Not only are all the members equal, but also all the local churches are equal, regardless of their size. The church that has the most members is not the head church. Regardless of how small a local church may be, it has the same status as the biggest church. There are no “parent” or “children” churches. All the churches have the same standing.
The churches should not be organized into one unit. In other words, they should not be united in one organization. If this occurs, the churches will immediately become an organization and form a hierarchy with a leader at the top, which will insult the headship of Christ. In each local church there is no head, and among all the churches there is no organization, for this would lead to a hierarchy with a head. Any kind of organization with a head would insult the headship of Christ.
In the New Testament there are different regions of the work. For instance, Peter worked among the Jews, and Paul worked in the Gentile world. These were two different regions of the work. The New Testament shows that all the regions of the work have the same standing. Many Bible students have tried to discover whether Peter’s work or Paul’s work was higher, but no one can tell because there is no organization or rank in the Lord’s work. The apostles’ work among the Jews and the Gentiles was never organized into one work. It is appealing on a human level to merge two regions of work into one, but such a merger would result in a hierarchy. Therefore, there is no such merger in the New Testament.
To summarize, in every local church there is not a head; rather, there are several elders with no permanent leader. Among the churches there is no organization, for this would lead to a hierarchy with a head other than Christ. Finally, among the regions of the work there is no merged work, which also would lead to a hierarchy and produce a head other than Christ. Among God’s people there is only one Head—Christ. This constitution keeps all the saints, all the churches, and all the regions of the work in direct contact with the Lord. Thus, there is no need of any kind of intermediary. This is the spiritual way, the way of life that keeps every believer, local church, and region of the work in life and without any organization or human leadership.
That there is no organization or human leadership in a local church does not mean that there are no leading ones in a local church. The elders are the leading ones. Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey the ones leading you and submit to them.” Notice that this verse does not say that the saints should obey the one leader. Besides the elders, among the churches there are the apostles. In the New Testament, when functioning in their capacity, the apostles have the position to say a word according to God’s economy to the churches, and the churches need to listen to their word. On the one hand, there is no leadership in the church; on the other hand, there are leading ones in the local churches whom the saints need to obey, and there are apostles among the churches whose word, which is according to God’s economy, the churches need to receive. This keeps the churches locally and universally in a good order. This is the constitution of the church that respects the headship of Christ to the uttermost.
Question: If an elder in a church decides to lead the saints into something that some do not feel is the Lord’s leading, perhaps something worldly, what should the saints do?
Answer: Every local church has more than one elder. It is easy for one person to be misled in any matter, but it is not easy for a few to be misled together. If at least three or four elders pray and seek the Lord’s leading in a matter, they will not be misled. In every local church the saints should obey the leading ones (Heb. 13:17).
Question: If I go to the Lord and pray about something but do not get an answer, should I go to the elders?
Answer: We all need to have direct contact with the Lord to receive a word directly from the Lord. This is the basic principle that we all must practice. However, it is often difficult to become clear concerning the Lord’s leading when we pray by ourselves. Therefore, we need to fellowship with other members in the church, including the elders.