Rebuilding the Pyramid
by David Newby
For the purpose of illustration, we will use the pyramid to represent organisational hierarchy. In this instance, it refers to the ecclesiastical hierarchy that quickly developed in the first one hundred years of the post-apostolic period, paving the way for what became the catholic church in the fourth and fifth centuries AD.
In spite of the beliefs of the Reformers, changing from the old power-based leadership and organisational structures was too big an idol for them to topple, so these are still part of our “normal” church life and experience.
God had wanted ALL of Israel to be a nation of priests - to serve in His presence. Israel was to be the vehicle of salvation to the nations around them as well.
Disobedience, idolatry (putting other things before God and His will for our lives) and pleasure seeking meant that 11 of the 12 tribes forfeited their right to this calling. Israel as a nation failed to attain their priestly role, only the tribe of Levi fulfilled their destiny. (Exodus 32:25-29).
So instead of the whole nation being ministers to the nations around them, one of their tribes had to be set apart to minister to them. This continued until God’s secret weapon was revealed in the birth of the new covenant Church.
The new covenant Church, both Jew and Gentile believers together, became the spiritual Israel. 1 Peter 2:9 refers to their function on the earth -
"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation".
This is an all-inclusive statement. No exclusions - if you are a believer, you are in the Church and you are a priest.
But like Israel, we can disqualify ourselves from our calling through laziness, pleasure seeking, disobedience or the snares of ecclesiastical traditional thinking. This robs not only ourselves but others in the Church as we are prevented from fulfilling our priestly roles in our family, church and community.
Jesus established a brotherhood.
“Do not be called ‘My master’, for one is your master or instructor, and you are all brothers” (Matthew 23:8)
"Do not be called leaders, for you have only one Leader, that is, Christ." (Matthew 23:8)
Jesus also said
"The kings of the Gentiles lord it over their subjects, and those who have authority over them are called benefactors, but IT IS NOT THIS WAY WITH YOU" (Luke 22:25-26)
Paul said
"Submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ". (Ephesians 5:21)
Peter said
"You elders…… shepherd the flock of God…….nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:1-3)
“… and all of you, clothe yourselves in humility towards one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)
The Greek word for 'lording' is Strongs 2634 katakurieuo, which means "to lord against", ie. to control or subjugate. It is also translated "to exercise dominion over; to overcome".
These Scriptures negate the current teaching on "be in submission to the pastor", which is wrong outside the context of mutual submission in a brotherhood of equality, which is the standard set by Jesus and supported by the above apostolic writers.
History teaches us of the abuse of authority and power by the church through the ages. These abuses were partly the trigger for the Reformation.
But books are still being written today which expose and highlight the continued abuse of Christians by church and sect leaders.
Chapter Five of this book exposes the roots of the domination and control of the church by the clergy. This error which took firm hold of the early church is with us today.
The early Church had a large number of ordinary, prominent and exceptional ministries, but these are only referred to as LEADERS by the translators of the Greek texts to English. The writers of the New Testament epistles were aware of Jesus' words in Matthew 23.
These Greek words other than the three examined closely later in this chapter are hardly used at all, but we will quickly examine them.
Strongs 2519 kathegetes a guide, figuratively. a teacher. Matthew 23:10
Strongs 2942 kubernetes a nautical term for the pilot or
steersman of a ship.
therefore, figuratively a guide. 1 Corinthians 12:28
Strongs 2233 hegeomai to lead. Hebrews 13:7,17,24
This last word provides the strongest platform for pyramid builders in the way it is translated in Hebrews 13:17 "Obey them that have the rule over you….." The NASB says "Obey your leaders and submit to them…."
A close examination of this verse is necessary -
Obey Strongs 3982 peitho to convince (by
argument or reason)
to pacify or conciliate
to assent
This word is also translated as - agree, assume, believe, have confidence, make friend and persuade.
Rule Strongs 2233 hegeomai to lead, ie. command
(with official authority)
This word is only translated "have the rule over" in the three verses of Hebrews chapter 13. Vine's Dictionary makes the point clearly as if surprised by the translation of "to lead" as "to rule", and notes that in the A.V. the margin adds "are the guides" and "guide".
A more correct translation of this verse would be "Have confidence in and be convinced and persuaded by those who guide you…..". Such a meaning fits much more easily into the broad guidelines for ministry and relationships in the body of Christ as expounded by Jesus and the apostles. The Message says “Listen carefully to their advice.”
If we find verses in the epistles that seem confusing or contradictory, surely we should let Jesus’ own words be the final ones:
"The kings of the Gentiles lord it over their subjects, and those who have authority over them are called benefactors, but IT IS NOT THIS WAY WITH YOU" (Luke 22:25-26)
We are brothers, we do not rule over each other. We have one Lord and Leader, Jesus Christ, the Head of His Body.
Codependency
One of the problems with people submitting to church leadership is that it fosters co-dependency.
Codependency is getting someone else other than God to meet your needs. James Richards defines the condition of being codependent as "to depend on someone for something that we have no right to expect from them.”8 It can be the expectation that the pastor or whoever is the one that holds the key to your future and fulfilment.
Richards also says that the codependent looks for other peoples’ approval for their sense of self-worth and emotional well-being, and they can depend on others to make their decisions9. This is where it gets really dangerous because this easily places the person under the control of another, thus strengthening wrong authority structures.
Worse than that, the leader can be codependent on his followers - he needs to be needed!
Such a leader will never encourage his people to stand on their own two feet, to hear from God themselves. He wants them to depend on him. Richards says "The codependent leader sees authority as a central issue. He must continually have his authority validated. Therefore, serving is no longer the goal, being in control becomes the goal10."
Bible Translations
The big question that is raised by the selection of English words used in the previous verses in Hebrews chapter 13 is this - Can translators interpret and choose meanings of words to support their own persuasions or specific political positions?
The answer - yes. Especially if they are under instruction to do so.
The Authorised Version came about because the Puritans in England wanted a better version of the Bible than those currently in use - ie. the Great Bible, the Bishops' Bible, the Geneva Bible, the Coverdale Bible, etc11.
The most popular version was the Geneva Bible, but it contained margin notes that King James I found offensive to himself and his 'divine right of kings' notion12. So he supported a new translation (now known as the AV or the King James Version), the method of which displayed great integrity in both its formation and execution.
However, he gave a list of rules to the translators which included13 -
a) the Bishops' Bible is to be followed, and as little altered
as the truth of the original will admit.
b) the old ecclesiastical words to be kept….
c) no marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the
explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words…..
It should be noted that the Bishops' Bible was one of the least popular versions of the 16th Century, being ill-suited to the general public and criticised by scholars14.
It should also be noted that James I was a solid supporter of the existing ecclesiastical structure. When in Scotland he had a lot of contention with the Scottish presbytery (Protestant church ministers). On one particular occasion at the Hampton Court Conference he became outraged and closed proceedings for the day because someone used the term 'presbytry'15!
Thus, with respect to the current position on hierarchical church structure and government at the time of the translation, "political correctness" had to be supported by the translators, thus “submit to those who have the rule over you” was easily justified by them.
In the same context, they used the term “office” for bishops and deacons, even though there was no Greek word there to be translated! The Greek words in this context always related to function and not office or position. Function is active, position is static. (1 Timothy 3:1, 10, 13)
Political correctness also made the translators vary the meaning of the Greek word doulos, which is correctly translated "slave". This word is only rendered as man-servant, maid-servant, servant, etc., instead of its true meaning. Why? Because at that time, England was still involved in the slave-trade.
Another glaring example is the use of the word diakonos which means servant. When applied to men it was always translated as “minister”, but when applied to Phoebe it was translated as “servant” (Romans 16:1), again showing the bias of the era where women had no active role in ministry in the church.
Chief Rulers
Another interesting angle on the subject of hierarchy is to examine the Greek words that could have been used in relation to church ministries, but were not.
Strongs 758 archon a first in rank or power, chief,
ruler John 3:1; Luke 14:1
Strongs 2962 kurios supreme in authority,
controller Colossians 4:1
The first word was used by the Pharisees to denote one of the ranks in their midst.
The second word, generally translated "master", is the term for employer or boss. For that era, it also related to the slave owner who controlled his slaves as he wished.
These words had no place in the Church job descriptions for body ministry function, and were therefore not applied at all in this context.
In Acts 15:22 Luke used the word -
Strongs 4413 protos before, beginning, best, first
(of all), chief, former.
"Then it seemed good to the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas - Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men (protos) among the brethren". (NASB) The points to be drawn from this verse are:
1. The decision was corporate, not made just by the apostles
and elders, but in consultation with the whole assembly.
2. Judas and Silas were from amongst "the brothers".
3. Their ministry made them stand out and opened the door
for greater responsibility.
4. The word protos (former, beginning, first) could mean
that they had been amongst the original 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost. This meaning also negates an established hierarchy.
In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul also applied this word to himself as the worst possible sinner. He never applied it to himself or anyone else in ministry to elevate or set apart.
Peter, James and John were referred to as "pillars of the church" in Galatians 2:9. This word in the Greek is "stulos" (from which we get our English word 'stool') which means "a support, something underneath". This again indicates anointing and function rather than a hierarchy. In context it would mean “guiding from underneath”. Some may translate this as servant leadership.
Another word that Paul used was -
Strongs 5762 huperlian beyond measure, exceedingly 2 Corinthians 11:5; 12:11
2 Corinthians 11:5 "For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent (huperlian) apostles." (NASB)
He only used this when comparing himself to some of the other apostles, and qualified this with an explanation and an excuse -
2 Cor 11:16-17 "Again I say let no one think me foolish, but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I may boast a little. What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting." (NASB)
2 Corinthians 12:11 "I have become foolish; you yourselves have compelled me. Actually, I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent (huperlian) apostles, even though I am a nobody." (NASB)
It was obviously distasteful to him to make these comparisons since they were not recognised in any other way in terms of position, title or hierarchy.
The early Church established elders and deacons from amongst the brothers. It was a recognition of their sense of responsibility, their maturity and most importantly, that they were "of good reputation, full of wisdom, faith and of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:1-6). These men were to facilitate the practical and spiritual needs of the believers. Like Stephen and Phillip, they would also have been "full of grace and power, performing signs and great wonders among the people" Acts 6:8.
In the early Church, it would seem that the practical outworking of the recognition of elders and deacons is that, possibly without exception, these men and women would have been ascension gift ministries to the Church (Gk. doma, Ephesians 4:11) ie. apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers.
This passage of Scripture tells us that these ministries are equippers - they get everyone else functioning. This is their primary function - to try to do themselves out of a job!
The word equip in the Greek is katartizo, which means “to set in place”. People cannot function unless they are in the right place, so their gift must be recognised and made room for in the church.
These men sat in a circle, submitted to one another and ministered together as the Holy Spirit led at all times.
Acts 15 shows how the brotherhood/eldership worked. It was a TEAM. A council. They had discussion. Christians from the party of the Pharisees spoke. Paul and Barnabas spoke. Then Peter spoke up. Another of them, James, heard what the Holy Spirit was saying, and consensus confirmed the will of God for the Gentile Christians - and for the Jewish ones too, but it was too much of a quantum leap into the grace of God for them at that time.
Those who wish to maintain or establish a hierarchy in the church will use the account of Acts 15 to affirm that James was therefore the head of the church in Jerusalem.
Remember that this James was not the apostle, the brother of John, for he was put to death before this as recorded in Acts 12:2. This was James, the natural brother of Jesus, who was named as an apostle by Paul in Galatians 1:19, but who calls himself only a doulos in James 1:1.
It would be safe to draw a generalised conclusion from this passage that, when the council met at different times, God would raise up one or another to bring the final word for a situation, and the others would each submit to the wisdom and will of God as revealed through that one, without feeling threatened or repressed.
At the end of the council at Jerusalem, a letter was written to the Gentile Churches from "The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to…."Acts 15:23 . The Amplified Version states "The brothers, both the apostles and elders, to….".
This shows how these brothers valued the equality established among them by Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12:28 says "And God has appointed (KJV set) in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues…." (NASB)
At first glance this suggests an ascendency or hierarchy in ministry, but Paul's choice of Greek wording brings clarity to the situation. The meaning of the Greek word for 'appointed' or 'set' (Strongs 5087) is "to place in a passive or horizontal posture", and thus different from 2476, which denotes an active and upright position.
Some of the other ways this word is translated is to "kneel down, to lay down, to settle and to sink down". By his choice of words, Paul is confirming the servant nature of all ministry, but especially that of the doma gifts (Ephesians 4:11).
Another interpretation of this verse is that the terms “first, second and third” could be linear in the sense of time. Jesus first chose apostles. After Pentecost there were prophets. During the early years of the church, as a result of the teaching of the apostles, other teachers were raised up.
The key Greek words which relate to ministry are -
1. diakonos (Strongs 1247, 1248 and 1249). Appears 102 times and is translated as
deacon
minister and ministry
servant and to serve
This word is applied to men and women alike, although translators tended to apply the word minister to men and servant to women.
Paul called himself a diakonos in Colossians 1:23.
Paul also called himself a doulos, or slave of Jesus
Christ.
These were brothers/ sisters who did not just carry out menial tasks. They were apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. See 1 Timothy 4:6.
These men considered themselves co-equal with all the other brothers in the local church.
Jesus constantly referred to himself, His disciples and followers as diakonos.
In Acts chapter 6, under direction from the apostles, the brothers chose seven men who were prayed for to fulfil menial and organisational tasks in the Christian community. Today, we refer to these seven as deacons, even though they were given no such title at that time.
2. presbuteros (Strongs 4245) Appears 15 times and is
translated as elder.
As in tribal Israel and the Jewish religion, the elders were concerned with the oversight and care of the people. They always consulted together and never acted independently. They never acted as rulers or kings. The key words for their function are council and counsel. Today we would call it Team Ministry.
Acts 11:30 contains the first reference to elders in the early church in Jerusalem. There is no reference at that point as to who they were or how they came to be elders. Some of them were later identified as Judas and Silas who were also named as prophets (Acts 15:32).
The apostle John opens his second and third letters with the introduction "from the elder". Peter also calls himself a fellow-elder. (1 Peter 1:5).
Acts 14:23 tells of Paul and Barnabas appointing elders in every church that they visited.
The questions needs asking - since Jesus did not mention elders once in His teaching in relation to the Church, where did they spring from? On whose initiative was this function established in the Church?
3. episkopos (Strongs 1984, 1985) Appears 11 times and is
translated as bishop and overseer. In Philippians 1:1 it appears to be synonymous with presbuteros, because Paul greets "the saints which are in Christ Jesus, with the bishops and deacons". In other letters he addresses the "elders and deacons".
Although the terms overseer and elder are used both together and separately, it is accepted historically that there was no difference between these two functions. In fact, Acts 20:28 shows that overseeing is merely part of the function of an elder, and should not be seen as a separate ministry. This issue is explained more fully in the next chapter.
Historically speaking, with the growth of the Church and consequential increase in the number of assemblies, individuals from within the local eldership were given wider administrative responsibilities. The autonomy of each local Church was never questioned. The overseer was a communicator and a protector, not a judge or legislator. Working with the local Church elders as a fellow elder, he would have a part in recognising and releasing developing ministries into the wider Body or other localities where there were specific needs.
There is also the school of thought that sees elders as belonging to the city, not the local church. Paul instructed Titus to “Appoint elders in every city” (Titus 1:5 NASB).
Although it was certainly not in the mind of Jesus or the apostles, the establishing of these functions as offices paved the way for the establishing of hierarchical church government in the ensuing decades.
It is interesting that this error is maintained by the translators of the KJV, in that the term “office” does not appear in the Greek sentences in conjunction with elder and deacon, because the Greek uses the verb form, bishoping (overseeing) and deaconing (serving), denoting function rather than position or office. (Romans 11:13; 1 Timothy 2:1,10).
“All members have not the same office” (Romans 12:4). The Greek word here is praxis, which means “an act, a function” and definitely does not refer to an office or position.
Thus the ecclesiastical system crept quickly into the Church after the period of the apostles, ie. 80-150BC. In the beginning, the two offices of elder and deacon did not have any distinction of rank in the body of believers, only function. Acts 1:20 shows that the apostles were considered to function as bishops/overseers, even though they never referred to themselves as such.
Due to some prophetic excesses in particular (by the seclusive Montanists16), the charismatic ministries were fatally wounded and most of these functions were taken over by the bishops/elders and deacons. These worked together in harmonious co-operation and co-ordination and even in 80-90AD there were no indications of subordination of elders under a bishop.
This state of affairs came to an end, with rivalry ultimately causing the hierarchical spirit of the 'bishop' to place all in subordination to himself with the creation of an office more powerful than ever intended by the apostles. But in this act of elevation they made sure that their new office bore the authority of divine appointment.
"These soon completed the theory of the hierarchical and monarchical rank of the clergy and the absurd pretension to having obtained from God the absolute fullness of His Spirit and absolute sovereign power.” 17
The early church initially focussed on the function of ministry and equality of all.
The focus quickly changed to an office for ministry and separated the office holder.
Gwatkin says "The great change we see before us is the disappearance of the ministry of gifts, designated by the Holy Spirit for the service of the church in general, and the permanent organisation of a ministry of office, appointed by men for the service of particular churches.”18
And "We see the beginnings of the change in the Apostolic age: its completion was the work of the next two generations……. the ministry of office was in active working from the first, and rapidly became the only ministry.”19
This insightful analysis of the events of the fifty years that followed the death of the apostles gives us some real keys :
a) At first, Holy Spirit gifts at work in the believers qualified
them to minister in the body.
b) These Holy Spirit empowered and led ministries were free
to minister in the body of Christ at large.
c) The emergence of ministry positions led to the
disappearance (squashing) of the ministries of the believers at large.
d) Appointment by men became the only way to get the
office, with its position and title.
e) The flow of ministry between churches became restricted.
The travelling apostles, evangelists, prophets and teachers virtually disappeared. One of the contributing factors to this was the amount of error and doctrinal disagreements that were taking place, so pulpits became closed because of both bigotry and the need for protection.
Gwatkin goes on to say "Now that the bishop took the lead in administration and in public worship, he held officially something of the position which the apostles had held in virtue of their calling; and as the official guardian of doctrine he was counted as their successor in spite of the essential difference of his work from theirs.”20
In reality, the ministry of the bishop’s “office” bore virtually no resemblance at all to that of the apostles. The Kingdom of God was not manifest through them with spiritual power, but in word only. Even the empty shell could not be identified with the original apostolic ministry as modelled by Jesus and those He discipled.
So, even though it seems that the church was no longer Spirit-led as it had been in the Apostolic era, the bishops claimed apostolic status and got away with it!
Thus the foundations for the rebuilding of the Levitical pyramid were laid and built upon at the cost of the ministry and priesthood of every believer.
The next chapter clarifies the extent to which this error was carried in the Church universal. And it shows how this same error haunts our churches today, even though it may wear a different gown and bear a different title.
Endnotes
8. James Richards; Escape from Codependent Christianity,
page 15
9. James Richards; Escape from Codependent Christianity
page 15
10. James Richards; Escape from Codependent Christianity
page 154
11. G.P. Fisher; The History of the Church, page 397
12. Paterson Smyth, How We Got Our Bible, page 128
13. H.W. Hoare; Our English Bible, pages 252-253
14. Paterson Smyth, How We Got Our Bible, page 126
15. H.W. Hoare, Our English Bible, page 247
16. G.P. Fisher; The History of the Church, pages 59,85
17. Dr. Kurtz; Church History, page 188.
18. H.M.Gwatkin; Early Church History, Vol.1 p285
19. H.M.Gwatkin; Early Church History, Vol.1 p286
20. H.M.Gwatkin; Early Church History, Vol.1 p287
This was taken from the authors book "THE BUBBLE WILL BURST"
David M. Newby