by Austin Hellier 23-03-2011
1) Matthew 7: 15+
Let’s quickly take a look at what a biblical shepherd is NOT! In this famous passage which is pitched right at the end of the ‘Sermon on the Mount’, Jesus Christ gives us fair warning about ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’. Back in Bible times, a person’s clothing often denoted what trade or profession they followed. Shepherds wore sheep skins, as this was a part of the fringe benefits plan (a perk) that identified them as a ‘shepherd by trade’. However, in this particular passage, Jesus is far more concerned about what motivations lie underneath the sheep’s clothing, instead of the outward show, such as a claim of being one of God’s ‘annointed shepherds’.
Jesus clearly states that having all the outward trappings of a shepherd does not make a person into one. In the same way, people who go to MacDonald’s don’t change into hamburgers, and people who go to church on Sunday don’t automatically become Christians either. It’s what is on the inside that determines just who is who, and what is what, on the plot… Wolves have a devouring nature – in the context of the church (sheep being attacked by wolves) they will devour your time, your talents, and your money, and then take full credit for whatever good things have come about as the result of all your self sacrifice and hard work.
2) Does this mean that there are NO good shepherds within the Christian fold? Certainly not. So let’s take a walk down through the Bible and see if we can stake out a good one, as described in the scriptures. The only place in the NT where the word shepherd is used in context of ministry and leadership, is in Ephesians 4:11, that famous passage on the “five-fold ministry gifts” as given to the body by Jesus Christ on His ascenscion into heaven. The word used here is ‘poimen’ – literally a shepherd – a “pastor”. These five fold giftings were given by Christ Himself, through the Holy Spirit, and each person that is so called, will develop their gifting as they are lead by the Lord into all sorts of teaching, training and trials type situations. True ministry gifts to the church are forged in the fiery trials of life, and as each one matures, Christ will open up doors for their further learning and will, at the right time, raise them up into the place that He has prepared for them to minister. Some of these ministries are embedded in a local church by their very nature, and others tend to travel about occasionally, ministering to wider sections of the body, as the Holy Spirit directs, enables and empowers.
3) Genesis 31 – Jacob, A Case In Point.
In verses 31 through 41, we see Jacob having a stand off with Laban, his former employer. Although Jacob has some rather obvious character flaws, he was still directly called of God, to be the father of the fledgling nation of Israel, which was contained in his future sons and grandsons. In the same way, those called into leadership roles will also have their faults and failings, and we need to take this into account when asking the Lord for a church to attend.
Let’s go verse by verse and see what God’s word tells us about a true, biblical shepherd:
vs 37: In the natural, Laban has just searched Jacobs ‘stuff’ – his worldly goods, looking for something stolen from his house – his household gods. In the spirit though, we can see some principles as the Holy Spirit has listed them here for us. This verse speaks to us of openness, transparency and accountability. Jacob is inviting Laban and his men to put on open display, anything they found that should not have been there. They found nothing. This is how it should be for those in leadership positions – those who are leaders in the church should be able to allow others to ‘search their stuff’ too, so that if anything has crept in that shouldn’t be there, they can remove it before God and man, repent and then move on. [Galatians 6:1,2 - these should be mature Christians - not novices.]
vs 38: Jacob continues on to talk about ‘reproduction’. In other words, while he was the shepherd in charge of Laban’s flocks, they did not miscarry (no new converts were lost back to the world) and neither did he take advantage of the isolation of his job, by sneaking a ram off to a quiet place and devouring it (taking the rich ‘fat rams’ for a ride around the block, and emptying their bank accounts into his). Instead, not even these ‘fat rams’ were victimised for what Jacob could get from them, while no one else was looking on. Jacob, despite his many faults and failings was no wolf! He did not exhibit a ‘devouring nature’. as the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” had done, in Matthew 7:15 above.
vs39: “That which was torn of beasts” – If Jacob had incurred any losses due to mistakes or poor judgement during the time he was a shepherd in Laban’s employ, he bore the loss himself, and didn’t ‘cook the books’ accordingly. (There may be questions about his ‘breeding practices’ in another part of the story, but this should not take our gaze away from the good pointers that are contained within these few verses.) This verse speaks volumes to us about those who are willing and able to take responsibility for their actions, as those actions will always have consequences, for better or for worse. Quite often, the false shepherds and ‘hirelings’ (see John 10:12) will make excuses as to why this plan or that program failed, and quite often the innocent sheep who were involved are blamed and scapegoated – “it was them, not me,” will be the common cry, and this kind of response does untold damage and hurt to those who are so shabbily used in this manner.
vs 40: “…drought by day and…cold by night… sleep departed from my eyes.” Any genuine person who has been involved in church leadership, particularly a young church where there may only be one mature Christian leader during that very early stage, will recognise these symptoms. Sometimes Satan, your enemy can ‘dry you up’ (drought) or worse still, turn the heat up (trials and persecutions). Then you have the ‘cold of night’ where you get to spend lots of lonely times in isolation before the Lord, seeking His direction. Then there’s those sleepless nights spent praying for those in your charge, until they can stand against the devil’s wiles and grow in the things of God to the point where they can take on their part in the prayer and ministry burden as well.
vs 41: Those taking on such a role need to be there for the long haul. Solid fellowships are not built overnight, and there are many situations that will test and try the toughest and most experienced shepherds amongst God’s flock. There are also many situations where it would seem unfair for the poor old shepherd, who has stepped out in faith in terms of all of the above mentioned situations, only to be turfed out onto the streets, for ‘non performance’. While it is fair to say that many sheep are ravaged by the ‘wolves’ who live at the edges of our own ‘green pastures’ it is also fair to say that some in leadership who truly have a “shepherd’s heart” for God’s people, have also been ravaged and abused by an ungreatful flock, who have not been spiritual enough to recognise their own very bad behaviour!
PART 2
4) God’s Sheepfold – John 10:1 – 16
In this passage, we see a number of characters outlined by Jesus Christ, as He reveals to us the true nature of His sheepfold, the Church. From God’s perspective, there is only one church and therefore one sheepfold. This sheepfold has a number of people trying to access the sheep inside its walls. First there is the doorkeeper (‘porter’ in the KJV) and then there’s the local shepherd, looking for his flock of sheep, who he has entrusted to the doorkeeper each night, expecting them to be safe and sound. Then there are those who Jesus calls “thieves and robbers,” who tend to “climb up some other way” instead of coming through the “door” – Jesus Christ Himself. Finally, there are the “hirelings”, who have no real heart for the welfare of the sheep, but simply treat their roles as a paid job. When the wolves begin to circle the flock, the hirelings will flee, having no stomach to take on a pack of ravenous wolves. A true shepherd, on the other hand, will “lay down his life for the sheep”, and will not flee in fear and defeat.
Some scholars have determined that the sheepfold in Jerusalem could have held upwards of 10,000 sheep at any one time. So how would a flock of say, 50 or 100 sheep, find their way to the front door through that huge flock, and link up with their own particular shepherd? By learning to listen for his voice! While I have no direct experience with farmed sheep, I do have some experience with cows (another ‘herd’ animal) and I can testify that when you are wanting to milk them at 6am in the morning, they had better know what your voice sounds like, or they simply will not come when you call them! Once you have taught them to listen for your own particular voice pattern, they will come steadily up the paddock towards the bails, without any need to plead with them. [Sheep are much the same.]
The ‘doorkeeper’ represents the Bible teacher, who ‘keeps the fold’ by means of solid, foundational teaching. This ministry is typified by the ‘walls’ of the fold, as the doorkeeper prevents those who would ‘climb up some other way’ from deceiving the sheep, and protects them by making ‘running repairs’ to any doctrinal and practitional ‘holes’ that may, from time to time, appear in the walls of the fold. Thus protected, their own local shepherds come daily to lead them out “to lie down in green pastures” and to “lead them besides still waters” (Psalm 23:2 ) in their personal walk with the Lord. In this manner, both the shepherds and the teachers work together for the nurturing and protection of the fold, in each locale. Even the wildest pack of wolves would find difficulty breaking through such strong protection of the ‘fold’, enabled by solid regular bible teaching and the added personal care (eg: prayer, counselling, fellowship) of those with a true pastoral calling on their lives, who ‘tend the sheep’ on a day to day basis.
5) Pastors ARE Elders, AREN’T They?
Next, let’s look at a passage from the Book of Acts, and how the elders in the church are to fulfill the apostle Paul’s command to:
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
This then is the apostolic charge given to the elders of the Ephesian church – to look after the Church that had been placed in their care, to feed it, and to ‘oversee’ it. The word ‘overseer’ comes from the Greek word ‘episcopos’ which is often translated “bishop” in some Bible versions, and means ‘to see over the top of (eg: a crowd or situation) in a governing role. The function of watching over the flock is far more important than the title, as there are many people in the church scene today with the title of bishop, who are quite often into unbiblical things, rather than the sacrificial tending of God’s flock. Paul then goes on to give the elders/overseers a stern warning:
“For I know this, that after my departing shall greivious wolfes enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, of your own selves, shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29,30)
Paul warns them/us of the two pronged attack that will no doubt be mounted by Satan at the earliest opportunity. The first prong, will be the wolves (remember Matt 7:15) entering in and devouring the flock of God for sordid gain (the Judaisers and other false prophets from pagan/new age religions). Then there are the deceived within the congregation, who by their stubborn refusal to hold onto sound doctrine and practice, would promote their own opinions above scripture (see Titus 3:9,10 & 11) and would arise and lead others astray by means of false doctrines and unbiblical practices. Thus the prophetic warning of Jesus in Matthew 7:15 onwards, is supported by this passage in Acts 20, where Paul is leaving town, knowing that he will probably never see these dear souls again. It may well be the last time he has an opportunity to warn them, as he had done in his previous ministry to that church. (see Acts 20:31)
Now, to answer the above question (in subtitle 5, above) in relation to pastors, elders and bishops. Many people in the church believe that these three terms are interchangeable. However, two of them (pastor and bishop) relate to function, while the third term elder (Greek: ‘presbuteros’ = older man) relates to an ‘office’ in the church, similar to that of deacon (Greek: ‘diakonos’ = servant). While there have been many disputes in Christendom as to the value of each role, the terminology that should be used and any subsequent structure that comes from such discussions, I believe that the scriptures give us ample evidence as to a simple understanding:
Christ assigns the pastoral calling as a ‘ministry gift’ – “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry and the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12) The reason given being that the “body of Christ” the church universal, needs constant and consistant ministry in order to fulfill verse 13 – “Till we all come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” So the ‘five-fold’ ministry giftings are there to bring the church together, under the lordship of Christ, and into the fulness of the understanding of Christ’s office (as saviour, healer, coming King,) person, (fully God and fully man,) and work (salvation through his death, burial and resurrection,) and His now priestly ministry in the heavenlies, on our behalf. (Hebs 7:24 – 28)
The offices in the church of elder and deacon, are installed at the local level. A candidate must fulfill some conditions (see 1 Tim 3:1 – 7 and Titus 1:5 – 9) and to sum them up, they basically must have an orderly household, be of good character, and have some ability to instruct others, while able to refute error. They are not expected to ‘move’ in the same way that the ministry gifts as listed above would. For example, in 3rd John, we see the apostle writing to Gaius, a respected leader in his home church. A renegade called Diotrephes “who loveth to have the preeminence among them” has seized power from the local eldership. The apostle is comforting Gaius, stating that when HE comes, he will deal with Diotrephes, and not to worry about it. At the same time, he also commends a man of good character called Demetrius, who has a good report from all, and John may have well appointed him as an elder alongside Gaius, when he eventually arrived on the scene. So, while there is a general expectation of local elders being able to manage most circumstances within a local church, evidently not all circumstances were handled by them – especially when it came to renegades, false prophets and heretics (see also 1 Tim 1:19,20 – people who Paul dealt with and expelled.)
It is possible for an elder to also hold a ministry gift. Peter, in his letter, calls himself both an apostle and an elder, (1 Peter 1:1, 5:1 – 4) and Paul and Barnabas who were apostles, would most likely have formed part of the eldership circle in Antioch (Acts 13:1 – 3) when they were ‘at home’ from their missionary journeys. Their testimony was certainly taken into account during the first church council at Jerusalem, in Acts 15. Peter, Paul and Barnabas told of how God was working in and amongst the Gentiles, and James, speaking under inspiration, then decided to accept the Gentiles as fellow believers under certain conditions. This was after much discussion and debate amongst the “apostles and elders” of the church. So it can be seen that there are occasions where elders may be involved in extra local activities and major decision making, but the distinction between a ministry and an office is that the office (elders) will stay with the local church to be its guides, while the ministry gifts, will be available for travel to the wider body for ministry, as required.
One mistake that many ministries have made in the past, is that when they had travelled to a locale and established a church, their tendency would be to ‘settle down’ and stay for lengthy periods of time. The pattern of the early church was to establish churches up to a certain point, then leave, but stay in touch. Members of the apostolic circle would then visit some time later, to see if a local, unofficial eldership had arisen, in the absence of their ministry. If so, then those who met the conditions (as outlined in 1 Tim. and Titus, as above) would be made official elders of that church, and the care of it would then transfer to them. How many more churches would have been established had the ‘travelling’ ministries not settled for too long a period remains a mystery. Those who have built large buildings and popular reputations, and are busy ‘fleecing’ the sheep in order to keep it all going, are not only bad testimonies as to the wrongness of it all, (their current ‘kingdom building’,) but have not committed themselves to go all the way and achieve all that they could have, in their day. Let us not make the same mistake and end up being too comfortable.
In summary, we have seen how from scripture, the hallmarks and atributes of a Biblical shepherd. We have also seen the roles of teacher and others, in relation to the ministry towards the sheep (God’s people). We’ve also seen the pitfalls that can happen to those entrusted with that ministry and how they can be deceived, with the result being the Church of God limping along in defeat, while the forces of evil seem triumphant. In closing, we need to take the promise of Jesus seriously, as evidenced in Matthew 16:18, that the Church would be founded on the revelation of Jesus Christ as its rock like foundation, and that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it.
Part 3
7) Reestablishing the Foundation – Jesus Christ!
In many modern church settings, we hear sayings like “building up the House” and of course, a casual observer would assume that it is the House of the Lord (the Body of Christ) that is being mentioned. Sadly, this seems not to be the case. What is often meant by such expressions, is the building up of a movement, a ministry, a church etc. When the people of Israel came back from the captivity in Babylon, they were given the means to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This they succeeded in doing under the restoration prophet, Nehamiah. Despite serious opposition from Sanballat and other evil characters, God’s people rebuilt the walls surrounding Jerusalem against further attacks. Finally the gates themselves were restored, but each man who built the walls had to be prepared to both build and defend the city against surprise attacks. They worked with a tool in one hand, and a sword in the other, and so it is with us. We need to build the House of the Lord in our day, but before we can do so, we need to get our bearings based on the chief corner stone, Jesus Christ. The next task was supposed to be the rebuilding of the Temple, which had been partially destroyed by the invading army, and had laid waste for all that time. As we shall see, this very necessary act was neglected, until another restoration prophet named Haggai called the people back to the work (more on this later.)
A Chief Cornerstone To Be Laid
Back in those days, builders would lay a ‘chief cornerstone’ at one corner of the intended workplace. From this stone, they took all other measurements using a plum bob and other basic building tools. The ground had already been prepared by clearing it of any obstructions. Workers were hired and materials sought, and then once the cornerstone was laid, the work could begin. The Bible teaches us that “…Behold, I lay a chief corner stone in Zion…” (1 Pet 2:6 – Isiah 28:16) This stone is Jesus Christ. He is a stumbling block to those who lived after the pattern of the Law because He fulfilled the Law. Jesus was regarded as an offence because He died a criminal’s death on a cross, and so became a curse – a thing that is detestable to the Jews. “Cursed is he who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13)
A House Made Of Cards
For those of us in the Church Age though, Jesus Christ is that foundation stone from which we must take all of our ‘measurements’ for the building of the body of Christ – the Church Universal. It is this method of truly ‘building up the House’ that has become distorted and full of abberations. I was involved in a church in Adelaide in the late 1990′s. This group was formed by a number of people who had left their mainline Pentecostal and Charismatic churches over certain events that had transpired over the previous few years. These brethren had strongly disagreed with their leadership over influences, teachings and ‘experiences’ which they did not believe had come from God. Sadly, the entire basis of their fellowship was disagreement with others. Had they seen that their church would not last, because of a faulty foundation, they might have sought the Lord for a fresh beginning, and they would still be there today.
As it stands, a group of over 200 people went their seperate ways after just 2 years – the reason? Jesus Christ was NOT laid as the foundation for that assembly. Hurts and rejection of false doctrine and experiences were their ONLY foundation for fellowship, and this proved to be ‘sinking sand’. In a short parable in Matthew, Jesus tells us that the house built on sand came down with a crash. The Greek word here is ‘kataclysmos’ – from where we get our English word, ‘cataclysmic’ etc – a great resounding crash, that is unrecoverable. Those of us who have recently gone through the Queensland floods can testify that when the force of water comes against a dwelling that is built on unsure foundations, there’s not much left afterwards, beyond a cracked and broken up foundation. The ‘house’ which was not bolted securely enough to its concrete slab, has in many cases, been completely washed away, leaving the former occupants with nothing to rebuild. (Matthew 7:24 – 27)
The Doctrine Of Christ
Laying the foundations may seem laborious and unnecessary to those of you who have been believers in the Lord for a long time. There are always new Christians coming into the fold though, and it is for them as well as you that this necessary task must be performed. The basic doctrine of Christ relates to the person, work and nature of Christ. Basically, whatever Jesus did that was of significance, He did in a physical body. For example, in summary form, we could say the following:
a) The Word of God became flesh (at the incarnation,) and dwelt among us. Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and the man Jesus Christ was formed and later on born in a physical body, at the virgin birth in Bethlehem.
This simply means that Jesus was fully God and full man, at his conception.
b) Jesus Christ lived a perfectly sinless life, so that He could become a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
c) Jesus suffered and died a vicarious death on the cross, shedding His blood for the remission of our sins. He died physically, not spiritually as some of the cults and fringe groups teach.
d) Three days later, He rose again, in a physical body, and appeared to many witnesses (over 500).
e) After 40 days had elapsed, He ascended into Heaven in a physical body, and sits at the right hand of God until an appointed time.
f) At that time, He will come again in a physical body, to establish His kingdom at the beginning of the Millenium period.
You may wonder why all the emphasis in the above statements is on what Jesus did in a physical body – it’s because the majority of the cults deny both the deity of Jesus, and the fact that He achieved atonement for all humanity while a physical person – eg: fully God and fully man. Many of the cults and ‘isms’ will state that Jesus was: e.g.: “just a good man, whom the ‘Christ spirit’ alighted on, and then left either just before his death, or just after it” thus denying the efficacy of Christ’s atoning blood and bodily resurrection three days later, according to the plan of God.
As the apostle warned us, “There are certain men who have crept in unawares, who were of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude vs 4.)
And again: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter 2:1-3)
The apostle John states: “… every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come (fully) in the flesh, is from God, and whoever does not confess Jesus is come in the flesh, is not from God. This is the spirit of Antichrist, of which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 John 4:2,3)
Back in the days of the apostles, the most evident form of this heresy, was Gnosticism. This belief basically preached a kind of ‘dualism’. Dualism simply put, means that all flesh is (potentially) evil, and all spirit is (potentially) good. So when the Gnostics spoke of Christ, it was their false Christ, not our true one. Their ‘christ’ was made up of Jesus (just a good man, whose ‘flesh’ was still potentially evil) upon whom the ‘christ spirit’ alighted for his 3 1/2 year ministry, leaving him at his death upon the cross. This scenario betrays the incarnation (the Word made flesh and dwelt among us in sinless perfection) the vicarious death, (Jesus pleased God with his obedience unto death but the shedding of his blood was meaningless – denies the blood atonement). Finally, the resurrection is also denied, as the ‘christ spirit’ has already left the fleshly body of Jesus, and there is no point in resurrecting it – it has fulfilled its purpose – so therefore, no justification, based on the resurrected false ‘christ’ of Gnosticism.
The above, is a collage of differing beliefs, as the Gnostics, like so many other religious groups, had their divisions and differences of belief. Collectively, the above could be said to be a fair, albeit brief, summary of Gnostic beliefs that were prevalent in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. This is what John was speaking about – the Gnostic denial of the deity of Jesus and His atoning work, including His resurrection – all of which were achieved in bodily form – not as some ethereal spirit, which uses and then discards sinful humanity as it pleases. This is why the ‘Doctrine of Christ’ is of paramount importance in the 21st century church – there are still plenty of Gnostics around – they’ve simply changed their name, address and phone number…
The Armour of God
It is this very kind of false doctrine that Paul was warning the Ephesian elders about back in Acts 20. It is the same doctrine (in a more modern format, but still as heretical) that we must warn the sheep about in the 21st century. Satan has had around 6,000 years to find the weak chinks in fallen human nature. It is for this very reason that Paul also teaches us about the armour of God that He would have us put on, on a daily basis. Roman armour was designed to be protective from the front. There was no armour protecting the soldier from the rear. A highly skilled and trained soldier could attack the enemy from a strong position of ‘forward defence’. Satanic condemnation of the believer is one of the Enemy’s biggest weapon against believers in these last days. If Satan can rob you of the ‘bigger picture’ of the Church and your place in it, then he can keep you on that vicious treadmill of sinning and repenting. While ever you are feeling the pangs of condemnation, you will never achieve victory in your Christian life. God, who loves you infinitely, often looks on helplesly, until you take a stand, and “stand therefore” – fully clad in that spiritual armour of God. Then and only then can you move on into the promises of God in you life, and truly take the land that the Lord has for each and every one of you.
Life ‘inside the fold’ is never easy, at times, but it is comforting to know that we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ the righteous, who is our great high priest, who ever lives to make intercession for us. Satan would accuse us and condemn us before the very throne of God, but our heavenly Father would send out His chief Shepherd, to find that which is lost, heal that which is hurt, bind up that which is broken, and restore us lovingly and caringly to the protection of the fold.
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