Church Government, Acts 14:23

This post concerns what the Bible says about church government or leadership.

Church Government discusses the role elders play in the affairs of the church of our Lord, Acts 14:23. “…when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

In this passage, Paul and Barnabus visited some of the churches they had established and arranged proper government. Paul would explain the qualifications of elders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Every congregation should have elders, Titus 1:5. “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—”

The apostle Peter, also an elder, emphasized where the elders would have authority. 1 Peter 5:1-2. “…I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ…shepherd the flock of God that …among you, exercising oversight,”

Note the language, “shepherd the flock of God that …among you, exercising oversight”

Thus, each congregation should have elders or bishops that govern that congregation and no other.

However, as years passed the eldership changed to a system where one bishop became the head elder. Beginning in about the fourth century and thereafter various bishops of Rome declared themselves ‘pope’ or supreme head over the entire church. Finally, in 1075, Gregory VII listed the privileges of the pope. Thereafter, all the bishops of Rome claimed to be ‘pope.’

Note: In 1054, the eastern orthodox Greek-speaking congregations rejected universal governance by one man and declared themselves independent of Rome. The Orthodox Church retained the scriptural government of the New Testament church whereby each congregation governed itself and no other congregation.

Let us resolve that today we will follow the authority of the scriptures as to the government of each congregation and not recognize a universal head.

So, what did we learn?

1.The scriptures authorize elders or bishops in each congregation to govern that congregation only.

2.The Rome church gradually changed and designated the head Bishop as pope over all congregations.

3.The Eastern Orthodox church rejected the pope as a universal head.

4.No scripture authorizes a universal pope over all the churches.

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#oversightChurch #eldersBishopsOverseeEachChurch