Only the apostles have the position and right to appoint elders in the local churches. It is important for us to see this so that we may abandon hierarchy and any kind of organization. In the New Testament we see God’s way to establish the churches and to carry them on. God’s way is that in the universal church there is the one office of apostleship. This apostleship gives the apostles the position and right to appoint the elders for the administration of the local churches.
Acts 14:23 tells us that the apostles “had appointed elders for them in every church.” In Titus 1:5 Paul says, “For this cause I left you in Crete, that you might set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in each city, as I charged you.” We would emphasize the fact that “in each city” here compared with “in every church” in Acts 14:23 indicates that the jurisdiction of a local church is that of the city in which it is located and also that in one city there should be only one church. Because a church always covers the city, to appoint elders in every church is equal to appointing elders in every city. Therefore, to establish elders in every city is to establish elders in every church. If we see this, we shall be preserved, protected, restricted, and kept from making mistakes. In particular, we shall be kept from repeating the tragedy of the hierarchy. We must hate hierarchy and avoid it.
In the local church there are two kinds of offices-the elders and the deacons and deaconesses.
In the church certain brothers serve as elders. In the first local church, the church at Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), there were elders taking care of the government of the church (Acts 11:30; 15:2, 4, 6, 22; 16:4; 21:18). Eventually, elders were appointed in every church. Thus, there were elders in the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17). The New Testament reveals that the elders were not voted in by their congregations, but were appointed by the apostles according to their maturity of life and were charged by the apostles to care for the leadership and the shepherding in the churches.
The elders are overseers in the local church. In Acts 20:28 Paul said to the elders of the church in Ephesus, “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers.” In Philippians 1:1 Paul addresses “the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.” In 1 Timothy 3:1 Paul says, “If anyone aspires to oversight, he desires a good work.” Then in the following verse he begins to describe the qualifications of an overseer. If we compare Acts 20:28 with 20:17, we shall see that the overseers in a local church are the elders. This proves that “overseers” and “elders” are synonymous terms denoting the same persons. The title “elder” denotes a person of maturity, whereas the title “overseer” denotes the function of an elder. To make an overseer a bishop of a district to rule over the elders of various localities in that district is grossly erroneous. This is what Ignatius did. His erroneous teaching gave the ground to rank and brought in the hierarchy. From this erroneous teaching came the hierarchy of bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and the pope.
For the elders to oversee means that they take the oversight, looking diligently to be aware of the situation. This is not a matter of observing who is wrong and who is right, who is doing well and who is doing poorly. Rather, to oversee is mainly a matter of overseeing the need. For example, when a shepherd is overseeing the flock, he is not concerned with who is right and who is wrong. He is concerned with the need of the flock. His oversight is related to protecting the flock, leading the flock, and feeding the flock. The shepherd exercises oversight in order to supply the flock with whatever is needed.
The New Testament uses the word “oversee” regarding the function of the elders, but it does not use the word “rule.” To oversee is to observe the situation, condition, and need for the purpose of taking care of the church with all the saints. Elders, therefore, are not appointed to be rulers exercising authority over others. Ruling over others is ugly and base. The elders should never rule anyone. In the Gospel of Matthew the Lord Jesus said that He is the only Lord and Master and we all are brothers (23:8, 10). This means that the elders, the overseers, are also no more than brothers.
To oversee is not to replace or annul the functions of the saints. Rather, through the proper oversight the elders, the overseers, promote all the functions of each member of the Body. Thus, oversight is absolutely different from hierarchy, which annuls and replaces the functions of the members.
First Peter 5:2 says that the elders should oversee not by way of compulsion, but willingly, according to God. The elders should be willing to take care of others, to look after them, to protect them. They should not be compelled to do this.
By the context of 1 Peter 5 we can see that to oversee does not mean to rule; it does not mean to be a king. In the natural life everyone likes to rule over others. There is no need to compel someone, to force him, to be a ruler. The words “not by way of compulsion” indicate that to oversee is to care for the church, not to rule over it.
As Peter says, the elders should oversee “willingly, according to God.” To oversee according to God means according to God’s nature, desire, way, and glory, not according to man’s preference, interest, and purpose. The elders should not oversee according to their opinion, concept, or likes and dislikes. Instead, they should oversee according to God’s choice, desire, intention, and preference. The elders must oversee the church altogether according to God’s thought, feeling, will, and choice. They must oversee according to God’s likes and dislikes.
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