When we read the New Testament, we find three different words used for the men entrusted with the leadership of a local church. At first, that can make it sound like Scripture is describing three different positions. But when we look at how these words are actually used, we discover that they refer to the same office. Each word simply emphasizes a different aspect of who these men are and what they are responsible to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Elder \u2014 \u03c0\u03c1\u03b5\u03c3\u03b2\u03cd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 (presbyteros)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first word is presbyteros, usually translated \u201celder.\u201d At its most basic level, the word refers to an older man, which is why it doesn’t always refer to a church leader when it appears in the New Testament. But when it is used for those leading a church, it carries the idea of maturity and experience. For example, Acts 14:23 says that Paul and Barnabas \u201cappointed elders for them in every church.\u201d So when Scripture describes these men as elders, the emphasis is on the kind of men entrusted with this responsibility: mature, proven men who can be trusted to lead God’s people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Overseer \u2014 \u1f10\u03c0\u03af\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03c2 (episkopos)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The second word is episkopos, usually translated \u201coverseer\u201d and sometimes \u201cbishop.\u201d While \u201celder\u201d emphasizes the maturity of the man, \u201coverseer\u201d emphasizes the responsibility he has been given. An overseer is someone who watches over something entrusted to his care. This is the word Paul uses in 1 Timothy 3:1 when he says, \u201cIf anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.\u201d So when Scripture describes these men as overseers, the emphasis is on their responsibility to watch over, lead, and take responsibility for the church entrusted to their care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Shepherd \u2014 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03bc\u03ae\u03bd (poim\u0113n)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The third word is poim\u0113n, which means \u201cshepherd.\u201d This is where our word \u201cpastor\u201d comes from. Pastor is the Latin word for shepherd, which is why some English translations use \u201cpastor\u201d in Ephesians 4:11 while others translate the Greek more directly as \u201cshepherd.\u201d The picture of a shepherd emphasizes how these men are to care for the people entrusted to them. Just as a shepherd feeds, guides, watches over, and protects his flock, the men entrusted with leading a church are responsible to care for God’s people. They aren’t merely administrators or decision-makers; they are shepherds entrusted with the care of Christ’s flock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How Do We Know These Three Words Describe the Same Office?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the clearest places to see this is Acts 20. In verse 17, Paul assembles the elders [presbyteros] of the church to give them his farewell message. Then in verse 28, speaking to those same men, he says, \u201cPay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [episkopos], to care for [shepherd, poimain\u014d] the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.\u201d So the same men are called elders, described as overseers, and commanded to shepherd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter does the same thing in 1 Peter 5:1\u20132. He begins by addressing \u201cthe elders [presbyteros] among you.\u201d Then he tells those same men to \u201cshepherd [poimain\u014d] the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight [episkope\u014d].\u201d Once again, the same men are called elders, commanded to shepherd, and told to exercise oversight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Putting It Together<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These passages make it clear that elder, overseer, and shepherd are not three different offices or three different levels of leadership. They are three different ways the New Testament describes the same office. Each word brings a different aspect of that office into focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cElder\u201d emphasizes the maturity of the man. \u201cOverseer\u201d emphasizes his responsibility to lead and watch over the church. \u201cShepherd\u201d emphasizes his responsibility to care for God’s people. Put together, the picture is straightforward: the elders of the church are the overseers of the church, and their responsibility is to shepherd the people God has entrusted to their care. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When we read the New Testament, we find three different words used for the men entrusted with the leadership of a local church. At first, that can make it sound like Scripture is describing three different positions. But when we look at how these words are actually used, we discover that they refer to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-scripture","entry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Mike Sorcinelli","author_link":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/author\/mike\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1401,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1400\/revisions\/1401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}