So I exhort the elders among you…

1 Peter 5:1a

Chapter 5 of 1 Peter opens with the apostle directing some thoughts to “the elders” (5:1a).  The man-made traditions originating in Catholicism and continuing in varying degrees within Protestantism over the centuries have produced a lot of ideas about elders, bishops, and pastors which are shown to be false when compared with Scripture.  For example, most within Christendom give various qualifications, classifications, and ranks to bishops (popes, chorbishops, archbishops, cardinals, patriarchs, etc.) while assigning to them authority over many churches at once in various districts or geographical regions (dioceses, episcopal sees).  Pastors are generally thought to be preachers, and presbyters (taken from the Greek term for elders) are classified as priests.  Bishops, pastors, and priests are all considered to be “clergy,” with those in the church not in these offices are considered “laity,” transliterated from the Greek term meaning “common people.”  Within Catholicism, most of those considered to be clergy are required to be celibate.  Catholics also consider Peter to be the first pope.

None of this is found within the New Testament.  Concerning priests, we see earlier in 1 Peter that the apostle designated all Christians to be priests (2:5, 9), not just “the clergy.”  Concerning elders, it is true that “elders” (presbyteros) are sometimes spoken of in a general sense as members of the church who are older (Acts 2:17; 1 Tim. 5:1-2; 2 John 1; 3 John 1).  However, presbyteros is mostly used in reference to the New Testament church to describe a particular office (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2, 4, 6, 22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18; 1 Tim. 5:17, 19; Tit. 1:5; James 5:14; 1 Pet. 5:1).  Peter’s direction to “the elders (presbyteros) among you” (5:1a) is meant for those holding the office of an elder, as seen in his subsequent direction for these elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight…” (5:2ff).  It’s noteworthy that elsewhere in the New Testament Paul spoke to “the elders of the church” at Ephesus (Acts 20:17) and, like Peter did with the elders to whom he spoke in 1 Peter 5, told them to “shepherd the church of God” and that the Holy Spirit had made them “overseers” among that church.

“Shepherd” (poimaino) is derived from the Greek term poimen from which the term “pastors” is translated in Ephesians 4:11.  Within Ephesians 4:11, it is noteworthy that “pastors” are distinct from “evangelists” and “teachers,” thus showing that preachers are not inherently pastors.  Instead, we see from 1 Peter. 5:1-2 and Acts 20:17, 28 that the inspired apostles gave the responsibility of being shepherds or pastors specifically to elders.  “Exercising oversight” (episkopeo) is derived from the Greek terms episcope and episkopos from which the term “bishop” is translated in 1 Timothy 3:1-2.  Paul also used the term episkopos when he told elders that they were “overseers” (Acts 20:28; cf. v. 17).  Keeping that in mind, notice that he taught Timothy that one must meet certain qualifications to be a “bishop” (1 Tim. 3:1-7)…while also giving Titus a similar list of qualifications one must meet to be placed in the office of an “elder” (Tit. 1:5-9).  One of those qualifications is marriage, thus contradicting Catholic doctrine about the celibacy of clergy and Peter originating the papacy (Matt. 8:14; 1 Cor. 9:5; cf. 1 Tim. 4:1-3).

We therefore see that the New Testament interchangeably uses the terms “bishop,” “overseer,” or “exercising oversight,” and “pastor” or “shepherd,” to all refer to the same office: the office of “elder.”  “Elders” are the ones whom Scripture calls “bishops” and “pastors” and who have the responsibility to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight…” (1 Pet. 5:1-2a; cf. Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9).  They did so with the church or flock “among (them)” (1 Pet. 5:2a; Acts 20:28; cf. Acts 20:17; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:5) rather than overseeing large geographical districts or dioceses.

Since Scripture as a whole helps all Christians to become more righteous and better “equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17), this section of 1 Peter is worthy of the study of not only the elders of today’s churches but also the saints whom they shepherd and oversee.  We’ll continue this study in the next article in this series, which will come in a couple of days.

— Jon