Elders

role, work & Qualifications

The Role of Elders


Throughout the New Testament, the apostles used three different Greek words to refer to elders in the Lord's church. Each word describes a different aspect of the elder's role:

presbuteros

  • Translation: Presbyter, Elder.
  • Meaning: A man of maturity or age.
  • Scriptures: Acts 14:23; 15:2-6,22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18; 1 Timothy 5:17,19; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; 1 Peter 5:1,5.

episkopos

  • Translation: Overseer, Bishop, Superintendent, Guardian.
  • Meaning: A man charged with the duty of seeing that things to be done by others are done rightly; suggests authority.
  • Scriptures: Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7.

poimen

  • Translation: Pastor, Shepherd.
  • Meaning: A man to whose care and control others have committed themselves.
  • Scriptures: Ephesians 4:11

The Work of Elders



The New Testament mentions seven specific tasks in which elders should engage as they oversee and shepherd the local congregation of the Lord's church:


  1. TEACH - Timothy 3:2
  2. PROTECT - Acts 20:28, Titus 1:9, Hebrews 13:17
  3. LEAD - 1 Timothy 5:17, 1 Peter 5:1-5
  4. MINISTER TO THE SICK - James 5:14-15
  5. SHEPHERD THE FLOCK - Luke 15:3-7, 1 Peter 5:1-5
  6. DISCIPLINE - Titus 1:9-11
  7. MATURE THE SAINTS - Ephesians 4:11-16

The Qualifications of Elders



In 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9, the apostle Paul spells out the kind of men that God wants serving as elders in the church. Those who serve the Lord's church as elders should be:


  1. ABOVE REPROACH (UPRIGHT, HOLY)
  2. THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE
  3. SOBER-MINDED
  4. SELF-CONTROLLED (DISCIPLINED)
  5. RESPECTABLE
  6. HOSPITABLE
  7. ABLE TO TEACH (GIVE INSTRUCTION IN SOUND DOCTRINE, REBUKE THOSE WHO CONTRADICT IT)
  8. NOT A DRUNKARD
  9. NOT VIOLENT
  10. GENTLE
  11. NOT QUARRELSOME
  12. NOT A LOVER OF MONEY (NOT GREEDY FOR GAIN)
  13. MANAGES HIS HOUSEHOLD WELL, WITH DIGNITY
  14. His children are submissive (not insubordinate)
  15. His children are believers
  16. His children are not open to the charge of debauchery
  17. NOT A RECENT CONVERT
  18. WELL THOUGHT OF BY THOSE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
  19. NOT ARROGANT
  20. NOT QUICK-TEMPERED
  21. A LOVER OF GOOD
  22. HOLDS FIRM TO GOD'S WORD

CREDITS:


Borrowed and adapted from "The Role, Work, and Qualifications of Elders" by Mike Mazzalongo for BibleTalk.tv. (BibleTalk.tv materials are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. The contents of this page are made available under the same license.)


Greek translations and meanings from Mike Mazzalongo (see above) and Bible Study Tools entries for Presbuteros, Episkopos, and Poimen.