Vol. XLI September 1, 2009 No. 9

The Divine Pattern for the Lord’s Church (8)

The Care of the

Church of Christ

Tom McLemore

In addition to the first day of the week, the spiritual sacrifices we offer as we assemble on that day, and the mission and message of the church of Christ, a major feature of the divine pattern for the Lord’s church is its care. The one who fulfills the office of the bishop is said to “take care of the church of God” (1 Timothy 3:5). Under this rubric, let us give consideration to what the Lord reveals in his word about how he desires for the care of the church to be accomplished.

The matter of the care of the church is directly related to our previous study in which we considered the mission and message of the church, and the rich imagery we contemplated there serves to illuminate this feature of the divine pattern also. As the church is the body of Christ (as well as his bride), so Christ is its head. As the church is the flock of Christ, so Christ is its chief shepherd. Christ is the primary source of care when it comes to the church. As a man nourishes and cherishes his own body and a bridegroom nourishes and cherishes his bride, so Christ nourishes and cherishes the church (Ephesians 5:29). An additional concept that is pertinent here is Christ as “Shepherd and Bishop (poimena kai episkopon) of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). As we shall see, the provision which Christ has made for certain ones from among his people to care for his church has several parallels to his own relationship to it.

A serious mistake was made in thinking that the church could have an earthly head, which is how the Roman church views the pope. There is neither mention made in the New Testament of such a position, nor is there provision made for any apostolic succession, such as that upon which the pope’s claim rests.

According to the New Testament, the body or flock of God was manifested in local assemblies of those whom God had added to the church in the process of saving them. The New Testament is replete with references to those local assemblies which are too numerous to list here. However, we are given explicit notice of how Christ saw to the care of some these assemblies. For instance, Paul wrote about the qualifications of bishops and deacons for the church in Ephesus (1 Timothy 3). In Miletus, he met with such men from the Ephesian church (Acts 20). As he addressed the church at Philippi, he wrote “to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons” (Philippians 1:1). As the explicit practical matters concerning which Paul wrote to a particular congregation are said to have been uniform among all the churches of the saints (1 Corinthians 7:17; 14:33), we may assume that such is the case with respect to the means Christ set in place for the care of his church. The validity of such an assumption is verified by the clear statement of the practice of Paul and his companions as the Lord created assemblies of the saved by means of the preaching of the gospel. “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23, emphasis added). Note that every passage mentions a group of people in these functions, rather than just one (more on this below).

Since the word “elders” is used in this verse, this is the place to clarify the terminology used to describe those in whose charge Christ has placed the care of his church, according to the New Testament. “Elders” (presbyteroi) means “older.” “Bishops” (episcopoi) means “overseers.” “Pastors” (poimenas) means “shepherds.” These three terms describe the same office. A superb passage for understanding this is Acts 20. In verse 17, we are told that “from Miletus [Paul] sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders (presbyterous) of the church to meet him.” Then, in verse 28 when he addresses them, he says, “Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopous, often translated “bishops”), to shepherd (poimainein, which means “to tend” or “to pastor”) the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.” Certain protestant denominations identify themselves according to an erroneous distinction between episkopous and presbyterous. Rather than being two distinct forms of church government, they describe two characteristics of those who are entrusted with the care of the church, namely, that they are older men who exercise the oversight.

Further evidence of misunderstanding lies in the common denominational practice of referring to the preacher as “pastor.” For one thing, the evangelist is another functionary in the church about which you read in the New Testament, but his work is to preach the gospel, in distinction from pastors, who are also overseers and elders, as we have seen, and as Ephesians 4:11 indicates clearly: “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers...” Since “pastors,” “elders,” and “bishops” are terms for the same functionaries, the idea of a singular “pastor” of a local assembly of saints just does not fit the pattern we have seen. In every case, there was a group of pastors/elders/bishops or none at all.

While we are considering the evangelist, we would do well to understand that the evangelist is not distinct from the minister. A comparison of 1Timothy 4:6 and 2 Timothy 4:5 (both addressed to the same individual) reveals that in doing the work of an evangelist, one makes full proof of his ministry, and one is also a good minister of Jesus Christ. This seems to emphasize that the way for Timothy to be a good servant (the meaning of “minister”) of Christ is to fulfill his service to the church by doing the work of preaching the gospel.

In this age in which most have taken for granted the liberation of women in every sphere of life, it is necessary to emphasize that there is absolutely no authority in the New Testament for women’s serving as pastors/elders/bishops. Only one who has been a husband (thus a male) may qualify to serve in this capacity (1 Timothy 3:2). Since only one who is “an apt teacher” (1 Timothy 3:2) may fill it, Paul’s clear prohibition of women’s teaching men (1 Timothy 2:12) implies that only men are eligible for the office. Furthermore, since it is not permissible for a woman to have authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12), women are not eligible to be bishops (overseers). Please note that teaching is so central to the task of bishops/elders/pastors that it may be that “pastors and teachers” in Ephesians 4:11 should be understood as referring to one functionary with a dual emphasis.

In addition to elders/bishops/pastors, there is also a group of men whose function is to provide service, namely the deacons. The word deacon means “servant.” The same observation concerning gender applies to deacons (diakonous), as the deacon must have been a husband (1 Timothy 3:12). Although the term “deacon” does not occur in Acts 6, the appointment and work of the seven described there may correspond to the function of the deacons.

If we may summarize what we have considered, the divine pattern for care of the Lord’s church is as follows. Today the Lord cares for his church through mature, qualified men who oversee and tend the local assembly of the saved. He does this primarily through their teaching. They, aided by the evangelists and deacons, function after the model of Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, and the members of the local assemblies submit to their care and esteem them in love for their work’s sake (cf. 1 Peter 5:1-5; Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 13). With respect to the care of the Lord’s church, this is our pattern, and when we are functioning accordingly, Christ is pleased to dwell among us and to work with us and through us in caring for his church (Matthew 18:18-20; 28:18-20).

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