Among the building members in the Body of Christ there should be no rank. In Matthew 23:10 the Lord Jesus said, “Neither be called leaders, because One is your Leader, the Christ.” We all are brothers in the Lord, and there should be no leader among us. The Lord’s clear word is that none of us should be called the leader, for He Himself is our unique Leader.
It is quite significant that in 1 Corinthians 12:28 Paul places “helps” before “governments.” The helps refer to the service of the deacons, whereas governments denote the function of the elders. In this verse Paul purposely places the service of the deacons ahead of the function of the elders. He may have done this to impress the Corinthians with the fact that in the church there should be no concept of rank. We should not regard the governing of the elders as higher than the service of the deacons.
We have seen that in Ephesians 3 Paul said that he had been given the stewardship of the grace of God. He mentioned this with the intention of helping the saints to realize that they all are to be stewards of God’s grace. The same thought is found in 1 Peter 4:10: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Thus, all the saints, not just the apostles, should be stewards. The elders should not place themselves in a special category, but they should consider themselves stewards, just as all the saints are stewards.
In 1 Peter 5:3 Peter encouraged the elders not to lord it over the church as if the church were their private possession. The church is the Body of Christ; it is not the personal property of the elders. The elders, therefore, should not regard the church as their own possession. However, in certain places I have known elders who had such an attitude. They kept the church in their “pocket” as their possession and conducted themselves as if they were the “boss.” Such an attitude is utterly wrong. The elders must remember that they are stewards among a company of stewards.
As stewards, the elders should set an example for the saints to follow. In reading the Word, in prayer, in offering themselves to the Lord, in the growth in life, in the practical service of the church, and in all other things as well, they should be examples. The elders are not lords or kings; they are slaves, servants. They are also stewards of the grace of God. As such stewards, they should be models for the saints in shepherding, in teaching, and in preaching. If we are all clear about this, then there will be no problem among us as far as leadership is concerned.
Some have asked me whether or not they should submit themselves to the elders in their church. Certainly the saints should be submissive to the elders. In 1 Peter 5:5 Peter says, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.” However, in the very same verse Peter goes on to say, “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility.” This indicates that not only should the younger ones submit to the older ones, but that the older ones should also submit to the younger ones. Both the older ones and the younger ones need to be clothed with humility. For the younger to submit to the elder is somewhat difficult, but for the elder to submit to the younger is even more difficult. Nevertheless, in the church life there should be such a mutual submission.
Others have asked me if the elders have authority. This question springs from the natural concept concerning rank. If we were not under the influence of the natural concept, we would not raise this question. I repeat, in the church there is no such thing as rank. Rather, we all are stewards of the grace of God, and we submit ourselves one to another. If the Lord has placed you in the eldership, you should not be proud. Do not regard yourselves as higher than others, and do not lord it over the church as if the church were your possession. On the contrary, as a leading one, set an example for the saints to follow. When the saints see such examples established for them by the leading ones, they may say, “Lord, thank You for these good examples. We desire to follow them in praying, in reading the Word, in preaching and teaching, and in shepherding the saints.” By the setting of the example and the following of the example, we all shall eventually serve together as stewards of the manifold grace of God. This is the proper church life, where there is no organization, no rank, no hierarchy, and no clergy-laity.
In order for the church to go on in a proper way, there is the need for some brothers to take care of the administrative affairs. But this does not make them high officials with all the other saints as their subordinates. This natural concept must be dropped. There is no place for it in the kingdom of God. In the church life, which is the kingdom of God in a practical way today, we have one King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we all are His subjects.