Page 77 - Ecclesiology revised short_Neat

• Logistics: Deacons should be available to help in variety of ways so that the elders are able to
concentrate on teaching and shepherding the church.

Whereas the Bible charges elders with the tasks of teaching and leading the church, deacons’ role is
more service-oriented. That is, they are to care for the physical or temporal concerns of the church. By
handling such matters, deacons free up the elders to focus on shepherding the spiritual needs of the
congregation.

Yet even though deacons are not the congregation’s spiritual leaders, their character is of utmost
importance, which is why deacons should be examined and held to the biblical qualifications laid
down in 1 Timothy 3.

Both Offices will be rewarded.

I Timothy 3:13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great
assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

Clearly, the offices of elder and deacon are important in the church. Ministering to God’s people in word
and deed is a serious responsibility for a man to take on, and it should never be done lightly. A biblically
unqualified individual should not occupy either the office of elder or deacon; the church deserves
better.

What about all the other offices and staff positions we now have in local churches today?

Since only two offices are mentioned in the New Testament, all these other staff positions that have
been created by the local churches are modern day inventions. Obviously, the elder(s) who lead the
church will be held accountable for any other leadership positions they create to oversee the church.
That is not to say that it is unbiblical to have a minister of music or youth pastor, but that these man-
made positions are to be under the leadership and scrutiny of the elder leadership of the church.

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The Role of Women in Ministry
Women in ministry is an issue upon which Bible-believing Christians can and do disagree. The point of
separation centers on the passages of Scripture that forbid women to speak in church or "assume
authority over a man" (1 Timothy 2:12; cf. 1 Corinthians 14:34). The disagreement is whether or not
those passages were relevant only to the era in which they were penned. Some contend that, since
there is neither “Jew nor Greek . . . male nor female . . . but you are all one in Christ” (Galatians 3:28),
women are free to pursue any field of ministry open to men. Others hold that 1 Timothy 2:12 still
applies today, since the basis for the command is not cultural but universal, being rooted in the order of
creation (1 Timothy 2:13-14).

First Peter 5:1-4 details the qualifications for an elder. Presbuteros is the Greek word used sixty-six times
in the New Testament to indicate “seasoned male overseer.” It is the masculine form of the word. The
feminine form, presbutera, is never used in reference to elders or shepherds. Based on the qualifications
found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, the role of an elder is interchangeable with the bishop/pastor/overseer (Titus
1:6-9; 1 Peter 5:1-3). And since, according to 1 Timothy 2:12, a woman should not “teach or exercise

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