UMPG: T#009 THE ELDERSHIP ... prescribed by THE CHRIST ... for ALL GOVERNANCES by MAN ... MORE SO ... particularly in ALL these MEN-ORGANIZED churches AROUND!

ELDERS is a collective noun
or a word for reference to

a people doing invariably
any or all of
the six (6) different kinds of

the responsibilities and work

among themselves purposed
by GOD to be HIS images
in the likeness
of HIS AUTHORITY ---

[>>Genesis 1:26-28]

but failing to live up to that,

called-out to attention
for their mistakes

specifically in reference to

being our brothers' keepers

[>>Genesis 4:9]

and get us mutually obligated
to be responsible for
one another's
welfare in our day-to-day
situations.

>>Romans 12:5

Each one has that important
meaning or particular role.

By studying the meaning of
each word, much can
be learned about their roles.

For clarity and
emphasis, theirs are roles
to play in specific situations

involving particular
brothers and sisters

vis-a-vis

issues; theirs are tasks

to take care
while situations
are obtaining in
their midst.

1. ELDERS. The most common word used is elders. It refers to some older persons among the many older people in THE CHURCH.

This refers to a people whose role is that of one older in THE FAITH in THE LORDSHIP & THE CHRISTHOOD of JESUS as well as in years.

Elders are-to-be the more mature and experienced brothers in THE CHURCH; at least, in terms of their BEHAVIORS and WORDS coming out of their mouths.

Not any one of them should be a novice (>>1st Timothy 3:6). Just because a man is an elder in his village does not mean that he can qualify as among the elders in THE CHURCH. He may even be the oldest in THE CHURCH but still not qualify as among the elders thereof. He may even be the first and longest standing therein without being a scriptural elder.

THE BIBLE says that Paul called for the elders of THE CHURCH to gather at Ephesus (>>Acts 20:17).

In several cities, elders were consecrated or prayed for to GOD

for their various responsibilities / roles / tasks in their respective places (>>Titus 1:5).

The word elders show that these men

are older and more mature in THE FAITH.

Their involvements & wise discharge

of the responsibilities / roles / tasks gained for them

the respect which only years of faithfulness to

>>> THE FAITH

in THE LORDSHIP & THE CHRISTHOOD of JESUS can bring.

Respect is to be gained.

It cannot be demanded more so because

elders ~~occupy no~~ position

which the world uses to

demand

respect for them!

2. PRESBYTERS. Another word meaning exactly the same as elders is Presbyters. This is just another word meaning older.

It is found in THE BIBLE only one time, in >>1st Timothy 4:14. It has the same significance as the word elders and should be understood clearly from the above definition.

3. BISHOPS. Another word for elders is Bishops, meaning overseers. It is found in >>1st Timothy 3:1-2, >>Titus 1:7 and >>Philippians 1:1.

It is elsewhere used referring to the role JESUS played as the overseer of our souls, (>>1st Peter 2:25) and to the role from which Judas Iscariot fell (>>Acts 1:20).

This word for elders shows the task of overseeing which elders must do. >>1st Peter 5:2 says that they are to have the oversight. This emphasizes that elders themselves do not necessarily do all the tasks of evangelizing and teaching.

But, they do oversee all those tasks. They are to supervise or administer the various responsibilities / undertakings / roles / tasks of THE CHURCH they find themselves among. As all people situations and communities need overseeing, GOD's called-outs have bishops or overseers.

4. OVERSEERS. As seen above, this word means exactly the same as Bishops. It is made of two (2) words: see and over.

Overseeing is the responsibility to look out over THE CHURCH. Overseers watch over the welfare and activities of GOD's people wherever they are.

>>Acts 20:28 says that The Holy Spirit has made the elders of THE CHURCH in Ephesus overseers of The Flock. They were to take heed to themselves and to The Flock.

It was their collective responsibility to discern false teachings coming:

from both

UNBELIEVERS
(>>verse 29)

and from
FELLOW DISCIPLES

(>>verse 30)

within
THE CHURCH HERSELF.

They ~~cannot~~ oversee if they do not know what perverting The Gospel is all about! They are not complete in their grasp of their responsibilities they are tasked to accomplish ---- if they do not believe:

THE CHURCH can easily be
corrupted by them thru

their own individual
behaviors before their
brethren and of the words

without the necessary biblical
support that come out of
their own mouths.

The word overseers tells of

the various many important

responsibilities / undertakings /

roles / tasks of oversight which

are so necessary and critical

in and for
THE LORD's CHURCH.

5. PASTORS. This word for elders is found only once in THE New COVENANT, in >>Ephesians 4:10 -11

where it is explicit

that it is THE LORD HIMSELF

WHO gives them to us

for equipping us

------ individual saints

for the work of service

to the building up of ourselves

by one another

as The Body of THE CHRIST:

until WE ALL attain
THE UNITY of THE FAITH

and
of THE KNOWLEDGE of

THE SON of GOD

making
us mature individuals

measuring up
to the stature which
belongs
to them of

the fullness
of THE CHRIST.

It is another word meaning shepherds, primarily tigpaka-on!

Spiritual elders over the people of Israel were called pastors (>>Jeremiah 2:8)

tigpakaon og PULONG sa DIOS sa IYANG Katawhan kaniadto!

Woes and curses were pronounced upon those pastors who destroyed and scattered THE LORD's Sheep (>>Jeremiah 23:1-7)

freeing themselves from having to feed them as when they lose track of them.

The word pastor is quite similar to the word pasture.

This further shows the meaning of the shepherd to the sheep relationship

even to getting facilitated between us by THE LORD HIMSELF

and among us as elders to one another from occasion-to-occasion,

the specific situations and
the specific teaching
opportunities

where

they randomly go in and out
[>>John 10:9-10]

just to get the feeding for
maturity

assuredly accomplished
among them.

In DENOMINATIONS NOW(!) WE are with ---

"pastors" do not consider themselves elders!

"They" claim & want to be

and are often undeniably
behaving as superior to

(in terms of "their" facial expressions,

"their" pronouncements and "their" decisions)

"their" members!

and oftentimes even in conflict with some of

"his own" “elders”

since their "pastor"

is not an elder as THE LORD wants of HIS ELDERS!!!!

In THE New COVENANT
however,

pastors are elders
& were always more than
one in every occasion.

6. SHEPHERDS. In writing to the elders, the apostle Peter tells them to feed The Flock they are with.

He then says that when THE CHIEF-SHEPHERD - THE CHRIST shall appear for THE World's ETERNAL JUDGMENT of CONDEMNATION

they shall receive for themselves as one of their rewards

a fadeless crown (>>1st Peter 5:1-4).

This shows that elders
are shepherds
under THE CHRIST---
their CHIEF-SHEPHERD.

The parallelism between elders and shepherds is meaningful.

Shepherds in bible lands were unchangingly interested in the total welfare of their sheep.

They loved and nurtured them as we can learn from >>Psalm 23.

They stayed ahead of them, never driving from behind.

They knew each problem of each animal and loved them, every one of them.

They protected them, fed them and watered them.

Shepherds would suffer great hardships to find a lost sheep

or to keep the whole flock they are with from harm.

These are parts of speech
encompassing

different kinds of particular
responsibilities / work /
roles /
undertakings / tasks

THE LORD JESUS
THE CHRIST

wants of HIS elders
in HIS CHURCH.

The various
kinds of responsibilities,
work, undertakings, roles,
tasks
and reference
names for elders in

THE CHURCH

ought to help give us

--- as part of HIS CHURCH ---

a good understanding of

these men, singly and collectively.

Elders are comprised of individuals

--- acting collectively

even if they don’t know and haven’t met each other --

-- for the work in and of THE CHURCH to be effective

as GOD's subtle vehicle of individualized change

for some in this world

because GOD knows

no presbyter, bishop, overseer, pastor or shepherd

can be adequate to living up

to the purposes and
attainment of

>>Ephesians 4:12-13!

How then are we misunderstanding ELDERS?

1. The six (6) words explained above all refer to the same one man or any number of men.

Many misunderstandings have caused confusions on the subject of elders.

One misunderstanding is overcome

when it is understood that
the six (6) words
refer to the same man

who should always think

he is just one of the many
or to that certain number of men

in THE CHURCH.

In denominations, their "elders" are different from their "~~pastors"~~.

Then, ~~their~~ bishops are different officers also.

But the six (6) words earlier
mentioned above are really

for three (3) roles together
with their respective synonyms.

Elders and Presbyters are two (2) words meaning OLDER ONES.

Overseers and Bishops are two (2) words meaning SUPERINTENDENTS.

and Shepherds and Pastors mean THOSE WHO TEND SHEEP.

Now(!) notice how these three
(3) sets of SYNONYMS

speak commonly of
the roles of the same men.

In >>Acts 20:17

these workers from Ephesus are called ELDERS.

But >>verse 28 refers to these men as SUPERINTENDENTS or OVERSEERS and says that they are overseeing the flock

which makes them SHEPHERDS or PASTORS.

Therefore,
the elders (presbyters)

were also called
overseers (bishops),

and
shepherds (pastors).

These certainly are not different offices but,

different responsibilities,
roles, tasks, or work.

Another passage which shows that the six different names for elders

all refer to the same man

or certain number of men
in >>1st Peter 5.

>>Verse 1 speaks to elders.

>>Verse 2 says that these same elders feed The Flock of GOD, which makes them shepherds and

>>verse 2 also tells them to take the oversight of the flock, which makes them overseers.

Elders, presbyters, overseers,
bishops, shepherds, and pastors

do not have nor occupy offices;
~~nor~~ to-be-greet with titles.

These are six (6) words

for different responsibilities and roles

THE LORD JESUS is depending on

---- for the enhancement of HIS CHURCH

which we all eventually will have to agree

has no human governance

GOD-willing ----

before we die

while we can still do

our share at doing GOD's will

about this matter of ELDERSHIP!

THE LORD JESUS
did not design
HIS CHURCH

to be organized and to be governed by men!

THE New COVENANT of which HE is THE MEDIATOR

is NOT AN AGREEMENT with HIM

---- [where we can just randomly select which obligations/parts thereof we commit to in agreement with HIM]

---- as many preachers and bible teachers are preaching, teaching and administering!!!!

Like all covenants even among men
in this world ....

it is a take-it-or-you-may-ignore-it affair

as JESUS has prescribed it to be!

Ignore it and you will have

the whole of eternity to suffer the consequences thereof!

This is why HE only

needs ELDERSHIP

for HIS CHURCH.

2. Always more than one elder in every setting of THE CHURCH

is what we read and see in THE New COVENANT.

Another mistake seen in the denominations

which the devil is just too happy exploiting

is that of having one "senior pastor" or "BISHOP" over their church.

They however call them who does "his" role now and then as "his" assistant pastor, "his" outreach pastor, "his" youth pastor.

Nowhere though
can we read in THE BIBLE

--- pastor of THE CHURCH.

Instead, THE BIBLE says that elders were ordained in every CHURCH (>>Acts 14:23)

that is, they were consecrated to GOD

and prayed for ---

for the responsibilities, roles, work and various tasks

they are to succeed at accomplishing for THE LORD

and discharging in various situations.

Elders (not an elder) were ordained in every city (>>Titus 1:5).

Paul called the elders or overseers from Ephesus (>>Acts 20:17, >>28).

He wrote to the bishops at Philippi (>>Philippians 1:1).

This is THE CHRIST's PLAN

for the enhancement of

HIS CHURCH.

HE does not make go of earthly organizations

~~as do~~ all the denominations organize themselves

---- to enhance itself.

GOD’s WISDOM
is manifested

in
this operational plan
of ELDERSHIP.

If a single man is expected to rule it over each organization

he can easily think unduly of himself.

Even if he does not

he will have to consistently refuse the accolade the devil works

~~through the individual~~ members

of their organization or church.

THE CHRIST's plan,
will, and instructions

does not allow any one

TO LEAD and ORGANIZE

HIS CHURCH

(>>Matthew 23:8-11)

---- even if that man does not make himself the big man there in their organization.

JESUS’ design of HIS

[take-it or you may-ignore-it]

WILL is for a certain
number of elders

only THE CHRIST knows

to enhance the spiritual
growth of every gathering
or
number of saints around;

anyway, The Authority of
The Scriptures
Itself is enough:

1- for teaching,

2- for reproof,

3- for correction,

4- for training in righteousness

--- that the man of GOD

may be adequate,

thoroughly equipped

for every good work

(>>2nd Timothy 3:16-17)

--- without need for ~~organizations~~, ~~hierarchies~~,
positions, leaders, powers, controls.

Elders evolve in every >>> FELLOWSHIP as GOD provides.

>>Ephesians 4:11 is ultra clear -------

HE HIMSELF

is THE ONE WHO continues to give in this end times

------- evangelists, pastors and teachers to HIS CHURCH

until their maturity!!!!

To be biblical

--- there ought-to-be

more than one elder in

THE CHURCH in every
place, situation and/
or gathering

and we have to pray for that to be a reality among and in us soon.

As we wait for that, we have to pre-dispose ourselves

to what HE has caused to be written

on this matter of elders and ELDERSHIP.

To get one in an acting / interim / temporary capacity is to treat the role as an office to be filled up!

That is already organizing and corrupting THE CHURCH.

3. EVERY ELDER in THE CHURCH have equal responsibility

in upholding THE AUTHORITY

that THE WORD OF TRUTH Rightly Dispensed is

for all of us

and they must always
think and behave,

each one of them, as just
one among the many

that they always are

as elders in that specific gathering in every particular situation they find among.

A third mistake often made

is for one elder

to consider himself
above other elders.

Just as grave a mistake is for some elders

to ~~consider~~ some of their peers

~~among which~~ they ~~find~~ themselves

as superior and of higher responsibility than they have!

They actually just have
different roles and tasks
of varying significance

to the moment

to THE CHURCH.

This was one of the first departures or corruption

in the initial stage of THE CHURCH

from the plan and will of GOD.

>>1st Corinthians 1:12
is a live
documentation of

this SIN of

DENOMINATIONALISM

for our fellow-believers …. while in their respective churches to reckon with

…. from our CURRENT JUDGE (>>1^st Peter 4:17)

as THE CHRIST’s way

to making us HIS UNBLEMISHED BRIDE

when HE returns from HIS throne in heaven

to meet us in the air and be forever with HIM!

…. THEN, why should we go on with THIS SIN!

>>1st Peter 5:4 speaks of

THE CHRIST as
THE CHIEF-SHEPHERD.

>>1st Peter 2:25 refers to

THE CHRIST as
THE SHEPHERD and

THE BISHOP

of THE CHURCH.

Each meeting has
overseers,
not an overseer
or a pastor.

Furthermore, elders who may
have served many years
do not have greater roles
than the one who has
fewer years of service.

The Apostle Peter in fact
called himself

just a fellow-elder

in speaking to the elders
(>>1st Peter 5:1)

he found himself among.

Elders are warned against being lifted up with pride

and be fallen into condemnation as the devil (>>1st Timothy 3:6).

The devil rejoices in making elders proud.

Human pride easily corrupts anyone and for that matter everybody.

THE CHURCH in every location and gathering have elders co-equal

in their responsibilities to accomplishing

GOD’s purposes to their completion (>>Ephesians 4:12-16)!

None of them has power.

THE WORD of GOD is all the power in itself (>>Romans 1:16)

that they need to feed, to administer and to oversee

the feeding to each one in THE CHURCH as elders!!!

As elders, it is even SIN for them to tolerate

any one to refer to them

call them and

worst to get them greeted as leaders!!!!!!

(>>Matthew 23:10).

>>Titus 2:1-8 ! ! !

As we mature and mature
more In THE CHRIST

in the days to come

as we pray we will be .....

we will all then see the beauty of:

1. GOD’s WISDOM

over men's concepts/initiatives/entrepreneurships

2. CHRISTIANITY we are all to live & spread

over ALL religious LIVING.....

3. THE CHURCH we are to be a part of

over all the different denominations

[>>>Treatise #022]

4. ELDERSHIP rather than leadership.

THE LORD has established

three organisms

that HE designed to operate

as such

for our inescapable

personal experience
in this world:

1. THE HUMAN BODY

2. THE FAMILY, and

3. THE CHURCH

All of us have that

privilege to see

for ourselves how

we should behave

being part of

all the above (3) of them!

We have to thank GOD

HE did not give us any option to operate

and make our body work

.... such as leaving it up to us to organize the various parts thereof.

Just because our human bodies have remained unorganized by us

do not mean they are disorganized!

Each part thereof simply has its role to play

for the good of the entirety of our body

as GOD has designed it

as an organism.

Fatherhood, motherhood, brotherhood, sisterhood, aunthood, unclehood, niecehood, nephewhood, grandfatherhood, grandmotherhood, and grandchildrenhood are roles in the family rather than offices to occupy and succeed!

To believe otherwise

is to add chaos to our families.

Just as both the human body and the family

need no organization whatsoever

to operate in this world

so too and more importantly are we

to individually do

our respective roles to one another

as comprising THE CHURCH.

Ordinary curiosity
will want you

to know some
of the VERBS in

THE New COVENANT

that precedes

the phrases “one another”

(>>>T#010 following!)

which ELDERS are to do

to their younger ones in THE CHURCH

labor through as an organism in this world

devoid of ~~organizations~~, ~~hierarchies~~, ~~positions~~, and ~~titles~~, and ~~greetings~~

except as our brothers and sisters

as to be entirely distinctly different and unique

(this is what the call for HOLINESS is all about)

>>1st Peter 1:13-17 from all of the world’s institutions

------- we have been called-out from

specifically, the essences
of
WORLDLINESS ----

THE QUESTS FOR
1- recognition,
2- fame,
3- fortune,
4- influence & control,
5- position,
6- power, and
7- sovereignty

which OUGHT NOT
TO FIND WAY INTO

THE CHURCH
WE ARE TO-BE individually PARTS-OF
>>> THE CHURCH in BROTHERLY LOVE
THE CHURCH
WE ARE TO METAMORPHOSE INTO!!!

~~~#~~~

NEXT>: T#010

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