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Elders in Ephesus - Acts 20
Elders in Ephesus - Acts 20
We see the beginning of this church in Acts 19. After two years of preaching there, Paul left. He spent an unspecified amount of time traveling through Macedonia, and then 3 months in Greece. Somewhere during this time elders were appointed in Ephesus.
Such is not surprising. The habit of Paul was to appoint elders in every church (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:3). These men were said to be the “overseers” (bishop in Greek) and were to “shepherd’ the flock among them (vs. 28).
In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul said that elders (along with apostles, prophets, and teachers) were to “equip the saints for the work of serving” (Eph. 4:12). Paul had set the example for them on how to go about doing this: teach, teach, and teach. He reminded them: “for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears” (vs. 31). He taught them “in public and from house to house” (20). He “did not shrink from declaring” to them anything that was profitable (20). He said again that he ‘did not shrink’ from declaring unto them the whole counsel of God (27).
Behind this emphasis on teaching is the danger of false teachers (29-30). The best protection against such wolves is an educated flock of sheep. The elders were to first of all pay careful attention unto themselves. This was needful because from among THEM would come some of these false teachers! These elders were not to be new converts but seasoned disciples (cp. 1Tim. 3:6). They were to be men who would “hold firm to the trustworthy word” so that they would “give instruction in sound doctrine” (Titus 1:9).
Then, they were to pay careful attention unto the sheep that they were caring for. They were ‘to watch over the souls’ of the disciples among them, and they were warned that they would give an account of such duty (Heb. 13:17).
In all of this, Paul set an example for them. His teaching was not just academic but was accompanied by a heart-felt association with them: he was with them ‘night and day’, he admonished them with tears. A man must be hospitable in order to be appointed to this work (1Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:8). HOW such teaching and association were to be done is not specified, but it must get done. Elders need to know their flock. That requires knowing EACH sheep individually. That means knowing which one is weak and which one is sick. Such intimate knowledge comes only from close association and interaction.
My observation is that this kind of elder is sorely needed in many churches across the country. Those who would be elders must first desire to do such work, and few do. We spend great amounts of time, energy, and money to instill many desires into our young men, but almost NONE toward instilling a desire for this work. There is yet a lot of restoring to be done among God’s people today.
Hugh DeLong
