Then peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of israel...(Israel had elders and the Bible teaches us to ask for the old paths. (Jeremiah 6:16) Moses, who was a type of Christ, was instructed of the Lord to select And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the LORD, on whom they believed.
Acts 15:2
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
Acts 15:4
And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
Acts 15:6
And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Acts 15:22
Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren
Acts 15:23
And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.
Acts 16:4
And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
Acts 20:17
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
Acts 21:18
And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
1 Timothy 5:1
Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
1 Timothy 5:17
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
Titus 1:5
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
James 5:14
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the LORD:
1 Peter 5:1
The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.
Manmade hierarchy is a pyramidal, military structure, in the same shape as a double wedge, that is effectively wedged inbetween the head and the body, serving to sever the only true and rightful head, The LORD Jesus Christ from His body, we who are His own flesh and bones. This is arguably the most violence done to Christ since the cross outside of manmade dogmas that attack the ROCK JESUS is building His church upon. See Peter's confession Matthew 16:16
The early church continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. We do not find the apostles appointing a solo pastor/priest over a congregation but rather elders(plural) in each city(singular), elders and deacons who serve alongside the rest of the saints in the local assembly. Titus 1:5 The Lord does all things well and with the good of people in mind. Any local man who loves and studies the scriptures and whose life meets the requirements in the New Testament as witnessed by believers who know him personally can be an elder. It's not a profession but a duty.
Any deviation from JESUS functioning as the head leaves the safe path of the apostles' doctrine and a dangerous gate wide open to wolves and hirelings, endangering the flock. The glorious beauty of this truth is the way it exalts JESUS to His rightful place of authority, not in word only but in deed as head of His body, free to function as the only good and true Shepherd and Guardian of our souls.
The King James version makes understanding local church structure difficult. A translation can obscure rather than reveal truth. Thank God for the promise of His Spirit's guidance into all truth.
From Bible Gateway:"... In January 1604, King James VI and I convened the Hampton Court Conference where a new English version was conceived in response to the perceived problems of the earlier translations as detected by the Puritans.
James gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy. The translation was done by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England.
Any serious disciple of JESUS CHRIST understands that it is dangerous error to conform scripture to one's beliefs rather having one's belief's conformed to scripture. "Let no man deceive you."
What will you personally do with the truth? What cost are you willing to pay?
#missedinformation