Topic(s): Church, Bible Authority, God's Will

Bob Prichard

Jesus promised that He would build His church, saying “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The heavenly Father “hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23). Christ is the only Head of the church, which is His body. There is no room for any human authority over the church, and the only organization of the church specified in scripture is that of the local congregation. There is no biblical authority for any organization above the local congregation, such as a convention, association or synod.

Christ chose the apostles to direct the church in the beginning, and sent them forth with the promise that “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). That they raised the dead, healed the sick and did other miracles demonstrated that they were from God. The apostles had no successors. There are no apostles today, nor anyone to stand in their place to speak authoritatively to the church.

The system that God established to oversee the work of the church as the apostles died out was one that allowed each congregation to be self-governed and independent. Each congregation was to be overseen by men that scripture refers to as elders, bishops, pastors or overseers. The number of elders in each congregation is always plural in the New Testament. There is no example of an elder or pastor overseeing a congregation alone. Paul “sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church” (Acts 20:17). The deacons are special servants who work under the authority of the bishops, or elders. Paul addressed his Philippian letter to “the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons” (Philippians 1:1). Each congregation also had a plurality of deacons. Men such as Stephen, functioning as deacons, though not specifically called deacons, are first mentioned in Acts 6:1-6.

Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus give very specific qualifications for the elders and deacons. 1 Timothy 3 gives both positive and negative qualifications for the bishops (or elders) and deacons. Paul writes, “A bishop then must be blameless, . . . ” (1 Timothy 3:2-4). These qualifications are not optional. “A bishop then must be.” Concerning the deacons, he writes, “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre” (1 Timothy 3:8).
The primary mission of the preacher, or evangelist, is to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:2). Timothy was not a pastor, or bishop, but an evangelist. He preached the word, and helped the congregations appoint qualified men to serve as elders.

There is no reason for congregations to be organized today any differently than hey were in the first century, with elders overseeing the work of the church, with deacons and evangelists serving under their guidance. This is God’s pattern.