Presbyterian Polity, Worship, and Sacraments — Unit 2: Government by Elders: Teaching and Ruling Elders

Key Verse

"Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine." (1 Timothy 5:17, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain why the word "Presbyterian" means government by elders, and show from the New Testament that elders were appointed in every church.

2. Show from Acts 20, Titus 1 and 1 Peter 5 that "elder," "overseer" and "shepherd" describe one office and not three.

3. Distinguish teaching elders (ministers) from ruling elders, and explain what is equal and what is different between them.

4. Describe how a man is called, examined, elected and ordained to the eldership, and list the main qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

5. State the Episcopal, Congregational and single-pastor objections to Presbyterian government, and give the Reformed answer to each.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and confessional. Other Christians hold other views of church office. We state their views fairly and then give our answer. In Unit 1 we learned that Christ is the only head of the church and that His officers have only a ministerial authority. In this unit we ask who those officers are, and how Christ has chosen to lead His church through them.

What "Presbyterian" Means

The word "Presbyterian" comes from the Greek word presbyteros, which means "elder." A Presbyterian church is a church governed by elders. It is the Bible's own answer to the question, "Who leads the church under Christ?"

Elders did not first appear in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, Israel was led by elders. God told Moses to gather seventy elders of Israel to help bear the burden of the people (Numbers 11:16-17). In the towns, elders sat at the gate to judge disputes (Ruth 4:1-2). When the synagogue developed, it too was governed by elders. The first Christians were Jews, and this pattern was natural to them.

The New Testament shows the same pattern in the churches. The church at Jerusalem had elders who received the gift sent from Antioch (Acts 11:30). On their first journey, Paul and Barnabas "appointed elders in every church" (Acts 14:23). Paul left Titus in Crete to "appoint elders in every city" (Titus 1:5). James wrote that a sick believer should "call for the elders of the church" (James 5:14). Peter wrote to elders and called himself a "fellow elder" (1 Peter 5:1). Everywhere the churches are governed by elders, in the plural.

One Office: Elder, Overseer and Shepherd

The New Testament uses three words for the same group of men. Some of our friends in other churches treat them as three different offices. The text shows that this is not so.

In Acts 20:17, Paul called for the elders of the church at Ephesus. In verse 28 he told these same men that the Holy Spirit had made them overseers (the Greek word is episkopos), and he told them to shepherd the church of God. One group of men has three names.

In Titus 1:5, Paul tells Titus to appoint elders. In verse 7 he gives the reason, and now calls the same men overseers. Paul's letter to the church at Philippi is addressed to the overseers (the NKJV says "bishops") and deacons (Philippians 1:1), with no separate office of bishop above them. Peter tells the elders to "shepherd the flock of God" and to serve as "overseers" (1 Peter 5:1-2).

"Elder" speaks of the maturity and dignity of the man. "Overseer" speaks of his work of watching over the flock. "Shepherd" (in English, "pastor") speaks of his care for the sheep. They are three pictures of one office.

Two Kinds of Elders

If all elders share one office, how do we explain our key verse? Paul says that some elders "rule well" and that "especially" honor belongs to those "who labor in the word and doctrine." The Reformed churches have read this to mean two kinds of work within one eldership.

A teaching elder is a minister of the Word. He is called to labor in preaching and teaching, and in many churches he also administers the sacraments. A ruling elder is a man chosen by the congregation, usually from the congregation, to share in the oversight and discipline of the flock. He does not usually preach every week, but he shepherds, prays, visits, guards the doctrine and takes part in the government of the church.

Both are elders. In the session (the court of elders in a local church), a ruling elder and a teaching elder have an equal vote. This is sometimes called the parity of elders. What differs is the calling and the training. The minister is set apart for the work of the Word, which often requires years of study, and is usually supported by the church for that work, as Paul teaches: "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches" (Galatians 6:6). The ruling elder usually keeps his ordinary work.

Presbyterians have not agreed on how to count the offices. The three-office view holds that the church has ministers, ruling elders and deacons as three permanent offices. The two-office view holds that there are two offices, elder and deacon, and that "minister" is a special function within the eldership. Calvin spoke of four orders in the Institutes (Book 4, chapter 3): pastors, teachers, elders and deacons, and the Westminster Assembly's Form of Presbyterial Church-Government (1645) also named pastors, teachers, other church-governors and deacons. Both views agree that elders rule together and that no elder is above the others in office.

Why Several Elders and Not One

Many churches around the world have one strong pastor who makes every decision. Our tradition teaches that the Bible's pattern is a plurality of elders, for several reasons.

First, the pattern is plain: "elders in every church," not a single ruler in each church. Second, Proverbs teaches that in a multitude of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14). Third, no one man has all the gifts the flock needs. Fourth, sin is real, even in leaders. Plurality of elders guards the pastor from pride and the flock from tyranny, and it guards the church when the pastor leaves, falls or dies.

Qualifications

Paul gives two lists of what an elder must be, in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. We read them as a pattern of character, and not as a ranking of virtues. Among the qualities are these: he is above reproach, faithful to his wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, hospitable, gentle and not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, and he manages his own household well. He must also be able to teach, holding fast to the faithful word as taught so that he can encourage others in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9). He must not be a new convert, lest he become proud. And he must have a good reputation with outsiders.

Two points are discussed among Reformed churches. The first is the phrase "husband of one wife." Our tradition honors marriage as one man and one woman for life, and this phrase supports that teaching. But churches differ about how it applies to a widower who remarries or to a man who was divorced. Each church applies it according to its own order and its reading of the whole of Scripture. The second point is who may hold office. The conservative Reformed churches reserve the offices of elder and minister to qualified men, and Unit 10 treats this question and the Reformed bodies that differ.

These lists describe character far more than skill. A gifted speaker who is proud is unfit, and a quiet man of integrity who knows the Word may be a fine elder.

Call, Election and Ordination

How does a man become an elder? The tradition describes four steps.

The inward call. A man senses that God is calling him, and he desires the work. "If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work" (1 Timothy 3:1).

The outward call. The church confirms the call. In Acts 6:3-5 the apostles asked the congregation to choose the Seven, and the whole multitude chose. In Acts 14:23 the verb translated "appointed" originally meant to choose by raising the hand, though by the New Testament period it could also mean simply to appoint. Scholars discuss which sense Luke has in mind. Reformed churches have held that the people have the right to elect their officers, while the existing elders guide the process and judge the fitness of the candidates. This avoids both the rule of a few over the people and the rule of the people without guidance.

Examination. The session, and in the case of ministers the presbytery, examines the man's character, his knowledge of Scripture and the confession, and his ability to teach. Paul warned Timothy, "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily" (1 Timothy 5:22).

Ordination. The church sets the man apart with prayer and the laying on of hands (1 Timothy 4:14; Acts 13:3). He takes vows to believe the Scriptures, to accept the church's confession, to be faithful in his duties and to submit to his brothers in the government of the church. Ordination does not make him a better Christian than others. It is the church's public recognition of Christ's call.

The Work of the Elder

The work of the eldership is the work of a shepherd. Paul told the Ephesian elders, "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock" (Acts 20:28). Peter urged elders to shepherd the flock willingly and to be examples (1 Peter 5:2-3). Their tasks include:

• Teaching and guarding doctrine. They must hold to the faithful word and refute error (Titus 1:9).

• Prayer and care for the sick. James 5:14 tells the sick to call for the elders to pray.

• Rule. They make decisions for the good order of the church, always under the Word.

• Admitting to the Lord's table and watching over the flock. They examine those who wish to join, and they exercise discipline (Unit 5).

• Setting an example. They are to be models, and not lords (1 Peter 5:3).

Historians and the Early Church

Historians have long debated how the eldership developed after the apostles. In the second century letters of Ignatius of Antioch, a single bishop stands above the presbyters in some churches. Some historians say this shows that the apostles passed on a three-fold order of bishop, presbyter and deacon. Others show that it developed gradually. The Anglican scholar J. B. Lightfoot, in the nineteenth century, argued that the New Testament uses "bishop" and "presbyter" for one office. The ancient teacher Jerome also said that, in the apostolic age, the two names belonged to the same men.

The Reformed answer is that we judge the question by the New Testament. Where the apostles' own writings use both names for one office, a later development, however early, cannot overrule them. The Reformers recovered the apostolic pattern. We are also honest that historians disagree about how long lay elders in the ancient church continued to serve beside the clergy, and we do not rest our case on any single early witness.

Objections and Answers

Objection 1 (Episcopal): The apostles passed on their authority to bishops who stand above elders.

Episcopal churches teach that a bishop holds a higher order than a presbyter, in a line that goes back to the apostles.

Our answer. We honor the many godly bishops in church history. But Acts 20, Titus 1, Philippians 1 and 1 Peter 5 use "elder" and "overseer" for the same men, and no passage gives bishops a power over elders. The apostles were a unique office, with unique authority to found the church and to write Scripture, and their office was not passed on.

Objection 2 (Congregational and Baptist): There is no separate "ruling elder"; the elders are the pastors.

Many Baptist churches have several elders, and agree with us on plurality. But some say that 1 Timothy 5:17 does not describe two kinds of elders, and that all elders should be teachers.

Our answer. We share the conviction that elders are plural and are chosen from the congregation. But the text says that some elders "rule well" and that "especially" honor goes to those who labor in the Word. "Especially" implies a group within the group. All elders must be able to teach (1 Timothy 3:2), and the ruling elder does so in the work of oversight. But not all are called to the full-time labor of preaching.

Objection 3 (single-pastor): A church needs one strong leader.

In many places the church is led by one pastor who is head of the work. Supporters point to Moses, Nehemiah and Paul.

Our answer. Moses was told by Jethro to share the load with others (Exodus 18:17-23), and Paul always worked in teams and appointed elders in every church. A strong pastor can serve well within a plurality, but no man should rule alone.

Pastoral Application

A pastor serves a church of about eighty members in a town near Guadalajara. For twelve years he has preached, counseled, visited the sick, handled the money and settled every dispute. He is exhausted. He knows the church needs more than himself, but he fears that raising up elders will look like losing his authority.

First, he studies the passages in this unit with the congregation, preaching on Acts 14:23 and Titus 1, so that the people understand that plural eldership is the Lord's pattern and not a personal preference.

Second, he prays and watches for men who meet the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, looking first at character.

Third, he invites the church to nominate men. The candidates are examined and trained for some months in doctrine and in the church's confession.

Fourth, the church elects them, and they are ordained with prayer.

Fifth, he teaches the new elders to share the work and gives them real tasks, such as visiting the sick. In this way the flock is cared for by many hands, and the pastor can labor in the Word.

Summary

"Presbyterian" means government by elders. The New Testament shows elders appointed in every church. "Elder," "overseer" and "shepherd" are three names for one office, and the elders govern as a group. Some labor in the Word and doctrine as ministers, and others, the ruling elders, share in the oversight, with equal authority in the session. Presbyterians differ over counting the offices as two or three but agree on the substance. An elder must meet the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and enters office by inward call, election by the church, examination and ordination. We answer the Episcopal, Congregational and single-pastor objections from the apostles' own writings, and we hold these convictions with humility.

Further Reading

• John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Beveridge translation, 1845), Book 4 chapters 3 and 11.

• The Belgic Confession (1561), Articles 30-32.

• The Second Helvetic Confession (1566), chapter 18.

• The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 25, and the Form of Presbyterial Church-Government (1645).

• Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (1872-73), the section on the church and its officers.

• Jerome, letters and commentary on Titus (fourth century), a primary source on the early identity of bishop and presbyter.

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