Pastor Steve Paulus

Patrology Part Three

The Development of Ecclesiastical Office and Pastoral Ministry

in the Church of the First Six Centuries

A Survey of Key Issues.

Ministry: Charisma or Office

Ministry as Charismatic gift in the NT

Ministry as an appointed office in the NT

Church Office in the Second and Third Centuries

Forms of Church Government in Post Reformation Confessions

II. Ministry as charismatic gift in the NT.

A. Appointment of Apostles

Definition, ordination, expansion of the office

"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles (apostolous): Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip.... (Luke 6:12ff, also Matt. 10:2 ff).

"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up into heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen" (Acts 1:1-2).

" 'Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.' Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles" (Acts 1:24-26).

"Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel' " (Matt. 19:28).

" 'And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven' " (Matt. 16:18-19).

"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18:18).

In the context of church discipline.

"And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven' "(John 20:22-23).

B. Apostolic, prophetic, teaching ministries, etc.

"And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the best gifts" (I Cor. 12:28-31).

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers" (Eph. 4:11).

"In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul" (Acts 13: 1).

C. Various terms used in Paul and other NT sources

1. proistamenous (I Thess. 5:12, also Rom. 12: 8), kopiontes (I Thess. 5:12), This includes the pastoral function of nouthetountas. We see a combination of function and role implying giftedness, and certainly pointing to quasi-office. There is also a current belief that the first proistamenoi were hosts of house churches (see especially Giles, chapter 2, pp. 27ff.) ( Crispus and Stephanus, I Cor. 1:14-16; Gaius, Rom. 16:23; Acts 18:8; Prisca and Aquila, I Cor. 16:19; Rom. 16:15; Mark's mother, Acts 12:12; Lydia, Acts 16:14-15, 40).

2. hegoumenos (Heb. 13:17), Leaders to whom obedience and submission is owed, and who have the pastoral function agrupnousin, and who must give account to God.

3. kuberneseis (I Cor. 12:28) Leading or navigating , i.e. guiding.

4. antilempseis (I Cor. 12:28) Helps, possibly assistants.

5. hoi adelphoi (I Cor. 16:12; Gal. 1:2; Phil 4:21; Col. 1:2; Acts 20:4)

6. aparche (I Cor. 16:15-17). These "first fruits" are devoted to the service (diakonian) of the saints. They are sunergounti and kopionti with Paul. They should receive willing submission.

It seems that ministers in the church are recognized for their willingness to serve, their giftedness for such service (a process which is mutually confirming) and, in some cases, their association with apostolic ministry. Their desires and efforts to carry out the work, coupled with recognition-endorsement constitute their semi-official placement or "ordination" within the congregation. This may be in conjunction with or in addition to the placement of elders in the congregation (e.g. Acts 14, Titus 1). At this point the concept of office is very fluid and "charismatic" in nature. That is, those who are gifted and devoted are considered worthy of recognition. Those in the church appointed to judge (I Cor. 6:4), and the spiritual (Gal. 6:1ff) eventually become people who occupy office in the church. Some scholars endorse the idea that the early leaders in congregations were the hosts of the church; that is, the heads of houses where the church met. My objection to this is that the charism of leading then becomes tied to wealth sufficient to be a patron of the church.

Bibliography for Section II:

Ellis, E.E. "Paul and His Co-Workers." New Testament Studies 17 (1971), pp. 437-52.

Eusebius. Ecclesiastical History. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1955.

Ferguson, Everett, ed. Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. New York: Garland

Publishing Co., 1990.

Giles, Kevin. Patterns of Ministry Among the First Christians. Melbourne, Australia: Collins Dove, 1989.

Lemaire, Andre. "From Service to Ministries: 'Diakonia' in the First Two Centuries." Concilium 80 (1972), pp. 35-49.

Moody, Dale. "Charismatic and Official Ministries," Interpretation 19 (1965), pp. 168- 81.

von Campenhausen, Hans. Ecclesiastical Authority and Spiritual Power in the Church of the First Three Centuries. A. J. Baker, trans. London: A and C Black, 1969.

Wace, Henry, and William C. Piercy, eds. A Dictionary of Christian Biography. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994.

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