The
Hebrew word for elder is: zaòqeòn, zaw-kane' old:—aged, ancient (man), elder (-est), old (man, men and
. . . women), senator.
First
Mention of elders in the O.T. Gen. 50: 7So
Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of
Pharaoh, the ________________of his house, and all the ________________of the
land of Egypt, 8as well as all the house of Joseph…
First mention of the elders
of Israel: Ex. 3: 16Go and gather the ________________of Israel together, and say
to them, ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of
Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what
is done to you in Egypt; 17and I have said I will bring you up out
of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites
·
Generally ________________men of the city or nation
who had the respect of the people. Some may have been chosen and given the
title.
·
Some may have been considered Elders because of the ________________positions
they held.
Numbers 11:16So the LORD said to Moses:
“Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the
elders of the people and officers over them;
The Greek word for elders is: ðñåóâýôåñïò , presbuteros, pres-boo'-ter-os (elderly); older; as noun, a senior; specifically an Israelite Sanhedrist
(also figuratively, member of the celestial council) or Christian
“presbyter”:—elder (-est), old.
The first mention in the N.T. is regarding elders of
the Jewish nation: Matt. 15: 2“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of
the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
The first mention of church
elders is: Acts 11: 29Then the disciples, each according to his ability,
determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30This
they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
The work of elders given
by St. Paul: Acts 20: 17From
Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. …28Therefore
take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which ________________________you ________________, to ________________the church £of God which He purchased
with His own blood. 29For I know this, that after my departure ________________will come in among you, not
sparing the flock. 30Also from __________ ________________, speaking perverse things,
to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31Therefore ________________, and remember that for
three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
The work of
elders given by St. Peter: 1 Peter 5: 1The
elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: ____________the flock of God which is
among you, serving as overseers not by ________________but ________________, not for ________________but ________________; 3nor as being
lords over those entrusted to you, but being ___________to the flock; 4and
when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does
not fade away.
5Likewise you ________________, submit yourselves to your ________________. Yes, all of you be
________________to one another, and be
clothed with ________________, for “God
resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.ӣ
The work of elders given
by St. James: James 5: 14Is anyone among you sick?
Let him call for the elders of the church, and let ________________pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the
_______________________will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And
if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16£Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you
may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of ___________________avails much.
Acts
14: 21And when they had preached
the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra,
Iconium, and Antioch, 22strengthening the souls of the disciples,
exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must
through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 23So when they
had ________________elders in every church, and
prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Titus 1: 5For this
reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are
lacking, and __________________elders in every city as I
commanded you
·
Elders in the New
Testament were appointed. They were never elected.
·
Elders are always
mentioned in the ________________when addressed in the local churches.
·
Those with five fold ________________ gifts apparently were among the elders of the churches
though having one of the five fold ministry gifts is not listed as a ________________to be an elder.
o When St. Paul called the Ephesian Elders to meet him,
no mention is made of additional invitations being given to the pastor or other
ministers who were surely part of the church leadership. Apparently the term
elders ________________at least some of the ________________________ of the church.
o When Paul and Barnabas met with the Apostles at
Jerusalem for the council in Acts 15 it clearly states that the ____________________had a part to play in the decision to determine if
gentile Christians had to be subject to the law to be saved.
o
4And
when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the
apostles and ___________________; and they reported all
things that God had done with them. 5But some of the sect of the
Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them,
and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” 6Now the
apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
o In Acts 20, St. Paul met with James and __________ the elders of the Jerusalem church to defend his
ministry. Many believe James was the pastor of the Jerusalem church since he
led both meetings Paul had with the officials in Jerusalem.
17And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren
received us gladly. 18On the following day Paul went in with
us to James, and ________________the elders were present.
o In the church at Antioch in Acts 13, no mention is
made of the church elders but it is noted that there were prophets and teachers
in the church. It is likely that these were _____________________ or at least part of the church elders.
1Now in the church that was
at Antioch there were certain _____________________: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who
had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2As they
ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3Then,
having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
o Both John and Peter refer to themselves as ________________though they were also apostles. Apparently they served
as elders to the particular church where their ministry ___________. Elders are given the responsibility of _______________________the work of the local church which is a function of
the spiritual gift of ________________. Being “________________”, one of
the requirements listed in 1 Timothy for ________________,
indicates an ability to understand and defend the faith but not necessarily the
spiritual gift of teacher listed in Ephesians 4:11.
Role of the pastor as “head
elder” or “leading elder.”
·
There will be an official chosen leader or an ________________leader
will arise.
·
God always uses ________________and not a ________________to
lead his work.
o
Ex. Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, etc.
·
God’s leader must have ________________leadership
to help carry the load of leadership
o
Moses was ready to give up when God gave him elders
with his spirit put upon them.
Numbers
11:10-17 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families,
everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was greatly
aroused; Moses also was displeased. 11So Moses said to the LORD,
“Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your
sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? 12Did
I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me,
‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land
which You swore to their fathers? 13Where am I to get meat to give
to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we
may eat.’ 14I am not able to bear all these people alone,
because the burden is too heavy
for me. 15If You treat me like this, please kill me here and
now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness!”
16So the LORD said to Moses:
“Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be
the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle
of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17Then I will come
down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear
the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.
*Overseer = dðéóêïðÞ , episkopeô , ep-is-kop-ay' inspection (for
relief); by implication superintendence; specifically the Christian “episcopate”:—the office of a
“bishop”, bishoprick, visitation.
1 Timothy 3: 1Here
is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer
he desires a noble task. 2Now
the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife,
temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,
able to teach, 3not given
to drunkenness, not violent but
gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his
children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how
can he take care of God’s church?) 6He
must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under
the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good
reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into
the devil’s trap.
Titus 1: 6An
elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose
children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and
disobedient. 7Since an overseer£ is entrusted
with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered,
not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest
gain. 8Rather he must
be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled,
upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy
message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound
doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
1 Timothy 5: 17Let the elders who rule
well be counted worthy of ________________, especially those who labor in the
word and doctrine. 18For the Scripture says, “You shall not
muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,”£ and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”£ 19Do not
receive an ________________against an elder except from two or three witnesses.
20Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the
rest also may fear. 21I charge you
before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe
these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality. 22Do
not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s
sins; keep yourself pure.
Heb. 13: ________________those who rule over you, who
have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith ________________, considering the outcome of
their conduct…17 ________________those who rule over you, and be ________________, for they watch out for
your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with ________________and not with ________________, for that would be ________________for you.
When God called leaders have
received God’s direction for his work it is a dangerous thing to set yourself
in opposition. St. Paul warned against
putting an immature believer in the position of elder. (1 Tim. 3:6He must not be a recent convert,
or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.)
Notice
the temptation is the same one that brought Satan down. That temptation is to
elevate oneself to a higher level of authority. Only God can put give us a
higher level of authority. We must never try to usurp the rightful place of
another.
Numbers 16: 1Now Korah the son of Izhar,
the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab,
and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2and they rose up before Moses with some of the
children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation,
representatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3They
gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take
too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the
assembly of the LORD?”
4So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face; 5and
he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will
show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom
He chooses He will cause to come near to Him. 6Do this: Take
censers, Korah and all your company; 7put fire in them and put
incense in them before the LORD tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the LORD chooses is the holy one. You take
too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”
8Then Moses said to Korah,
“Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9Is
it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you
from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the
work of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to
serve them; 10and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you?
And are you seeking the priesthood also? 11Therefore you and
all your company are gathered
together against the LORD. And what is
Aaron that you complain against him?”…
20And the LORD spoke to Moses
and Aaron, saying, 21“Separate yourselves from among this congregation,
that I may consume them in a moment.”
22Then they fell on their
faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man
sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?”
23So the LORD spoke to Moses,
saying, 24“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the
tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”
25Then Moses rose and went to
Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26And he
spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked
men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” 27So
they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan
and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives,
their sons, and their little children.
28And Moses said: “By this you
shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. 29If these men die naturally
like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. 30But
if the LORD creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them
up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you
will understand that these men have rejected the LORD.”
31Now it came to pass, as he
finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, 32and
the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all
the men with Korah, with all their
goods. 33So they and all those with them went down alive into the
pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. 34Then
all Israel who were around them fled
at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”
________________