SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/26/2019
10:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-5 “Explanation of Pastor/Teachers”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians
4:11
Message of the verse: “11 And He gave
some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as
evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,”
This
is the fifth SD on this subject and as I mentioned in John MacArthur’s
commentary he has a lot of things to say on this subject, actually six pages
and so I think because all of this is so important for us to understand that I
will over the next few days just quote from the remaining pages, and do as much
as I can type each day so that we all get the benefit of reading what he has to
say on this subject of Pastor/Teachers.
“First
Peter 5:5 contains a similar usage: ‘You
younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders.’ As in 1 Timothy 5:2, the word is here used to
contrast age and youth. In such a
context presbuteros in generally
understood to mean only ‘an older person,’ not necessarily an officeholder of
any kind, and that was the primary meaning of the term in general Greek usage.
“In
the time of Christ presbuteros was a
familiar term. It is used twenty-eight
times in the New Testament to refer to a group of ex officio spiritual leaders
of Israel. See, for example: ‘the chief priests and elders’ (Matt. 27:2); ‘the
scribes and elders’ (27:41); ‘officers of the temple and elders ‘(Luke 22:52);
and ‘rulers and elders of the people’ (Acts 4:8). In each of those instances, and in every
similar usage, presbuteros refers to
recognized Jewish religious leaders who were not defined as priests of any
kind. Those elders seem to have been
members of the Sanhedrin, the highest ruling body in Judaism in Jesus Time.
“Matthew
15:2 and Mark 7:3, 5 use the phrase ‘tradition(s) of the elders.’ There presbuteros
refers to an ancestry of leaders who passed down principles governing religious
practice. They were the teachers of determined
Jewish religious leaders, and in that sense elder is equivalent to rabbi and
may or may not have signified official status.
“The
New Testament church was initially Jewish, and it was natural that the concept
of elder rule was adopted. Elder was the
only commonly used Jewish term for leadership that was free of any connotation
of either the monarchy or the priesthood.
That is significant for the New Testament use of Jewish terms, because
in the church each believer is a co-regent with Christ and there could
therefore be no earthly king. And,
unlike national Israel, the church has no specially designated earthly
priesthood, because all believers are priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9, Rev. 1:6). Therefore, of all the Jewish concepts of
leadership, that of elder best transfers to the kind of leadership ordained for
the church.
“The
elders of Israel were mature men, heads of families (Ex. 12:21); able men of
strong moral character who feared God and were known for their truthfulness and
integrity (E. 18:20-21); men full of the Holy Spirit (Num. 11:16-17); capable
men of wisdom, discernment, and experience—impartial and courageous men who
would intercede, teach, and judge righteously and fairly (Deut. 1:13-17). All those characteristics were involved in
the Jewish understanding of presbuteros. The use of that term to decide church leaders
likewise emphasizes maturity of spiritual experience, shown in the strength and
consistency of moral character.”
We will continue tomorrow with this
quote.
Scripture verse that goes with yesterday’s
quote (1 Peter 5:10): “But may the God
of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you
have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”
3/26/2019 11:25 AM
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