The Special Offices in the New Testament
The special offices in the New Testament can be divided into two categories: the temporary and the permanent. The temporary offices were apostles, prophets and evangelists. The apostles were witnesses of the resurrection of the Lord, had been with him during his earthly ministry, and were, with the exception of Matthias, directly called by him. They had authority over the whole church and embraced within their office the other special offices. Thus, Peter calls himself an elder in 1 Peter 5:1, and John introduces himself in 2 and 3 John as “the elder.” The apostles also served as deacons before the calling of the seven (Acts 6:1f). Because of the qualifications for it, this office can no longer exist in the church.
The prophets were like the prophets of the Old Testament. We read about several: Agabus and Ananias are two examples in the book of Acts. Just as in the Old Testament, this office could be held by women who received their calling directly from God.
Whether the office of evangelist was temporary or permanent is open to question. It’s mentioned only three times. Philip, one of the first deacons, was one (Acts 21:8). Paul mentions it in Ephesians 4:11, and he also told Timothy that he should do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5). Perhaps that last verse means that the office of evangelist was rolled up into the office of pastor.
One of the charismatic gifts was a gift of prophecy, apparently a gift bestowed only for the moment, not as a permanent thing for that person. 1 Corinthians 12,14.
There is, of course, disagreement about whether there are two or three permanent offices in the church. It’s not the purpose of this paper to try to resolve that question, but rather to look at the difference between the special offices and the general office of believer.
The apostles created the office of deacon in response to a specific need in the church in Jerusalem. The Grecian widows were being neglected in the daily ministration, and the apostles wanted to be engaged in the ministry of the word and prayer. They, therefore, instructed the multitude of believers to choose seven men to take over the work of caring for the poor. After the church had chosen them, the apostles laid hands on them (Acts 6:1-6).
The office of elder probably arose from the office of elder in the synagogues and among the Jews, and therefore was a carryover from the church of the Old Testament. They were chosen by the people (Acts 14:23, where the verb means to decide by a show of hands) and received the laying on of hands.
If the office of minister or teaching elder is a separate office, then the appointment to it seems to have been done in a very similar way.
Some notes about these offices.
- They were received by the laying on of hands (Acts 6:6, 8:18, 13:3, 1 Timothy 4:14, 5:22, 2 Timothy 1:6), a ceremony that signified the conferring of office on one who did not have it by one who did. It also signified the gift of the Spirit who was the one who called and qualified. It probably took the place of anointing with oil. The ceremony had broader significance. Jesus and the apostles often laid hands on those whom they were healing (Mark 5:23, 6:5, 7:32 and others). It was a sign of blessing (Matthew 19:13,15) and is the reason for the raising of hands for the benedictions. It was a means of communicating the gift of the Spirit (Acts 8:17-19, 19:6).
- They were held by men only. It’s particularly striking that the original seven deacons were all men, even though they were appointed because of neglect of the Grecian widows.
- They have specific areas of authority. The elders hold responsibility for the keys of the kingdom, the deacons for the care of the poor. Both offices exercise a certain authority over the churches and have the responsibility to bring the word of God to bear on the lives of God’s people in their respective spheres of authority.
Next time we’ll look at the history of the office of believer in the Bible.