ORDAINING ELDERS

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ORDAINING ELDERS
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• Acts 1423 - And when they had ordained
  them elders in every church, and had prayed
  with fasting, they commended them to the Lord
• Titus 15 - For this cause left I thee in Crete,
  that thou should-est set in order the things that
  are wanting, and ordain elders in every city

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• Defining Term Ordain (Strongs)
• From a compound (to stretch) to be a hand
  reacher or voter (by raising the hand), that is,
  (genitive) to select or appoint - choose,
  ordain. (Acts 1423)
• To place down (permanently), that is,
  (figuratively) to designate, constitute -
  appoint, be, conduct, make, ordain, set. (Titus
  15)

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• How Are Elders To Be Ordained i.e. Selected,
  Appointed In The Church?
• Do We Have A Pattern In The Scriptures
  (Heb.85)?
• Yes Acts 61-6

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• Reveals Relationship Between Work Of Elders And
  Deacons
• Parallels That Of The Apostles Who Focused On
  Spiritual Matters And The Seven Who Were Chosen
  To Wait On Tables i.e. Physical Matters!

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• Establishes That The Selecting Was Done By The
  Church Who Sought Out From Among Them
• Why Didnt The Apostles Do The Appointing Of The
  Men?
• Were The Members More Capable Than The Apostles?

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• Did The Members Understand The Qualifications
  Given Better Than The Apostles?
• NO!
• The Apostles By The Holy Spirit Gave The
  Qualifications

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• Did The Members Know The Men Better Than The
  Apostles?
• NO!
• The Apostles By The Holy Spirit Knew The Hearts
  Of Men (1 Cor.1210 Acts 51-11)

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• Was It Because This Was More Efficient Than
  Having The Apostles Do The Selecting?
• NO!
• The Apostles Deciding Would Have Been Far More
  Efficient

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• To Understand Why The Members Were To Do The
  Choosing We Must Consider The Underlying Problem
• Not Neglect Of Grecian Widows
• Rather Suspicious Relationship Between Hebrews
  Hellenists

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• The Wisdom Of Having The Church Do The Selecting
  Insured That The Members Had Confidence In The
  Process, And In The Impart-iality Of The Men
  Chosen So That All Worked Together!

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• Acts 67 - Then the word of God
  spread, and the number of the disciples
  multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many
  of the priests were obedient to the faith.

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ORDAINING ELDERS

• If The Apostles Didnt Do The Selecting, What
  Does That Say About One Person Or A Few People
  Doing That Today?
• Pattern Demands A Procedure Which Enables The
  Church To Select Men To Serve As Elders And
  Deacons (1 Tim.3 Titus 1)