THE UNBIBLICAL HIERARCHY OF RULING ‘ELDERS’

With evangelists Glen & Renette Vermeulen

By courtesy of Now Unbanned Publications

 

To be great and important, especially in the sphere of religion, is not a new aspiration.  A religious mother asked Jesus in Mt. 20:21-28 to seat her two sons in His kingdom, one on His right and one on His left.  But Jesus replied: “You know that the princes of the [unbelieving] Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.  But it shall not be so among you: Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto…”

Jesus’ teachings on pride and ungodly ambition are crystal clear.  These sins are the essence of Satan, the mastermind of all religion.  As a result, reborn believers must die to their love of self and their religious aspirations: Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 5:17. 

Compared to those who are simply religious, born again leaders must be humble servants and willing slaves of Christ, which is not a prohibition to better oneself.  It is a ban on reckless ambition, and the love of money and power.  A totally different attitude should reign in those who live in a relationship with God: 1 Cor. 7:20-23. 

Subsequently, Paul instructed in 1 Tim. 6:6-12: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  Having food and shelter, let us be therewith content. [Because God and not the god of money, Mammon, must be our highest priority.] But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare…  and pierce themselves with many sorrows.”

We cannot serve God and Mammon; neither can we serve God and idolatrous religion: Mt. 6:24.  Hence, Paul commanded in Rom. 12:3-5: “Do not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, [do not be puffed up, arrogant, proud, religiously unteachable and -ambitious,] but think soberly...”

God’s grace does not differ from person to person, but His calling and gifts do. 

Paul knew this, therefore he wrote in Rom. 2:11: “God does not show partiality, undue favour or unfairness; with Him one person is not different from another.”

 

The only place where so-called ‘importance’ among believers exists is in the religious system that carries the spear of spiritual independence in their hand. 

Independence from God, fuelled by their idolatrous pride and -haughtiness. 

“Be not called Rabbi… and Father, [titles of honour],” Jesus commanded the apostles in Mt. 23:8-12, “for One is your Master: Christ, and you are all brothers.”

But since the early days of religion factions, titles of honour, rank and snobbishness existed amongst believers.  Even in the same denomination, so-called ‘importance’ divided believers into stuck-up groups that had little in common. 

And it all started with the religious clergy who believed they were spiritually so much higher and more important that the flock.  This haughty, man-made, hierarchical clergy sprouted from the gross twisting of Mt. 16:13-23.

“Your name means ‘rock’, and to you I give the keys, which means that I will delegate the spiritual authority of My kingdom to you,” Jesus supposedly said to Peter, then pointed to Himself. “For on this Rock, I will build My church, and you and all your descendants of sincere believers will be My instruments in achieving this.”[See 1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Pet. 2:9-10.] 

In this passage Jesus was revealing to Peter his own place in the kingdom, as well as the form and structure of the genuine church.  Though Peter was an ordinary member of His body, Jesus fulfilled this promise on Pentecostal day when He used Peter to turn the Gospel-key and unlock heaven’s door for 3,000 souls: Acts 2:41-43. 

This great miracle says nothing about Peter the ‘important servant’, but it says everything about Jesus the important Christ!  Peter was only Jesus’ instrument to found His New Testament church - a little rock of the Great Rock, a humble little temple of the Grand Temple. 

These spiritual keys of authority testify to our right standing with God through Christ, as John explained in 1:12-13: “To [all] those who received Him, He gave the power, [keys of authority, privilege, right], to become the children of God.” These keys of power do not prove human importance of any kind.  It speaks of the Master Who trusts His servants with the keys of His house.  It conveys Jesus’ commission to His New Testament church: “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them, [the disciples], in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you…” - Mt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8. 

But during the church-building era of Caesar Constantine, [see ‘The Church Of Acts’], Satan pretended that Jesus said the following: “O great and important Peter, you are the rock of your church and you will build your church.  To you I give the keys of heaven, [not merely “the keys of the kingdom”].  You may allow entry to whomever you please, and you may send to hell whomever you choose.” Rev. 20:11-15.

With this falsification the devil extolled Peter to ‘saint Peter, gatekeeper of heaven’.  This Peter is a Christian replica of the god Janus who holds the keys to the underworld.  This impostor also became the most important among the bishops, the high priest or the pope, the so-called head of the church. 

As only Jesus is the Head of the church, this idolatrous view placed ‘saint’ Peter as a false christ on the stage of religion. [See ‘Catholicism and Protestantism’.]

The Lord Jesus Christ became the One and Only High Priest and spiritual Temple of His true believers on Golgotha.  At that moment He annulled the physical, Old Testament temple with its order of Levitical priests and inaugurated His New Testament nation, His royal priesthood, as His spiritual temple - Heb. 9:8; 8:1-6; 10:19-22; Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Pet. 2:9-10. 

Since that day every sincere believer is a king of the King, a priest of the High Priest and a saint or a holy child of the Most High God: Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2. 

The priesthood of Christ has no rank or preference. 

God did not subject them to human commanders; all His believers are subjected to the Scriptural authority of God alone.  Every born again child of God is a spiritual worker in his or her own territory as God allots.  Firstly in the home, then among family and friends, at work and in the secular world: Acts 1:8. 

From this spiritual priesthood of Christ, God Himself chooses elders, [who still remain ordinary spiritual priests as Jesus Alone is the High Priest], to serve in His church: 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 1 Cor. 4:1-2.  According to Eph. 4:11-13 these elders are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.  Five elders, five servants, all on equal footing. 

The democratically elected, hierarchical clergy of the religious stream are leaders; the Theocratically elected elders of Christ are servants with equal non-status. 

As God’s kingdom is a Theocracy, He Alone chooses only proved, truly Spirit-filled servants and handmaidens who live spiritually clean lives: 1 Tim. 3; Acts 13:2-4. 

Above all they should be “doers of the Word” and disciples who “rightly divide the word of truth.” – 2 Tim. 2:15.  Faithful stewards who understand the truth of the Word contextually and constantly apply its commandments and principles to their lives. 

Completely different from that of the worldly church hierarchy, which is a democratically elected top-structure, Biblical elders function from the bottom of the church, where all the elders [spiritually] “wash the feet”, or humbly minister to their fellow believers in conjunction with one another: Jn. 13:14; 1 Cor. 4:1-2. 

This is so because the kingdom of God is a spiritual THEOCRACY where Jesus reigns as High Priest and King. 

Paul explained this principle in 1 Cor. 4:8-16: “We, [the servant-elders], are looked upon as fools on account of Christ, but you, [the glitzy religious clergy], are supposedly so amazingly wise and prudent in Christ!  We, [the servant-elders], are weak, but you, [the religious hierarchy], are so strong!  You are highly esteemed, but we are in disrepute and contempt!  [While you are being kept in luxury through your abuse of the Law], to this hour… we still toil unto weariness for our living, working hard with our own hands…”

Jesus Christ is the Creator God