THE CHURCH IN THIS CITY

Chapter 11                          WHO ARE THE ELDERS?

"An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts, he took a child and put him by his side and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives him who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Twenty centuries later the argument among the disciples continues.

“Which of us is the greatest?" So it's going to be a group of men who will govern the Body of Christ in this city in the name of the Lord. Who are they? Perhaps we are among them. Or, if this is too much to hope for, maybe one of our friends. Wouldn’t it be thrilling if our pastor were one of the elders in this city!  I just heard of a man who has arrived in town recently, unknown to almost all the believers. They say he possesses great wisdom. Perhaps he is being brought forth by the Spirit at this time to draw the elders together.”

Speculation of this nature is on the increase in every city. And it is not far removed from the ancient dispute among the apostles. It springs from the same source that caused the believers in Corinth to split into factions around Paul, Cephas and Apollos.

There will indeed be elders in the Body in every city. But it is highly probable that the saints who are at this moment busy speculating as to who the elders are will never have the satisfaction of knowing. The pride and curiosity that cause them to try to trace the rein of power in the Body to certain human hands, or perhaps make them presump­tuous enough to want to reach out and grasp those reins with their own hands are the very things that blind them. They become like the men of Sodom trying to find Lot’ s door, or like Elymas the magician who sank into darkness after exalting himself against the word of God.

Looking back upon apostolic times, men like Peter and Paul and James, the Lord’s brother, stand out as important. Yet at the same time Paul was so unimportant that when he arrived at Rome the Jewish com­munity there hadn’t  even heard of him.  And we have the impression that Paul never did make a particular hit with the inner councils of the church in Jerusalem. Paul’s importance was visible at the time only in the eyes of God.

We are doubtless in for some surprises on that day when all things are uncovered and we learn of men and women whom church historians have never mentioned who turned the tide and opened the floodgates of life for the church again and again in the name and power of the Lord.  So it will be with the elders in city after city as the saints come together in unity. They will be far more visible to God than to men. They will function as elders in the Body. Their counsel will be so wise it will almost inspire fear in the hearts of those who have godly vision. Their word will be anointed and confirmed by the Holy Spirit. Yet most of the time they will be covered by the hand of God as to be almost invisible as elders in the Body....even to themselves. Very few saints, if any, will know who these men are until the very end.

But certain things will be true of the elders in this church in every city on earth. They will be men and women who seek no glory. Those who are striving to establish their names among believers have obviously disqualified themselves. Godly men are satisfied that their names are written in heaven. They have no need to be recognized on earth.

They will be men and women who do not lust for power. Countless human beings through the history of the church have been content to operate behind the scenes so long as they were able to derive satisfaction from seeing their counsel effecting change through others who received the glory. Doors open and shut at their suggestion. People who thirst for power, who know when to grasp it and how to use it are the prime movers in the kingdom of this world. But not in the church. In the church power-thirsty saints are an obstruction to the Spirit. The genuine anointing of the Spirit will rest on those who have long since laid their power-lust to rest under the blood of the Lamb.

They will be men and women who are self-disciplined. Of course this discipline will be an inner thing. But it will be relentless and intense. We are talking about seasoned men of God who know how subtle self-indulgence can be, and how thoroughly it dulls the mind to the things of God. So they will watch and pray and consistently deny self. They will welcome the power of Christ’s death working in them that his life may flow out to others. Yet while all this is going on within, their outward lives will be so natural and simple and down-to-earth, that no one will ever feel threatened by their “spirituality.”

They will be men and women who have manifested faithfulness and humility in the work God has given them in past years.  Men who were diligent even when the results were meager, who put forth their best even when almost no human eye was near to appreciate what they were doing. In season and out of season they were faithful over little. Now God places them over much. And their heads do not turn. They know that they are still working for the same Lord.

Their backgrounds will vary in the extreme. Their number will include Jew and Gentile. And the Jewish elders will vary among them­selves as extremely as the Gentile, It will be obvious to them as they deal with each other that they have nothing in common but Jesus.

The left hand will know what the right hand is doing. To keep them from becoming tempted by pride, the bulk of their ministry will be exercised in the darkness of God. These men will not be conscious of their importance as elders. They will be conscious only of the work placed before them by the needs of the Body, and the necessity of spending themselves to get it done. They will rely on the Spirit of God moment-by-moment, extremely aware of their inadequacy apart from the Master. They Will put stones in places, but they will not see the building as a whole until the Job is done.