STUDY GUIDE ON ELDERSHIP
STUDY GUIDE ON ELDERSHIP
Virgil Warren, PhD
Passage Term # Reference Scope
S Pl Old/ Men of Jewish 24 in Church City/ House
Older Old Elders Rev Office Area
1. Mt. 15:2 πρεσβύτερος pl x
2. Mt. 16:21 " pl x
3. Mt. 21:23 " pl x
4. Mt. 26:3 " pl x
5. Mt. 26:47 " pl x
6. Mt. 26:57 " pl x
7. Mt. 26:59 " pl x
8. Mt. 27:1 " pl x
9. Mt. 27:3 " pl x
10. Mt. 27:12 " pl x
11. Mt. 27:20 " pl x
12. Mt. 27:41 " pl x
13. Mt. 28:12 " pl x
14. Mk. 7:3 " pl x
15. Mk. 7:5 " pl x
16. Mk. 8:31 " pl x
17. Mk. 11:27 " pl x
18. Mk. 14:43 " pl x
19. Mk. 14:53 " pl x
20. Mk. 15:1 " pl x
21. Lk. 1:18 πρεσβύτης s
22. Lk. 7:3 πρεσβύτερος pl x
23. Lk. 9:22 " pl x
24. Lk. 15:25 " adj. s older
25. Lk. 20:1 " pl x
26. Lk. 22:52 " pl x
27. Lk. 22:66 πρεσβυτέριον x
28. Jn. 8:9 " pl older
29. Acts 2:17 " pl old
30. Acts 4:5 " pl x
31. Acts 4:8 " pl x
32. Acts 4:23 " pl x
33. Acts 6:12 " pl x
34. Acts 11:30 " elder
35. Acts 14:23 " x Antioch
36. Acts 15:2 " x x
37. Acts 15:4 " x x
38. Acts 15:6 " x x
39. Acts 15:22 " x Jerusalem
40. Acts 15:23 " x x
41. Acts 16:4 " x x
42. Acts 20:17 " x Ephesus
43. Acts 21:18 " x Jerusalem
Passage Term # Reference Scope
S Pl Old/ Men of Jewish 24 in Church City/ House
Older Old Elders Rev Office Area
44. Acts 22:5 πρεσβυτέριον x
45. Acts 23:14 πρεσβύτερος pl x
46. Acts 24:1 " pl x
47. Acts 25:15 " pl x
48. 1 Tim. 4:14 πρεσβυτέριoν eldership (Derbe?)
49. 1 Tim. 5:1 πρεσβύτερος pl old
50. 1 Tim. 5:2 πρεσβυτέρα pl old (f)
51. 1 Tim. 5:17 πρεσβύτερος pl elder (Ephesus)
52. 1 Tim. 5:19 " s x (Ephesus)
53. Titus 1:5 " pl x cities of
Crete
54. Titus 2:2 πρεσβύτης pl old
55. Titus 2:3 πρεσβῦτις pl old (f)
56. Phil 9 πρεσβύτης s old
57. Heb. 11:2 πρεσβύτερος x
58. James 5:14 " pl elder ?
59. 1 Pet. 5:1 " pl x Asia Minor
60. 1 Pet. 5:1 συμπρεσβύτερος s apostle
61. 1 Pet. 5:5 πρεσβύτερος pl old
62. 2 Jn. 1 " x
63. 3 Jn. 1 " x
64. Rev. 4:4 " x
65. Rev. 4:10 " x
66. Rev. 5:5 " x
67. Rev. 5:6 " x
68. Rev. 5:8 " x
69. Rev. 5:11 " x
70. Rev. 5:14 " x
71. Rev. 7:11 " x
72. Rev. 7:13 " x
73. Rev. 11:16 " x
74. Rev. 14:3 " x
75. Rev. 19:4 " x
a. Acts 13:1? διδάσκαλος pl elder? Antioch
b. Rom. 12:7? διδάσκων s elder? (Rome)
c. Eph. 4:11? ποιμήν pl x ? (Ephesus)
διδάσκαλος pl x ? x
d. 1 Tim. 1:7? νομοδιδάσκλος pl ?
e. Heb. 13:7? ἡγούμενοι pl elder? ?
f. Heb. 13:17? " pl x ? ?
g. Heb. 13:24? " pl x ? ?
Passage Term # Reference Scope
S Pl Old/ Men of Jewish 24 in Church City/ House
Older Old Elders Rev Office Area
A. Acts 1:20 ἐπίσκοπή (apostle)
B. Acts 20:28 ἐπίσκοπος pl elder Ephesus
C. Phil. 1:1 " pl x Philippi
D. 1 Tim. 3:1 ἐπισκοπή x (Ephesus)
E. 1 Tim. 3:2 ἐπίσκοπος s x (Ephesus)
F. Titus 1:7 " s x (Cities of
Crete)
G. 1 Pet. 2:25 " s Lord
Observations
General observations on the work sheet above
1. There is no mention of elders of household churches.
2. Elders are always at the city level. That leaves unaddressed how the elders of a city related to multiple household churches in cities like Rome, where ther were at least four house churches at the time Paul addressed his letter to the saints there.
3. Every example of an elder is local, and every local church whose organization is mentioned had elders.
4. Elders existed in Jewish and Gentile territories.
5. Elders existed in connection with the work or Peter (1 Peter 5:1) and the other original apostles as well as Paul.
The statistics on πρεσβύτερος and its cognates are as follows:
(a) Church office: Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18; 1 Timothy 4:14 (πρεσβυτέριον); 5:17, 19; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; 1 Peter 5:1
(b) the references to apostles (possibly to be included in the first listing): 1 Peter 5:1 (συμπρεσβύτερος); 2 John 1; 3 John 1
(c) Jewish elders: Matthew 16:21; 21:23; 26:3, 47, 57, 59; 27:1, 3, 12, 20, 41; 28:12; Mark 8:31; 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1; Luke 7:3; 9:22; 20:1; 22:52, 66 (πρεσβυτέριον); Acts 4:5, 8, 23; 6:12; 22:5 (πρεσβύτης); 23:14; 24:1; 25:15; (elders, tradition of: Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:3, 5)
(d) men of old: Hebrews 11:2 (see in loco F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews: The English Text with Introduction, Exposition and Notes in The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. by F. F. Bruce)
(e) old (wo)men: Luke 15:25; John 8:9; Acts 2:17; 1 Timothy 5:1, 2 (fem.); 1 Peter 5:5; πρεσβύτερος: Luke 1:18; Titus 2:2; Philemon 9; πρεσβῦτις: Titus 2:3
(f) twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse: 4:4, 10; 5:5, 6, 8, 11, 14; 7:11, 13; 11:16; 14:3; 19:4.
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