A Better Covenant

This is a post by guest blogger: John Krainis

It is instructive that the apostles give the church a proposal, not a decree. The people not only have the responsibility of choosing the Seven, they also are called on to approve the entire process.

What’s intriguing to me is this: the apostles in essence say to the church, “you select them, and we’ll appoint them”. Then, the group chooses the seven, and the apostles pray and lay their hands on them. It seems that the “appointing” done by the apostles consisted of praying for and laying their hands on men who had been chosen by the people!So when Titus is told to “appoint” elders (the Greek word is the same), and Timothy to lay hands on people (presumably appointing elders), it does not necessarily follow that Titus and Timothy have selected the men they are appointing. In fact, it would be consistent with the practice of the Twelve, and the thinking of Paul (see below), if they appointed men who had been selected by the churches.

It is clear from Acts 1:24 that the apostles wanted God to choose the replacement for Judas. In Acts 6 they appear confident that God’s choice will be accomplished through the choosing of the whole group. They seem to see their role as giving guidance, and blessing the workers. And God’s approval appears in verse 7, “so the word of God spread”.

It seems to me that the role of the Holy Spirit is critical in this process. The Spirit is given to those who repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38), to those who obey God (Acts 5:32). So recognition of Spirit-gifted workers is done by those who have the Spirit. And, it is the Spirit who appoints missionaries (Acts 13:2) and overseers (Acts 20:28), and who determines the gifting of every believer (1Cor 12:11). The church, through the Spirit, and with apostolic guidance, affirms those whom the Spirit has gifted and called. The apostles could have assigned this responsibility to themselves, but they did not: recognition of Spiritual gifting was to be done by all those who had received the Spirit – the church.

The NT does not record every sermon, but those that are recorded give us a good idea of apostolic preaching. In the same way, enough cases of appointing workers are provided to give us a good picture of this apostolic practice. As Acts 6 is the first treatment, and the fullest treatment, it might be expected to serve as the pattern. And in fact, subsequent accounts of appointing workers give fewer details, but the details that are given are consistent with Acts 6. And there is nothing in subsequent accounts that contradicts or indicates a change to the this pattern (the one partial exception being the appointment Barnabas and Saul).

I would suggest that the following four aspects of recognizing/appointing workers are found in Acts 6, and at least two of these are found in each subsequent account:

a. Existing leaders/mature brothers provide guidance.

b. Men are recognized/selected who are already mature, gifted, and working hard.

c. This recognition/selection is done by the church.

d. These men are then appointed by the existing leaders/mature brothers. This appointment can include prayer, fasting, prophesy, laying on of hands, and committing the men to God.

Subsequent accounts of recognizing/appointing workers:

1. Jerusalem elders – in Acts 11:30 there are elders in the Jerusalem church, who have apparently assumed the responsibility of distributing large gifts of money to the needy, a responsibility formerly done by the apostles (4:34-35). We are not told how these elders were appointed, but there is no reason to assume that the original pattern has been changed.

2. Barnabas and Saul – after returning to Antioch from meeting with the Jerusalem elders, the Holy Spirit says to separate Barnabas and Saul for a special work. This is accomplished with fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands (Acts 13:3). The event is unique in that the Holy Spirit speaks directly, perhaps through prophets. Given this divine intervention, there is no need for guidance from leaders or congregational selection. However the other aspects are parallel to Acts 6: Paul and Barnabas are already exhibiting passion and giftedness, and they are committed to the grace of God (Acts 14:26) with prayer and the laying on of hands. Interestingly, it was prophets and teachers, or possibly others in the church, not the apostles, who did the appointing.

3. Galatian elders – in Acts 14:23, Paul and Barnabas appoint elders for the new churches in Galatia. This is done with prayer and fasting, and the elders are then committed to the Lord in whom they had put their trust. We are not told that the people had first recognized the elders, but this is not unreasonable to assume. Barnabas has been with the apostles since almost the beginning, and was no doubt present at, or is familiar with, the choosing of the Seven and the appointment of the Jerusalem elders. Paul has been to Jerusalem twice and had opportunity to learn from the apostles and elders there, and from those in Antioch who had dispersed from Jerusalem.

Also, the word for “appoint” is different here and may indicate congregational involvement. It comes from “stretch out the hand”, and can mean “vote” (one translation has “appointed to them by vote”). The word is used in 2Cor 8:19 of a brother who has been “appointed” by the churches.

4. Timothy – the next recorded appointment is this young disciple from Lystra, who joins Paul and Silas on the second missionary journey. Here we see the same pattern as Acts 6: the brothers speak well of him (Acts 16:2, i.e., the church recognize and commend him), and the elders (presumably those appointed in Acts 14) lay their hands on him (1Tim 4:14), as does Paul (2Tim 1:6). Prophesies are given. In this case, the appointing is done by the elders and Paul.

5. Ephesian elders (second generation) – Timothy is given characteristics of elders, and told not to lay hands upon anyone too hastily, which probably refers to an elder being “not a new convert” and “tested” (1Tim 5:22, 3:6,10). With this guidance from Paul, he and other mature believers are able to guide the church as new elders are appointed. No details are given other than “laying on of hands”, but this is probably shorthand for the entire process, and it is reasonable to assume that Timothy and the Ephesian church would appoint new elders in the same way that Timothy had been appointed. There is nothing in the text to suggests a departure from the apostolic pattern, and it is unlikely that Timothy, who had been recognized by the congregation, would assume that he or other existing leaders were to start choosing new leaders.

6. Elders in Crete – Titus is likewise given characteristics of elders, so he and other mature brothers can give guidance to the appointment process in these new churches. The word for “appoint” is the same word used in Acts 6. The text does not provide details, but again it is reasonable to assume that he would follow the process initiated by the apostles, and there is nothing to indicate that he did otherwise.

When the Jerusalem church appointed workers, they were chosen by the church, not the leaders. Did the apostle Paul follow this practice, or did he expect leaders to do the choosing? From the examples above, in one case church recognition is explicit, in one case it is implied, and in two cases the Bible is silent. This may be considered scant evidence, but it should be noted that there is no NT example of a leader selecting other leaders. Furthermore, congregational recognition appears to be a regular part of Paul’s thinking, for instance in 1Cor 16:16, where the believers are told to submit to “everyone who joins in the work and labors at it.” No names or titles are given, so it fell to the believers to recognize who these workers were.

Similarly in 1Thes 5:12, the brothers are told to respect those who “work hard among” them and “admonish” them. Again, the hard workers would need to be recognized by the brothers before they could show respect.

Another passage that gives a picture of congregational selection of leaders, though from a negative perspective, is 2Tim 4:3, where people “gather around them” false teachers. Paul does not ascribe this to faulty polity, but to their unwillingness to “put up with sound doctrine.”

© John Krainis (posted by permission)