Introduction to the Gospels
Professor Jon Weatherly
Jonathan Cooper (Box #291)
November 4, 2010.*
Fuel to Share
The dirt flies. A tail twitches. Like a squirrel finding acorns in the field, a person can unearth nuggets of truth from Scripture. In Luke, a search unearths a number of meaningful repetitions.i From the start to the end, Luke emphasizes the roles of women and the Holy Spirit.
The start of Luke highlights the role of women. In the first chapter, a woman was the first person to learn of Immanuel's coming. Moreover, the woman believed (pisteusasa) the message of the angel about her Son (1:45) in contrast to the man who had not believed (ouk episteusas) the message of the angel about his son (1:20). After a series of extraordinary events, the narrator turns the attention to Mary who "treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." (2:19) Thereafter, Simeon sees Jesus in the temple and speaks to Mary (not to Joseph) in 2:34, and, in 2...
Principle: Male leaders should shepherd a church’s souls in view of eternity.
Scripture endorses the presence of elders.
The presence of elders is urged (Titus 1:5).
The presence of elders is established (Acts 14:23).
The presence of elders is evident (Acts 11:30; 15:2,4,6,22-23; 16:4; 20:13-17; 21:18; I Timothy 4:14).
The presence of elders is assumed (I Timothy 5:17; I Peter 1:1; 5:1; James 1:1; 5:14).
Elders are men, not women.
Male elders were evident in Ephesus (Acts 20:29-30).
Male elders seem to be have been assumed by Paul (Titus 1:6; 1 Timothy 3:1).
Female elders were not allowed by Paul (1 Timothy 2:12-14; 1 Corinthians 14:33-40)
Side Note: Although these men might have different gifts - and, perhaps, different degrees of honor (I Timothy 5:17-20; c.f. Acts 13:1), all elders should share certain proven characteristics (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9), and no elder should seek to be first in all things (c.f. 3 John 1:9-10). In the church in Jerusalem, John (2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1), Peter (1 Peter 5:1; Acts 15:7-11), and James (Acts 15:13-21; Acts 21:18) were “pillars” (Galatians 2:9).
These leaders watch over the people’s souls (Hebrews 13:17). They discern doctrine (Acts 15), communicate doctrine (1 Timothy 5:17-20; c.f. John 21:17), guard against false teachers (Acts 20:29-31), and lay on of hands in order to commission (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; c.f. 1 Timothy 5:22?; Acts 13:1-3?) or to heal (James 5:14).
These leaders shepherd in view of their own death and eternity (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:4; c.f. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
In other words, the structure of church leadership is male (right handed), but there are female (left handed) drivers of this vehicle.
