According to the Bible, there should always be a plurality of apostles, prophets, and elders. After calling His disciples, the Lord appointed twelve apostles (Matt. 10:2). Whenever the Lord sent out His disciples, He sent them two by two (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1). The Lord never sent out an apostle alone. In Acts 13:2 Paul and Barnabas were sent out together as apostles. There is always a plurality in the apostleship. The same is true of the prophets and elders. There should always be several elders in a local church. The plurality in the apostleship, the prophethood, and the eldership is crucial because it helps prevent anyone from becoming a king among the churches.
There was no permanent leadership among the early apostles. Peter took the lead in Acts 2:14, but in 15:13 James rose up to take the lead. This record shows that Peter was not the permanent, unique, official, or organizational leader. Instead, he was only a momentary leader; later, James became another momentary leader. If there is one apostle, prophet, or elder above the others, that one is a king, which is an insult to Christ’s headship and the kingship.
The Lord has shown us that God does not want to have a human king in His administration. There was a king in the Old Testament, but that was against God’s desire. Thus, there is no king among God’s people in the New Testament age. It was the degradation among the children of Israel in the Old Testament that caused a king to come in. The desire of the children of Israel for a king was according to the custom of the nations, which are abominable in the eyes of God. We must be impressed that we should not have a king. We welcome the apostles, prophets, and elders, but we have only one king, who is our God, Savior, and Lord.
We must see this principle and stand against anyone becoming a king among the local churches. The basic factor in God’s administration today is the elders. The apostles and prophets do many things, but the basic constitution of God’s administration is the elders. It is the elders who directly administrate. Because God desires to keep the headship and kingship absolutely and uniquely for Himself, He needs a group of elders in each locality who participate in His administration without offending His headship.
In the Old Testament the first apostle was Moses. Following Moses, many were raised up to speak for God. These were prophets, God’s spokesmen. Eventually, the Lord Jesus came as the Apostle and the Prophet (Heb. 3:1; Deut. 18:15, 18). Christ is the Apostle who is sent with God’s authority and the Prophet who speaks for God. Christ initially appointed and sent out twelve of His own apostles. After Pentecost He sent many more, including Paul. Among these apostles some were also prophets. These early apostles appointed elders in the local churches they established (Acts 14:23). Since that time God’s administration among His people has been primarily with the elders.
There should be no king among God’s people in the churches today. The elders in every local church should be diligent in directly seeking the Lord for everything. For every need they should pray, fellowship, and wait on the Lord to receive direction, guidance, and leading directly from Him.
On the one hand, the elders should never think that because they are capable, they do not need help from the other churches or anyone outside their locality. Such pride is wrong. On the other hand, neither should they be open to everyone without discernment and ask for help from the other churches and servants of the Lord every time a need arises, in order to avoid bearing any burdens. This is also wrong. We need to be humble and open to others, yet we also must be diligent and not always rely on others’ help. Therefore, whenever a need arises, we should first pray in order to seek the Lord directly. After we pray, the Lord may send someone to give us some extraordinary help or open the fellowship so that we receive help from other churches, but ordinarily we must take care of our own local affairs.
No matter how weak certain persons may be, when they are married and have a family, they find a way to take care of their family. Similarly, all the elders must learn to take care of their own localities. They should not always look to others for help but must be diligent and faithful and must open directly to the Lord in prayer. Nothing is better than our direct contact with the Lord. If the elders pray, seek the Lord, and wait on Him, the help will often come directly from the Lord.
We need to change our attitude, because our idleness, laziness, and habit of relying on others open the door for a king to come in, not only among a group of churches but also locally. The elders in a locality should not allow one elder to become a king. Every elder must exercise discernment and pray to seek the Lord’s leading while respecting the Lord’s leading in the other elders. The elders must be diligent, active, and faithful to the Lord, not expecting someone else to do everything for them for the sake of convenience. To dominate is wrong, and to be lazy is also wrong. If all the elders are exercised in taking the lead, there will be no opening for anyone to become a king. To have a king is contrary to God’s administration. Among His people today, God desires to have a plurality of elders. This will allow God’s economy to be carried out yet avoid offending God’s headship.