CCC Gainesville | Blog
In Numbers 11, we hear Moses basically say these words. And God does.
Church government is organized for service, not dominion, Church office serves both the Lord and his people. The Old Testament concept of elders as representatives of the people not simply carried over from patriarchal societies. It was founded by God’s command when, in response to the plea of Moses, the Lord told him to assemble seventy elders acknowledged by the people to share with him the burden of judging Israel (Numbers 11:16). These elders were set apart to their office by a gift of the Spirit. They were not only judges, but also spokesmen for the people (Deuteronomy 19:12; 21:19; Exodus 3:16; 4:29; 24:1-2; 1 Samuel 8:4; 2 Samuel 5:3).
In the New Testament, they are still called ‘elders of the people’ (Matthew 21:23; 26:3, 47; 27:1). When Luke, who has spoken of the elders of Israel in his Gospel (Luke 22:66), first mentions the elders of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 11:30), he assumes that their office and function will be understood. Those elders meet in the Christian council, just as Jewish elders met in the Sanhedrin (Acts 15). –Ed Clowney
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