Biblical Church
Government
COPYRIGHT ©2017 -
James M. Frye
All scripture quotations are taken
from the Authorized King James Bible. Any deviations are not intentional. All
underlines, bold and words within brackets are the author's.
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Introduction
There are many
different forms of church government in churches in our day. But how are churches to be governed according to the Bible? What is
the Biblical form of church government? In this article, we will be examining
what the Bible has to say regarding this issue. After seeing the form of church
government that is set forth in scripture, we will then be prepared to contrast
that Biblical form with the many unbiblical forms found in our day.
Biblical Church Offices
Ephesians 4:11 And
he gave some, apostles; and some,
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
This
verse lists 4 offices that existed in New Testament churches. Notice that the word "some" only appears 4
times in the text separating each of these 4 offices. Pastor/teacher,
therefore, refers to a single office (contrary to the teaching of
the “five-fold ministry”). The 4 offices are listed below:
1) Apostles
2) Prophets
3) Evangelists
4) Pastors/teachers
The first two of these offices, “apostles” and
“prophets”, were only temporary in nature. God used these temporary offices in
order to lay a foundation (Eph. 2:20) for the early developing church. There
are no longer any apostles or prophets in our
day. If you are not familiar with the Bible’s teaching on these things, please
read my two articles entitled: "Are there Apostles Today?", and
"Are there Prophets Today?” which demonstrate these facts from scripture.
These articles can be read at the links below.
http://www.seekingfortruth.com/articles/apostles.htm
http://www.seekingfortruth.com/articles/prophets.htm
Evangelists
The third office listed in Ephesians chapter
4 is that of evangelist. Unlike the temporary offices of apostle
and prophet, there is nothing in Scripture that even hints
that the office of evangelist was only temporary. So there are still evangelists today. But what is an evangelist? There are many people
who call themselves “evangelists” in our day, but what is an evangelist
according to the Bible? What function are they to perform?
To find the answer to these questions, we
will examine the ministries of two men whom the Bible tells us held the office
of evangelist. The first of these was a man named Philip.
Acts 21:8 And the next day we that were
of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the
house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode
with him.
This verse not only tells us that Philip was
an evangelist, but also tells us that he was the same Philip who was one of the
original seven deacons chosen by the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1-6).
2 Timothy
4:5 But watch thou [Timothy] in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy
ministry.
Timothy was also an evangelist and was,
therefore, instructed by Paul to do the work an evangelist. But what is the
work of an evangelist? What are they to do? Let’s take a look, beginning with
Philip.
Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and
preached Christ unto them.
Jesus had told his followers that the gospel
was to be preached first at Jerusalem, then unto all Judaea, then unto Samaria, and finally unto the uttermost
parts of the earth.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me
both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
As an evangelist, Philip was the first to
take the gospel to Samaria. Before he went to Samaria, there was no church
there. When he left, there was. Therefore, according to scripture, the work of
an evangelist involved the following.
Preaching Christ in
areas where the gospel has not yet gone and planting churches in those areas.
We see these same things in the ministry of
Timothy as well.
Acts
16:1-3 Then came he [Paul] to Derbe
and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was
there, named Timotheus, [Timothy]
the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and
believed; but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the
brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
Him [Timothy] would Paul have
to go forth with him …
In Acts chapter 16 Paul, the apostle, is in
the process of making his second missionary journey. Paul had 4 missionary
journeys. They are listed on the next page.
Paul’s 4 Missionary Journeys
1. With Barnabas (Acts
13-14).
2.
With Silas, Timothy & others (Acts 15-18).
3.
With various others (Acts 18-21).
4)
To Rome (Acts 27-28).
In Acts chapter 16, Paul is in the midst of
his second missionary journey. During a stop in Lystra,
he decides to take Timothy along with him on the journey. Paul’s second
missionary journey began with he and Silas returning to a few of the churches
that Paul and Barnabas had previously planted on Paul’s first missionary
journey (in order to confirm and strengthen them - Acts
15:40-41). But soon after picking up Timothy, Paul,
Silas and Timothy went off to preach the gospel in new areas where it had not
yet gone. They preached the gospel and planted churches in Troas, Philippi,
Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus (Acts 16:6-18:22).
As an evangelist (missionary) Timothy was traveling with Paul to:
Preach Christ in areas that the Gospel had
not yet gone, and to plant churches in those areas.
Those are the same things we saw in the
ministry of Philip. Timothy performed these same functions. So we know from
scripture that evangelists are church planters. We have them today, but they
are referred to as “missionaries”. Notice that Timothy went with Paul on a “missionary” journey. The word “missionary” doesn’t occur in the
Bible. But when we examine the ministries of those whom the Bible refers to as
“evangelists’, we find them performing the functions of a missionary. According
to scripture, Evangelists are missionaries.
Church Government under
Evangelists
Church government functions a little
differently in the early days of a new church which has been planted by an
evangelist (missionary) than it does later on after elders have been appointed.
We saw in the previous section that Paul took Timothy with him on his second
missionary journey. This was a common practice of Paul. He would often have a
number of men traveling with him. On one occasion Paul had seven men traveling
with him.
Acts 20:4 And there
accompanied him [Paul] into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
If you will look back over the names of the cities
that Paul was visiting on his second missionary journey you will see that the
cities listed above were among those cities. Paul began the journey with only
Silas, but as he went from city to city various men from those cities would be
called of God to go with him. He first picks up Gaius in Derbe,
then Timothy in Lystra, etc. etc. So, Paul would pick
up people who felt called to be evangelists (missionaries) and take them along
with him to train them on the missionary journey.
As Paul was preparing to leave a church that
he had planted and move on to a new location, he would often leave behind one
of his traveling companions (an evangelist) to be in authority over a church
until men became qualified to be elders. Although he is not directly referred to
by the term “evangelist” Titus clearly performed this function.
Titus 1:5 For this cause left
I [Paul] thee [Titus] in Crete, that thou shouldest set
in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I
had appointed thee:
On Paul's fourth missionary journey in route
to Rome, He gained some converts on the island of Crete and thus a new church
was born. When Paul departed, he left Titus behind to “set in order the things
that were wanting” (lacking). That is, to set up the church in the way it was
supposed to function. Evidently, the gospel spread to the other cities on the
island because Paul gives instruction to Titus regarding multiple cities.
Titus was also instructed by Paul to ordain
elders to be in authority over each church in each city. In the verses that
follow, Paul gives a list of qualifications that must be met by someone before
Titus could ordain them as an elder (Titus 1:6-9). So Titus was to remain
behind on this island to be in authority over these churches and
teach these people until such a time that men became qualified to be elders.
Timothy was also left behind by Paul to
perform the same function.
1 Timothy 1:3 As
I [Paul] besought thee [Timothy] to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into
Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that
they teach no other doctrine,
Here again, we have Paul leaving a church he
has planted (this time in Ephesus) to travel on to another area (Macedonia).
And as his practice often was, Paul leaves an evangelist behind to be in
authority over the church. He tells Timothy to make sure that no one is allowed
to teach false doctrine. So clearly Timothy was left in authority over this
church. Paul then goes on in Chapter 3 to give Timothy instructions on how to
go about appointing elders. Again there are qualifications that must be met.
So we see the third function of an
evangelist. Not only did they preach Christ in areas where the gospel had not
yet gone and plant churches in those areas, they also stayed there and were in
authority over those churches until men became qualified to be elders. Until
elders were appointed the evangelist was the sole authority in and over a
church.
In some cases people became qualified to be
elders quickly. It only took a few months in the churches at Lystra and Iconium (Acts 14).
Sometimes it took longer. It took over 3 years in the church at Ephesus (Acts
20). Paul had spent 3 years in Ephesus, but when it came time to move on into
Macedonia (Acts 20:1) he still didn’t have elders and left Timothy behind to appoint
them (1 Tim. 1:3; 3:1-15).
Why were they able to appoint elders quickly
in some cases when in other cases it took years? It all had to do with whether
or not there were people available who were qualified. Take the church at
Corinth for example.
Acts 18:8 And Crispus,
the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house;
and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
Now the Bible doesn’t tell us whether or not Crispus became an elder, but he sure would have been a good
prospect. This man had been the chief ruler of the synagogue prior to coming to
Christ. He would have studied and taught the Old Testament for many years. It
would have taken very little work in his case to meet the qualifications to
become an elder. Many of the churches undoubtedly did not have a Crispus or anyone like him. For Paul to take a bunch of
pagans in Ephesus, who had previously worshipped the false goddess Diana (Acts
19:27), and turn some of them into elders would take some time.
It is also important to note that once elders
were appointed the evangelist left. They would then go on to preach the gospel
and plant churches in new areas. This is important to understand because many
missionaries in our day go to the mission field, plant a church and stay there.
Such was not the case with Biblical missionaries (evangelists). Their job was
to get a church up and running, appoint elders and move on. Sure, they might
return to those churches from time to time to check on them to see how they are
doing (Acts 15:36), but they did not stay there for their entire ministries as
pastors.
Evangelists preached the gospel in areas
where it had not yet gone, planted churches there, and taught the people until
men became qualified to be elders. Then, they appointed elders and moved on to
a new area to do the same all over again. The goal was to repeat this process
over and over again.
Pastors/Teachers
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers;
Now let's take a look at the third office of
pastor/teacher. In this section we will learn two things about this office.
1. The terms pastor, bishop, and elder are
used interchangeably in scripture.
Philippians
1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus
Christ, to all the saints in Christ
Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops
and deacons:
When writing to the Christians at Philippi, Paul
refers to three distinct groups: the saints (believers), the bishops, and the
deacons. We will examine the office of deacon later on. From this passage we
see that there are only two offices in the local church - bishop and deacon.
Did Paul write to this church and rudely leave out a greeting to the pastors
and elders? - No, of course not. In scripture the terms pastor, elder, and
bishop are used interchangeably to refer to the same office.
Titus
1:5-7 For this cause left
I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the
things that are wanting, and ordain elders
in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband
of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless...
In the above passage, Paul was writing to
Titus to give him instructions for ordaining elders. But, notice that in verse
7 Paul refers to those whom he previously called “elders”, as
"bishops". He says that "elders" are to be blameless,
because a "bishop" must be blameless. He uses both terms to refer to
the same office. As I stated earlier, the three terms pastor, bishop, and elder
are used interchangeably in scripture to refer to the same office. Why are
there three terms? The three terms refer to three different responsibilities of
the one office.
The chart on the next page explains this.
Term |
Meaning |
Responsibility |
Pastor |
Shepherd |
Feed (teach) the flock |
Bishop |
Overseer |
Watch over (protect) the flock |
Elder |
More mature (spiritually) |
Lead the flock (by example) |
The term pastor refers to the responsibility
to feed the flock. The term bishop refers to the responsibility to watch over
the flock to protect it (false teachers are called wolves). And the term elder
is used to refer to the responsibility to go forth leading the flock by
example. But all three terms refer to the same office and are used
interchangeably.
1 Peter
5:1-3 The elders
which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed [do the work of a pastor] the
flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight [do the work of a bishop] thereof, not by constraint, but
willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords
over God's heritage, but being ensamples
[examples - the work of an elder] to the flock.
For those of you who like to see everything
from Greek, the word translated "feed" (poimaino
- Strongs 4165) is from the root word
"pastor" (pomen - Strongs
4166). One means pastor (as in being a pastor), and the other means pastor as
in the activity (pastor a church). The word translated "taking the
oversight" (episkipeo - Strongs
1983) looks very much like the word "bishop" (episkopos
- Strongs 1985). Again one means bishop as in being
one, and the other means bishop as in doing the work of one.
Acts
20:17, 28 And from Miletus he
sent to Ephesus, and called the elders
of the church. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
In making them elders, the Holy Ghost had
also made them bishops (overseers) and pastors (those who "feed" the
flock). Once again for those who wish to see it in Greek, the word translated
"overseers" (episkopos - Strongs 1985) is the same word that is translated as
"bishops" in our first two passages (Phil. 1:1, and Titus 1:7). The
word translated “feed” (poimaino) means to do the
work of a pastor. In making them elders the Holy Spirit also made them pastors
and bishops.
2. Pastors/elders/bishops are
to be Plural in Number and Equal in Authority.
Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the
servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at
Philippi, with the bishops and
deacons:
Notice that the word “bishops” is plural (bishops not
bishop). There were multiple bishops in the one church at Philippi. We read
nothing about senior bishops or assistant bishops. All of the bishops were
equal in authority.
Acts 14:23 And when they had ordained them elders [plural] in every church [singular], and had prayed with
fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
There were multiple elders ordained in each and every
church. Once again they are all equally referred to as elders. There are no
senior or assistant elders. And since elder is the same office as pastor, there
are no senior or assistant pastors.
Acts 20:17 And from Miletus he
sent to Ephesus, and called the elders
[plural] of the
church [singular].
Again, there were multiple elders in a single church all
equal in authority.
Titus 1:5 For this cause left
I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the
things that are wanting, and ordain elders
in every city, as I had appointed thee:
There
were multiple elders in each church and one church per city.
So, we see from scripture that elders/pastors/bishops
were always plural in number and equal in authority. We never see one
elder/pastor/bishop in authority over another
elder/pastor/bishops. Biblically, there is no such office as a “senior pastor”
or “assistant pastor”. Such offices are not
Biblical but are the product of the doctrines and traditions of men which
Jesus condemns (Mark 7:6-8).
According to scripture a person must meet certain qualifications (Tit. 1 and 1 Tim. 3) before they
can be appointed as a pastor/elder/bishop. We are not to put just anyone into
the office so that we can have a plural number. There are situations,
especially in the apostate times in which we live, where there may only be one
person who is qualified to be a pastor/elder/bishop in a given church. That is
okay as long as that church is open to, and actually desires, to have more than
one pastor/elder/bishop should another man from among the congregation to be
called of God and meet the qualifications for that office.
Deacons
There is one other church office in Scripture
that was not mentioned in Ephesians 4 and that is the office of deacon.
Philippians
1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus
Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons:
The word deacon means servant. In scripture
deacons were servants of the church (and of God) but never had authority over
the entire congregation. We see the first deacons appointed in Acts chapter 6.
Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the
number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians
against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily
ministration.
In the church at Jerusalem daily provision
was being made for the older widows who had no one to care for them. Paul also
speaks of this practice in 1 Timothy chapter 5. The Grecians felt that their
widows were not being cared for equally with the Hebrew widows.
Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples
unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and
serve [do the work of a
deacon/servant] tables.
The apostles who were running the church in
Jerusalem at this time decided that it would not be proper for them to take
time away from preaching and teaching the Word of God in order to serve tables, so they appointed deacons
to take care of this responsibility. For those who wish to see it in Greek. The
Greek word that is translated deacon
(diakonos - Strongs 1249)
is also often translated as "servant" (Matt. 23:11, John 12:26, etc.)
for that is what the word means. The word translated "serve" in the
above passage (diakoneo - Strongs
1247) is the same word in its verb form.
Acts 6:3-4 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of
honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this
business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry
of the word.
Acts 6:5-6 And the
saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith
and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and
Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set
before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them
[ordained them].
According to scripture, the purpose of deacons is to take
care of any matters which should arise that would take the teachers in the
church away from the ministry of the word (studying, preaching, and teaching
it) and prayer. Since there are no apostles today, this would apply to the
pastors/bishops/elders who are the teachers and preachers of the word. Deacons
were not “assistant pastors” as they did not have authority over the entire
congregation, but only over their area of responsibility (in Acts the
distribution of food to widows). And as is the case with elders, deacons are
referred to in the plural. There were multiple deacons in a single church who
were all equal in authority. There are no assistant or senior deacons in
scripture. The qualifications for the office of deacon are listed in 1 Tim.
3:8-13.
Each church is to be Independent and Self-Governing
What you will never find in scripture is a hierarchical
system of church government. Each church was independently governed by local
pastors/bishops/elders. We do not see any men, other than the apostles, who
were in authority over more than one church. The lone exception to this is an
evangelist during the early days of a church where the gospel has spread to
nearby cities (Titus 1:5). But once elders/pastors/bishops have been appointed,
these pastors/bishops/elders only had authority over the single local church to
which they had been appointed.
Since there are no apostles today, no person, or groups of
persons, may ever be in authority over more than one church. Those who try to
get around this clear teaching of scripture have erected a false man-made
doctrine referred to as “Apostolic Succession”. This teaching says that the
apostles supposedly passed on their authority over multiple churches to others
whom they refer to as “bishops”. But their “bishops” are not Biblical bishops.
They do not see these bishops according to the Bible, as an equal to a
pastor/elder who is only in authority over a single local church. No, they make
their bishops into “super bishops” who are in authority over many churches and over
many pastors/elders.
As we have seen, scripture teaches no such thing. Christ alone is
able to create offices in His church (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22). No man has such
a right! Only God can tell us what a bishop is, and He has told us in His word
that every elder/pastor/bishop is equal in authority with the other
elders/pastors/bishops. Biblical bishops were never in authority over anything
other than the single local church to which they had been appointed. And
scripture never teaches that the authority of apostles over more than one
church was ever passed on to anyone. This teaching is clearly unbiblical.
Biblical Church Government
So far we have learned the following.
1. Evangelists are missionaries. They are to preach the gospel in
areas where it has not yet gone and plant churches in those areas. Evangelists
are to remain at a church as the sole authority over that church until such a
time that men become qualified to be appointed as elders/pastors/bishops. Then
evangelists are to move on to a new area and repeat the process all over again.
2. The terms pastor, bishop, and elder are three different terms
which refer to the one same office. There are three different terms because
each of the three terms refers to a different “responsibility” of that one
office. Pastors/bishops/elders are always to be plural in number and equal in
authority. The only exception to this is when no more than one person has met
the qualifications required for that office.
3. Deacons are to be servants in a local church. They are to serve
the local congregation (and God) by performing any necessary functions that
would take the teachers of the word (pastors/bishops/elders) from their
continual ministry of the word of God and prayer.
4. Every church is to be independent and self-governing. None but
the apostles had authority over more than one church, and they never passed
that authority on to anyone. According to what we have learned, Biblical church
government should look like this.
This is what Biblical church government looks like according to
the word of God. Each church is to be independent and governed by multiple
pastors/bishops/elders. Deacons are only to be in authority over their area of
responsibility. Nothing is to be added.
Unbiblical Forms of Church Government
The Episcopalian system
The word
“Episcopalian” comes from the Greek word for bishop “episkopos”.
The Episcopalian system is a man-made system in which churches are governed by
“bishops”. I put the word bishops in quotation marks because these “bishops”
are not true Biblical bishops as we shall see. The chart below is an
illustration of this system.
There are
multiple Archbishops in this system. Bishops are over multiple rectors and not
just two. In some churches, “rectors” are instead referred to as “vicars”.
Archbishops, Bishops, and rectors/vicars are all considered to be priests. This
system is not only limited to Episcopalian and Anglican churches. Many other
denominations have adopted this system in whole or in part. The Roman Catholic
Church system is similar to this but adds multiple cardinals over the archbishops
and has a single pope at the top.
What is wrong with this system?
1. Archbishop, rector, and vicar
are not Biblical offices and are, therefore, forbidden. Only Christ has the
authority to create offices in His church.
2. Under the New Covenant, there is
no office of priest. Every believer is now a priest (1 Peter 2:5, 9) and has
direct access to God without going through any intermediary but Christ (1 Tim.
2:5).
3. These “bishops” are not true
biblical bishops: A. They are not co-equal with other pastor/bishop/elders over
a single local church; B. They are in authority over the leaders of a local
church instead of being among them; C. They are in authority over more than one
church.
4. Each church is to be governed
independently by its own pastors/bishops/elders.
The Presbyterian system
The word
“Presbyterian” comes from the Greek word for elder “presbuteros”.
The Presbyterian system is a man-made system in which churches are governed by
group of “elders”. Once again, I put the word elders in quotation marks because
these “elders” are not true Biblical elders as we shall see. The chart below is
an illustration of this system.
The
General Assembly is over multiple Presbyteries and is not limited to just two.
Presbyteries are also over multiple sessions and not just two. The letters “T”
and “TE” under session refer to Elder and Teaching Elder.
What is wrong with this system?
Presbyterians
tell us that the General Assembly is Biblical based upon Acts chapter 15, but
this is not the case. In Acts 15 we do see a group of churches appealing to the
apostles in Jerusalem for the resolution to a doctrinal dispute (Acts 15:1-2).
But this passage gives no support for having a general assembly over multiple
churches in our day. First, this appeal was made to the apostles who did have
authority over multiple churches. Since there are no apostles in our day, this
passage does not justify people who are not apostles having authority over
multiple churches. That is not what took place in Acts 15.
Second,
this was a voluntary appeal regarding a single doctrinal dispute. The authority
of the Presbyterian General Assembly is not limited in such a way. It is a
permanent structure and those under its authority are required to submit to all
of its decisions regarding all things at all times whether they asked for their
input or not. Again, this is not what took place in Acts 15, nor do we see
anything even remotely like it in scripture.
Congregational Systems
Congregationalism
is term which refers to those systems of church government in which each church
is self-governed independently from other churches. As we saw earlier,
scripture does teach that each church is to be independently governed. Therefore,
the true Biblical form of church government set forth earlier in this article
could rightly be categorized as a congregational system. But there are many
other non-Biblical forms of church government which also fall under the heading
of congregationalism. We will examine the main ones in this section. There are
three main types.
Type 1
Those
called “deacons” in some churches may be referred to and as “elders” in others.
What is wrong with this system?
Type 2
Some
churches may have an elder board rather than a deacon board.
What is wrong with this system?
Type 3
What is wrong with this system?
Summary and Conclusion
This is the way which God has shown us in scripture that churches
are to be governed. Christ is the head of the church. The churches belong to
Him, and are to submit to Him. Therefore, we are to follow the example of
scripture on these matters and no man, or group of men, have the right (nor the
authority) to do otherwise. For proof of this see my article, “The True Worship
of God” at the link below.
http://www.seekingfortruth.com/articles/regprinc.htm