Who are elders - what do they do?

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Peter’s Appeal to the Elders (1:1-4):

 

v. 1: The recipients of the appeal, the person making the appeal.

Fellow-elder – team work. Mutual consultation, recognition, respect, unity, no superior-inferior. The apostolic office included the work of the elders.

Peter had a glimpse of the glory at the transfiguration (2 Pet.1:16-18), but he did not participate (koinonos= personal participation) in it.

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v.2: Their duty – poimanate= tend, to act as a shepherd; do everything that shepherding requires (Aorist active imperative; from poimaino) – “Take up the task of shepherding” (imperatival, commanding force). Be shepherds. Feeding, leading (guiding, directing, counseling), caring, protecting, healing. (Jn.21:16; Acts 20:28=shepherd, tend; 15, 17- bosko=to feed as a herdsman. The emphasis falls on the pastoral aspect not only on the plural aspect).

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Flock of God- God’s flock- flock belonging not to the elders who shepherd it, but to God who owns it (poimnion=flock, the little flock, the beloved flock). Flock is singular noun – unity in spite of diversity.

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Among you (en humin=under your care, committed to you). Elders cannot be absentee shepherds. Cannot be invisible. Your presence should be known and felt. Actively work with the flock.

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Exercising oversight/serving as overseers, taking the oversight – Overseeing, supervising, watching over, guarding. The manner in which the elders are to carry out their work. Secondary command, a participle (episkopountes).

(Elder- dignity, spiritual experience, maturity; episkopos/bishop/overseer – his duties of spiritual oversight, function; pastor – his gift (in caring for the sheep).

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V.2b-3: The motives in serving as elders. a) Not by compulsion, external pressure or constraint; not a reluctant draftee. Willingly – voluntarily (some manuscripts have as God would have you – kata theon, “as God want you to be” – NIV; “according to the will of God”-NASB; literally, “according to God” – just as God shepherds His flock). b) Not for dishonest gain (base-gain, filthy lucre, shameful (ESV) if uncovered, lust for profit, not greedy, sordid (NASB) – ignoble, arousing moral distaste, dirty; not like hirelings.

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Eagerly – readily, zealously; eager to serve (prothumos), a strong word emphasizing enthusiasm and devoted zeal (KJV- “ready mind”).

 

c) Lording over - Real authority, but it should not be abused, dominate, heavy-handed use, over/complete control, domineering (ESV). Compound verb, kurieuo=control, with the pre. kata=down (control down). Lead and not drive.

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Illustrated in Diotrephes (3 Jn.9-10). Leaders are those standing before (hoi proistamenoi, Rom.12:8; I Thessa.5:12); those leading/guiding (hoi hegoumenoi, Heb.13:7, 17, 24 – led, lead, leaders (NASB). They should not be those being lords (hoi kurieuontes).

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Entrusted – committed to your care, allotted to (ton kleron), assigned to, “God’s heritage” (KJV); “those in your charge” (ESV). The lots/portions (plural) - In each congregation, individual elders had portions of the conger: for which they were particularly responsible; elders were put in charge of different groups of the flock. Various congregations allotted to different groups of elders.

 

But (contrast). Examples - (tupoi) – models, patterns (Exod.25) whom their people could follow. Inspire, motivate, encourage, correct, counsel.

They are visible, their presence, involvement in the lives of the flock.

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Being/becoming (ginomenoi) – the verb indicates a conscious deliberate effort of becoming worthy examples. Not administrators, correspondents, just organize things.  They lead, shepherd, by being examples to the flock.

 

v.4: The Reward of the Faithful Elders/under-shepherds.

And – natural sequence to faithful shepherding is the bestowal of rewards.

 As the master/chief-shepherd (archipoimenos), Christ is in charge of the entire flock and the under-shepherds. See 2:25 – ton poimena kai episkopon).

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Good Shepherd – laid down His life (Jn.10:11) – in His death.

In His resurrection & present work, He is the Great Shepherd working out the divine purpose in all the sheep (Heb.13:20).

He will return as the Chief Shepherd to reward and consummate he work of His under-shepherds (1 Pet.5:4).

The crown (stephanos, victor’s crown; not the imperial crown, diadema). Stephanos were garlands or wreaths made of perishable materials (oak, olive, myrtle leaves, ivy).

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Two characteristics of the crown

 

1. not fade away (amarantinon, made of amaranth, emphasis on the material out of which it is made - a flower whose unfading quality was symbolic of immortality; will never use its beauty, worth or attractiveness, in contrast to the temporal achievements of the rewards in this life; different from 1:4).

 

2.  Of glory (tes doxes) – crown that consists of heavenly glory. The under-shepherds will share in that glory (see 5:1- prospect of a glorious future to motivate faithfulness. Prophecy is practical.

 

Elders are not democratically elected officials, or humanly appointed leaders, or self-appointed shepherds. They do not get into office/service to fill a need, on the basis of customs, precedence or ecclesiastical/denominational practices, but they are divinely chosen, appointed and recognized by the people of God on the basis of Scripturally prescribed spiritual qualifications. They do not represent the people of God, but they represent God to act according to the directives laid down in His Holy Word. Any eldership pattern that is contrary to this has no basis in the NT. It is just another vain ecclesiastical tradition perpetuated through the preference and convenience of some pious men.