Qualifications of Elders 1

Article Index

Teachings of Alister John Lowe, Th.D., Ph.D.

Issue 39, April 1995

Qualifications for Elders 1


QUALIFICATIONS FOR ELDERS

1 Timothy 3:1-7 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Titus 1:5-9 For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

These qualifications apply to all Christian leadership, specifically the five-fold ministry.

There are possible areas where the leader may not have a complete manifestation of a certain qualification; they may be weaknesses in his life. The leader must come to grips with these points, working on them, revealing that the rudiments of the qualification are evidenced in his life.

The list can appear quite foreboding, even threatening. But these are God's requirements for His leaders, marks of His men, characteristics for Christians, prerequisites for pastors.

Where these requirements are found lacking, the leader should seriously consider standing aside until the characteristic be manifest in his life.

It simply is not good enough to cry "the anointing!, the anointing!", for when the anointing is bestowed upon a person, it will manifest character defects in addition to the strengths of one's personality.

The classic illustration is the life of King Saul. In addition, the kings of Israel provide an abundance of evidence of the anointing not affecting the character, as not one good king is found in their history. Judah is a mixture: there were good kings and there were bad.

As the rain manifests the type of seed sown in the soil, so the anointing manifests the true nature of a person: it does not change, but rather manifests what lies beneath the surface.

1 Samuel 8:1-22; 9:1-2,15-17,27; 10:1,5-6,9-13,17-25 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Sarnuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, anc' your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. And Sample heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city. Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man of whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people. And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God. Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company or prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and thou shalt be turned into another man. And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him before time saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh; And said unto the children of Israel, Thus said the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their familles, the farnily of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they enquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.


THE KINGS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL

The United Kingdom (120 Years)

Saul - 40 Years

David - 40 Years

Solomon - 40 Years

The Divided Kingdom

JUDAH, the Southern Kingdom (2 Tribes) (931 - 586 B.C.) Captivity to Babylon Fall of Jerusalem

No: King: Reign: (Yrs) Type: Reference:

1. Rehoboam 17 Evil 1 Kings 14:22
2. Abijah(Abijam) 3 Evil 1 Kings 15:3
3. Asa 41 Good 1 Kings 14:11
4. Jehosophat 25 Good 1 Kings 22:43
5. Jehoram 8 Evil 2 Kings 8:18
6. Ahaziah 1 Evil 2 Kings 8:27
7. Athaliah 6 Evil 2 Kings 11:1
8. Joash(Jehoash) 40 Good 2 Kings 12:2
9. Amaziah 29 Good 2 Kings 14:3
10. Uzziah(Azariah)52 Good 2 Kings 15:3
11. Jotham 16 Good 2 Kings 16:34
12. Ahaz 16 Evil 2 Kings 16:2
13. Hezekiah 29 Good 2 Kings 18:3
14. Manasseh 55 Evil 2 Kings 21:2
15. Amon 2 Evil 2 Kings 21:20
16. Josiah 31 Good 2 Kings 22:2
17. Jehoahaz 3 Mo. Evil 2 Kings 23:32
18. Jehoiakim 11 Evil 2 Kings 23:37
19. Jehoiachin 3 Mo. Evil 2 Kings 24:9
20. Zedekiah 11 Evil 2 kings 24:19

ISRAEL, the Northern Kingdom (10 Tribes) (931 - 722 B.C.) Captivity to Assyria Fall of Samaria

No: King: Reign: Type: Reference:

1. Jeroboam 22 Evil 1 Kings 14:9
2. Nadab 2 Evil 1 Kings 15:26
3. Baasha 24 Evil 1 Kings 15:34
4. Elah 2 Evil 1 Kings 16:13
5. Zimri 7 Days Evil 1 Kings 16:19
6. Omri 12 Evil 1 Kings 16:25
7. Ahab 22 Evil 1 Kings 16:30
8. Ahaziah 2 Evil 1 Kings 22:52
9. Joram(Jehoram) 12 Evil 2 Kings 8:1
10. Jehu 28 Evil 2 Kings 12:31
11. Jehoahaz 17 Evil 2 Kings 13:2
12. Jehoash(Joash) 16 Evil 2 Kings 13:11
13. Jeroboam (2) 41 Evil 2 Kings 14:24
14. Zechariah 6 Mo. Evil 2 Kings 15:9
15. Shallum 1 Mo. Evil 2 Kings 15:15
16. Menahem 10 Evil 2 Kings 15:18
17. Pekahiah 2 Evil 2 Kings 15:24
18. Pekah 20 Evil 2 Kings 15:28
19. Hoshea 9 Evil 2 Kings 17:2


OBSERVATIONS

The United Kingdom endured for 120 years: 3 equal periods of 40 years.

120 signifies the end of all flesh and is a reoccurrent theme throughout the Bible.

Saul was anointed with a vial: David, 3 times with a horn.

The longest serving king in the north-ern kingdom was Jeroboam 2, the 13th.

Of the 20 kings of Judah, a minority of 8 were good (40%), while 60% were evil.

Every king of Israel was evil!

The combined total shows 8/39: 20.51% good; 79.49% evil.

This predominance of evil kings reveals the fact that the anointing does not change a person's character. Rather, it manifests what is in that person's character, both strengths and weaknesses. Where the weakness are not consciously dealt with, they prove the downfall of the leader.

Many healing evangelists of the 1950's also attest to the credence of this position.

Even though they were anointed with the kingly anointing of power, (healing the sick and casting out devils) weaknesses evidenced their fall.

The Lord Jesus taught that the rain falls on the just and the unjust.

There is mixture among the leaders of God's people.

Let the modern leader beware: let him deal with areas of character weakness in his life or be exposed to the fate of many that have gone before him.

Character deficiency will prove his undoing.


BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM

Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise an the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.

Possession of the anointing is certainly no evidence of a life of holiness.

In our first church a man came to speak. Though he did not preach the Pentecostal aspects of the Bible, there was an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit in his life.

A teacher in a Bible School recently told me of two model students who were held up as an example of a life lived in the anointing. Both were involved in fornication. Another exemplary duo were engaged in homosexual activities.

I attended a convention before I became a minister of the gospel. Though the preacher promised his hearers liberty and freedom, he himself was the servant of corruption. Upon his person were pornographic pictures. Subsequently, he showed these to a minister friend of mine and enquired, Do you want to cast the devil out of me?"

God will tolerate this type of behaviour in the outer court, but such lifestyle will never attain the holy ace (holiness of life).

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

There is mixture in the kingdom of God in its present form as there was mixture among the Old Testament believers who were extracted from Egypt. That mixture will be separated.

Exodus 12:38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them;

Ezekiel 44:13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.