In Matthew 23:8 the Lord said, “Do not be called Rabbi, for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.” Acts 5:31 says, “This One God has exalted to His right hand as Leader and Savior.” Christ is our one Teacher and Leader. In the New Testament age God would not allow His people to have a single, unique leader among men. There was not one apostle but twelve apostles. Besides the twelve, there were other apostles, such as Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy. Moreover, in each local church there should not be only one unique elder. In every local church the eldership should be plural. The plurality of the eldership is crucial.
The Lord Jesus originally appointed the twelve apostles (Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13). In every record of the names of the twelve apostles in the four Gospels, Peter’s name always stands as the first (Matt. 10:2; Mark 3:16; Luke 6:14). Even in Acts 1:13 Peter’s name was first. For this reason, the Catholic Church says that Peter is the successor, the representative, of Christ, and they claim that Peter was the first pope. However, the full record in the New Testament reveals that although Peter was first, he was not an official first or a permanent first.
The Catholic Church claims that Peter’s name always stands first in the New Testament, but Galatians 2:9 mentions “James and Cephas [Peter] and John.” Therefore, at least one verse in the New Testament ranks Peter second. In Galatians Peter was no longer first. Peter became second, and James became first. Furthermore, Acts 21:17-18 says, “When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly. And on the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.” When Paul went to Jerusalem, he did not go to Peter but to James. Although Peter was one of the elders in Jerusalem (1 Pet. 5:1), James was the only elder named in Acts 21:18, and Peter was included in “all the elders.” This indicates that at that time the leading one was not Peter but James.
In Acts 15 there was a conference among the elders and the apostles. Verses 6 and 7 say, “The apostles and the elders were gathered together to see about this matter. And when much discussion had taken place, Peter rose up and said to them...” Then verse 12 says, “All the multitude became silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul relating all the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.” Thus, Peter gave a word, and then Barnabas and Paul gave a word. Verse 13 continues, “When they finished speaking, James answered, saying, Men, brothers, listen to me.” In verse 19 James said, “Therefore I judge that we do not harass those from the Gentiles who are turning to God.” From these verses we can see that the final word at the end of the conference was given not by Peter but by James. In human terms, James presided over that conference and gave the concluding word because at that time he was taking the lead.
We may wonder why Peter was no longer in the lead in Acts 15. On the day of Pentecost, Peter was like a lion (2:14), but in Galatians 2 he was like a chicken. For the Jews to eat with the Gentiles was a violation of their Mosaic Law, yet Peter was bold to eat with the Gentile believers. However, when some came down from Jerusalem, Peter shrank back and separated himself from the Gentile believers (v. 12). Peter’s actions were contrary to the truth of the gospel. The truth of the gospel in the New Testament is that the middle wall of partition has been broken down by the cross of Christ; consequently, there is no separation between the Jews and the Gentiles (Eph. 2:14). Paul said in Galatians 2:11 and 14, “When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned...When I saw that they were not walking in a straightforward way in relation to the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like the Jews?” From this we can see that although Peter was bold and strong on the day of Pentecost, he later became weak.
When Peter lost his spiritual capacity, James rose up. This reveals that the leadership among God’s people in the New Testament age is not official, permanent, or organizational; rather, it depends on the present spiritual capacity. When Peter’s spiritual capacity was high, he took the lead. When his spiritual capacity became low, he lost the lead. In the Catholic Church, however, the leadership is official, permanent, and organizational. When a pope dies, another pope is elected. The office of the pope is official, permanent, and organizational. In contrast, on the day of Pentecost Peter’s leadership was not official, permanent, or organizational but was dependent on his spiritual capacity. God does not desire to have permanent leaders in the New Testament age, for such leaders are an insult to the headship of Christ.