Why I am a member of the church of Christ
Lesson # 9
The Organizational Structure Of
The Church # 2
Introduction
In the last lesson we began a discussion of the pattern of organization found in the New Testament as regards the church. We discussed Jesus as the head of the church & the church having the responsibility of placing Jesus & His will 1st in everything. We also discussed each local congregation having elders or overseers that lead Christians in the will of Jesus. In this lesson we will continue the thoughts about elders & their work. Perhaps the greatest exploitation of power in religion has come through the misuse of the eldership. Many have sought the office & the power & recognition the office might bring with it, but have not desired the work & have done much damage to the local church.
1. The work of elders
a. Watchman
1) Acts 20:28-31 - Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the
church of God,
which he bought with his own blood. I know that
after I leave,
savage wolves will come in among you and will
not spare the
flock. Even from your own number men will
arise and
distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after
them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I
never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. (NIV)
a) Sense the intensity of Paul’s words. He knew false teachers
would arise & try to exploit the church.
b) There was no doubt in his mind that this was going to happen &
even happen quickly – “from among their own number”.
2) Heb.13:17 - Obey your
leaders and submit to their authority. They
keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey
them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would
be of no advantage to you. (NIV)
3) The idea of a watchman doesn’t carry as much importance today as it
did in Paul’s day. Back then cities were protected by walls & on
the walls were watch towers occupied by men who kept a vigilant
eye out for invaders. If an enemy approached he alerted the city to
danger so they could defend themselves.
4) Ezek.3:17-21 - descriptive picture of the responsibility of a watchman.
"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of
Israel; so
hear the word I speak and give them warning from
me. When
I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you
do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways
in order to save
his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I
will hold
you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the
wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from
his evil ways, he
will die for his sin; but you will have saved
yourself.
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"Again, when
a righteous man turns from his righteousness
and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die.
Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous
things he did
will not be remembered, and I will hold you
accountable
for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous
man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he
took warning, and you will have saved yourself." (NIV)
5) This means an elder must know the word of God & teach it so that he
can protect the flock of God. There is no substitute for an elder –
he must be a man of the word of God.
b. Mature
the church
1) Eph.4:11-16 - It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be
prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and
teachers, to
prepare God's people for works of service, so that the
body of Christ
may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith
and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we
will no longer
be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and
blown here and
there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning
and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking
the truth in
love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the
Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up
in love, as each part does its work. (NIV)
2) Spiritual babies can be tossed about because of their lack of knowledge
& maturity in Jesus. Elders are to speak the truth in love so that
they might grow up & no longer be spiritual children.
3) Notice that this is not a job they hire someone else to accomplish. They
are to be an active part in the maturing of these Christians. God
doesn’t want them to just see that this is done, but to be an active
part in their spiritual development. This is one reason elders must
be apt to teach & faithfully holding onto the faith themselves.
c. Shepherd
the church
1) Shepherding often requires
discipline – 1 Thes.5:12-15
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among
you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold
them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in
peace with each
other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those
who are idle,
encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient
with everyone.
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for
wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone
else. (NIV)
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2) Shepherding also requires ministering to wounds & hurts –
a) Lk.15:3-7 – “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses
one of them. Does
he not leave the ninety-nine in the open
country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And
when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and
goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together
and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I
tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in
heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine
righteous persons who do not need to repent. (NIV)
b) Jn.10:11-15 - "I am
the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the
shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf
coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the
wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away
because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
"I am the
good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep
know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father-- and I lay down my life for the sheep. (NIV)
c) James 5:14-20 - Is any
one of you sick? He should call the
elders of
the church to pray over him and anoint him with
oil in the
name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith
will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.
If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you
may be healed. The
prayer of a righteous man is powerful
and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed
earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the
land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the
heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
My brothers,
if one of you should wander from the truth
and someone
should bring him back, remember
this:
Whoever turns
a sinner from the error of his way will save
him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (NIV)
Note – James is not talking about miracles, but
intercession. God did not answer Elijah’s prayer by
interfering with the natural order, but by utilizing
the natural order to answer his request. God answers
the elders prayers according to His will.
d) Ezek.34:2-10 - "Son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds of
Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the
Sovereign LORD
says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who
only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take
care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with
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the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not
take care of the
flock. You have not
strengthened the weak
or healed the
sick or bound up the injured. You have not
brought back
the strays or searched for the lost. You have
ruled them
harshly and brutally. So they were scattered
because there
was no shepherd, and when they were
scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My
sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high
hill. They were
scattered over the whole earth, and no one
searched or looked for them. 'Therefore, you shepherds,
hear the word of the LORD: As surely as I live, declares
the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd
and so has been plundered and has become food for all the
wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for
my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,
therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: This is
what the
Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds
and will hold
them accountable for my flock. I will remove
them from
tending the flock so that the shepherds can no
longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their
mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. (NIV)
2. Restrictions while doing their work – 1
Pet.5:1-4
a. Not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.
God wants a man who desires the work, not just one who has to do the
work. A cheerful worker.
b. Not greedy for money, but eager to serve. Elders can be supported, but the
purpose is not to be for money, it’s to serve.
c. Not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
Elders are not dictators, they are examples.