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Recently Added. Many translations use the term "overseer" for elder:. In the early church, there were usually two or more elders per congregation. The elders taught and preached the doctrine of the early church, including training and appointing others. The function of an elder was centered on taking care of the church. They were given the role of correcting people who weren't following the approved doctrine. They cared for the physical needs of their congregation as well as the spiritual needs:.
In churches today, elders are spiritual leaders or shepherds of the church. The term can mean different things depending on the denomination and even the congregation. While it's always a title of honor and duty, it might mean someone who serves an entire region or someone with specific duties in one congregation. The position of elder may be an ordained office or a lay office.
The elder may have the duties of a pastor and teacher. He may provide general oversight of financial, organizational, and spiritual matters. Elder may be a title given to an officer or a church board member. If there is division among the elders in making decisions, all the elders should study, pray, and seek the will of God together until consensus is achieved.
In this way, the unity and harmony that the Lord desires for the church will begin with those individuals he has appointed to shepherd His flock. The character and effectiveness of any church is directly related to the quality of its leadership.
The qualifications for elders are found in 1 Timothy and Titus An elder is to be above reproach in his marital life, his social life, his business life, and his spiritual life. In this way, he is to be a model of godliness so he can legitimately call the congregation to follow his example Phil.
All the other qualifications, except perhaps teaching and management skills, only amplify that idea. In addition, the office of elder is limited to men. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. As the apostolic era came to a close, the office of elder emerged as the highest level of local church leadership. This is important foundational knowledge to ensure our understanding of New Testament eldership is sound.
With the Exile, the Jews were no longer able to worship and sacrifice at the Temple because they were no longer in proximity to it.
Even if they had been, the Babylonians had destroyed it. The synagogue came about during this time. Jews would gather to study the scriptures and pray. This practice seems to have continued historically and now forms the bedrock of many of our typical Sunday morning services. It served as the spiritual, cultural, social and educational hub of the community, so the elders were the guardians and overseers of the traditions and spiritual health of the community.
When Paul is writing about elders in the New Testament, this is the role and people he has in mind in passages such as 1 Timothy and Titus , which we will look at later. Episkopos is translated overseer or bishop in some translations. They are:. Presbyteros is much more commonly used in the NT. In the gospels, it can mean spiritual forefathers; Jewish spiritual leaders most commonly in the Synoptic Gospels ; or an older person. In Acts, it refers to older, Jewish spiritual leaders, and Christian spiritual leaders.
Acts describes elders plurally to describe a group or team of elders. It also intimates that elders are the ones responsible for the spiritual government, direction and overall leadership of a congregation — they were not subject to any kind of council, board or another body within the church. Perhaps, sometimes, our church structure is shaped more by the corporate world than the scriptures.
Something for us to think about. Acts shows that elders made governmental decisions considering the interpretation and outworking of apostolic wisdom and doctrine. The role of a church elder is one of spiritual governance and not just administrative.
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