Why do you think there is so often such a blind spot that insists that elders MUST HAVE authority when there is nary a word in the NT about such a thing???
Amazed and amused and saddened into seriousness
Grizz,
As I said in my first post of this series, I’d get to Jesus last — to properly emphasis the importance of his words. That’ll be tomorrow morning.
Regarding authority, let me make two points.
First, a verse doesn’t have to say “authority” to be about authority. It could also say, for example, “submit” or even “obey.”
(Heb 13:17 ESV) 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Second, the text says quite a lot about authority. For instance, Paul told Titus,
(Tit 2:15 ESV) 15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
“All authority”? Really? That sounds a lot like —
(Mat 28:18 ESV) 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Is this a contradiction? The Titus passage uses ἐπιταγῆς· (epitagēs), meaning “an injunction, mandate, command,” according to Thayer’s. It’s used by Paul of the commandments of God himself!
(Rom 16:26 ESV) but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith–
The natural conclusion is that, while Jesus has all ultimate authority, he delegates authority to others — including the evangelists, such as Titus, and the apostles —
(2Co 10:8 ESV) For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed.
(2Co 13:10 ESV) For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.
Therefore, it’s no objection to the elders having authority that Jesus has all authority. Jesus chooses to exercise some of his authority through gifted men.
Moreover, Paul makes it clear that the authority delegated to the apostles may be used in “severe” ways — even though the authority is given to build up the church, not to tear it down. And therefore the apostles are servant-leaders, because they use their authority to serve the church, not themselves!
If Jesus’ words mean that elders have no authority over anyone, then Paul and Titus had no authority either, as they were just as subject to Jesus’ words as are elders.
(I realize that Grizz’s comment does not argue that Jesus is the only one with authority, but others have made that argument, and the arguments intertwine.)
Now, as the authority of the apostles and evangelists is clear, we might properly ask whether God intended for there to be anyone with authority in the third generation of the church and later. Does it require a special measure of inspiration to have authority? Well, again, we go to the text itself.
In addition to the texts previously mentioned, consider —
(Psa 23:1 ESV) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Surely, the several references to elders as “shepherds” is intended to mean that elders should shepherd the flock after the model of the Great Shepherd.
Notice the references to “rod” and “staff.” This is explained in Barnes Notes thusly —
Thy rod and thy staff – It may not be easy to mark the difference between these two words; but they would seem probably to refer, the latter to the “staff” which the shepherd used in walking, and the former to the “crook” which a shepherd used for guiding his flock. The image is that of a shepherd in attendance on his flock, with a staff on which he leans with one hand; in the other hand the “crook” or rod which was the symbol of his office. Either of these also might be used to guard the flock, or to drive off the enemies of the flock. The “crook” is said (see Rosenmuller, in loc.) to have been used to seize the legs of the sheep or goats when they were disposed to run away, and thus to keep them with the flock. “The shepherd invariably carries a rod or staff with him when he goes forth to feed his flock. It is often bent or hooked at one end, which gave rise to the shepherd’s crook in the hand of the Christian bishop. With this staff he rules and guides the flock to their green pastures, and defends them from their enemies. With it also he corrects them when disobedient, and brings them back when wandering.”
In short, these tools of the shepherding trade involve both protection, guidance, and discipline. The sheep don’t get to make their own decisions — not when it comes to whether to follow where the shepherd wants to lead. They are required to follow the shepherd, because they’ll die in the desert if they do not.
That the staff and rod are used of discipline (as well as protection and guidance, of course) is clear from —
(Isa 9:4 ESV) 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
(Isa 10:5 ESV) 5 Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!
(Isa 10:24 ESV) 24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did.
— which refer, of course, to an ungodly use of these tools. But the passages tell us that “rod” and “staff” weren’t limited to protection. The comfort the sheep receive from a rod and staff includes the comfort of discipline.
David speaks ironically in Psalm 23. Although God disciplines him, he trusts God to do so for his own good, and so he finds comfort.
(Psa 94:12-13 ESV) 12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, 13 to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
James E. Smith, in The Wisdom Literature and Psalms (1995), comments,
It is the rod or club with which he defends his sheep from attack; and the staff with which he draws the straying sheep back to safety.
Notice that the sheep are compelled to return. The shepherd’s crook is not a mere suggestion — it’s a hook used to draw the sheep back to safety — even against its will!
Returning to Psalm 23, notice that the Good Shepherd “makes” the sheep lie down (Hiphil voice in Hebrew). He doesn’t merely recommend. Yes, he also “leads,” but the sheep must follow the shepherd.
Now — and this is important — the words of Jesus do indeed place severe constraints on the authority of an elder (or even an apostle!). But they don’t eliminate all authority. I’ll discuss some of the limitations tomorrow.
I have this theory. I’m not surprised that many readers are outraged at the thought that some group of elders might actually have honest-to-God authority over them. After all, many a church has truly awful elders. The Churches of Christ have often ordained unqualified men, and the results have been truly horrendous at times.
Moreover, we live in a culture steeped in individualism. Submission and obedience do not come easily to us. We prefer individual autonomy. And therefore we often struggle to keep even the commitments we make voluntarily, and resent efforts to keep us in step with the flock and its leaders. We take no comfort in the shepherd’s crook, because we think our path is our path and not the business of the shepherd’s.
Ask any elder what happens when he gently and lovingly speaks to a mother about her parenting. He’ll be told in no uncertain terms that how she raises her child is none of his business! Many want the benefits of church membership but will have little to do with the submission the Bible insists on.
The solution to this problem is not to read the authority of elders out of the Bible, turning them into merely a group of wise suggesters. That is simply not what the words of the text say.
Rather, as a community discipline, we must learn to submit to one another. Indeed, Ephesians 5:18-21 says,
(Eph 5:18-21 ESV) 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
To be filled with the Spirit — which surely means (among other things) to become closer to God — we must learn submission to our brothers and sisters, indeed, to the church. We do this out of reverence for Christ, because he is the ultimate example of submission.
So that a congregation isn’t left in chaos, God equips certain of our members to be administrators, governments, leaders, shepherds, overseers, elders, and leaders. We are instructed to submit to and obey these people.
But what if they are bad, incompetent, or even ungodly elders? Or what if we disagree with their decisions? Well, posts on those questions are coming. But it is clear from the passages quoted here and in earlier posts that the authority of an elder must be exercised for the benefit of the sheep. The shepherd doesn’t get to eat mutton.
Our poor job of selecting elders makes it very hard to teach the text. But the solution isn’t to weaken the leaders. It’s to discern the work of the Spirit more accurately and select better leaders. And we need to do a better job of training the men we have. After all, many an elder errs simply for lack of instruction.
Watch a video of a shepherd leading a flock of sheep and goats. The sheep huddle closely behind the shepherd, following each step. The goats roam in front of, behind, and around — obviously figuring they can find a better path than the shepherd’s. They seem hardwired to refuse to follow the shepherd. They are a stubborn species.
But we know how that story ends.
Don’t be a goat.
