Ordained Ministers in the New Testament

 Most Christian churches make clear distinctions between ordained ministers and lay Christians. It is difficult to find this in the New Testament.

In the Acts and the letters of Paul, we find many names of Christians with significant ministries, but what were their titles?

The eleven original apostles are named. In Acts chapter 1, Matthias was added to the list.
Later, Paul is identified as an apostle.

In Acts chapter 6, the first seven deacons were appointed. It is clear that they were ordained to be ministers of the Gospel.

They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. Acts 6:6 NIV

These seven men were supposed to “wait on tables” but that meant, in reality, that they were supposed to administer the finances and income redistribution for a rapidly growing mega church with thousands of members.

They were also powerful anointed preachers, but in Acts 6 Luke tells us what they did but does not give them ministry titles. Only in Acts 21, Philip is identified as an evangelist.

Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. Acts 21:8 NIV

What about other prominent ministers?
Luke, Mark, Titus, Priscilla and Aquila? What were their ministry titles, if any?

We see that Titus functioned with much greater responsibility and authority than most pastors of local congregations, yet he is not identified explicitly as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher.

Apollos was also a very prominent preacher, but he is only once referred to as a DIAKONOS, which can mean Deacon or a generic term used by Paul for a minister of the Gospel. Paul used the same word to refer to Phoebe in Romans 16:1.

But we are often told that a woman cannot occupy the office of Pastor or Teacher.

Why? Because no woman in the NT is identified as a Pastor or Teacher. But neither is any man in the NT designated as a Pastor or Teacher.

Yet Priscilla and Lydia functioned as important leaders. But they are not explicitly identified as ordained ministers. Neither are  Luke or Titus.

In the Gospels, the word DIAKONOS is used to refer to household servants, but in Paul’s letters, the same word refers to ministers of the Gospel.

In Romans 16:1-2 Paul refers to Phoebe as a DIAKONOS. Why would Paul use a grammatically masculine word to refer to a woman? The only reasonable explanation is that it was a ministry title, and that she was an ordained minister of the Gospel.

God Created Men and Women to be Equal

Why do many Christians teach that men must always be in charge of churches, not women? Why do they say a woman must always obey her husband?

They can quote bible verses here and there, often with doubtful interpretations. Every verse can also be interpreted to show that it is not a universal law of God, or even that some verses are incorrect translations.  Books have been written to explain this in detail.  

Paul also instructs slaves to obey their masters. If we tell wives to be subordinate, we should, to be consistent, be in favour of slavery.

However, there is a simple Biblical explanation that shows men and women should be equal in every respect.

God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” Ge 1:27–28 NET

Who did God appoint to rule? Only the man? Only the female? No. He appointed both man and woman to rule, with no indication of hierarchy.

But some Christians point to Genesis 3:16.

To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labour you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Gen 3:16.

Did God decree that a husband should rule over his wife? Some understand this to be a divine decree. Others believe God was sadly predicting the unjust subordination of women because sin had corrupted the original godlike human nature. 

Adam and Eve were both originally sinless and therefore created in the image of God.

But God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty of sin.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

If you believe in Jesus, if you put entrust your life to the love and truth of God, if you commit your life to the leading of God, you are no longer an outsider with God.

But that is not all.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— Jn 1:12 NIV

As a follower of Jesus, you are a child of God, a son or a daughter. God does not discriminate.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 2 Co 5:17 CSB

This translation says anyone in Christ is a new creation. The masculine pronoun HE is not in the original Greek text.

When God first created man and woman, there was not even a hint of rank order or gender based hierarchy. Salvation after the cross restores God’s original intention. 

Both man and woman are in God’s image and are appointed to rule jointly.

God wants husbands and wives to be partners, equal in every respect, including equal in authority, just as in Eden before sin spoiled everything.

Likewise, the church should reflect this principle of complete gender equality, in spiritual ministry and church government.

 

Mutual Submission

As a new convert in an authoritarian cult like church, I learnt that submission to Christ meant that a Christian must have no freedom of choice, no personal preferences and no unique personality.

The death of the self was strongly emphasised. Love for anything other than God was idolatry.

But then I read in Genesis that God gave Adam the freedom to choose names for all the animals. God submitted to Adam's choices regarding the names of the animals.

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. Ge 2:19 NIVUK84

When a husband loves his wife, he respects and honours her wisdom, gifts and abilities. The Apostle Paul writes that each of us should esteem others more highly than ourselves.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Php 2:3 NIVUK84

A husband who loves his wife will submit to her in those areas where she is wiser or more capable than he is. If a wife is much more spiritually mature than her husband, which is very often the case, he should be willing to value her spiritual guidance.

This leads my thoughts back to Ephesians 5:21.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph 5:21 NIVUK84

I also learned to question the rigid hierarchical culture of some churches.

Mutual submission means that the Senior Pastor should give children’s church leaders freedom to make decisions. 

A good pastor will also seek the advice of the elders, computer specialists, financial experts and prophetic people. 

A good pastor will also be willing to release church members into missions, and not only missions under his direction. 

A healthy marriage is a partnership. A healthy church is a team.

WHERE DID CHURCH HIERARCHY COME FROM?

In New Testament times, local churches were led by teams of elders, and there was no one man in charge. 

The words PRESBYTER (elder) EPISCOPOS (overseer) and SHEPHERD (Pastor) were used interchangeably. 

The ministry of Pastor is mentioned only once in the entire New Testament.

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. Ephesians 4:11-12 (ESV) 

• There is no New Testament text indicating that one preacher dominated the ministry of a local church. 

Ephesians 4:11-12 does not define a pastor as an office holder who governs a congregation or dominates its teaching and preaching ministry.
The Apostles were missionaries, evangelists, teachers and church planters. When the Apostle Paul planted a church, he stayed for a while and then moved on without appointing office holders or official leaders. Later he would return and appoint elders. These pioneer churches were small networks of house churches. 

• No text tells us that Paul put one man in charge. 

When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, he addressed serious problems of sin and disorder but he did not address his letter to a leader or leadership group. 

1 Corinthians 1:1-2 (ESV) Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 

• To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 

Paul addressed his letter to the whole community of believers. 

It was up to the community of believers to work out how to make decisions, who should be delegated to exercise leadership, how to manage their affairs. 

• Paul was very conscious of his spiritual authority but he was clearly against authoritarian hierarchy and micro management. 

Some years later, some preachers had set themselves up as religious rulers over the Corinthian church. The Corinthian believers submitted to the domination of these leaders and Paul was not happy at all.

2 Corinthians 11:19-21 (NIV) You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 

• In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. 

• To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! ....

Paul calls dominating preachers FOOLS and he sharply criticises the Corinthians for submitting to them.

Paul’s approach to leadership was very different and he ironically calls his own leadership “WEAK”. 

• But today we see many churches ruled by a rigid patriarchal hierarchy. Many leaders are like the FOOLS and BULLIES described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11.

Where and when did the church abandon the free brotherhood and sisterhood of Paul’s time? 

Between 100 AD and 250 AD, bishops became the absolute rulers of the churches. They claimed to inherit the absolute authority of the first Apostles but unlike Paul, they practised extreme authoritarian micro management. 

• Only a bishop or an ordained priest was allowed to celebrate the Lord’s supper or baptism. 

Cyprian was Bishop of Carthage from around 248 to 258 AD.

• “He taught that a bishop had no superior but God. He was accountable to God alone. Anyone who separated himself from the bishop, separated himself from God.” (Pagan Christianity. Viola and Barna p.114)

But Jesus said to the first Apostles.

• "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 

• And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 

• Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. Matthew 23:8-10 (NIV) 

In Paul’s farewell address to the church leaders in Ephesus, he gave this warning:

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:29-30 (NIV) 

Are all senior pastors wolves or dictators? Far from it. Many are wonderful men or women of God and some lay down their lives as the first apostles did.

Nevertheless, a good pastor must remember he may be a leader but he is above all a fellow disciple, a brother or sister in the Church.