|
Office of Elders and
Deacons
Elder
The Church is a society of God's chosen people with Christ as the Head.
And in this covenant community, God has given to Jesus Christ the work
of ruling over the church. The words of His truth direct our doctrines
and ethics. His precepts are our standards for holy conduct. Peter, in
writing about the government of the Church, calls Jesus Christ the
Shepherd and Bishop of the Church who watches over our souls. (1Peter
2:25).
But Peter also at the same time tells us that Christ has put certain men
to be officers in the Church. This is the obvious teaching in 1Peter
5:1-5. He calls these officers 'elders'. In the same passage, he informs
us that the work of these elders is to 'feed the flock' verse 2, taking
the oversight thereof verse 2, but not as being 'lords over God's
heritage' verse 3. And in verse 5, the apostle exhorts the members of
the Church to submit unto the 'elders'.
Likewise, Paul also stressed the importance of having certain officers
to rule in the Church. In 1Tim 3 where he sets forth the qualifications
of these rulers, he calls them 'bishops.' (1Timothy 5:17). But in the
same letter, he also designates them as 'elders.' (1 Timothy 5:17). Like
Peter, Paul describes their work as one of ruling over the Church.
The
two different terms are used to highlight the different aspects of the
office of elders. The word bishop means 'the one who watches over' and
the word elder designates his seniority and maturity. But the two terms
refer to the same office.
In the Reformed churches, the term 'elder' is used to designate the
office bearer who is chosen to rule over the flock. He joins the
minister in the Church as a fellow elder, taking oversight of the
congregation. In larger churches, there are usually more than two
elders. But in every church, there must be more than one elder to rule
the Church. This is again a clear teaching of the Bible. When Paul urged
Titus to remain in Crete to set the Church in order, he instructed him
to 'appoint elders’ in the plural. In his farewell speech to the leaders
of the church in Ephesus, Paul calls the elders together.
The Reformed church is convinced that having more than one elder to rule
in the church is the teaching of the Bible. We call this practice the
'plurality of elders’. We are convinced that all the elders in the
Church share the same status and share of authority. By this, we mean
that no one elder is above another fellow elder or no one elder may have
a higher exercise of power over his fellow colleagues. We call this
practice the 'parity of elders.' This means that all the elders are on
par one with another in their rule over the church. Again the passage in
1Peter 5 is instructive. Although Peter was an apostle, he calls himself
a 'fellow elder.' Also in the first synod meeting of the Christian
church in Acts 15, the apostles and the elders came together to consider
the matters (verse 6).
This plurality and parity of the eldership is a unique emphasis of our
Reformed Church government.
In today's modern church world, it is common to find women ministers and
elders ruling in the Church. The Reformed Church resists this modern
trend. We do so not because we despise the gift of women. In fact, we
affirm that sisters in the Church may be active in children Sunday
School and women's bible study etc. But when we oppose women in office,
we do so because of a clear mandate from Scripture. The Bible in 1
Corinthians 14:35 and especially 1 Timothy 2:11-14 forbids women to
teach in the Church in any official capacity. By this, we mean that they
may not assume an official position as office bearer in the Church,
ruling over the congregation with a divine right and power.
Deacon
In the same passage where Paul delineates for us the qualifications of
elders, he also outlines the qualifications of deacons. Although the
office of deacons is a separate office, they are nevertheless fellow
officers with the elders appointed also to care for the well-being of
congregation.
The word 'deacon' is derived from a Greek word that carries the meaning
of 'service'. A deacon in the Reformed Church is one who serves
alongside the elders in the Church.
The origin of this office is found in Acts 6. The Church brought a
complaint to the apostles that the Grecian widows were neglected in the
daily work. The apostles' responded by directing the Church to select
seven men whom they in turn may appoint to 'serve tables' and care for
the widows. The apostles appointed these seven 'servants' as the first
NT deacons in order that they themselves may concentrate in the work of
preaching and praying.
In Philippians 1:1 where Paul opens his letter to the Church in
Philippi, he directs his greetings also to the 'bishops and deacons.'
From this passage, together with the passage in 1 Timothy 3, we may
gather that the office of deacons in the NT was indeed a formal
institution.
Deacons are important in the Church. They are appointed so that the poor
and needy may be provided for. They function in this office representing
the Lord Jesus Christ. Deacons are not social workers handling out money
to relieve the afflicted. In carrying out their work, they speak on
behalf of Christ, proclaiming his mercies to the deprived and oppressed
within and without the congregation. |
