A WORD IN SEASON TO THE WEARY

🕯️🕯️🕯️October 2 🕯️🕯️🕯️

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11).

According to God’s plan He gave fivefold gifts to the Church for the spiritual maturity of the believers (Eph. 4:11-16). He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints and for the edifying of the Body of Christ. That is how believers can be brought to maturity. It is necessary that all these gifts should function for the growth of believers. When the apostles went as a team to preach the Gospel all these gifts were manifested as we see in Acts 14: 21-23; 15:32; 20:28 to 36. First of all the gospel was preached by the apostle and his workers with authority and then they were able to stay with them for some time to build them up and confirm them in the faith. Thus the believers were shepherded and brought to maturity. Then they ordained elders everywhere. “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed” (Acts 14:32). So after much prayer and waiting upon the Lord they found out who were fit to be elders. Through 1 Peter 5 we see how elders have to function.

First of all those who are chosen to be elders should be very humble people. “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1). The apostle Peter says he is an elder, as one of them. He is not seeking any glory as an apostle. Thus he takes a very humble place. Unless a man is really humble, he will not be able to feed His flock. People who take pride in themselves and seek self-glory cannot function as elders.

Secondly, Peter says that he is a witness of the sufferings of Christ, (v. 1). If a man wants to be an elder he must go through some suffering, some hardship and some persecution for the sake of the Gospel. Those shepherds who have gone through sufferings will be able to bear the suffering that will come later on.

Thirdly, Peter calls himself a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed (v.1). Peter had a clear heavenly vision of the second coming of the Lord. When we accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, we enter into a sevenfold spiritual partnership. So the elders are those who have a clear heavenly vision of their heavenly calling and ministry.