Does the Bible teach the office of pastor?

Pastors and teachers have special importance in such work, but they and the evangelists should always work in harmony together. If one is a teacher -- one who systematically teaches and applies God's Word -- he should also have a pastor's heart of concern for those he teaches, for merely enlightening the mind can be dry and unfruitful work. Applying the truth in patient grace to individual believers is vitally important, and it requires persistent labor. Yet some are more capable of this than others. In Scripture, a person with a pastor's gift cares for believers. Never does Scripture approve the thought of one being appointed as of a local church.

It must be repeated here that in speaking of a pastor we are speaking of gift, not office. Gift, unlike office, is not local. An evangelist may settle in a place (we had almost written "settle down"), so may a pastor and teacher. But neither the one nor the other is a local office. A pastor is called to feed the sheep of Christ wherever he finds them. Pastors IN churches are worth their weight in gold; pastors OF churches are men who assume to be what Christ has not made them and to fill a place of which the New Testament knows nothing. Search it from cover to cover, and you will not find the counterpart of a modern "pastor" of a church.

The word for "pastors" here is literally "shepherds," which gives us the thought of one who feeds and cares for God's sheep. This word designates those whom the Lord has fitted and gifted to "feed the flock of God," and whom He has called to this work. The Good Shepherd desires that His sheep not only be delivered from the enemy, but that they be guarded, led, and fed as well. Th pastor looks after the Lord's people; he sees that they do not go astray and seeks to recover them if they do. One who is a shepherd will have a sympathetic heart, administering comfort to the sheep of God in time of affliction. He will enter into their trials and problems and will seek to cheer and strengthen them, giving counsel, encouragement or correction by the application of the Scripture as needed in each case. He watches over souls and warns them if they grow careless or worldly.

A pastor must not only have knowledge of the truth, but the power and gift to urge it day by day upon individuals. He applies the truth practically, dealing with heart and conscience. He interests himself in the sheep of Christ individually and labors for their state. His work may be much in sorrow, which is naturally shrunk from, but it is a most blessed work and much needed. The pastor's work is largely of a private character and he need not be a public speaker nor take a prominent place, though he may also have the gift of preaching and teaching and labor publicly as well. Such are the main characteristics of the gift of a pastor.

In view of the common usage of the term, "pastor" in our day, it may be needful for us to distinguish between this and the gift of a pastor which we have been considering from Scripture. In these days one who is chosen as the minister of a particular denominational church is called "the pastor of the church." But such an office as "the official pastor of a church" is unknown in Scripture and did not exist in the apostolic church. One might be "a pastor," as to gift, in a local church, but in the Bible we never find one man spoken of as "the pastor" or "the minister" in charge of a local assembly of God's people. (We shall take up this matter of "one-man ministry" more fully in Chapter Three).

The Scriptures do speak of elders or bishops being ordained by the apostles Paul and Barnabas or by those who had a special commission from the apostle for this purpose, but never do we read of anyone being ordained of man to preach the Gospel or to teach or be a pastor over a church. There is no such thought in Scripture; it is entirely of human invention. Elders and bishops (the same thing-see Titus 1:5-7) were appointed men holding office or local charges in the Church and are never to be confused with gifts for ministry. Office and gift are quite different things. Elders and deacons and their offices will be before us later; our subject now is that of spiritual ministry and ministers.

When on earth He was Shepherd, and there were none beside Him. But from the glory He has provided those who shall minister to, and care for His sheep — a token of His affection and abiding interest in their welfare, till they see Him, and are with Him where He is. For besides giving apostles, prophets, and evangelists, He gave also some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting (along with the other gifts) of the saints, to the work of the ministry, to the edifying of the body of Christ. In what close relation to Him are we here reminded His saints stand! But care for the sheep in shepherding them is not confined to pastors, those gifts bestowed on men by the ascended Christ; for Peter tells the elders in Asia Minor of pastoral work to be carried on, and Paul, when exhorting the elders of Ephesus at Miletus, speaks in the same strain: — "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you," wrote Peter (1 Peter 5:2). "Shepherd the Church of God," said Paul (Acts 20:28). The former, by his language, reminds them that God owns now but one flock, as the Lord had taught in John. The latter, in his address, affirms that the flock and the assembly, or church, are the same company of souls. And were not these apostles, in the exhortations they gave — entering, as they did, so fully into the circumstances and necessities of the saints living examples themselves of the pastoral care of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by their ministry and active service, and not by theirs alone, would have His sheep tended and fed? By and by the Chief Shepherd Himself will appear, then the service of shepherding the sheep, committed to some of His people, will end; but, till all are safely housed, the Lord Jesus will continue to manifest His watchfulness over, and His interest in them.

The gift of a pastor is a rare one. Could anyone exercise the office of a pastor without having a gift, that is, do a pastor's work without being specially gifted? He will do it very badly if he has not got the gift. If he does it really, he has got the gift - he cannot do it really without that. It is possible that I did not quite convey what I meant. In the present state of things is the work of a pastor done in any way by any one who has not the gift of a pastor, or can it be? Much depends on the spirit of the thing. You may have him in the place and office, but he cannot do the work of a pastor because he has not got the gift. Supposing a person says, I do not profess to have the gift of a pastor, and yet I must look after souls as well as I can? One has no objection to that, for it is brotherly love. If you get a person in brotherly love doing what he can, it is very well: we all ought to care one for another. A very young Christian cannot do as much as an older one, but in a certain sense everybody ought to care for his brother. In verse 16 after the chief positive gifts, evangelists, pastors and teachers, which go on to the end, you get "from whom," that is, Christ, "the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth." That is what you refer to. One has not a specific gift and office, but he does whatever he can do. "Fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying itself in love." Here then all the members have something or other. They have each their place and service: one may exhort, one may have a little word of wisdom and never appear in public at all. There is that which "every joint supplieth." It is real and approved of Christ.

But to return. The evangelist introduces the convert into the Church. Here ministry of a new kind awaits him. After evangelists, in the passage we are considering, come "pastors." The word is literally "shepherds," and fittingly designates those whom the Lord has qualified to "feed the flock of God." The sheep of Christ need care. The Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for them, will see that they are not only delivered from the enemy, but guarded, led, and fed as well. It is here that the importance of the gift of pastor is seen. His it is to look after the Lord's people; to see that they do not go astray,and seek to recover them if they do; to comfort them under affliction; to cheer and sympathize with them under trial; to warn them if they grow worldly or careless, watching over their souls as one who must give account. The pastor's work is necessarily largely of a private character. He need not be a public speaker nor take a prominent place. The true pastor's sphere of service is not a limited one. And how such an one is needed by the Lord's people! One who can rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep; ready to give counsel, encouragement, or correction. Are we sufficiently thankful for pastors? What would the Church of God be without them? — open to the attacks of the enemy, the weak neglected, the wanderers unsought, the unruly unwarned. And is it not well for us to pray that this precious gift of Christ may be more recognized and made use of? Let those who have the care of Christ's flock awaken afresh to their responsibilities. They have a work which no man can do for them. That such a gift exists at the present time who can doubt, with this scripture before them? But externality and superficiality characterize these days. Showy talents are most appreciated, and the useful ones which minister to the true health of the Body of Christ are too often despised and neglected. As a consequence the saints grow lean; where a true pastoral care might develop them into usefulness they shrivel and remain weaklings all their lives.

And here is now the place for looking at the distinction between the pastors of Ephesians 4 and the elders, in respect of the charge to them also to "shepherd."

You can hardly fail, I think, after what we have gone into, to be as well satisfied as myself that the ruling functions of the shepherd are those assigned to the elder. The poimenes, or pastors, however, we have seen, have for their sphere of labour the "edifying of the body of Christ," by ministering to the perfecting of the individual saints which are its members. (1 Cor. 12:27, &c.) No such thought as that of rule or government is ever connected by the Spirit with "the body," other than its subjection to the head. Edifying, nourishing, and cherishing, are the appropriate thoughts; to which boskein would not unfittingly apply. Such then is the pastor's office in the church of God: to tend the flock in its spiritual necessities, ministering consolation to the sick or afflicted, binding up the wounded spirit, strengthening the weak, raising the fallen, and the like; a house to house ministry of love in the bowels of Christ, most aptly described by "shepherding," though quite apart from that character of shepherding which we have seen assigned to the episkopos, or elder.

Eldership was an office; pastors, and teachers, evangelists, are gifts. I speak of scripture — I know nothing else. Again, in scripture an elder is never the same as teacher, pastor, or evangelist. The elders of the church at Ephesus were bishops (episkopos), and as such, overseers, and were to feed the church of God.

The business of the elders was to rule or take the lead among the saints. They were responsible to see to godly order in public and private; and hence, as we saw in chapter 3, qualities were looked for which would give them moral weight, not only in cheering the weak and timid and tried, but in repressing the forward, and rebuking the disorderly. They are therefore quite distinct from the gifts, of which we hear so much in Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4, and elsewhere. Hence we must distinguish, as scripture does, a pastor from an elder. For as the latter is never enumerated among the fruits of Christ's ascension, the former is incontrovertibly treated as a gift of His love, no less than apostles, prophets, and evangelists, for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of the ministry, unto the edifying of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12).

The two might be united, doubtless, in the same person. But eldership was a local charge, which needed the authority of an apostle, or an adequate person acting definitely under apostolic commission, to make the desired choice of fitting men. This is clearly shown in Acts 14:23; where, we are told, that Paul and Barnabas chose or appointed elders for the disciples in each assembly. That the disciples chose elders, whom the apostles ordained, is a fiction, perhaps due to the wholly different case in Acts 6 of "the seven," whom the saints at large did select and the apostles appointed over the business of the "tables". The reason of this procedure seems plain. The saints, as they contributed of their goods, were left most wisely to look out from among themselves brethren so endowed as to inspire the confidence of all. But the "gifts" are given by Christ, not by the church, and therefore in this case He alone chooses; and, as authority also is from Him Who invested the apostles with power to act for Him on earth, we see them, directly or indirectly, choosing elders accordingly. Hence Titus was sent for the purpose of appointing elders in every city of Crete (Titus 1:5). Never was the assembly told in scripture to choose such. Directions also are here given to Timothy only, not to the assembly in Ephesus. Authority and power are from above.