Hello everybody, it's minister Paul23 back in the video. This is another video on the
basic doctrines of the Bible. In this video I want to talk about the subject
of the offices of the church. So we believe that the local church which is
headed by Jesus Christ as the sole supreme authority has two offices which
are meant to be filled. The office of a bishop, also known as the pastor or
elder, and the office of the deacon. So the word bishop simply means overseer
and the role of one is to oversee or take care of the matters of the local
church. It says in 1st Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 to 7,
From this passage of scripture the
requirements for somebody who is seeking the office of a bishop are clearly laid
out. If somebody's going to be a pastor they need to fulfill these requirements.
For example, they need to be married and they need to have children and rule over
their house well. For as it says, if a man know not how to rule his own house, how
shall he take care of the Church of God? Therefore the purpose of a bishop is
laid out clearly as well. In order to be ordained for this important office they
need to fulfill these qualifications. As it says in verse 2, a bishop then must be
blameless. So the title of bishop is also interchangeable with the word elder in
the Bible, which is more often used in the New Testament. It says in Titus
chapter 1 verse 5 to 7,
So first he says in to Titus that he
should ordain elders in every city and second uses the word bishop instead and
goes on to list the qualifications of one once again as in first Timothy
chapter 3. Here also we learn that a bishop is meant to be an office in every
church in every city. As we discussed a few videos ago, the church is a local
congregation. Therefore a pastor is only the leader of the local congregation, the
local assembly of believers that come together in one place, not the overseer
of multiple local churches. The expectations of a bishop and the role
and tasks committed to them are also clearly given in the scriptures. It says
in 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 1 to 3,
...and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory
that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of
a ready mind. Neither is being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the
flock. An elder does not have the authority to be the lord over God's
heritage, that is, the church. He should not be an absolute ruler, but an example,
an overseer, who also is principled according to the final authority, the
Word of God. It is the job of the elder to feed the congregation, which could be
taken literally in that the pastor should help provide for the needs of the
members of the congregation, but also to feed them spiritually. The Bible uses
bread and milk and meat to represent the Word of God often. It says, ...desire the
sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Therefore it is also the
job of an elder to preach the Word of God. It does in 2nd Timothy chapter 4
verse 2, ...preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke,
exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. The epistles of Timothy are
written from Paul to Timothy, who was an elder himself, giving instructions for
how to run the local church, and he gives commands concerning how to study the
Word of God and how to use it effectively. And lastly, he says, preach
the word, which includes the use of reproof, rebuking, and exhortation with
long-suffering and doctrine. A pastor is doing that which God has tasked him to
do if he preaches that which the Bible says, not holding anything back but
teaching the congregation. That is why it says in 1st Timothy 3 that he must be
apt to teach. Beside the bishop or elder or pastor is also the office of the
deacon, the second office of the local church. The word deacon simply means
servant or minister, and the purpose of deacons is to assist in other smaller
matters within the church. Now the first example we find in the Bible of deacons
that are pointed by the church at Jerusalem in Acts chapter 6, as it is
written in Acts chapter 6 verse 3 to 6, ...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. 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 Nicodora, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte of
Antioch, whom they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they
laid their hands on them. Now in the context, the care of the widows and other
temporal matters were neglected because the apostles were focusing on the
preaching of the word and prayer. Therefore they chose these seven men to
appoint over the other business within the church. These were the first deacons.
The Scriptures likewise give qualifications for deacons in 1 Timothy
chapter 3 verse 8 to 13. It says, "... likewise must the deacons be grave, not double
tongued, not given too much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the
mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be
proved, then let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless. Even so must
their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the
deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own
house as well. For they that have used the office of a deacon will purchase to
themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ
Jesus. Many of the same requirements given for the pastors are also given for
the deacons. They must not drink, they need to be sober and serious, they need to be
without blame, they must be married and rule their children well. Therefore both
of these tasks are not for every Christian, but they are important jobs to
keep the local church running for the service of God. The bishops over the
spiritual matters and the deacons over the temporal and earthly matters of the
church. Besides these positions there are none others within the local church. At
the time of the book of Acts, Jesus Christ had commissioned the office of
Apostle, although there are no longer any apostles. For as recorded in Matthew
chapter 10, John chapter 15, Acts chapter 1 and elsewhere, the apostles are those
which had seen the risen Lord Jesus and specifically called by him to devote
themselves to evangelism. But after the first century as shown in the epistle of
1st Timothy, the only offices of the local church are the bishops and also
the deacons. So that's it for this video. Thank you everybody for watching and
goodbye.