(34) You Need Faithful Elders

The health of a local church is always proportionate to the faithfulness of her elders. This is the point of Paul's speech to the Ephesian elders. Paul expects never again to see the members of this church that he served for three years. So he charged the church's leaders to follow his example in shepherding the flock. This passage shows future and current elders what faithful leadership looks like!

But the text is also for church members. Attend and unite yourself with this kind of church. And facilitate this kind of leadership by your prayers and eager obedience and submission (Heb. 13:17).

Paul calls elders "overseers" (cf. Acts 20:17; 28). Overseers are watchmen. They are not like elected officials who are accountable to their constituents; their primary allegiance is to Jesus, the head of the church. And Paul's speech identifies three ways elders must obey Christ as overseers.