Why the church?
A Biblical Study
Study 11
Being a Spiritual Leader
There are two aspects to this study.
First, every believer is a spiritual leader in some way. If they are a parent they are providing an example to their children and their spouse through their Christian walk. Also, it will be evident in the way they communicate to their family and the unbelieving world the things concerning Christ.
Or they may be single but teaching a Sunday School class or assisting in a home support ministry or music ministry or greeting at the door or organizing fellowship activities.
In each of these ways the believer is providing leadership through their example and their words.
Every Christian is called to servant leadership in some way. The character of Christ is being developed in them day by day as the Spirit works His fruit out in their walk.
Second, God has designed His church in such as way that certain women will be called and gifted to provide leadership to other women. In Titus 2:2-5, older women in the church are to teach younger women to be godly mothers and wives. Some women will have the gift of teaching and some of those women will have a more public ministry, that is larger groups attending regular teaching sessions, while others may have a ministry that focuses on one to one or small groups.
Third, God has designed His church in such as way that He has called certain men to fulfill the role/responsibility of elder in a local church. This study supports the complementarian perspective of the Biblical teaching of the roles of men and women. This means that God has designed men to exercise spiritual leadership both in the home and in the church. This also means that men only are to fulfill the role of spiritual leader in a local church. The Bible consistently applies the term ‘elder’ to the recognized spiritual leaders of a local church. We will discuss the Biblical teaching of pastoring during the study.
Now let’s begin this important study of the Biblical teaching of spiritual leadership.
OT Examples of Leadership
1. Read Genesis 12:1-6. Is there any description of Abraham’s character in this section? On what basis did God choose Abraham?
2. Read Genesis 14:13-16. What does this section reveal about Abraham as a leader?
3. Read Genesis 15:1-6. What was the basis for Abraham’s relationship with God?
4. Read Genesis 22:1-14. What does this account of Abraham’s willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son, Isaac, reveal about his character. (Read Hebrews 11:17-19 as well)
5. Read Genesis 37:1-11. God’s choice of Joseph to save Jacob and his family when a famine would come in the future is expressed through the two dreams. What character qualities are given for Joseph in this passage?
6. Read Genesis 39:1-12. What does this account reveal about Joseph’s character at this time?
7. Read Genesis 50:15-21. How did Joseph understand God’s purpose when his brothers sold him into slavery?
8. Read Exodus 3:1-6,13,14; 4:10-17. What does this reveal about Moses’ character? about God’s choice of a key leader for Israel?
9. Read Numbers 12:3. What kind of man was Moses? How does this verse help us understand God’s choice for those He has for spiritual leaders?
10. Read Exodus 32:11-14. How is Moses’ character shown in this situation?
11. Read Exodus 32:19-29. What other aspect of Moses’ character is expressed in this section?
12. Read Exodus 32:30-35. When you consider what Moses did to discipline Israel for their sin in Exodus 32:19-29 and God’s response to their sin in this section, what can you learn about dealing with sin in your local church?
13. Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13. What is God’s way of choosing a man for leadership?
14. How can a local church ‘look on the heart’ of a man who is being considered for leadership?
15. What is revealed about David as a person in 2 Samuel 12:1-14? (Read Psalm 51 as well.)
16. How quickly do you respond to the convicting of the Holy Spirit when sin is revealed in your life? Give an example.
There are many examples throughout the OT that we could consider but these few will help us begin to grasp the focus God has on character. If you would like to read some other key individuals in the OT that would help you develop a clearer picture of God’s expectations for spiritual leaders read through Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. Each one of them demonstrated different aspects of leadership but take note of their character and how they handled different situations.
NT Teaching on Leadership
When I did a quick search of the NT for the word leadership only one paraphrase (NLT) used that specific word and that was in one location, Romans 12:8 describing a specific spiritual gift. The other translations were the KJV, NASB and Literal.
This does not mean, of course, that leadership is not taught. But it helps to clarify our thinking somewhat on how the NT views the responsibility of leading others.
17. Read Matthew 23:1-12. What does this passage reveal about God’s standards for a spiritual leader?
18. Read Luke 6:12-16. How did Jesus prepare Himself for the important task of selecting the 12 disciples who would become the key spiritual leaders, called the apostles, for the early church? How does this help you understand a key aspect of the life of a spiritual leader?
19. Read Acts 6:1-4, 13:1-3; Ephesians 3:14; Col. 1:3,4,9, 4:12. What stands out in these passages concerning the regular practice of these spiritual leaders?
20. Why is prayer often neglected by those in recognized responsibilities in many churches?
21. What impact does a godly life have on others? (Read Luke 11:1.)
22. Outline the principle or principles found in Matthew 20:20-28 that describe what is and what isn’t Christian leadership? (Read also John 13:1-5,12-16)
23. Let’s look for a minute at the aspects of leadership that we are to avoid as Christians and in the local church. Read Matthew 6:1-18. What attitudes did Jesus condemn in these spiritual leaders?
24. Read Matthew 15:1-19. How did these spiritual leaders break God’s Word? What was wrong with this focus?
25. Read Matthew 23:1-33. Why did the Pharisees and other spiritual leaders of Israel at the time of Christ fail as spiritual leaders before God?
26. What can be learned from these ungodly leaders that will help you understand what a godly leader must be?
Doing a Word Study
First, let us look at a key term in the OT, ‘elder’. The reason will become clear shortly.
Historically, Israel had men in leadership who had the responsibilities of leadership.
The term ‘elder’ is a translation of this word : zaqen old:— aged(3), aged*(1), elder(3), elders(132), old(21), old man(7), old men(7), old women(1), older(1), oldest(1), senior(1). (NASB translation of this Hebrew word)
It seems that other countries utilized several men in leadership who were called ‘elders’.
In Genesis 50:7 So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
we find the first use of this word for men in leadership. Here it is referring to individuals in Egypt.
The next uses of this term are found in Exodus where Moses is told by God to gather the elders of Israel together (Exodus 3:16). This means that the people had set up a system of selecting those who would provide leadership of the people. There is no place in Genesis that outlines or describes the necessity for Israel to have elders or how they are to go about selecting them. There are several references in the Exodus account of Moses encounters with Pharaoh and after the actual exodus itself of these elders.
There are two specific occasions where a formal process was described for identifying specific elders for particular leadership. The first is in Exodus 18:17-27 where Moses’ father-in-law Jethro exhorts Moses to select elders to assist him due to the heavy load of judging specific cases brought before him.
The other occasion was a time in the wilderness where Moses cries out to the Lord about the ongoing complaining of the people over the manna they had to eat and God tells Moses to select elders to assist him (Numbers 11:16,17).
So Israel either had a man who was God’s representative like Moses or Joshua or a judge like Samuel or a prophet or a king. In addition there were other leaders that assisted the king including those designated as elders.
At this point we need to examine the NT use of words for the spiritual leaders in a local church.
The spiritual leader in the local church is called the ‘elder’. There is much confusion about the terms and responsibilities of the spiritual leaders in Protestant churches. The term that is consistently applied to these men is elder. It is found in Acts and in various NT epistles. Here are the specific ways the Greek word for elder is translated in the NASB:
presbuteros, elder:— elder(3), elders(57), men of old(1), old men(1), older(1), older man(1), older ones(1), older women(1), women(1). (NASB)
Every use of this term in the Gospels and into Acts up to Acts 6:12 is referring to a group of spiritual leaders functioning in alliance with other groups such as the Pharisees, the lawyers and the chief priests. So every use up to this point indicates a specific group of men who opposed Christ.
The first use of this term, elder, in connection with local church leadership is in
Acts 11:30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.
The context is a prophecy by Agabus that a famine would occur and the church in Antioch decided to send funds to support those in need in Judea. So we see that elders were in place even at this early stage.
It seems that the Jewish believers relied on the format that they were familiar with in Israel for the primary leadership position.
The next reference (Acts 14:23) does provide a brief description of the process that was being used by the apostles to set up leadership in a local church as they were planted
As Paul and his companions returned to cities where new believers were gathering it states in verse 23 that elders were appointed. That’s it. All we have to go on in terms of the process, at least, at this point is this word ‘appointed’.
This word is used in only one other place, 2 Cor. 8:19 where it indicates that the churches had appointed a travelling companion for Paul in carrying the funds collected for the needy in Judea.
Spiros Zodhiates in his The Complete Word Study New Testament wrote on this word,
“To elect to an office by lifting up the hand; to choose, vote (2 Cor. 8:19); to appoint to an office (Acts 14:23). In the appointment of the elders in Acts 14:23 cheirotoneo is used which in later days often meant “to ordain.” However, it does not necessarily imply the actual laying on of hands. It means to elect through a show of hands by an assembly, as in 2 Cor. 8:19, or to appoint, as by God (Acts 10:41) or man (Acts 14:23).”
I should mention that Spiros is linking a slightly different word procheirotoneo ‘to chose beforehand’ in his explanation.
As we continue this look at key words related to the process of selecting elders for a church we discover in Paul’s letter to Titus another word is used.
In Titus 1:5 Paul explains that Titus had been left in Crete to appoint elders in every church. The word ‘appoint’ here is much stronger in its meaning to determine certain individuals for the role of elder.
The word is kathisteômi to set in order, appoint:— appoint(1), appointed(4), appoints(1), escorted(1), made(5), makes(1), put...in charge(4), put in charge(3), render(1), set(1). (NASB)
The use of this word more clearly explains that the process was an appointing not an electing by group vote. This distinction has caused much discussion, debate and differences among believers through the centuries. Since there is not a single place where the process of selecting elders is given in the New Testament it is a matter of pulling together teaching from different Biblical books and attempting to understand the process.
The following quote summarizes the key idea from the words used for ‘appoint’ in the Scriptures:
Renn’s Expository Dict. 114 “However, taken overall, the usage of these terms is consistent in both Testaments, in that the process of “appointing” functions at both the human and divine level in very similar ways. It is God who appoints priests and Levites, for example, for service in the Old Testament; and in the New Testament it is God also who appoints pastors and elders in the church through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ.”
Now, let’s get to the key passages in the NT on spiritual leadership in the local church. While the process may not be as definitive as we would like it, the criteria given for identifying those prepared for spiritual leadership is clear and specific.
27. Read 1 Timothy 3:1-7. List the character traits evident in an elder. Is there anything that surprises you? Is there anything in this list that is more important than the rest of the list? (We will discuss the different terms used in 1 Timothy 3:1 for this position a little later)
28. Read Titus 1:5-9. List the character traits evident in an elder in this passage. How do the two passages compare? How do they contrast?
29. List any questions you have about these two passages.
30. Read 1 Peter 5:1-4. What attitudes are expected of an elder?
31. Read Acts 20:17-38. How does this passage help you understand the role of elder?
32. Finally, read 1 Thessalonians 5:12,13 and Hebrews 13:7,17. What do these verses say about the attitude that members of a local church must have toward the elders?
Now, let’s look at the different terms used for the spiritual leaders of the church. First, there is the term ‘elder’ which is translated from the term ‘presbuteros’. You will notice the similarity to the English word, Presbyterian. Then, there is term ‘overseer’ or ‘bishop’ which is translated from the word ‘episkope’. Finally, there is the word ‘pastor’ which is translated from the word ‘poimen’.
Without getting too detailed in our study there are two passages of Scripture that help to clarify how these terms fit together.
In Acts 20:17, 28 all three of these terms are used. In Acts 20:17 elder/presbuteros is used to describe the leaders of Ephesus called to meet Paul at Miletus. In Acts 20:20 term overseer/bishop/episkope is used and the word shepherd/pastor/poimen is used.
Paul exhorts the elders/bishops/overseers to carry out the responsibility of shepherding/pastoring the flock of God bought with Christ’s blood. All three terms refer to the same group of leaders. Two terms are used for the position or role (elder/bishop) and one term is used for the activity or responsibilities of the position (shepherd/pastor). Notice that the term pastor here is a verb not a noun. It is the action to be taken by the elders not a position.
In 1 Peter 5:1,2 the same three words are used with one difference. Peter addresses the elders (presbuteros) and exhorts them to shepherd/pastor (poimen) the flock of God by exercising oversight (episkope). The same group of leaders are addressed in this passage by Peter as Paul was addressing in Acts 20 and they are told both to shepherd and exercise oversight (here is the difference between the two passages; in Acts 20:28 the word, episkope, was a noun describing the position but here it is a verb describing the activity or responsibility).
The point is that the elder is the primary term that is used consistently for those men who are in spiritual leadership in the local church. Their responsibilities are to oversee the spiritual work of the church and to shepherd the believers (this is a study in itself).
This means that the church did not have a focus on one man as the leader of the church. There are always elders in each of the churches.
33. Some churches have separate leadership responsibilities for pastors/elders and deacons. The idea for the role of deacon comes from two passages of Scripture. Read Acts 6:1-6. What problem had arisen in this church? How did this church deal with this issue?
34. What was the difference in the responsibilities of the apostles and those men chosen to assist the widows?
35. What qualifications did these men need to have to fill this task?
36. The term ‘serve’ in verse 3 is diakonew which often is translated ‘to minister’ or
‘to serve’ Read 1 Timothy 3:8-13. What qualifications are required for the role of deacon?
37. You will have noticed that in the middle of the qualifications for deacons there is one verse that refers to women. This verse has been the basis for much discussion within evangelical churches. Some understand this to be the wives of deacons while others view this as a separate leadership responsibility called deaconess. From the way this passage is written, what conclusions would you draw from it?
[Note: A personal comment: one of objectives I have as a Bible teacher is to assist every believer to understand how to read and study the Scriptures for themselves so they can come to Biblical convictions. When I see the possibility for differences from issues like this I, personally, can understand both viewpoints but I still believe it is important to come a position myself. I would encourage you to do the same.]