of responsibility of the Evangelist can be limited to one congregation at a time or can be more than one congregation depending on the trust and the relationship an evangelist may develop with more than one congregation and the agreement of the different congregations.
11. The offices of the Church, the teacher, Evangelist, and Elders are offices of service not offices of authority or rank.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I earnestly seek your comments and suggestions.