Three names, one office

Three names, one office, Acts 20:17,28

There are three names for one office. Paul, on his way to Jerusalem, calls the plural elders of the church at Ephesus to meet him in Miletus. In charging the elders, he calls them “overseers” (bishops; ἐπισκόπους) who are to “pastor” (ποιμαίνειν) the church/flock of God. In this case, the noun form of episkopos is used directly, and again the pastoring is embedded in the verb form of feeding (poimainein) the flock. Acts 20:17, 28.

And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders (πρεσβυτερους) of the church…Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers (επισκοπους), to feed (ποιμαινειν) the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

 Baptists, generally, as well as some other congregational churches, have contended for two continuing offices in the local congregation – pastors and deacons.[i] Many denominations use terminology that is not biblical (e.g., Pope, Archbishop, Cardinal, Doctor, Reverend, etc.), as well as use scriptural terminology in ways that are not biblical (e.g. Bishop as a supervisor over a number of churches and pastors). It is an error to separate and isolate the terms bishop, elder, pastor and create different ecclesiastical offices for each. Notice the New Testament use of this terminology.

Elder and elders (presbuteros; πρεσβυτερος) are used 68 times in the King James Version in the New Testament. In the Gospels and sometimes in Acts, it refers to the elders of the Jews. In the following verses, it refers to an ecclesiastical office:[ii] Acts 11:30; Acts 14:23; Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23; Acts 16:4; Acts 20:17; Acts 21:18; I Timothy 5:17; I Timothy 5:19; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; I Peter 5:1 (2 times); II John 1:1; III John 1:1.

Bishop and bishops (episkopos; επισκοπος) are used five times in the King James Version in the New Testament. Four of these refer to officers in the church, and once to Jesus Christ himself (Philippians 1:1; I Timothy 3:1; I Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7; I Peter 2:25). Episkopos is translated “overseers” in Acts 20:28. επισκοπουντες is translated “taking the oversight” in I Peter 5:2.

Pastors, or shepherds (poimen; ποιμεν) is used once in noun form, in Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors (ποιμενας) and teachers (διδασκαλους).[iii] The Chief Shepherd in I Peter 5:3-4 is Jesus, and elders by implication are shepherds who feed the flock.

The biblical evidence indicates the synonymous usage of bishop, elder, and pastor.[iv]

In writing to Titus, Paul uses elders (πρεσβυτερους) and bishop (επισκοπον) interchangeably, noting they must hold fast the faithful word (v. 9 αντεχομενον του κατα την διδαχην πιστου) – the food the pastor feeds the flock.[v] He speaks of Titus’s purpose in Crete of ordain elders, then begins to speak of their qualifications prefaced with the word “bishop.” “for a bishop” beginning verse 7 indicates that it connects back to the elders in verse 5. They are connected. They are synonymous. Bishops are elders.

Peter, writing to “strangers” scattered in various places, exhorts the elders in these places. To the elders he exhorts, Peter says these elders are “to bishop” (επισκοπουντες) and “to pastor” (ποιμανατε) the flock/church of God. Incorporated in the duties of the elders are found, in verb form, the names of the other interchangeable terms – episkopountes and poimavate.

In addition to the synonymous usage of the terms bishop, elder, and pastor, the collective and harmonious nature of the three terms may be deduced from the scriptural qualifications for office. I Timothy 3:1-7 details the qualifications for the office of bishop – “A bishop then must be…” Comparing I Timothy 3:1-7 to Titus 1:5-9 demonstrates that the office of bishop and elder are the same office, with two descriptions. The Bible contains no separate and distinct qualifications for another office, except that of deacons, signifying that pastor needs no separate qualifications. It is the same office as that of elder and bishop. As early as the fourth century, Jerome made a similar observation in a letter to Evangelus: “Presbyter and bishop are the same; the one name describes the age of the man, the other his dignity. Hence instruction is given to Titus and Timothy about the ordination of a bishop and of a deacon; but there is absolute silence about presbyters, because the presbyter is contained in the bishop” (date of letter unknown).[vi] C. N. Glover writes, “The word ‘bishop’ involves the authority given to the office by the Lord Jesus Christ. The word ‘elder’ involves the character of the man who fills the office, and the manner in which he fills it. The word ‘pastor’ involves the duties of the office of bishop, and the manner in which he is to perform them.”[vii]

There are not three sets of qualifications for three offices, but one set of qualifications for the same office, for which either of three names suffice. The three terms relate the office to its character, work, and qualifications. The term elder signifies experience, maturity, wisdom (e.g., “Not a novice”). The term bishop signifies administration, oversight, leadership (e.g., “take care of the church of God”). The term pastor signifies care, feeding, teaching (e.g., “apt to teach”). After providing their unique emphases, all three names meld into one work and one office. This tri-unity of terms for one office corresponds with the plurality of the eldership and anticipates the unity that should appear among those plural elders who function together in this office work in a local congregation.

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[i] That is, two offices that are permanent for the entire church age.
[ii] I Timothy 5:1 uses elder, but probably not for the office. The related terminology “presbytery” is used in I Timothy 4:14. A presbytery is a group of (ordained) presbyters (Gk.) or elders (Eng.). Other synonymous English terms are “the body of elders,” “the eldership,” and “the presbyterate.” “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery (πρεσβυτεριου).” πρεσβυτεριον is translated “council” in Luke 22:66 in reference to Jewish elders. A Christian presbytery functions as a council to give counsel.
[iii] Pastors (ποιμενας) and teachers (διδασκαλους) here is the same gift, not two distinct gifts.
[iv] J. M. Pendleton explains it this way: “A bishop was a pastor of a church, and the New Testament, so far from encouraging a plurality of churches under one pastor, refers, in two instances at least, to a plurality of pastors in one church. See Acts xx. 28; Phil. i. 1. In the former passage [Acts 20:28] the elders of the church at Ephesus are called overseers, and the word thus translated is the same rendered bishop in Phil. i. 1; 1 Timothy iii. 2; Titus i. 7; 1 Peter ii. 25. Thus does it appear that pastor, bishop, and elder are three terms designating the same office. This view is further confirmed by a reference to Peter v. 1, 2, where elders are exhorted to feed the flock—that is, to perform the office of pastor or shepherd—taking the oversight thereof, etc.—that is, acting the part of bishops or overseers. For the word translated taking the oversight belongs to the same family of words as the term rendered bishop in the passages cited. It is plain, therefore, that a pastor's work is the spiritual oversight of the flock, the church he serves. Like a good literal shepherd, he must care for the feeble and the sick, as well as for the healthy and the vigorous.” pp. 24-25.
[v] Here the elder/bishop is also called a “steward” (οικονομον).
[vi] The Papal System: William Cathcart, Philadelphia, PA, 1872, p. 56; For Jerome, see also Letter 146, To Evangelus.
[vii] C. N. Glover, Glover’s Church Manual, 1983, p. 34.