Articles
Elders Are Given By God For Our Spiritual Growth
Spiritual Food for Spiritual Thought
Here is an excerpt from an article from wordpoints.com
It is a sad fact that so many of the Lord’s people worship where there are not even two men who are qualified to serve as elders, and so the congregation has to do without an eldership. But maybe it is just as sad that those of us who are fortunate to be in congregations where there are elders don’t ap preciate them as we should. The fact is, elders are given to us by God to help us grow spiritually. If we are so blessed as to have scripturally qualified elders, we should consider them as nothing less than gifts from God for our good.
In Hb. 13:17, the writer said, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning.” What a priceless blessing! Yet how long has it been since any of us thanked God for His provision of wise, god ly men in the congregation who are willing to watch out for our spiritual welfare? Do we not see the benefit we’ve been given in the provision of these men?
In Ac. 20:28, elders are instructed to “care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” Having men of integrity and spiritual maturity to lead and feed us in the Lord is a wonderful thing. We need to acknowledge the goodness of this blessing. More than that, we need to cooperate with the process of edification of which it is a part. In a good sense, we need to “take advantage” of what God has given us.
The eldership is not a man-made institution. We need to remember that the work of elders — two other New Testament descriptions of the same office are bishops/overseers (Ac. 20:28; Phil. 1:1) and shepherds/pastors (Eph. 4:11; 1 Pt. 5:1–4) — is a part of the wise plan that God has devised for His church. We read in 1 Tim. 3:1: “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he de sires a noble task.” When godly men fill these roles, the result is the strengthening of the church. In His infinite wisdom, God knew precisely the type of leadership and service that would contribute to the kind of strong relationship He wanted us to have in the church. Rather than resent these means of strength, let’s be appreciative. And let’s help our children to have healthy attitudes toward leadership in God’s family...
