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Elders, Bishops and Pastors: One Office or Three?
Acts 20:17-30
While talking with some white-shirted young Mormons one day, I asked them about
the "Elder so-and-so" name tags they were both wearing. "How can you, both
eighteen years old, be called 'elders'? Also, the Bible says that elders have to
be married." Their response was something like this: "Yes, what you say is true,
but you have elders and bishops confused. The Bible says that bishops must be
married, not elders, and elders must simply be wise ones. God has given us
wisdom."
What about that answer? Does it satisfy you? Does the Bible distinguish between
elders and bishops? And, what do the words mean? Let's see.
ACTS20
Acts 20:17-18: "From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called
for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them:
'You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived
among you'" (NKJ throughout, KJV in brackets).
After the riot at Ephesus, Paul left, and sometime later returned by that way.
Rather than going to the city itself, he called the elders of the church to him
at the seaport of Miletus. They came, and there he admonished them, and told
them that he would not see them again. Notice, though, what the Scriptures say
Paul called these men when they came to him:
Acts 20:28-30: "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to
all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [bishops], to
shepherd [feed] the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I
know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not
sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking
perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.'"
When Paul called the elders, he addressed them as bishops and told them to tend,
shepherd, or pastor the flock! If elders and bishops are distinct offices,
occupied by different men, this would be senseless; but if the offices are the
same, then it is logical. If they were different offices, when Paul called
elders, no bishops would have been there to speak to. He told these men, elders
and bishops, to "poimaino," or shepherd the flock. The root word is the word for
a shepherd who guides and cares for his flock. Thus, in this passage, elders are
the same as bishops, or overseers, and these men are to act as pastors and tend
the flock, or church of God. Ephesians 4:11 makes the only reference
specifically to a group of men called pastors, and here one could easily
conclude that he was referring to this important
work of elders who oversee and tend the church. Not three offices, but
one!
TITUS 1:5-7 & I TIMOTHY 3:1-2
Titus 1:5-7: "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order
the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded
you; if a
man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused
of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward
of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not
greedy for money"
1 Timothy 3:1-2: "This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a
bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of
one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach."
Titus is commanded to appoint a plurality of elders in every city, and
then Paul immediately lists the qualities that these bishops must have. Is it
fair to draw a sharp distinction between the two given the natural flow from one
verse to the other? Also, we see from 1 Timothy 3 that bishops are given similar
and overlapping qualification. Only the attempt to later justify a distinction
in offices that had already occurred historically could lead to an
interpretation that these works are distinct.
I PETER
1 Peter 5:1-4: "The 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: Shepherd [Feed] the flock of God which is among you, serving as
overseers [taking the oversight], not by constraint but willingly, not for
dishonest gain
but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples
to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of
glory that does not fade away."
This passage is much like Acts 20 in that all three words are used for the same
office, and of the same men. Peter, an elder himself, exhorts other elders to
carry out their duties as God directs. He tells them to feed, or shepherd, tend
or pastor the flock which is among them. They are not to meddle in other flocks,
but their own. Each church had its own "presbytery" (I Tim. 4:14: Phil. 1:1-2;
Acts 14:23; Jas. 5:14).
In this feeding the flock the elders serve as overseers, or bishops.
The word "elders" is from the Greek presbuteros, which in turn is from the root
presbos, or "old." Thus, elder refers to the spiritual maturity of the men who
serve as overseers. They have a wife and children, and are not to be novices (1
Tim. 3:6). They are wise, seasoned, mature. Elder speaks to the character of the
man.
"Bishop" or "overseer" is from the Greek episkopos. It is the word for
superintendent, a manager. (Epi- over, and -skopeo, to look or watch.) It speaks
to their responsibility and authority. The verb form of the word is used in 1
Peter 5:2, "exercise oversight." In 1 Timothy 3:1, the word is best rendered "overseership,"
since no word for "office" is actually present.
"Pastor" is from poimen, which as we have seen, is the word used for a shepherd,
and thus of his word of feeding, guiding and tending the flock. The verb form is
poimaino. In 1 Peter 5, all of these words and ideas are used of the same men.
Peter himself is one of them, as a married man (Matthew 8:14ff).
This verse also teaches against the idea that there is another office above that
of bishop, called an archbishop. Peter says that even he is simply a
"fellow-elder," and that there is one "Chief Shepherd" or archipoimenos, Jesus
Christ Himself. The Bible does not authorize the offices of Archbishops,
Cardinals, Popes, etc. The only office over a bishop, elder or pastor is the
Chief Shepherd Himself.
Conclusion: It is apparent that the
organization and oversight of 1st century churches was much different than that
found in most all denominations today. Let's be
careful when we read these verses not to "retro-fit" our current practices back
onto the New Testament pattern, but rather change our practice and understanding
to fit the New Testament.
By Michael Schmidt
From Expository Files 1.2; February, 1994
