David B. Curtis
David B. Curtis
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Good morning, Bereans. Well, believe it or not, we are back in 1 Peter. Today we are going to try to answer the question: Are There Pastors Today? The way you answer that question depends on how you view a pastor.
A while back one of our listeners, let's call him Joe, wrote me a 14-page letter challenging my view on pastor/elder and church leadership. Joe had written me before, so I was familiar with him and respected his input. He opened his letter by saying,
Ever since you started teaching 1 Peter, I have wanted to write this. You are now getting close to 1 Peter 5:4 and I realize my opportunity is passing. I know you get a lot of unsolicited material but I do hope you can give me an hour of your time to thoroughly read this. This is an area where I disagree with you, so I wanted to express my opinion in hope that you may deal with my position when you teach on these verses. I look forward to your exposition of this passage.
Later in the letter, Joe wrote, "If I misrepresent your position, I hope you will forgive me and correct me. Taking on my favorite teacher is not a light exercise."
Joe says,
In a nutshell, my position is this: Since AD 70 there is only one pastor, that is, one Shepherd. Of course that would be Yeshua. Secondly, it is not biblically mandated that local fellowships have the presbyterian form of church polity. I see these two points as being related. Let me hasten to say that I am not proposing leaderless fellowships. Nor does anything I advocate to be construed as a threat to your teaching ministry. This should become more clear as I continue."
We'll look further into what Joe says, but let's first review these verses in 1 Peter 5.
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 1 Peter 5:1-2 ESV
In verses 1 and 2, we see that Peter uses three terms for the leaders of the church. He calls them elders in verse 1 (to the elders), but in verse 2, he calls them both shepherds (pastors) and overseers (bishops). In some churches, these are three separate positions (elders, pastors, bishops), but in the Scriptures, they are not. They are used interchangeably for the same office, just as Peter uses them in this passage.
Elders—is the Greek word presbuteros. It is used 72 times in the New Testament. It refers to those mature in age. Presbuterosis, used a total of 20 times in Acts and the Epistles, is in reference to leaders in the church.
Bishops—is from the Greek word episkopos. It means "guardian or overseer." It is used 5 times in the New Testament—once of Christ (1 Peter 2:25) and four times of church leaders. It is plural (bishops).
Leaders—is from the Greek word hēgeomai, which according to Thayer, means "to lead, to go before, to be a leader, to rule, command." It is only used of church leaders in Hebrews 13:7.
Shepherd—this is from the Greek word poimainō which means "to tend as a shepherd (or figuratively, supervisor): - feed, rule" according to Strong's.
Now you may be wondering about the word pastor? Well, you won't find the word "pastor" in the ESV. The word "pastor" is found once in the New Testament in the KJV.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Ephesians 4:11 KJV
Pastors here is the Greek word poimen. It is translated as pastor in the KJV and NASB. Most modern translations translate it as shepherd. The word pastor is not found in most modern versions. So, where did the word pastor come from. The word "pastor" comes from the Latin word pascere, meaning "to lead to pasture" or "to feed." This term was adopted into Church Latin to describe a spiritual leader or shepherd of a congregation, and it is the origin of the word pastor. So, pastor comes from the Latin translation of the Greek word poimen. It was first used in the 1560 Geneva Bible in Ephesians 4:11. Of the 18 uses of poimen, it is only translated as pastor once.
The normal meaning of the word poimen is "shepherd" (to protect, feed, care for, and lead). Shepherds are not distinct from bishops or elders, or leaders. The terms are simply different ways of identifying the same people. Textual evidence indicates that all three of these terms refer to the same person.
The main intent of this section of Scripture is wrapped up in the first word of verse 2, the word "shepherd." That is the main verb. That is the main thrust. That is the exhortation. Peter says, "So I exhort the elders among you… shepherd the flock of God."
This passage is unique because it is the only passage in a New Testament letter that singles out elders from the rest of the believers for direct exhortation. The only other example of direct exhortation to elders is found in Paul's message to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20.
Our text tells us that elders are to shepherd the flock of God. "Shepherd the flock of God" is an aorist active imperative. The elders are commanded to shepherd.
So, from what Yeshua says to Peter, we see that the primary responsibility of the shepherd is to feed the flock by teaching them the Scriptures. Whether they are called elder, overseer, or pastor, the church leader's primary responsibility is to teach the Word of God. This is what Yeshua called Peter to do. This is what Paul did. And this is what Paul calls the Ephesian elders to do.
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 1 Peter 5:1 ESV
And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:4 ESV
Joe writes,
In verse 1 the glory was "about to be" revealed (YLT) which implies that the leaders would give account of their ministry in a short time, that time being the second coming of Christ. The observation I make is from verse 4. The chief Shepherd would appear and at that time the elders would receive the unfading crown of glory. When Christ returns the elders are rewarded for their service while Christ was absent. We believe that Christ returned in AD 70 and is now with us. The elders were rewarded at that time and, in my opinion, were done. There is no longer a need for the temporary service of elders because we now have our one and only Shepherd. There is no longer an "in-between" shepherd commonly called a pastor.
Here's the issue—understanding hermeneutics makes Bible study much more difficult. If we are going to understand the Bible, we must have some understanding of Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the science of Biblical interpretation. The purpose of Hermeneutics is to establish guidelines and rules for interpreting the Bible. Any written document is subject to misinterpretation, and thus we have developed rules to safeguard us from such misunderstanding. God has spoken, and what He has said is recorded in Scripture. The basic need of Hermeneutics is to ascertain what God meant by what He said.
The primary rule of Hermeneutics is called The Analogy of Faith. This means that Scripture interprets Scripture. No part of Scripture can be interpreted in such a way as to render it in conflict with what is clearly taught elsewhere in Scripture. The Analogy of Faith is a safeguard that should help prevent us from reading into the Scriptures something that is not there.
Another principle of Hermeneutics that is so overlooked is Audience Relevance. This means that whatever a passage and the words contained within it meant had direct application to the original intended audience. Audience relevance requires that the interpreter ascertain the meaning of the words of Scripture by what they meant to the original, intended audience. Furthermore, the concern of the interpreter is to understand the grammar of a passage in light of the historical circumstances and context of the original audience.
We see two extremes when it comes to audience relevance. One extreme held by some is seeing everything in the Bible as pertaining to them. You may have heard the false mantra, "every promise in the book is mine." But there is another view which takes the principle of "audience relevance" to the opposite extreme by contending that none of the Bible applies to us today. Something important to our understanding of audience relevance is understanding the transition period.
Joe said, "There is no longer a need for the temporary service of elders because we now have our one and only Shepherd." In support of what Joe says, look at what Yahweh said to Ezekiel.
In Ezekiel 34 we have a divine rebuke of the "shepherds of Israel" because they had forsaken their calling as shepherds and had begun to feed themselves from the flock, rather than feeding the flock. The text promises that God Himself will become the true Shepherd, seeking, feeding, healing, and restoring His scattered people, culminating in the promise of a future, ideal shepherd (the Messiah) to care for them eternally.
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. Ezekiel 34:15-16 ESV
Christ quotes these words affirming that he is Yahweh who will shepherd His people. Joe said, "There is no longer a need for the temporary service of elders because we now have our one and only Shepherd." Yahweh does say that he will shepherd his people and Yeshua says that he is the good Shepherd.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11 ESV
In John 10, most of the imagery comes from Ezekiel 34.
Joe says, "The elders were rewarded at that time and, in my opinion, were done."
Paul seems to say that the office of pastor will end.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Ephesians 4:11-13 ESV
According to this passage, the gifts were to be used to bring the church from a state of infancy to adulthood. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to build up the body; once the body is mature, we no longer need spiritual gifts. In this passage in Ephesians, maturity is defined as "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." This happened at the Second Coming.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, Ephesians 4:11 NASB
These are not gifts per se. There is not a gift of apostleship. They are gifted men, who have special ministries. Spiritual gifts have reference to the supernatural powers possessed by individuals, while gifted men has reference to the sovereign placing of gifted men in the Church for the purpose of ministering to the body.
Pastor and teachers—these two words are linked by a single definite article. This suggests that either Paul has only one group of ministers in mind, or at least an overlapping of functions. Some would say that because Paul doesn't repeat the word "some" before the word "teachers," he is indicating that this is one gift and not two.
This is the ministry that takes the teaching of the prophets and teaches it to the local body of believers. What is the most prominent term today for church leaders? It's pastor, even though this is the only time that the word "pastor" appears in the New Testament.
It is my opinion that all four of these gifted men only functioned during the Transition Period. The evangelists and pastor and teachers were gifted men who took the teaching of the apostles and prophets and evangelized and taught the new believers. Now, you may ask: "What makes you think the evangelists and pastor and teachers were temporary?" I'll show you as we look at the next two verses. What was the purpose of these gifted men? Look at the next verse which shows us that it was
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, Ephesians 4:12 ESV
The KJV translates, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." Thus, the meaning seems to be that Christ has given these gifted men to His people, so that they would 1) perfect the saints, 2) perform the work of the ministry, and 3) edify the body of Christ. But the newer interpretation takes note of the different prepositions, taking the position that the second phrase depends on the first, and that the third depends on the first two. This has become the dominant view and is reflected in some of the newer translations, including the NASB. The point is that the gifted men equip the entire body to work in accordance with their various spiritual gifts.
So, the purpose of these gifted men was to equip the saints so that they would do the work of the ministry by using their spiritual gifts and building up the body of Christ until they all reached maturity in Christ.
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Ephesians 4:13 ESV
The word "until" here is the Greek word mechri, which means "up to a certain point" (as preposition of extent [denoting the terminus]). It denotes that he gave gifted men to the church and that will continue until the action of the following aorist subjunctive katantao, "until we all attain." Paul uses this same word in Galatians 4.
my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! Galatians 4:19 ESV
Paul would continue to labor "until" Christ was formed in them.
Grammatically, there are three phrases in 4:13, each beginning with the word "attain to." So, "attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God," is one phrase. Attain "to a mature man," is the second phrase. Attain "to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ," is the third phrase. "Attain" is used nine times in the Book of Acts to refer to travelers arriving at their destination. Thus, each of these phrases involves a process that results in a goal. Paul uses "attain" in Philippians 3.
that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:11 ESV
When is the goal that Paul talks about to be obtained? What is the point at which the saints were to stop building up the body by their work of service for which they were equipped by these gifted men? They were to do this work of ministry "until we all attain to the unity of the faith." Is that when it ends? No. They must also attain to the unity "of the knowledge of the Son of God." In other words, they have to become a "mature man," thus they would "reach the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." And the word "fullness" is the Greek pleroma. The gifts stopped when the body was matured. The word "mature" here is teleios, which is the same word we see in Ephesians 4.
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Ephesians 4:13 ESV
When the body was matured to the likeness of Christ, the Lord returned to take His Bride. These gifted men were to function "until" the maturing of the body. Once the Lord returned, the gifted men's ministry was over. Their purpose was to mature the body. That happened in AD 70 when the Lord returned and now all believers are like Christ—we are righteous.
So, maybe Joe is onto something. Earlier I said, "This passage (1 Peter 5:1-4) is unique because it is the only passage in a New Testament letter that singles out elders from the rest of the believers for direct exhortation. The only other example of direct exhortation to elders is found in Paul's message to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20." So, let's look at Acts 20.
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Acts 20:28 ESV
Paul states that "The Holy Spirit has made you overseers." Notice that they are made overseers and elders not by self-election and not by human ordination but by divine appointment. It was the Holy Spirit who made them overseers/pastors.
Now my question is how? How does the Holy Spirit appoint someone as an elder?
Well, I think that when the apostles were around, they appointed elders, and those who were apostolic delegates appointed elders.
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—Titus 1:5 ESV
Clearly, the apostles and their delegates could appoint elders. Their appointment was the Holy Spirit's appointment. Does the Holy Spirit appoint elders today? Here is what I have said in the past about this.
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 1 Timothy 3:1-2 ESV
I see from this text two ways that the Holy Spirit appoints elders: First, He plants a desire in their heart for the work. The Greek word for "aspires" is oregomai, which means "reach out after (long for), covet after, desire."
And second, the man fits the qualifications that are listed here and in Titus 1. So, it's not that elders appoint elders. Elders recognize those whom the Holy Spirit has appointed and who have begun to function as elders.
OK, but we can't say that men with a desire to lead and who have the qualifications are appointed by the Spirit, can we? Many people desire positions they shouldn't have. Can anyone today claim to be appointed to their position by the Holy Spirit?
Joe writes, "These two passages give the qualifications for elders. The point I wish to make is that they are addressed to close associates of Paul, an apostle, and not to any of the many churches that Paul writes to in the NT scriptures. If the appointment of elders were to be a function of a local church, I would expect a local church to be given the instructions on how to do it and the qualifications necessary."
Acts 14:23 states, in particular to the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, that Paul and Barnabus ordained elders in "every church."
And 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. Acts 14:23 ESV
Joe writes, "Shepherds in the transition period were commissioned by apostles or close associates. When the transition period was over the ministry of the apostles and other spiritually gifted men of that day was done. Yeshua our Shepherd had returned, the scriptures were complete, and there was no need for authoritative entities in the church other than scriptural truth."
Now let me tell you why this is important. The Scriptures command us to submit to church leaders. Do those who call themselves pastor or elder today have authority over believers?
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5 ESV
"Be subject to the elders"—this is an aorist passive imperative describing a settled manner of life. The context implies that the "elders" of 1 Peter 5:1 are the same as the "elders" of 1 Peter 5:5.
Commenting on this text, David Pratte writes, "They do have the power to make decisions which the other members must respect and follow, unless the elders instruct the members to do that which is sinful. See also Hebrews 13:17."
Commenting on this text, Gregory Brown writes, "It is good for us to remember that the elders are God's ordained leadership for the church. The only time we should not submit to the leadership in the sphere of church ministry is when they are disobeying Scripture." What if they tell you to get vaccinated?
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13:17 ESV
When teaching through Hebrews I said, "The command here is unqualified – ‘Obey your leaders, and submit to them…'John Owen saw this as a twofold duty and rendered it, "Obey their teaching and submit to their rule."
"Submission to Church leaders, therefore, is submission to God. The church has the responsibility of obeying the teaching of their leaders and submitting to their authority, because they rule in the place of Christ. The principle of subordination is absolutely essential to the well-being of the church and society."
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5 ESV
These verses are pretty clear that the elders/pastors are in authority and must be submitted to. But, does this apply to us? What authority do those who call themselves pastors/elders have today?
Joe writes, "If a Christian is in a church and is taught and believes that he must obey his church leaders, he just becomes a slave to them. He could never leave without their permission or he would be in sin. He would be in rebellion."
Joe writes, "Then there is the Covid Craze. Your and my opinions are the same in regard to this. We both know that church leaders instructed their congregations to take different actions during this time. Most of them blew it. ‘Take the jab. Wear a mask. Don't meet together. Obey your government.' Good, nice, respectful church leaders gave instructions that were wrong and led even to the death of some of their members."
Awhile back I asked: How many of you have been under a monolithic man who called himself pastor and tried to control your life? Many emailed me their stories.
Anthony writes:
Hello, David. Can I first preface this email by stating, the holy spirit is still giving gifts today, and that gift is your hairline my friend. As a 44 year old man, doing every YouTube remedy to keep my hair, I look at yours like I'm looking at one of Paul's healing hankeys :) lol, but I digress.
During the late 80s early 90s in Melbourne Australia, there was a church I attended with my mum and twin sis, called the Grace Church. My mum was a single mother, and only worked on weekends. The church used to lecture her every week for not tithing enough, to the point they told her if she ever got Cancer, God wouldn't heal her… this actually devastated her. It was later found that he used his status in the church to get sex of woman.
Is God commanding believers to submit to these church leaders?
Donna writes:
I was told that if I didn't get baptized in the Church of Christ, I was going to hell. They told me that all of my family members who had already passed on were currently burning in hell because they didn't get baptized in the Church of Christ. I was crushed & my heart was broken. I couldn't stop picturing my 98 year old grandmother, (who was devoted to Jesus & loved him with all of her heart), burning for all eternity in hell, in pain, screaming, crying & begging for help from her Savior, Jesus, who never answered her and just left her there to be tortured forever.
When I questioned the rapture and said that Jesus came back in AD70, I was told that was heretical & if I actually believed that, I was going to hell.
These are the men we are to submit to?
Norm writes:
Insofar as telling us that God would never allow me to have a career that would make me work on "the Lord's day." He wanted to know every detail of our life. Especially our sexual relationship and how we should conduct ourselves in marriage. We were to tithe and be in church every Sunday and Wednesday night. We were to participate in communion every month. If not, there was a high doubt if we were even saved because our works were the proof of our salvation.
Kim writes:
Hi David. Here is my story of church overreach in my life. My former husband and I attended a fundamental church in Maine. This church was an incredible evangelistic church and an incredible family. The congregation was about 100 and one year we had over 100 saved and baptized. My husband had drinking and drug issues in and out of rehab. He was mentally abusive often and threatened me numerous times holding a gun that if I left him he would kill me. He met my mother and I at the door with an ax. Throughout our marriage I had to separate from him on occasion for safety.
The threats became worse and I was told by my pastor that I could not divorce him and would have to forgive him and return him to our home. Ultimately my husband burned our house down killing our pets. He was sentenced to six years in prison and, again I was told after he got out I had to forgive him and let him back home which I did, but he continued as before. He was arrested on parole and back in prison. At that point I moved back to Texas, later divorcing him for abandoning me. As an aside the pastor was having an affair with the church secretary. That church fell apart a couple years later.
If that doesn't make you sick, I don't know what will.
Joe writes:
There is a vast difference in the church of the millennium and the church today. The authority then was vested in apostles, prophets, etc. The authoritative word of God came through them to the church leaders and to the church. In any given city no one could leave the church for another church. Though it may have met in small groups, it was a single unit governed under the hierarchy. Today that hierarchy is gone. Yeshua rules the church and the sole authority is the Scripture.
I conclude that because our Shepherd, Yeshua, was absent during the transition period, he had given temporary shepherds to tend the flock until he returned. At his return these shepherds are no longer needed, are rewarded and Yeshua now shepherds his sheep himself. There are no longer any go-betweens. The structure of governance with elders, pastors, bishops is no longer needed, just as the gifts are not needed.
So, where do we go from here? What should the Church look like? Well, this study has changed my views quite a bit but it won't change my practice much. I think any group needs some type of leadership. We have never as elders tried to take authority over anyone's life that I know of. My desire, and focus, is to teach. If you want to listen, you can. If not, there are plenty of others out there you can listen to. I feel like BBC is a family. We love and support each other.
What is the main purpose of the church gathering?
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV
This is to be the purpose of our gathering—to build each other up.
I don't think we will ever be able to do away with words like elder or pastor, but we need to understand that they are not positions of authority. Most people call someone who teaches them the Bible pastor. Which is all right as long as you view a pastor as a waiter, someone who brings you food. That's what a teacher should be doing.
I've had many of you, some whom I
have never met, say to me
You're my pastor." I take that to mean that they are learning from me, that I
am feeding them. Maybe to those who know me, I am an example to them. I never
take it as, you're the boss of me, I'll do whatever you say.
Many people have had their lives messed up by an overbearing, authoritative pastor figure. Yeshua rules the church and the sole authority is the scripture, but others can teach us and give us a godly example.
Joe writes, "There are no popes, priests, apostles, prophets, pastors, bishops, elders, overseers, under-shepherds or any other go-betweens or authorities that rule over an individual believer. His sole Shepherd is Yeshua the Messiah and his authority is the written word of God."
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