A Display of God's Glory/Elders

From Gospel Translations

As important as the deacons are, even more fundamental to our lives together as Christians is the ministry of another group to which we now turn—the elders.

I. Plurality of elders

The first thing we should note about the elders of a local church is that they are elders plural. Though a specific number of elders for a particular congregation is never mentioned, the New Testament regularly refers to “elders” in the plural (e.g., Acts 16:4; 20:17; 21:18; Titus 1:5; James 5:14). The elders of Israel that we see referred to throughout the Gospels and Acts are plural. The elders in Heaven are plural (Rev.5:14;11:16;19:4). In Acts 11:30, elders are plural. In Acts 14:21-23 we read, “They preached the good news in that city (Derbe) and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith…. Paul and Barnabas appointed [or had elected] elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord in whom they had put their trust.” If you look through Acts 15, you find in verses 2, 4, 6, 22 and 23 that there are plural elders. In Acts 16:4, the word for elder occurs in the plural. In Acts 20:17, we read that Paul called to himself the elders of the church in Ephesus. So too, in Acts 21:28, and in I Timothy 4:14 and 5:17. In Titus 1:5, Paul says, “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished