Church Offices: Qualifications, Responsibilities, and Authority

Introduction

The Apostle Peter’s words are profound: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 4:10-11).¹ Not only do these words demonstrate the supremacy of Christ working in His people through varied gifts, but they also demonstrate the three offices of the church: member, elder, and deacon.² Verse 10 applies to all Christians because all Christians have been equipped with gifts for ministry. Verse 11, then, speaks of the ministry of the word and the ministry of mercy—direct roles of the offices of elder and deacon. However, members are also called to both the ministry of the word and the ministry of mercy. This short essay will examine the qualifications, responsibilities, and authority of the three offices instituted and under the supreme authority of Christ as head of the church.

Members

The office of member requires regeneration or covenant relation, and baptism. That is, to qualify as a member, one must either be born again and be baptized or have believing parents who hold the office of member and be baptized (John 3:3-5; Acts 2:38-41). Once qualified, members can participate in the responsibilities of the office, including gathering together, practicing their spiritual gifts, and building up the body in love (1 Cor. 12:12-31; 13; Eph. 4:1-16; Heb. 10:25).³ They are equipped to do these things by the Holy Spirit as a royal priesthood, possessing the authority to proclaim the good news to the world and to hold each other to a high standard (1 Pet. 2:9; Heb. 3:12-13). The qualifications, responsibilities, and authority of membership also remain true for elders and deacons, for they too are members of the congregation.

Elders

While elders or overseers must meet the qualifications of membership, they are held to an even higher standard because they care for the well-being of the church. In addition to believing in Christ and being baptized, elders must desire to serve, be above reproach, be able to teach, and be established as a firm, experienced believer (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9). These qualifications will manifest in all areas of the individual’s life, so that he leads his family and his church well.⁴ Furthermore, the qualifications themselves describe what an elder is to do. He is to lead, teach, shepherd, and equip the flock of God for the work God has planned for them.⁵ He does all of this as a representative of Christ to His people; the elder’s authority is derived from Christ: “The authority of eldership comes from God, not the congregation. Although the congregation affirms elders’ calling and authority, their authority has a divine origin. Paul told the Ephesian elders that the Holy Spirit made them overseers (Acts 20:28).”⁶ One such example of this authority in practice is the responsibility of elders to discipline and remove a member from fellowship if necessary (Matt. 18:17-18; 1 Cor. 5:13; 2 Thes. 3:6-7, 14-15; 1 Tim. 1:20; Tit. 3:10-11).⁷ Yet, elders cannot do the work of ministry alone.

Deacons

Deacons have the same qualifications as elders, yet do not require the gift of teaching, for their ministry is not the ministry of the Word but of mercy (1 Tim. 3:8-13). Their office, or a prototype of it, is established in Acts 6, and from it, one can perceive the qualifications, responsibilities, and authority of the diaconate office.⁸ The congregation decides on seven godly and Spirit-filled men to “handle financial matters” and relieve the ministry of the elders through mercy and stewardship so that they can focus on preaching. Therefore, it is proper to conclude that the deacon’s primary qualification is that he must be a godly and upright man; his role is to serve the church’s needs and to fill the gaps wherever needed; and his authority is derived from the congregation. Moreover, he embodies the authority of Christ, who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45; Matt. 20:28).

Conclusion

In summary, Christ calls all of His body, even those who hold a special office, to live upright, and He provides the authority and responsibilities to fulfill such roles in the power of His Spirit. The general office of member is to believe in Christ, become like him, encourage fellow believers, and make disciples. The special offices of elder and deacon equip the member to do so, so that “when each part is working properly, [it] makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph. 4:16).

Bibliography

Clowney, Edmund P. The Church. Contours of Christian Theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

Dever, Mark, and Jonathan Leeman, eds. Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2015.

Footnotes

1. Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture references are to the English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016). ↩

2. Some see the offices of the church as fivefold (APEST: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, and teachers; cf. Eph. 4:11), yet gifts of apostleship and prophecy have ceased, evangelism has been absorbed into the general and special offices of ministry, and the role of a shepherd-teacher is expressed in the office of elder/overseer. ↩

3. John Hammett, “The Why and Who of Church Membership,” in Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age, eds. Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2015), 169. ↩

4. Benjamin L. Merkle, “The Biblical Qualifications for Elders,” in Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age, eds. Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2015), 253-270. ↩

5. Benjamin L. Merkle, “The Biblical Role of Elders,” in Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age, eds. Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2015), 271-276. ↩

6. Ibid., 278. See also, Edmund Clowney, The Church, Contours of Christian Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 206. ↩

7. Clowney, The Church, 204. ↩

8. Benjamin L. Merkle, “The Office of Deacon,” in Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age, eds. Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2015), 312-313. ↩