78a) Basic Theology of the Eldership, Parts 2

Parity and Plurality in Eldership

0:03 Strictly speaking, there can be no plurality if there is not parity. For if one is in the least degree above the others, then in respect of that hegemony, there is no longer plurality. Plurality applies to all government of the Church, and there must therefore be parity in the plurality. There is not the slightest evidence in the New Testament that among the elders there was any hierarchy.

0:31 The elders exercise government in unison and on a parity with one another. Now, speaking as a very convinced Presbyterian, he makes some very pointed criticisms of his own ecclesiastical associations. This principle has often suffered eclipse within the Presbyterian fold. It's come to expression within Presbyterian churches by the entertaining of the notion that to the minister of the word belongs priority or preeminence in the government of the Church.

1:01 It is true that the minister, as a teaching elder, has his own distinctive function in the preaching and teaching of the word. He labours in the word and doctrine. It is natural and proper that his knowledge and experience should be given due respect in the deliberations which must be undertaken by the elders in the exercise of the government of the Church. But it cannot be too strongly emphasised that, in respect of ruling, the minister of the word is on a parity with the evangelist and holines.

Functional Diversity Among Elders

1:31 with all the others who are designated elders. Well, passing then from that treatment of the basic nuts and bolts of this issue, we move on to the fourth strand in my basic thesis, namely the evidence for realistic and harmonious functional diversity. Some have latched on to parity and then assumed an outworking that was both unrealistic and cut against all good common sense.

2:08 They have thought that the only way to express parity was to have a wooden similarity in the function of all the elders, and whether a man had peculiar gifts of public utterance and gifts of such a nature to warrant his teaching on a regular basis in the public assembly, they felt the only way we can prove parity is to have the pulpit shared with the public. Equally by everyone who is an elder. And then that carried itself out into other facets of the view of how to express this matter of parity. And so I am asserting that there is evidence in the scriptures and in general revelation that there ought to be realistic and harmonious functional diversity.

2:53 As the members of a team, each is part of that team, but each does not have the same function. And we go back again. To the 1 Timothy 5.17 text, I'll not labor that point, but other significant passages are Romans 12.6-8

3:09 and 1 Corinthians 12.4-5. In Romans chapter 12, where the apostle has admonished every man to assess his gifts with sobriety and accuracy, we are told in verse 8, He that exhorts is to give himself to his exhorting. He that gives, let him do it.

3:31 He that gives, let him do it. He that exhorts is to give himself to his exhorting. He that rules with diligence, he that shows mercy with cheerfulness. And implicit in that directive is the assumption that some may have a dominant gift of exhortation that is not equal to the measure of the gift in ruling.

3:48 And some, a gift and capacity in ruling that is not equal to the gift in exhorting. And likewise, in the 1 Corinthians 12 passage, where the apostle is, dealing with the subject of spiritual gifts and underscores this same principle. There are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. Diversities of ministrations and the same Lord.

4:13 And diversity of workings, but the same God who works all things in all. And Bannerman has some very helpful comments on this on page 546, where he writes, A difference of gifts and training is recognized among those who belong to God. Who belong to the one order of the eldership. A difference of gifts and training is recognized among those who belong to the one order of the eldership.

Prominence Without Hierarchy: The Example of James

4:45 And then with his strong conviction that the configuration of the government of the New Testament church is rooted in the patterns of the synagogue, he goes on to amplify that. The situation in Jerusalem, it's clear that there was a place of prominence that James had that was unique. And the Bible doesn't explain it, it just states it. We're going to go up to James.

5:10 What was his particular place? Well, obviously, it was a place of unusual leadership. And again, James Bannerman, on pages 548 and following, has some very helpful material to demonstrate, and he addresses this. On the other hand, there's not the slightest evidence that James, the Lord's brother, held any position different in the church.

5:34 In fact, he held a position in rank or order from the other presbyters of the church at Jerusalem with whom he acted. But nonetheless, he did have this place of prominence, at least in the public gatherings. And he gives the data. In the earliest passage bearing on the point, we find that the commission from Antioch for relief of the brethren in Jerusalem and Judea is not addressed to James and even to James and the elders, but simply to the elders.

5:58 It's to the apostles and elders that the appeal is made from the church at Antioch. But then he gives the evidence that James, nonetheless, had a place of prominence, especially in conjunction with some of those public circumstances. As in all other areas, and one of the things for you men visiting with us that the men here will know, I emphasize again and again, grace does not war with nature. Grace sublimates nature.

6:25 Grace enhances nature. It doesn't fight against nature. And in any group situation, somebody's got to stand and chair the meeting. And it's not just the church.

6:35 I mean, if we all sit around like a bunch of Quakers waiting for the spirit to move us, either if you've got unmortified ambition, everyone's going to be moved at one and the same time to chair the meeting, or if you have mock humility, nobody will stand up lest people think that he's trying to usurp a place of leadership over his brethren and thereby destroy parity. But somebody's got to set the agenda. Someone has got to lead. And if among a group of elders, it becomes increasingly evident that this brother has peculiar facility for leading in this type of situation, it is no way to violate the principles of parity that he should be recognized as the one who leads in that set of circumstances any more than it's a violation

7:18 of parity for a man to whom God has given the gifts and training and provenness to have a primary place in the public preaching of the word to assume that with that, he sees himself in a different category from his fellow elders. And he ought to be able, not only with a good conscience before God, but carrying the consciences of his fellow elders, have a leading place in the public preaching and teaching of the word and preach the subject of parity of eldership and know that their conscience is affirmed, that he understands it and operates by that principle, that he receives his brethren as fellow overseers with him and gives them that sense of the dignity and the full responsibility

Admonition 1: Beware of Over-Scrupulous Legalism

8:00 that is commensurate with that office. Well, this is the basic thesis. That I've tried to lay out and I hope at least in some measure support from the word of God that the normal framework for the administration of the task of oversight is that of a plurality of scripturally qualified overseers functioning with genuine ecclesiastical parity and with realistic and harmonious functional diversity. Now, I want to conclude with some very necessary admonitions.

8:34 Some necessary admonitions. And I want to lay before you four of them. In the attempt to realize the biblical norms as embodied in the major thesis that has been stated and explained, we are liable to dangers and excesses on the right hand and on the left. And the first two admonitions have to do with the recognition and conferral of the office and the last two with the function and the administration of the office.

9:03 So here are the admonitions. Number one. Beware of a person who is not a member of the office. Beware of an over-scrupulous legalism in applying the biblical standard for the office.

9:14 Now, what do I mean by an over-scrupulous legalism? I have insisted that the standard of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 is not an unattainable ideal. It is not theoretical. It is to be brought to bear upon anyone who desires and seeks the office or seeks literally overseership.

9:36 It is not so much an office as a task. And the bishop must be. But now when we come to apply it, it says a one-woman man. All right?

9:49 That means then if a man is not married, he is incompetent to be an elder. Right? Because it says he must be a one-woman man. There must be a woman who can say this is my man.

10:02 Therefore, no single man under any circumstances is competent to be an elder. And you rule out the Lord Jesus. the apostle paul if singleness in and of itself disqualifies for the eldership because it says must be a one-woman man then our lord jesus and the apostle paul that's ludicrous this is what i mean by an over scrupulous legalism having his children in subjection with all gravity therefore he must not only be married but have children a man entrusted with childlessness

10:42 a man who married later in life and his wife was beyond her childbearing years cannot be because it says he must have his children in subjection well you see if you press it in that way that's what i'm calling an over scrupulous legalism when it says blameless it means no glaring discernible character flaw that would make it impossible for thinking spiritually minded people to look to this man for spiritual guidance and direction it does not mean no discernible area where he

11:20 obviously yet needs to grow in grace when james says in many things we all offend this type of person would rise up and say and who are you then to write us a letter if in many things you're still offending james who are you to call us to a standard of greater attainments of holiness in the use of our tongues he acknowledges that he has not perfectly tamed his tongue so blameless is a biblical requirement but what does blamelessness mean in the particulars of mr smith and mr jones and there we must beware of an over scrupulous

12:00 legalism ruling his own children well some read that to mean having secure grace in the hearts of his children i had to deal with that just this week where a man is being threatened with being put out of his office because he's got a teenage daughter who has thrown over her profession has left the whole and some are ready to put him out of his office where he has two other children who are living commendation obvious godly rule in his home at all of us could do this legalistic application some think the requirement apt to teach an act

12:42 and say that means he must have a level of ability to instruct as to how to teach in the church to warrant his laboring in the word and in teaching. No. It seems that if he's going to be an overseer, he must be apt to teach, i.e.,

12:58 he oversees by means of the word. And if he cannot open up the word of God to guide the judgment and the conscience of the people under his care, how can he fulfill the function of an elder? To shepherd the flock of God. But to say the level of that gift must be such as to warrant its regular high-profile exposure is to go beyond what the actual text requires. So,

13:24 this is what I mean by this admonition. To beware of an over-scrupulous legalism in applying the non-negotiable standard for an elder. If the adversary cannot keep us from making the standard normative, he will then drive us beyond it and make it unattainable. The very fact that the list of qualifications in Timothy and Titus is different at certain points should underscore for us, these are not like the specifications for a machine part where every part must be within three ten-thousands of an inch of the

14:08 specifications, or you discard it. You take the sum total of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and what do we have? We have proven, consistent, well-developed, mature Christian character with some proven giftedness to rule and to instruct. Those are the broad strokes that constitute the sum of those requirements.

Admonition 2: Beware of Precipitous Pragmatism

14:32 Beware, then, of this overly scrupulous legalistic application. But then secondly, beware of a precipitous pragmatism in seeking to attain the norm of plurality. I've already alluded to this, now I want to focus on it. Beware of a precipitous pragmatism in seeking to attain the norm of plurality.

14:59 To be the only recognized elder in a given situation is indeed an abnormality. However, an abnormality is not necessarily sinful. I stand before you as an abnormal man. I've been disemboweled and had my prostate gland removed.

15:20 That's an abnormality that I don't wish on any of you. But I don't have a guilty conscience.

15:28 Okay? Abnormality does not necessarily mean sinful. And while we might recognize and ought to recognize that something other than plurality is an abnormality, we must not, under the pressure of thinking that somehow, therefore, it must be sinful or reflective upon or indicative of some fundamental deficiency in the life of the church or in my ministry, press ahead to have, quote, normalcy at the expense of running ahead of the word of God and violating the injunction to lay hands hastily on no man. Because as I indicated earlier at the end of the day, Ephesians 4.11 is clear

16:10 that the ascended Christ is the one who gives gifts of pastors and teachers to his people. And where he does not give, God have mercy on me. Thus, if we think we're receiving,

16:23 we'll have to live with the consequences. While a single elder situation may be a non-sinful and tolerable abnormality, the recognition of a second or third elder at the expense of obedience to the word of God, that is sin. It may not be sin to be a sole elder. It will be sin to get a second and a third elder at the expense of obedience to the word of God.

16:49 Sin is any violation or want of conformity to the law of God. Furthermore, it's possible to establish some structures as temporary expedience that will help neutralize some of the inherent dangers of a one elder situation. I have found over the years if a man has the grace of biblical humility in his heart, and a sense of the biblical teaching that in the multitude of counselors there is safety, he that separates himself, rages seeks his own desire, and rages against all sound wisdom, where a man has the principle in his heart that will eventually make him

17:32 relate to fellow elders in true parity, with genuine deference to his brethren. If that's in his heart, he will surround himself with a de facto eldership, both for his own good and for the goodness of his people. He will not make major decisions as to the oversight of the flock of God, dipping only into his own little limited pool of wisdom. He's going to seek counsel from proven brethren, from those who have experience and know the word of God, and in that sense is going to bring into that congregation with a, quote, soul elder, the benefits of a multiple eldership. He loves his

18:12 people too much to curse them with the limits of his own experience and his own understanding. Conversely, a man can have a half a dozen elders and be the lone ranger if those principles are not in his heart. And he will, isolate himself from his brethren, even though he may sit with them weekly, and he may be narrow in his perspective. These issues, brethren, are fundamentally issues of the heart. And if you

18:39 are cultivating that in your heart, then there will not be crippling dangers in the outworking of that oversight among your people. And we have living proofs of that sitting right in this room. We who sat week after week, and we miss our brother, and before that, our brother, we don't bite our nails wondering what are those crazy guys going to do in their situation. They're the soul elder.

19:05 Pastor Glaze over there in East London, and Pastor Brevard there in Newark, whatever we lose sleep over, we never lose any sleep wondering what are these guys going to do, because we have confidence that having known the chemistry of these spiritual commodities in our interaction, that there's going to be seeking of counsel, seeking of them, but not only from us, but from other brethren with whom they have established, deep bonds of trust and openness. And while we long for the day when they will have fellow elders, they're not sitting around nervously, fearful that they and their people are going to be cursed, because they are in this abnormal situation. So beware of a precipitous pragmatism in

Admonition 3: Beware of Incipient Brethrenism

19:49 seeking to attain this norm of plurality. But then thirdly, beware, and this has to do more with warnings once an eldership is established, beware of an incipient brethrenism in attempting to express true parity of office. Some men are so determined that they're going to prove to a visitor within the first two minutes of coming into an assembly, we have plurality and we have parity. So Elder Jones gives the first announcement, and Elder Smith the second, and Elder so-and-so gives out the first hymn, and Elder so-and-so the second hymn.

20:27 Well, that's a bit of a caricature, but I've seen things pretty close to that, and every service was like an exercise in a jumping jack box, and this one up, and this one up. What would they do? They were proven to the world, we have real parity. That's right.

20:43 Well, brethren, hopefully by stretching Pinocchio's nose and seeing the caricature, it will make it ugly in your sight. No, you don't attempt to prove the doctrine of parity by the configuration of the leadership in your public services. Traditionally in brethrenism, with no paid ministry and no clergy, all of the brethren are going to reflect that we are just that brethren. No, we need to recognize there is a diversity of gift, and we are committed, I trust, to the principle that in the public gatherings of the people of God, what we are to aim at, according to 1 Corinthians 14, is what? Optimum

21:22 edification. Let all things be done unto edification. And if one of the elders has a more proven, highly cultivated gift of leading the service that is unto the corporate edification of the people of God, then that brother is going to have that higher profile. The same way with respect to gifts of utterance.

21:44 So beware of an incipient brethrenism. When some are called upon to labor in the word and doctrine, obviously they will hold a place of prominence not held by others who labor in another task to provide for themselves and for their families. In an excellent essay on the form of government, again, I refer to Professor Murray's treatment of this. He has some very helpful practical insights, and I commend them to you, page 347 of volume 2. But then my final

Admonition 4: Beware of Hierarchical Clericalism

22:16 warning is, beware of a hierarchical clericalism in the actual functions of the eldership. You ought to be aware, as I've already indicated, of the long-standing debate, particularly in Presbyterianism on what is called the two or three office theory. The minister of the word, the ruling elder, and the deacon, and I believe Professor Murray's treatment is convincing in standing for what has been called the two office theory, or theology of the eldership. Dabney, Thornwell, and Owen, in their treatment of these things, are most helpful.

22:51 Now, if all the elders are overseers and shepherds, then as much as possible let this reality be manifested without falling into this artificial, wooden attempt to prove parity. I want to speak particularly in an area where I believe clericalism can most particularly send out its insidious roots, or to change the imagery, can exude its corrupting leaven. You know in Romanism it's the holy man doing the holy thing that is essential to your salvation. And this notion that only the minister of the word can administer the sacraments, I believe, helps perpetuate sacralism, sacerdotalism.

23:35 And there's a lot of therefore, any man who can, with any degree of competence, assume his role as an elder, I believe, unless there is some unusual factor, could be trained to assist in the administration of the supper and baptize people to help break the back of this notion that the holy thing has to be done at the hands of the holy man, and the holy man is the one who has the higher profile in the ordinary prominence in the ministry of the word. And to use one's fellow elders wherever it can be done commensurate with the mandate to be done decently and in order, and all things done unto edification,

24:18 in these visible ways we are demonstrating our true parity. That the Lord's supper is the Lord's supper, if the bread and the cup never touch my hands, but come from the hands of my brethren. And that someone has a valid baptism, if the bread and the cup never touch my hands, if I'm not there to put them under or to put the water on their head or over their head, whatever the mode may be. And I think in this way we can help visually and demonstrably to make it evident that we do indeed eschew hierarchical clericalism.

24:54 But more importantly, it's in our interaction with our brethren. If we truly view them as fellow overseers, that will leak out in our attitude, our disposition, it will leak out in comments that we make as we move amongst our people, as we are making public comments with respect to issues that we are addressing. It will be natural for us to say, your elders have, your elders are concerned about, your elders have directed me. And that will condition the soil of the thinking of your people to consider that the entire eldership is the body of

25:38 those placed over them under Christ to guide and to shepherd them and to lead them in the ways of God. There's a very helpful response in the larger catechism to question number 131. It's very appropriate here. It's the question dealing with the Fifth Commandment. What are the

25:59 duties of equals? And the answer is, the duties of equals are to regard the dignity and worth of each other, in giving honor to go one before another, and to rejoice in each other's gifts and advancement as their own. Now when a group of men honestly assessing their various strengths and weaknesses have this disposition one to another, it cannot be hidden. It will be known as people observe their interaction, as they listen to them, as they have many ways that they would not even realize if they were asked, how do you know that your elders have a true sense of parity?

26:43 The average person might be hard-pressed to give you proof 1, 2, 3, 4, but they'd say, but I just know it. And that just knowing it is the cumulative influence of the outworking of that internal disposition in which, in the language of Scripture, in honor, we prefer one another. Some of us have found who have the burden and responsibility of high-profile leadership that in the weekly meetings of the elders, we've just out of principle learned how to give our opinion on an issue last. When an issue is laid before the brethren, make sure that every brother gives his perspective before you give your own.

27:20 There might be a temptation for them to view, well, is his perspective to dominate us? On the other hand, by waiting, sometimes you save your own skin. Because by the time the other brethren have given their opinion, you realize yours was so off the wall, you'd have appeared like a...

27:38 like a creature with a long tail and two big ears that had just spoken. Many a time, I've appeared wise by my silence. But you see, your brethren will sense that, yes, you do recognize that God has put me as one of the overseers, and therefore my perspective on this is critical. God put me here with this responsibility.

28:00 And you encourage that in your brethren. You're not threatened by it. Because you recognize that God has put them there to help be your shepherd as well. So beware.

28:10 Of anything that moves in the direction of a hierarchical clericalism. Now, people looking in from the outside who don't know the internal chemistry. Again, God doesn't war, grace doesn't war with nature. And if God is giving you some measure of cultivated gifts or public utterance and public leadership, people may even say, well, that's so-and-so's church. Don't get all unstrung

28:34 when they say that. That's just a recognition of this principle. But if you can, with good conscience before God, know that if anyone were to take that statement and try to prove by that, that you really regard it as your church, and that you have some unique place of undefined authority above anyone else and any of your fellow overseers, I hope, brethren, that they would find themselves with absolutely no step with which to prove that in the theater of your own conscience, in the consciences of your brethren, and in the consciences of your people, there would be a recognition that the biblical doctrine of a plurality and parity of biblically qualified

The Indispensable Role of the Holy Spirit

29:19 elders functioning with genuine parity but with realistic functional diversity, that this is the reality which you are expressing by the grace of God. Now, God willing, next week, when we take up the whole matter of how to seek under God to cultivate and develop and actually work with a plurality of elders, those will be the how-to sessions. I plan to give you a rather not extensive, but I hope helpful working bibliography of both books and several series of tapes that will be helpful to you when in due course you're going to have to think this through to first principles and

30:03 then instruct your people, but we'll hold off on that, God willing, for next week. But I want to close on this note. In my summary and conclusion,

30:14 underscoring the fundamentalism and the fundamental reality that no structure, even that which is most conformable to the Word, can be instituted and function as it ought without the presence and power of the Spirit. I want to close on this note. As we think of this matter, now, in theory, as we come to wrestle with it in the course of our ministries, remember that God the Holy Spirit alone can help men to obey Romans 12.3. I say to

30:43 every man among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think so as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. That sounds like a simple command. But given remaining sin that will engender pride, distorted views of ourselves, will cripple people with false humility. That's a part of remaining sin.

31:10 False humility is a part of remaining sin. How in the world can every man among us think soberly? As he ought to think. So that his own thinking about himself is reflective of the reality of what God has conferred upon him.

31:24 But without the Spirit of God it's impossible. And we must be shut up ourselves, and we must seek to shut up our people to this reality. Furthermore, the spiritual motivation to undertake the task, if a man has any inkling from the outside of what's involved in taking on the burden of oversight in the flock of God, taking on that burden with the perspectives of 1 Peter 5, the day of judgment, and Hebrews 13, as those who shall give an account, sobriety would cause any man to say, not me, Lord. To have to pursue my own salvation is enough.

32:06 To give account for others who are sufficient for these things. And the Spirit of God alone will stir up in a man that motivation that in spite of a realistic assessment of the sober responsibilities of the office, he will still pursue it. As we read in 1 Timothy 3, well, it's the truth of Philippians 2. It is God who works in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. And so

32:33 we need, in our own thinking and in our exhortations to our people, to press upon them the need for the ministry and present enablement of the Spirit of God. And he's the only one who's going to enable a group of men with all kinds of different influences, forming them what they are as men, to bring to bear upon delicate human relations not just the peculiar closeness of members in the same body, but that added, intensified closeness of fellow laborers in the work of the gospel that provides all kinds of pressures to bring to the surface all kinds of remaining sin you never thought were there. The more intimate any human relationship is, the

33:17 more potential for the manifestation of remaining sin is present. That's why some of you never realized how carnal you were until you got married. Then you discovered what a beast you were. You really thought you were making pretty good progress as a Christian man until you got married. And you say, what in the

33:34 world is wrong with this woman that she didn't draw out anything that wasn't there. I shall never forget the shock when I said, Lord, what has marriage done to put... No, no, God says it didn't put it

33:44 in you. It's just been lying there undisturbed in the bottom of the pool of your heart. And now the multi-leveled intimacy of marriage is just shaking the pool and the silt has come to the surface that you might not be deceived that it wasn't there. It is there.

34:00 And that's what happens when you start working in a real intimate relationship of true parity with fellow sinners. A brother with whom you had no tension before suddenly. There'll be quirks in his personality and the way he expresses things that'll begin to get under your skin. And you need to be able to say in more than theoretical knowledge, I believe in God the Holy Ghost. And that

34:27 the Spirit of God is able to help us to mortify those heart sins that would cause us to build up all kinds of unfogent, but very real barriers and enable us in the thrust and carry of all of the pressures not only to tolerate one of them but to grow in grace as a result of that iron sharpening iron in the interaction that we have in discharging our office.