The Office of an Elder

Mike Johnson

The Bible teaches that a local congregation is to have certain men overseeing them called “elders.”  Acts 14:23 speaks of the appointment of elders in every church.  It says, “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they believed.”

There are various other terms used in God’s Word to refer to elders.  An elder is also called a bishop.  Titus 2:5, 7 uses the terms “elder” and “bishop” interchangeably.  Acts 20:17, 28 uses the words “elder” and “overseer” interchangeably.  The words “pastor,” which occurs in Ephesians 4:11, is another name for an elder.  We know this because the same word (in its verb form) in the original Greek language occurs in Acts 20:28 and I Peter 5:2, where the translation is “shepherd” (NKJV), and it describes in these passages what an elder is to do.  The term “pastor” is not used in the Scriptures to refer to one who preaches unless that person is also an elder.  Therefore, it would be incorrect to call a person a pastor simply because he preaches. Thus, terms like elder, pastor, bishop, and overseer are interchangeable terms.

The Bible also teaches that an elder must meet specific qualifications, found in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.  To hold the office of an elder, for example, a person must be sober, blameless, apt to teach, and so forth. (Note the full list in the two texts above.)  Sometimes young men from a particular denomination go to various homes by twos seeking to teach people.  They call themselves “elders.”  Do they meet the qualifications?  Generally, these people do not meet the requirements of being “the husband of one wife” (I Tim. 3:2) as they are not married. Further, they do not have “faithful children” (Tit. 1:6).  They usually do not have children at all.

Elders have certain functions also.  They are to take heed to, oversee, and feed the congregation–the church of God (Acts 20:28).  They are to rule the church (I Tim. 5:17), watch against false teachers (Acts 20:20-29), and admonish the church (Thess. 5:12).

The Scriptures also teach there is always to be a plurality of elders in each congregation (Acts 14:23) — never just one. Further, no Bible authority exists for elders ruling a flock where they are not members.  Elders, instead, are to feed the flock among them (I Pet. 5:2).  The denominational bishop of today is not in God’s Word.  Each congregation is to be autonomous and independent.  Sadly, men today have changed God’s Word on the church’s government (Rev. 22:18-19).  We must respect God’s teaching on this subject as well as every other matter.