The Eldership Center

Ordination, Authority, and Ministry

Marjorie Warkentin

The distinction in Eph. 4:12 between gifts that equip or coordinate and those of a general nature has been used as a wedge to divide the new people of God into two classes of citizens. This division is entrenched in the vocabulary of the church. The Anglican bishop addressing the priest at ordination, tells him of his responsibilities to the congregation he serves. He reminds him that they are Christ's sheep.[35] Pastors speak of their people, an understandable way of speaking, perhaps, but nevertheless potentially misleading, especially if the people should also start to think of themselves as his. The "ministry" is the privilege and duty of all believers, not that of a few. Attention to the context of Eph. 4:12 could serve as a much needed corrective. Paul is addressing all believers when he says "I... beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called" (Eph. 4:1). He then makes some strong state-merits about unity in the body. There is "one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all" (Eph. 4:5, 6). After listing apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers (in historical order?), Paul again stresses unity. The goal of all gifting of such people is unity within the body: ". . . until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God" (Eph. 4:13). There is no hint that those who "equip" are to be set apart from the rest. All gifts are of grace from our one Lord (v.7) that we might all grow up into him (v.15). These texts are often applied to the "church universal," when making a plea for organizational unity. Denominational diversity is treated as the great shame of Christendom. It is indeed significant that the ecumenical movement has had to deal with the questions revolving around orders and ordination before any degree of unity could be attained. The success of this movement depends on agreement on a doctrine of "the ministry." Perhaps attention should first be directed to attaining unity within the local bodies.

When statements such as "The ministry is the highest of all callings" are applied to all who minister, to all whose ethic is diakonia, service, we will be on the way to restoring the unity spoken of in Eph. 4. Christ expressly forbids vertical relationships among his followers. "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you" Matt. 20:25, 26). Yet of the preacher Alexander Whyte it was said, "Whyte's pulpit was his throne."[37] La'vrence Eyres, writing about the elders of the church, says that they are "those who are exalted to the position of Christ's assistant restorers of what sin has destroyed";[38] of the presbytery he remarks: "When the elders are 'up there' in session, their minds and hearts must be fully aware of all that goes on 'down there' where the church lives in the world."[39] What a contrast to the teaching of our Lord!

But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (Matt. 28:12)

Thus Jesus taught the crowds and disciples. How startling this must have been to those familiar with the pride and arrogance of their own religious leaders, those so used to showing deference to their rabbis.

In the New Testament, church leaders are never called "rulers" (arkon), but many translators do not hesitate to use the word for them. In the King James translation Heb. 13:17 reads "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves. . ." The subtleties of the Greek are destroyed in this translation. There is a distinct difference in being told to "obey your rulers" and being exhorted to be persuaded by your leaders.[40] The result of either approach may be the same, namely, obedience to leaders. However, the vocabulary of the Greek New Testament permits the believer the dignity of responsible and intelligent response; blind obedience to human leadership is not required of those in Christian community. Elders who "rule well" (1 Tim. 5:17) are really elders who have been placed before their congregations to lead, not over them to rule. Even the apostle Paul, called for a unique mission by God and given apostolic authority, never sets himself up above the lowliest saint.[41] 1 Thess. 5:12 reads: "But we beseech you, brethren, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. Here too, the nuances of the Greek have been lost in translation. "Those who . . are over you are the proisteemi, the ones set before you; this participle stresses the function of several, not the office of one.[42] The word for "admonish" is noutheteo, an appeal to the nous the faculty of understanding and intelligent judgment.[43] The tone of the word can be derived from its use in Acts 20:31 where Paul describes his appeal in the gospel as "tearful; or in 1 Cor. 4:14 where he entreats the Corinthians as he would entreat much-loved children.[44] The word suggests an appeal in love, not the deliverance of an authoritative edict. The language of New Testament leadership is a language of horizontal relationships, of leading and following, of voluntary submission and service to one another. Even the risen Lord, the head of the church, who is in the "heavenlies" and is "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion" (Eph. 1:21), is, in relation to the church, said to build it (Matt. 16:18), give gifts to it (Eph. 4:11), bestow grace on it (2 Cor. 8:1), nourish it (Eph. 5:29), love it (Eph. 5:25), and by giving himself for it, sanctify it (Eph. 5:25, 26). He has set the pattern of diakonia, service, for us to emulate. It is by this criterion that we must test our doctrine of ministry, and in so doing evaluate the practice of ordination.

---

35. Book of Common Prayer, "The Form and Manner of Ordaining Priests."

36. W. D. Davies (Christian Origins and Judaism [London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1962], p.237) points out "There are no higher or lower ministries in the church of the New Testament."

37. Warren Wiersbe, Walking with the Giants (Grand Rapids: Baker; 1976), p.90.

38. L. R. Eyres, Elders of the Church, p.26.

39. Ibid, p.16.

40. The middle and passive form here of pitho stresses the outcome of being persuaded, that is, willing obedience. The contexts of all its uses (I am persuaded) in the New Testament stress the voluntary aspect of the word, except perhaps in James 3:3, which deals with the matter of persuading a horse, and we are told not to be like the horse. The use of this verb in Gal. 5:7 is followed by "this persuasion" in v.8. See NIDNTT 1:591. heegeomai means simply "leader," and hapax legomenon in the New Testament, means "yield." Since this is its only occurrence in the New Testament, the exact sense is difficult to pinpoint. It may be worth noting that the usual words for "obey" and "submit" (hupakouo and hupotasso) are not used here.

41. Paul is the "least of all saints.' (Eph. 3:8); the Galatians are "brothers with me" (Gal. 1:2). Paul does not demand respect on personal grounds, or because he is a New Testament church officer, but because he is the bearer of apostolic authority, in analogy to that authority which Moses possessed as the mediator of the Old Covenant; cf. 2 Cor. 2:17; 3:4-18.

42. L. Coenen, "Elders," NIDNTT 1:197.

43. BAG, "nous" p.543.

44. See also Rom. 15:14. In this context, where all the brethren are said to be able to love one another, some versions (RSV, NIV) translate this as "instruct," but in the context of leadership, as in 1 Thess. 5:12, they use "admonish." These may seem to be minor details; one wonders what would prompt the change.

This passage is from chapter 13 of Ordination, A Biblical-Historical View. Published by W.B. Erdmans in 1982. Now out of print.

 

To email the location of this article to an aquaintance, fill in the box.

   

To discuss this article, enter the appropriate web forum.

 

---

---