Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

Notes

elder and deacon and provided written directives so that churches and their leaders would know the proper qualifications for future elders and deacons. These offices should be established, maintained, and upheld by all local churches and church planters today: Darby is drawing an unwar ranted, indefensible conclusion that in the end eliminates the very thing Paul sought to establish by appointing elders—a qualified, recognized, official leadership body for each local church. Regarding Darby’s other theory, which states that because the Church is in ruin there can be no outward structure of the original apostolic order, we again must point out that this is another gratuitous assumption. Even if Darby is right about the ruin of the Church, he has not demonstrated why faithful believers cannot still gather together and organize themselves on the basis of apostolic instruction and example as provided by the New Testament. This is just another example of a personal assumption and pronouncement that must not be confused with biblical truth. New Bible Dictionary, 2nd ed., s.v. “Ordination,” by Leon Morris, p. 861. . Alfred Plummer, “The Pastoral Epistles,” in The Expositor’s Bible, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll, 25 vols. (New York: Armstrong, 1903), 232 219 221. Marjorie Warkentin, Ordination (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), p. 33. Acts 6 is the first recorded example of the laying on of hands in the Chris tian community. The imposition of hands is used for various reasons in the Bible, but as James Orr writes, “The primary idea seems to be that of conveyance or transference (cf. Lev. 16:21) but, conjoined with this, in certain instances are the ideas of identification and of devotion to God.” Looking first at Old Testament examples, we note that the laying on of hands was used to: 0 convey blessing (Gen. 48: 14) 0 identify with a sacrifice to God (Lev. 124) 0 transfer sin (Lev. 16:21) 0 transfer defilement (Lev. 24214) 0 identify man’s actions with God’s (2 Kings 13:16) 0 set people apart, such as in conveying a special commission, responsi bility, or authority (Num. 8210,14; 27:15-23; Dent. 3429) 0 convey blessing (Matt. 19:15; Mark 10216) 0 convey the Holy Spirit’s healing power (Mark 625; 8223,25; 16:18; Luke 4240; 13213;Acts 9212; 19211; 2828) 0 convey the Holy Spirit to certain believers through the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:17-19; 19:6) In the New Testament, the laying on of hands was used to:

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