Biblical Roles: Elders (Part 1)

The role of an Elder

“Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas -- Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them, ‘The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.’” (Acts 15:22-23)

I believe that in this verse, Paul outlines the governmental structure for the church: the Apostles, the Elders, and the Brethren. In this post (and those to come) we will look at some of the roles of the Elders. This list is not exhaustive, but contains some of the role I believe to be important.

Intersession

“So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, ‘It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’” (Acts 6:2-4)

At its inception, the twelve apostles were also the elders of the new church. As the church grew and the needs of the believers grew, the elders found themselves squeezed for time. There was the always pressing need of the people and there was also their personal need to spend time with God. The elders of the early church understood that their chief calling was to labor in the word and in prayer. Their calling to pray for the people was greater than their calling to personally serve the people. Their solution was to ordain deacons to see to the ministry “tasks” while they gave themselves to prayer.

An elder is to pray for the people. Intersession is one of the primary roles of an elder. They are like the Old Testament priests that carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel before God. “As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall set them in filigree settings of gold. You shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for a memorial.” (Exodus 28:11-12) Elders continually bring the people of God before God, they continually offer up their names as a memorial before Him.

When Paul was passing through Ephesus for the final time, he called together the elders and commanded them to “be on the alert.” (Acts 20:31) The Greek word for “alert” is literally “watch”. Paul commanded them to be on the watch. How do we watch in the Spirit? “And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’” (Matthew 26:40-41) The watching Jesus was referring to was prayer. We watch in prayer. When elders pray and intercede, they are standing watch over the flock. It is in the place of prayer that God can reveal His plans and purposes for the body. It is also in prayer that God can warn us of the plans and purposes of our enemy. Watching is praying.

It is the continual temptation of elders to become busy with the “work” of ministry, but an elder must never allow the needs of others to draw them away from their primary role as intercessor. The more there is to do, the greater the need for elders to pray. Without prayer, we lack the wisdom, guidance, and revelation from God that is needed to lead the people of God. Elders must pray!

More to come… David Robison