Quote:
Originally Posted by Gubei
1. Elders are according to cities
According to the Bible, elders are simply according to cities, not assemblies. And the definition of city is well given by Watchman Nee in his book "Rethinking the work." I believe he effectively dealt with the matter of the boundary of a city. Please let me know if you are not familiar with WN's teaching on this matter.
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Where in the Bible are elders according to cities? I see them as being shepherds of the flock. As overseers of the church.
Acts 14:23 reports the appointment of elders in each church, not in each city.
Acts 16:4 makes mention of elders in Jerusalem. But this does not make their position according to the city. It is only their location.
James 5:14 makes reference to calling the elders of the church.
1 Peter 5:1 says "to the elders among you." "You" is the church, not the city. For the most part, the city is heathen.
Only Titus 1:5 makes reference to appointing elders in every town. But given the wording of the other references, this is easily understood as referring to the churches that were in those towns, and not to the towns themselves. The towns probably had elders (according to the local political system(s)). To presume that this one is the key and the others must be re-read to match it would be nothing short of spiritual myopia. You do not read the majority in line with the exception — you read the exception in line with the majority.
So besides Nee's or Lee's extra-biblical edicts, where is this "according to the Bible?"