God attends to the spiritual needs of His blood-bought people during their sojourning on earth by calling qualified men to serve in pastoral ministry (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9). At His ascension, the Lord Jesus gave His church pastors and teachers for the instruction, equipping, and edification of His body (Eph. 4:11). Scripture reveals several different titles that help frame pastoral ministry. The Bible refers to pastors as elders, overseers, shepherds, preachers, servants, stewards, ministers, ambassadors, laborers, and rulers. These descriptions collectively define the role of God’s ministers among His flock. Pastoral ministry is entirely dependent on the Word of God, since the power that Christ has invested in His church and its special offices is ministerial and declarative rather than legislative. The Reformation recovered biblical ecclesiology with a focus on the plurality of elders in contradistinction to the unbiblical hierarchy of popes and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church.
In the new covenant era, God has appointed pastors to care for the members of Christ’s church. Pastoral ministry is vital for the spiritual care of the redeemed throughout the time of their sojourning in the world. In both the Old and New Testaments, God appointed special offices for the spiritual care of His people. During the old covenant era, the Lord appointed prophets, priests, and kings to minister in the church. These typical offices were fulfilled by the Lord Jesus when He came as the Messiah (i.e., the Anointed One) in the fullness of time. After ascending to the right hand of the Father, Christ gave gifts, including men to fill the special offices that He appointed in the new covenant era (Eph. 4:11). Foremost among these ministerial gifts are pastors and teachers. The men God has called to fill these ministry functions belong to the overarching office of elder. The two overarching functions of eldership in the new covenant are ruling and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17). Accordingly, God gifts (Eph. 4:7–13), qualifies (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9), and calls (Gal. 1:15–16) men to engage in pastoral ministry for the building up of His people.
The New Testament provides numerous titles to frame the functions of pastoral ministry. The Apostles refer to pastors as “elders,” “overseers” (1 Tim. 3:1; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2), “shepherds” (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2), “ministers” (Acts 6:4), “preachers” (1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11), “rulers” (1 Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13:7, 17), “servants” (Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:10; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1:1), “stewards” (1 Cor. 4:1–2; 1 Cor. 9:17; Titus 1:7), “laborers” (1 Tim. 5:17; Acts 20:35; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 6:5; 10:15; 11:23; Gal. 4:11; Phil. 1:22; 1 Thess. 2:9), and “ambassadors” (2 Cor. 5:18–20). These descriptions highlight the various functions of pastoral ministry. The descriptive title of shepherd captures the essence of the combined functions of pastoral ministry.
In all pastoral ministry, the Word of God is foundational and the final rule of faith and practice. God calls pastors to be shepherds who feed His sheep with His Word (John 21:15–19). God has given His church pastors to administer the means of grace among His people in the life and worship of the church. The primary means of grace that ministers oversee in the church are the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, the administration of the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper), and leading in prayer. The Word of God is the preeminent means of grace because the right administration of the other means of grace is entirely dependent on the faithful ministry of the Word. In addition to administering the means of grace, pastors are called to exercise church discipline for the reclamation of the wayward, the safeguarding of the purity of the church, and the defense of the honor of Christ.
Faithful pastoral ministry is grounded exclusively on the revelation of God in Scripture, since the power that Christ has invested in His church, and in the special office of elder, is ministerial and declarative rather than legislative. Guy Prentiss Waters helpfully notes in his book How Jesus Runs the Church:“No officer of the church and no court of the church has any right to draft and to impose legislation on the church. By definition, officers of the church are authorized only to enforce the Word of God.” Additionally, all pastoral ministry is to be marked by a sincere love for Christ and His sheep. It involves knowing and listening to the needs of the people of God.
The reclamation of pastoral ministry, with its biblically defined functions, was a vital part of the Reformation. Because of the defective hierarchical and legislative ecclesiology of the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformers labored to advance a biblical model of pastoral ministry that is built on the parity and plurality of elders and grounded on the sole authority of the Word of God. Accordingly, Presbyterianism and other forms of biblical ecclesiology were defined and advanced through the ministry of the Reformers.
It is the first responsibility of the pastor to make sure that the sheep under his care are fed, nourished, and nurtured by the whole counsel of the Word of God. The New Testament rebukes the believer who is satisfied with milk and flees from serious learning of the things of God by avoiding the difficult digestion of the meat of the Word of God. But a good shepherd weans his sheep from the elemental principles of milk that is given to babes, and he gives them a diet that will cause them to become strong and fully equipped to do the ministry of the gospel. That feeding is given at the responsibility of the pastor.
R.C. Sproul
Tabletalk magazine
The pastor serves as the shepherd of Christ’s sheep. Under the authority of Christ, who is the Great Shepherd, the pastor serves as an under shepherd to Christ. And, in so doing, he is called to tend to the body of Christ by providing the body with the Word of God. This is why James teaches that not many should become teachers. He writes, “For you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). Those who have been called to teach the Word of God to the people of God will indeed be called to account for their words, and they will be judged by God more strictly.
Burk Parsons
Tabletalk magazine
