By: Obed Pineda
The apostle to the Gentiles exhorted, “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself the cornerstone, in Whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:20-21). When examining this sacred passage, three essential lessons for the Church must be observed. First, the foundation upon which the Church is built upon. The Lord’s Church must not be built on human philosophies, opinions, or ideas that Christ (who is the head of the Church) has not previously authorized. It is for this reason that trying to justify permanently replacing an eldership with men’s or congregational meetings (or any other similar “solution”) is building on sand, since it defies the biblical pattern. The apostolic foundation authorized by Christ is that the Evangelist assigned to this work must diligently prepare faithful and suitable men with all the Divine counsel to be able to exercise this office as God has established (cf. Acts 14:21-23, 20:26-32, 1st Timothy 3:1-16, 2nd Timothy 2:1-2, Titus 1:5-9, 2:15, 3:8). It is righteous to observe that the Word of our God tells us that the way to prevent this shortage of suitable and faithful men is through Biblical teaching and preparation from childhood, encouraging the generations that follow to desire to serve our God in this magnificent work, if it is His will (cf. Numbers 27:12-23, 2nd Kings 2:1-11, Acts 16:1-3, 1st John 2:13-14). Secondly, the Rock on whom our faith is founded. We often recall the words the Lord declared to Peter after his beautiful confession of faith (cf. Matthew 16:13-19), but sadly, just as often, we forget that powerful commandment He gave us after conquering death with His resurrection: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20a). None of the apostles gave the Church commandments according to their own desires, but all spoke by Divine inspiration (cf. 1st Corinthians 2:1-5, 4:6-13, 2nd Corinthians 4:1-2, 2nd Timothy 3:16-17). The Father corrected Peter’s thinking when, from that cloud of light, He commanded, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him” (Matthew 17:5, cf. Hebrews 1:1-2)! Therefore, this undeniable truth shows us that by rejecting the one who teaches the doctrine of Christ, we are, too, rejecting Christ. If the preacher is teaching the doctrine of Christ correctly (with the hearer confirming with Scripture if that is the case, cf. 1st Thessalonians 2:10-13), then it is necessary to accept that it is Christ who must be obeyed, and not man. When we fail to accept the untainted Word that the righteous man of God received, and shared as commanded, we forget the warning from heaven, “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven” (Hebrews 12:25). It is wise to remember what happened to the house of Israel for rejecting all of the prophets God sent them in His name (cf. 2nd Chronicles 36:15-21). Finally, the purpose for which the Master established the organization of elders and deacons is for the spiritual growth of the Church. We can see from the Greek term, leipō (Thayer, G3007), found in the Epistle to Titus, that a congregation without pastors to shepherd them is defenseless against an adversary and open to the influence of falsehood (Titus 1:5). The apostle Paul tells the Ephesians that the growth and holiness of a congregation depends on good coordination among its members. Paul emphasizes this wonderful truth as he explains that Christ’s personal purpose in establishing elders in the Church is so that “speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ – from Whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16). It is prudent to remember that an elder is not superior to a non-elder because of his office in the Church. On the contrary, the spiritual eldership perfectly understands that they are servants first, to Jesus Christ and His sheepfold (cf. Hebrews 13:7). Additionally, a sound eldership is identified by their “aroma of sheep,” as they seek to intimately know every member of their assigned sheepfold, following the great example of the Good Shepherd (cf. John 10:1-15). It is worth mentioning that a pastor requires a sheepfold in order to carry out this office. In other words, a shepherd without sheep is not a shepherd at all. Thus, they both need of one another, but each faithfully serves the Lord according to His desire. A good and faithful bishop always remembers the sacred words of the Lord speaking about His primary mission of coming to earth (cf. Mark 10:42-45) A congregation guided by the humble and loving spirit of a good and faithful servant will have no difficulty in properly establishing the government authorized by God, nor will it have the challenge of knowing how to work in unity because everyone will understand that subjection to the will of Christ is fulfilled when the Church obeys the divine commandment of “submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21). The Biblical organization of the Church is to have elders and deacons according to the Word of God. Ergo, having elders and deacons is a commandment by God, and not a suggestion. Christ has established it this way, and therefore it is our responsibility to obey the tender voice of the Savior. Any congregation that conforms to any “government” other than that which is authorized by the Redeemer operates outside of the Biblical pattern. If a congregation has become stagnate on growth (both spiritually and numerically), one reason for this is undoubtedly due to absence of wise, upright men who can serve in these honorable offices. To those congregations that resist doing God’s will, this author humbly reminds them of the inspired psalmist’s warning: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do” (Psalm 11:3)? May we ponder and weigh carefully this query, and may we always strive to comply with all of God’s will. To God be all glory!