| Introduction Christ loves his church. Because of that, he has provided a government for her. Think with me about this for a moment. Instead of leaving her without leadership or guidance, Christ appointed officers that would direct, oversee, and shepherd her. The Ephesian collection of literature makes very clear to us that Christ has instituted a government to his church and what that government is. The Ephesian church has now been around for about a year. She was planted through the persistent proclamation of Jesus Christ as Savior and God as the only God. The acute phase of the world's persecution has now died down. Demetrius and his crew have by now stopped screaming at the amphitheater. But Paul is now concerned with a more subtle and more dangerous problem: deceitful teachers who he calls wolves that are going to creep up from within and without. How is he going to deal with this problem? By talking with the elders of the church. I. Christ Gave a Government to His Church. A. The first thing I wants us to see in this passage is that it gives us a glimpse into the form of church government that Paul instituted in the Ephesian church: a government of elders. 1. He asked the Ephesian elders to meet him in Miletus, a good 60 miles away by land (about 35 by sea), 17. a. No explicit reason is given for having the meeting in Miletus instead of Ephesus. 1) Miletus was the port Paul's ship used. 2) He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem (16) and though that if he went into Ephesus, he would not be able to leave quickly. 2. I want you to notice that Paul assumed that by addressing the elders, he was addressing the whole church – another reason not to have to go into Ephesus. 3. This makes a lot of sense when we think of the elders as representatives of the people of the church. B. Something I want you to notice about the elders is that there were eldersin the Ephesian church. 1. Christ through his apostle instituted a plurality of elders in one local church. 2. This was not just something that happened in Ephesus. 3. This was the pattern of Paul's church planting ministry. Acts 14:23– So when they had appointed eldersin every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. a. The word appointedincludes the idea of show of hands. b. Perhaps this refers to a similar process followed by the apostles in choosing the first deacons in Acts 6. 1) The people put forth men. 2) The apostle confirmed them as elders. C. There are three different ways to refer to the elders – each of them describes a function of the office. 1. Presbyter is just a transliteration of the Greek word that is commonly translated elder. a. The term presbyteror elderrefers to the judging function of the office. b. Like the elders under Moses, the elders of the church wisely judge over the issues of the church – church discipline, disputes, matters of wisdom, positions on issues. 2. Another function of the elder to be an overseer of the flock that Christ entrusted to them, 28. a. Notice that this is the same group of men who the Holy Spirit called eldersin v. 17. b. To oversee means exactly that, to look over, to take care, and to rule/lead. c. This word translated overseeis in other places translated bishop. 1) So, we see that the presbyter and the bishop are the same person/office. 2) They are different ways to describe what the elder does. 3. The third way that Paul refers to elders is as shepherds – the elders are to shepherd the church, 28. a. Shepherdis the verbal form of the word usually translated pastor. b. The Bible speaks of all elders as shepherds, that is, as having a shepherdingfunction – this is actually Paul's main emphasis on this chapter. c. The apostle Peter had the same understanding of the office of the elder. 1 Pt. 5:1-4– The elderswho are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of Godwhich is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. d. Not only is the man divinely appointed to this office by the Holy Spirit, the office of the shepherd-teacher is a gracious gift to the church from Christ himself! Eph. 4:7, 11-12– But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift…. And He Himself gave some to beapostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…. D.Paul does make a functional distinction between what we call the ruling elderand the pastor. 1 Tim. 5:17– Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 1. He writes to Timothy as the pastor of the Ephesian church. 2. Christ communicates with the seven churches in Revelation through the messenger, that is, the pastor of the churches. 3. But it is very important that we notice that this is a distinction between elders, not between and elder and something else. II. Christ Gave Shepherds in Order for Them to Shepherd, 28-31. A. Paul believed this would be his last chance to address the church where he spent the longest chunk of his ministry, 22-25 – this gives an added weight to what he is saying. B. The focus of this passage is on the shepherding function of the office of the elder, 28. 1. Christ gives shepherds to his church because his church needs shepherds. 2. As a side note, the value of the Church is always represented by the values of the local church. a. God purchased the church by his own blood. b. Notice that this is said in the context of Paul urging the elders to shepherd this particular local church. c. No one can love the Church apart from loving the messy, flesh and blood, faces-that-you-can-recognize local church. 3. And this church, purchase by the blood of Christ, must be shepherded. C. Why does the need to be shepherded? Because of the relentless attacks of the enemy, 29-30. 1. The attacks of the enemy are merciless and are not respecters of persons – savagewolves, not sparing the flock. 2. These attacks will come from outside the church. a. The world constantly tries to lead you astray. b. The world tried to offer an acceptable alternative to sole allegiance to Christ and his Word. 3. But more dangerously, these attacks will also come from within the church, even from among the elders themselves! 4. A common characteristic of the attacks from within and from without is self-exaltation. a. They are making disciples after themselves. b. Paul says, "imitate me only as I imitate Christ," which ultimately becomes just imitate Christ. 5. So, the elders are to shepherd the church through these attacks. D.How are the elders to do that? By paying attention to themselves and to the congregation, 28. 1. Take heed = pay attention, be alert. 2. When one is a position of leadership and authority, it is very easy to focus only on those who one is leading and forget that the one leading is susceptible to the same attacks as the flock. 3. This is not an Oprah type of pay attention to yourself, but an exhortation for the elders to realize that they too need the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word – absolutely no one, on his/her own, is immune to the enemy's attack. 4. The easiest way to fall prey to the wolves, or to become a wolf, is to think that that could never happen to you – according to Paul, the proof of that is bodies spread from Egypt to the Promised Land. 1 Cor. 10:12– Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 5. We are called to be lovingly aware (night + day with tears) but not paranoid about it, 31. a. We must be discerning as to what constitutes perverse things that draw the flock away from Christ and what is a Christian brother/sister speaking in error or unwisely. b. Perversity needs to be exposed and condemned, an erring brother needs to be shepherded. 6. Ultimately, the elders shepherd by committing the flock to God and his Word, 32. a. All of us need to be pointed, turned, shown, moved toward God and his Word. b. It is important that we the expression word of his graceas a unit. 1) If we don't do that, we become "sounding brass or clanging cymbals" trying to sniff out every potential wolf. 2) We become wolf hunters instead of shepherds of the flock. 3) Paul calls us to edification of the flock, not destruction. a) The Bible is about a lot of things, but it is centrally about God, in his grace, redeeming his people in Jesus Christ. Gal. 4:3-4– Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. b) Notice that placing God's Word before the brethren was something that marked Paul's Christian life, not just times of saying goodbye, 26-27. As a display of his great love for his church, the church he purchased by his own blood, God appointed a government for her. He gave her elders to oversee and shepherd her. She needs those shepherds because she is under constant attack from the enemy. How should you respond to the gracious gift that God has given you as his flock? Heb. 13:17– Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Ultimately, the answer is in the question: we receive these shepherds that God placed here among us as the gracious gift from God who loves us and sent his Son to die for us.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-shepherds-of-sheep-acts-2017-38.html
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