INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. The concept of spiritual shepherds over the flock of God did not originate in the New Testament<\/p>\n
1. That was a role the priests and prophets played in the Mosaic age, and some of them did not take their work seriously<\/p>\n
2. Jeremiah 23:1-4<\/p>\n
3. Ezekiel 34:1-10<\/p>\n
4. Jesus alluded to this work and its abuse during His earthly ministry, when, in speaking of the shepherd, He said – John 10:3-5, 11-12<\/p>\n
5. From these passages, we learn that the Lord expected His shepherds to do the following:<\/p>\n
a. Keep the flock together in fellowship with God – leading them in the paths of righteousness<\/p>\n
b. Attend to the spiritual needs of the flock with kindness and gentleness<\/p>\n
c. Feed the flock<\/p>\n
d. Strengthen the weak and attend to the sick<\/p>\n
e. Find and restore those who have wandered away and those who are lost<\/p>\n
f. Protect the sheep from evil influences that would harm or destroy them<\/p>\n
g. Lead – not drive – the sheep. The good shepherd is personally acquainted with each sheep, is able to call each by name, and the sheep know his voice and follow.<\/p>\n
B. In this lesson, and the one following, we will discuss the God-given work of the eldership – their responsibilities as shepherds of the Lord’s flock.<\/p>\n
1. In lesson 1 will explore the responsibilities of the eldership by given attention to the names given to this office.<\/p>\n
2. In lesson 2 we will look at specific passages that point out an elders responsibilities.<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
A. PRESBUTEROS<\/p>\n
1. This Greek word is translated most times as “elder,” but once as “presbytery” (1 Tim. 4:14).<\/p>\n
a. Presbuteros is translated as “elder” 67 times, and 16 of those times it has reference the office of the eldership<\/p>\n
b. The translation “presbytery” (1 Tim. 4:14) is used with reference to a combined group of elders over a local congregation<\/p>\n
2. Elders are those who are older in age, older in the faith and spiritually mature.<\/p>\n
a. There are valid reasons why the Lord chose those who are older to be shepherds entrusted with oversight.<\/p>\n
b. Those who are older generally have more endurance, experience, knowledge, maturity, seasoning, self-control, wisdom and wise counsel than those who are younger.<\/p>\n
3. The responsibilities carried in the meaning of presbuteros are:<\/p>\n
a. To give wise counsel<\/p>\n
1) Marriage<\/p>\n
2) Child rearing<\/p>\n
3) Various spiritual concerns<\/p>\n
b. To be a father figure to the young<\/p>\n
1) Leviticus 19:32<\/p>\n
2) Proverbs 16:31<\/p>\n
3) Proverbs 20:29<\/p>\n
c. To be a mighty oak of strength in difficult times<\/p>\n
1) Be stabilizing influence<\/p>\n
2) Give strength and encouragement<\/p>\n
B. EPISKOPOS<\/p>\n
1. This Greek word is found 5 times in our New Testaments and is translated as “overseer” and\/or “bishop” and each time has reference to the eldership, except in 1 Peter 2:25 -where Peter refers to Christ as our overseer or bishop<\/p>\n
2. The idea behind the term episkopos is:<\/p>\n
a. To look out for<\/p>\n
b. To visit<\/p>\n
c. To organize and govern<\/p>\n
3. An episkopos then, is a man charged with the duty of:<\/p>\n
a. Insuring that all things are done in accordance with God’s will<\/p>\n
b. Watching over the welfare of the souls of the local congregation<\/p>\n
c. Overseeing the overall work of the local congregation –<\/p>\n
1) Overseeing, but delegating also<\/p>\n
2) An overseers main focus is the spiritual needs of the people<\/p>\n
4. Also, caught up in the meaning of episkopos is that of a guardian – to take care of, to look out for<\/p>\n
C. POIMEN<\/p>\n
1. This is the most descriptive term in giving us information concerning the work and responsibilities of an elder.<\/p>\n
2. Poimen is and can be translated as shepherd, pastor, tend and feed.<\/p>\n
a. Acts 20:28 – “feed” or shepherd the church of the Lord<\/p>\n
b. 1 Peter 5:2 – “tend” or shepherd the flock of God<\/p>\n
3. Understanding what a shepherd did in biblical times will help us to understand to work of elders<\/p>\n
4. A shepherd in a local congregation, then is a:<\/p>\n
a. Ruler<\/p>\n
1) An ancient shepherd would or take charge of the well -being of his flock<\/p>\n
2) New Testament shepherds are to see to the well-being of the local congregation<\/p>\n
b. Guide<\/p>\n
1) In biblical times shepherds would guide its flock in the right direction<\/p>\n
2) Elders, then, are to guide in the paths of righteousness<\/p>\n
c. Protector<\/p>\n
1) A shepherd in Palestine would protect the sheep from wild animals that would kill and harm them<\/p>\n
2) Elders must protect the church from error and evil<\/p>\n
d. Companion<\/p>\n
1) Shepherds were with the flock from day to day<\/p>\n
2) People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care<\/p>\n
f. Feeder<\/p>\n
1) Shepherds in ancient times made sure the sheep had what they need to grow<\/p>\n
2) Elders must make sure that the flock of God is being provided the proper nourishment<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. There is great Great GREAT responsibility associated with being an elder.<\/p>\n
1. Hebrews 13:17<\/p>\n
2. Being an elder is serious business<\/p>\n
B. Invitation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INTRODUCTION: A. The concept of spiritual shepherds over the flock of God did not originate in the New Testament 1. That was a role the priests and prophets played in the Mosaic age, and some of them did not take their work seriously 2. Jeremiah 23:1-4 3. Ezekiel 34:1-10 4. Jesus alluded to this work … Continue reading “The Work of the Eldership #1 – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43611\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}