I hope that we can take some time to pray-read the verses in the Scripture reading at the beginning of each chapter (especially chapters one and two), so that we can be deeply impressed with them. I believe that these verses are very revealing and enlightening. If we are deeply impressed with them, we will see what the real church life is. These verses can convey to us a complete and clear vision of the church.
In Matthew 20 and 23, the Lord Jesus told us clearly that among His disciples there should not be any kind of human rule or human position. Although the Epistles reveal that the elders are the leading ones in the churches (Heb. 13:7, 17, 24), they are not taking the lead according to the human, worldly way. The elders are not leaders in a positional or hierarchical sense. They have to be the examples, taking the lead to follow the Lord's way, and they should not exercise any lordship over the church. This is clearly taught in 1 Peter 5:1-3 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7. We should not be under the influence of the worldly understanding when we talk about leadership in the church. In the world the leaders have authority over others and rule over others. In the churches, the elders are the leading ones, but they are not rulers. They should be examples, taking the lead to serve and care for the church so that the believers may follow in the same way.
The elders also function to take oversight. We pointed out in chapter one that the Greek word for overseer is episkopos. Epi means over and skopos means seer, implying view or sight. The elders should function to look into the situation of the church with an overview. Perhaps some in the church would go astray or would bring in sinful, worldly things that would insult the Lord. Then the elders have to do something to keep the church in the Lord's way. We should not consider the elders as worldly rulers. They are only the examples, taking the lead to follow the Lord's way, and the saints should follow their example. The elders are also overseers who take the oversight in the church. They are watching to keep anything sinful or idolatrous from being brought into the church.
I want to stress that there should not be any rank or position in the church. Any hierarchy in the church is abominable to the Lord. It is a shame that those in the Catholic Church call their priests "father." In Matthew 23:9-10 the Lord said, "And do not call anyone your father on the earth; for One is your Father, He who is in the heavens. Neither be called leaders, because One is your Leader, the Christ." If we want to be great, we should be a servant, a bond slave (v. 11). The greatest one among us is our slave. Are we willing to be slaves to the brothers and sisters? We need to be slaves, serving the brothers and sisters and ministering Christ to them. Matthew 20:25-28 and 23:8-12 are very important portions of the Word. Based upon these two portions of the Word, there is no ground for any kind of hierarchy or clergy in the church. The Lord said that we are all brothers (23:8).