Seeking Christ’s Men for Church Office

Romans 12:3-8

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Christ by the Spirit in the Man

The King Gifts His Church (Eph. 4:8-16)

The Lord Jesus Christ is our generous Savior. He gives many gifts to us. He gave his own holy life on the cross to the sacrifice for our sins; now raised and reigning at the Father’s right hand, he gives gifts to his church. They are his trophies as conquering King (Eph. 4:8-16). Here is one of many New Testament lists of his gifts. Some of his gifts are word-based, such as preaching and teaching (v. 6). Others focus upon service (v. 7), then giving and government gifts (v. 8). There are not hard and fast distinctions between these types of gifts. Overlap and living connection between his gifts are always present. No one can claim a gift as a natural ability, though our Lord may sanctify and use natural aptitudes.  All these gifts are manifestations of his life and love in our midst. We should stand in continual awe of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” He is working his life and grace and beauty in us. 

The Spirit Works Gifts for Church Officers

He dwells with us and works in us by the personal presence of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason Christ’s  gifts are called “spiritual,” for they are the direct working of the Spirit in every member of the body. Grace is given to each of us (Rom. 12:3). There are many members in the body, and all do not have the same function (v. 4). But the Spirit is given to teach member so that all profit from his life-giving presence (1 Cor. 12:7). He gives grace and gifts to each believer. In 1 Corinthians 12:28, one of the Spirit’s gifts is “government:” the ability to rule. This has direct application to the office of ruling elder. His gift is not public teaching or preaching, but ruling (Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28). In Acts 6:3, being full of the Spirit is the fountain from which the deacon’s specific service gifts spring.  Thus, when we think about seeking Christ’s men for church office, let us remember that we are simply recognizing what Jesus Christ is doing in them. This is a time to identify and recognize Christ’s gifts through the presence and working of the Holy Spirit in our midst. It is a time of great rejoicing and wonder and worship! Jesus Christ is among us! 

The Man Manifests Christ’s Gifts by the Spirit

The New Testament has a few lists of qualifications for church office (Acts 6:3; 1 Tim. 3:1-12; Tit. 1:6-9). The presence of these lists means that those whom the Lord has called to serve his church as elders and deacons are recognizable. You can see his work in their lives. A man’s fitness to serve the body of Christ is evident by the fruits in his life – not how much he talks (Tit. 1:10), but how well he governs and serves in his life and home. This has enormous bearing upon our current appetite for internet celebrities, whose words we hear but whose lives we do not observe. We must not apply internet qualifications for office but the Lord’s qualifications that he reveals to us in his word. If we substitute slick production and persuasive speech for godly character, sound doctrine, and a godly family, we are sure to go astray. It seems that the New Testament era church had to deal with this same issue – men who loved to talk and argue and harangue about all kinds of useless questions. This is the reason our primary focus should be our local congregation, for it is there that we can see the Lord’s working in the lives of those whom we have to guide and serve in church office. Anyone can talk; only the Lord Jesus can change men’s lives.

Christ’s Specific Gifts for the Ruling Elder: Diligent Government

Government of His Life: Godliness

Character is preeminent for a ruling elder. This is because the spiritual gift of government begins with self-government. He will therefore be blameless, which does not mean without fault but without a notorious or public sin that gives him a bad reputation and thus prevents him from setting an example for the congregation. As a self-governed man, a ruling elder is not angry and quick to fight. He does not make it through life by regularly consuming wine and liquor. He is content with what he has, and “sober, just, and holy.” These are a few of the graces that the Holy Spirit works in a man qualified to be a ruling elder. The congregation will be able to see these fruits in his life, in how he deals with his family, his work, the pressures of life, and other members of the body. You should also notice that these manifestations of the Spirit’s rule in his life are not “loud.” You do not wear a t-shirt with “sober” written across the chest. One mark of a godly and blameless man is that he does not tell you he is – you can see that he is by the way he talks, the decisions he makes, and the life he leads.

Government of His Home: Order and Fruit 

His family will show the fruits of his godliness. If a ruling elder has children, they are well-governed, not unruly or accused of wicked living (1 Tim. 3:4). His ability to shepherd souls is seen by his ability to shepherd souls at home. Very young children will not manifest this, and some have said that an elder should only have older children. This is not implied. A man who is worshipping with his family, disciplining his children, and trusting the Lord will have children that manifest his faith and are attracted to the Master he serves. If his children turn out otherwise, that can be assessed then. His wife, also, must show the fruits of his good government, that she is loved and cared for, protected and respected. A “one woman man” shines in her face and is a joy in her home (1 Tim. 2:2)! If you want to get a good picture of a man’s house, consider the look on his wife’s face, the way she looks at her husband and speaks of him, her general attitude – joyful or complaining? Serving or sullen? A good husband, like Jesus Christ, assuming she is a believer, will beautify his wife (Eph. 5:29). While we shall never find sinless homes and husbands, for the Lord is always testing us, many a congregation has chosen an unqualified man to their hurt and hardship. More attention should have been given to his home, more questions asked of his wife and older children. 

Government of His Doctrine: Truth and Discipleship

A ruling elder or church governor must love God’s truth. He must hold fast to it (Tit. 1:9). His strength to govern is not in his force of character or mental sharpness but in the sword of the Spirit. Only the Spirit by the word can convince and exhort those who speak against God’s word. The ruling elder must know the Bible well. It is unnecessary for him to be an expert on every internet debate or choose sides with the warring personalities in the Reformed community. Most of this is a colossal distraction that distracts Christians from praying, serving, and sharing the gospel with their neighbors. A ruling elder must be passionately committed to the Bible and able to teach it. This is not lectern teaching, for the ruling elder’s gift is not preaching and lecturing. Teaching for the ruling elder is more the ability to disciple. He must know where leading doctrines are in the Bible, how to defend them, and passionately love and hold fast to them in his own life. The ruling elder, since he is shepherds souls under Christ, must be personally obedient to God’s word and understand sound doctrine. 

Christ’s Specific Gifts for the Deacon: Wise Love

Love in his Service to the Body

As with the ruling elder, the spiritual gift of serving or deaconing can be seen. The deacon’s office came to be at a moment of crisis in the days of the apostles. Some Greek-speaking, Jewish widows were complaining that their material needs were being neglected. For many today, a crisis is when their phone battery gets low or a dreaded political party wins the election. For the apostles, the breakdown of love was a crisis that called for immediate action. They directed the congregation to “look out among you for seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). As with the ruling elder, character is king. Specifically, character as it relates to ensuring Christ’s sheep are loved and served adequately. Therefore, the office of deacon is not janitorial or custodial, except insofar as these enable the congregation to show love to all its members. When you look for Christ’s imprint upon a man that qualifies him to serve the body in diaconal leadership, look for a loving, serving man, who has a loving, serving wife. 

Love in his Life, Family and Doctrine

This love is not a subjective feeling. It is the fruit of the Spirit (Acts 6:3; Gal. 5:22), and therefore will be evident. As with the ruling elder, the deacon’s gift of loving service is seen in his life or character. He is serious about his faith, speaks carefully, is not a drunk, or greedy (1 Tim. 3:8). A man gifted to lead in love is not ignorant – he must “hold the mystery of the faith with a good conscience” (1 Tim. 3:9). He need not be a doctrinaire, but he must be a man of sound doctrine. His wife and family must be a testimony to the grace and love of Jesus Christ. He will need his wife’s help in caring for widows and orphans, and so his wife cannot be a gossip or a slanderer. She cannot say, “Well, did you hear about so-and-so,” blessing her heart and cutting her to ribbons at the same time! A man’s tongue is no less sinful than a woman’s, but a deacon’s wife must have a sanctified, controlled tongue. The deacon must also be a “one man woman.” Terrible shame is brought upon Christ and his church by philandering preachers, elders, and deacons. A deacon’s home must therefore be in good order and his children obedient. If we love Jesus Christ, we will obey him! Many with financial needs must be shown that obedience is the path to daily bread: obedience in the home, obedience to work, obedience in tithing, obedience prompted by love. We can have no expectation of God’s provision unless we are obeying him and seeking his kingdom first above all (Matt. 6:33-34).

Seeking Christ’s Men for Church Office

Not Bound to Age, Education, Connections (Tit. 2:15; Acts 6:3)

The specific requirements to serve as a ruling elder or deacon are the Lord’s sovereign work in a man. They are not tied to a certain age, educational background, library size, or connections within the church – or lack thereof. The Spirit gives gifts as he wills, and his gifts are always evident. In our age of internet gurus that are popular for having beards, smoking pipes, talking in Lewis and Tolkien tropes, and being bourbon sipping, theological savants, we should learn to differentiate Christ’s true calling to serve his body from what makes for an interesting personality or podcaster. When we seek Christ’s men for church office, we must look for those who lead and love in union with Christ. They are settled and stable in Christ. Where he is working needed gifts, we can actually see the fruit of his Lordship in their lives – godliness, faith, and humility. Where Christ reigns, there is his mind and ability to discern the important from the clever and popularly appealing. Where Christ is Lord, there is obedience to his word. We can see Christ in them, albeit dimly. He may work in a young man’s life so that he should begin serving now, with the older officers, while he is young. No one should be overlooked or looked down upon simply because of their age. We should expect the children of believers who grow up in godly homes to be faithful to Christ and able to serve his church early. Those who are examples in discipling us in God’s truth and helping us to love one another have Christ’s own impress and should be considered.

Beware of Big Talkers, Complainers, and Wranglers (Tit. 1:10; 3:8; Acts 20:30; Rom. 16:17)

The apostles were careful to warn against all kinds of men who are unfit to lead and serve in the church. Much of their unfitness revolves around their lack of Christ and gospel centeredness. They are interested in all kinds of social questions, hidden mysteries, and contentions, but they lead us away from steadfastness in Christ (Tit. 1:9-10). Remember: television and the internet love a good mystery, a scandal, and the opportunity to promote oneself as an influencer. This is a very different spirit from those who try to make disciples for themselves, as Paul warned the Ephesian elders. Unfit men seek followers and to grow their brand, but they do not seek followers for Christ (Acts 20:30). They are often divisive, not because they are contending for the truth, but because they are argumentative about social and political issues, personally contentious, or must always be right about every little thought that flits across their brains. Unfit men complain a great deal and talk about what they would do if given the reins of authority – and often encourage the sheep to question and even disobey their local elders. Look for men who are already in submission to the elders and already serving. Look for men who when they ask questions, they do so with the desire to help and build up the body. Look for men with John’s spirit: Jesus must increase, but I must decrease. Look for men who are growing smaller in their own minds, and in whom Christ is growing to be a colossus. 

When you consider this season of church officer nomination, look for men whose lives are orderly – they come to worship, to fellowship and service opportunities. Look for men who are loving and kind, for this is not feminism but the fruit of the Spirit. We need men who pore over the Scriptures, are broken over their sinfulness, and are more interested in talking about the person and work of Jesus Christ than debating the latest gossip. Men who never talk passionately about our Lord must be bored with him, and we do not need them leading the congregation. Spiritually minded and gifted men do not want the cameras rolling on their works. No one who has stood before the cross of Jesus Christ wants anyone to call attention to what little they do for Christ. There is a core humility in all qualified men by whom the Lord would shepherd us and direct us in the paths of better love and service. And would it be otherwise? Self-promoters are not Christ-promoters. And in the church, all the gifts are Christ’s. All the graces are Christ’s. All the vitality is Christ’s. All the glory is Christ’s! Legitimate leadership reflects this Christ-centeredness, Christ-aloneness, Christ-be-magnified first and always, absolutely, supremely. Look for such men. They are not perfect, but they do love Jesus Christ and want to follow him. Recognize him in them, and nominate them for office.