Consider the following passages. 1. 1 Peter 5:5 reads, Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble. In the same vein, Paul tells wives to submit to their husbands in…
These men, like the rest that are mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-ff were appointed by God to be teachers. They were no more a less a part of the church organizations than apostles, prophets, and evangelists. Because they had a household with children who were subject to them, they were living in a city that knew…
The pastors, who were also given by God during these early years, were chosen and elected by apostles and/or evangelists for the purpose of teaching. The information for their selection was given to Timothy and Titus and the responsibility for their appointment was laid on them. There is no support in the Scriptures for some…
Applying the leadership of these shepherds to our time would be the same as applying apostles or prophets to our time. Neither were intended to be applied past that age. Their work was primarily to teach, protect, and care for the flock. These shepherds did not fulfill their role as shepherds only once or…
The phrase in Acts 14:23 translates, “When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” We have given much attention in other posts regarding the improper translation of the word “church” for the Greek “ekklesia.” We will not repeat,…
Another unfortunate translation is found in 1Timothy 3:1 where Paul speaks of one “desiring the office of a bishop.” The Greek word, translated elsewhere is “overseer.” There is no “office” in the text. This word and the few examples we have of an elder’s benevolent care is often confused with an administrative office. Campbell writes,…
One of the words is the Greek noun “poimen” which is a “shepherd, one who tends or herds a flock” (Vine). Shepherds or pastors (cf. Luke 2:8) is an excellent metaphor for those who have charge of others in a specific community (cf. Ezek. 34:2, 9, 10, 23, Jno. 10:16, 1 Pet. 2:25, Heb. 13:20:…
The fourth gift listed in Ephesians 4:11 is that of pastors and teachers. The text reveals that in all of these gifts listed in Ephesians 4, an article is placed before them except before the word “teachers”. It reads in Greek, “τοὺς δὲ, ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους.” Therefore, it has been argued that pastors and teachers…
An element of an overseer/shepherd is that of a “rule.” Paul speaks of those “who rule well” in 1 Tim. 5:17. We broke this down in an earlier section of this chapter.[1] The Greek words translated “rule” will be introduced here to gain an understanding of its meaning. W.E. Vine gives six verbs that translate…
Another description of the same role of a shepherd is the word, “overseer”. The word means “a watchman over or upon.” The word “superintend” is often used to describe it. It describes a responsible task. The word itself does not specify the particular task for which one is responsible. But, its use in our context,…