Lesson 2 by Pete dORN

Class Notes

LESSON 2 Leadership in the New Testament

n the previous lesson we studied the basis for God’s choosing persons to lead His people in the Old Testament. We saw that God did not choose these people on the basis of talent, natural leadership ability, or position in society, but rather on the basis of character. God worked with them to develop the character He wanted and gave them the ability to lead His people. In the New Testament, we also see a need for leadership. Jesus Christ came to establish something entirely new—the Church. He often spoke of the Kingdom of God, which was something that attracted much attention because among the Jewish people this was kind of a “buzz word.” However, their concept of the Kingdom and what Christ came to establish were very different from each other. The Kingdom that Jesus Christ came to establish was spiritual in nature, rather than an earthly political entity. Jesus said that His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). He also said that the Kingdom is within us (Luke 17:21). Jesus knew that He would not extend this spiritual Kingdom by Himself, so a great part of His ministry was dedicated to preparing a group of people to lead His Kingdom. Let’s study to see how Christ picked His team and then trained them, and then how this was carried out in the New Testament Church. Without getting into a lengthy debate, it should be noted that in the Gospels the Kingdom is the common expression for what Christ came to establish. The Gospels record only two times that Jesus mentioned the church (Matthew 16:18; 18:17). Beginning in Acts and then throughout the rest of the New Testament, the Kingdom is seldom mentioned. This is not to say that the idea of the Kingdom and the Church are mutually exclusive. It is simply a shift in expression and expectation. Scripture seems to indicate that the Church is part of the Kingdom, but the Kingdom encompasses more than just the Church.

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Goals of this lesson: •

To apply to modern church leadership the principles that Christ taught His disciples.

•

To understand what the offices represent that Christ instituted in the church and their modern equivalent.

•

To understand the difference between these offices and the local church leadership.

The People Jesus Chose for Leadership Jesus Christ chose twelve ordinary men to train for a leadership role in the Church (Kingdom) that He came to establish. We have a record of how Christ called some of them, but not all. In fact, there are some of Jesus’ disciples that we know little about them except their name. Only three of them wrote anything that has been preserved for us, to give us a glimpse of what their character is like. John’s Gospel records the first encounter of Jesus and his disciples. Read John 1:35-51. 1. Who were the first two disciples to follow Jesus? (The name of one is given, but not the other.)

2. What did one of them do after spending a day with Jesus? (v. 40-42)

3. What nickname did Jesus give the brother of one of those first two disciples?

4. What does the name mean?

Even though Jesus had just met Simon, he gave him the nickname Peter, meaning “rock.” This was an indication of what Simon Peter was to become later. A rock is a symbol of steadfastness. Peter was not steadfast until several years later, after he was filled with the Holy Spirit. The point of this exercise is that Jesus chose his disciples on the basis of the “seeds” of character he saw in them, even though they were not apparent at first.

Class Notes

Lesson 2 – Leadership in the New Testament

The unnamed disciple in this passage was probably John, who never mentions himself by name in his own Gospel.

Class Notes

5. How does John describe himself in his Gospel? (see John 13:23)

Later in his ministry, John became known as the Apostle of Love. Read quickly through John’s First Epistle. 6. Why would the Early Church call give John this title?

Nevertheless, in his younger years, John was not like this at all. 7. What nickname did Jesus give to John and his brother, James? (Mark 3:17) Why do you think Jesus would give them that nickname?

8. What did James and John want to do to a Samaritan village? (Luke 9:51-56)

Does this sound like something that the Apostle of Love would do? When Jesus called John to be his disciple, he did not display this quality of character, but as Jesus worked with him and in him, this character trait began to develop. Let’s look at one more disciple. Turn back to John 1. 9. What did Jesus say about Nathanael’s character? (v. 47)

10. What was Nathanael’s reaction to Jesus initial assessment?

11. Who did Nathanael recognize that Jesus was?

Nathanael, who is called Bartholomew elsewhere in the Gospels, was the first disciple to confess that Jesus is the Son of God. However, we should note that Jesus saw in Nathanael a wonderful character trait. 12. What was that trait?

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We don’t know much about most of the other disciples’ character, but we can be assured that Jesus chose them to be leaders in the church he was establishing, not because of their education, natural talent, or leadership skills, but because of their character.

Jesus’ Principles of Leadership Several months after Jesus’ first met several of his disciples, he called them to a greater commitment. Read Matthew 4:18-21. 13. Who were four of these disciples?

14. What did Jesus call them to do?

15. How did they respond?

In Matthew 4:23-25 we have a summary of Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee. 16. In your own words, describe Jesus’ ministry.

17. What was the result?

In chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew’s Gospel we have a summary of Jesus’ teachings, which is usually called the Sermon on the Mount. Read Matthew 5:1-12. 18. To whom did Jesus teach the Sermon on the Mount, to the crowd or the disciples?

What Jesus taught to his disciples was the very foundation principles of the Kingdom (the church). Like the Constitution of the United States spells out the principles on which the country is founded, the Sermon on the Mount outlines the principles on which the church is founded. The first set of verses (3-10), which we called the Beatitudes, are an outline of the rest of the teaching. The word “blessed” in the Beatitudes really means “happy.” In other words, the ones who are going to be happy (content) in Christ’s

Class Notes

Lesson 2 – Leadership in the New Testament

Kingdom are the ones who will have the character traits that are described in the Beatitudes.

Class Notes

Rather than get into a lengthy interpretation into each of these statements, we’ll give you some options to choose the meaning of each of the qualities that Jesus said will bring happiness in the Kingdom, 19. Match the quote from the Beatitudes with what you think they mean. ___ 1) the poor in spirit

a. kindness and compassion

___ 2) those who mourn

b. submission to God’s will

___ 3) the meek

c. integrity, uprightness

___ 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ___ 5) the merciful

d. humility, lacking arrogance

___ 6) the pure in heart ___ 7) the peacemakers

e. contrition, brokenness f. managing conflict in a Christlike way g. seeking God’s holiness

These are the qualities of character that Jesus wanted his disciples to have, and that he wants to see in leaders in his church today. Notice how contrary they are to the character traits that the world looks for in leadership. The people who have these traits are going to be happy working in the Kingdom of Christ. This is why in the church we should not look for those who are leaders in a “wordly way,” but rather according to Christ’s standards. 20. As a matter of review, match up the Old Testament characters with the New Testament traits of leaders. Some of the Old Testament characters may fit into more than one of the New Testament traits. ____ 1) the poor in spirit

a. Abraham

____ 2) those who mourn

b. Joseph

____ 3) the meek

c. Moses

____ 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ____ 5) the merciful

d. Gideon e. David

____ 6) the pure in heart ____ 7) the peacemakers

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Jesus Chose the Apostles In John 1, we saw that Jesus called his disciples to “come and see.” In Matthew 4, he deepened the level of commitment, and called them to be “fishers of men.” They left what they were doing to obey what Jesus commanded. Later, Jesus issued another type of call, one to leadership. Jesus did not ask for volunteers to be the leaders in His Kingdom, but rather He chose them carefully. 21. According to Luke 6:12-16, what did Jesus do before calling the ones who would be called apostles?

22. In the parallel passage in Mark 3:13-19, what was the dual purpose of Jesus calling these twelve? a. b.

These twelve were the people that Jesus decided to prepare for leadership. Jesus knew that they were capable of leading His church. It seems that there were other disciples present, but Jesus chose these twelve to be with him (to give them special training) and to send them out. Jesus continues to call all people everywhere to “come and see.” Everyone who becomes a follower of Christ is called to be a “fisher of men.” Jesus also calls certain people to leadership. Read Mark 6:7-13. 23. What did Jesus do as he sent out the Twelve?

24. What was the message that they preached?

25. What other kind of ministry did they have?

Jesus taught them by word and by example. Then he sent them out to practice what they had learned. He gave them the “tools” they needed— authority over evil spirits and diseases (Matthew 10:1).

Class Notes

Lesson 2 – Leadership in the New Testament

Over a period of more than a year, Jesus had been developing these men to be leaders. He taught them to bring people to Him. He also taught them to pray (Luke 11:1-11), to preach and teach, to understand and use Scripture (Matthew 5:17-48). Jesus taught them about loving God with their whole being and loving their neighbor, and he said a great deal about attitudes.

Class Notes

These apostles understood that Jesus was their King, and that they were going to be leaders in the Kingdom. Not long after they realized they would be in positions of leadership, their ambition got the better of them. They often disputed among themselves about who would have the principal positions in the Kingdom. Jesus wanted to teach His disciples that He wanted a different style of leadership than what the world was used to producing. 26. According to Matthew 18:1-4, what is the quality that leads to greatness in leadership?

27. In Matthew 23:11-12, what should the attitude of the leader be?

28. What should the attitude of today’s church leader be?

29. Why do you think that authority in the church be tempered by a servant attitude?

30. Why do you think that an “authoritarian mentality” in the church leadership would be detrimental to the growth and progress of the church?

Leadership Roles in the New Testament Church At first the only leaders in the church were the Apostles that Jesus had trained personally. As the church grew, other people were raised up to help lead the church. Christ has given specially called and gifted people to the Church to assume certain roles of leadership.

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Read Ephesians 4:7-13. As you read this passage keep in mind that the theme of Ephesians is the Church, the Body of Christ. 31. What did Christ give to the church? (v. 11) a. b. c. d. e. Christ gave people, whom he had appointed, to have special ministries in the church. First Corinthians 12:5 says, “there are different kinds of service (or ministries), but the same Lord.” Those who have been given these special ministries are what we would call today “vocational leaders.” I think they have modern equivalents. Let’s look closely at these five kinds of vocational ministers. Apostles The word apostle means “one who is sent.” Jesus used this word with the Twelve whom he had chosen. In New Testament times the office was expanded to include other “sent ones” who were not of the elite group of Twelve who had known Jesus personally. (See Galatians 1:19; Romans 1:1; 16:7. Also Barnabas, Silas, Jude, and others were considered apostles.) 32. From your knowledge of Scripture, what do you understand was the ministry of an apostle?

Although the office of apostle carried great authority in the New Testament and they were looked upon as the principal leaders in the church, we might say in simplest terms that an apostle was one who went about planting churches. Peter and Paul, who are the two most prominent apostles in the book of Acts, were constantly on the move preaching the gospel where it had never been preached and establishing churches. 33. Give an example of someone who might be considered a modern-day apostle.

Class Notes

Lesson 2 – Leadership in the New Testament

Prophets

Class Notes

34. What do you understand the ministry of a prophet to be?

Throughout Scripture a prophet is one who speaks for God, a messenger. Although many of the prophets predicted future events, their principal ministry was to give a message under the anointing of God’s Spirit. Today we would probably call this person a preacher, one through whom God speaks to His people. The New Testament speaks of a number of people who prophesied (preached), so it seems to have been a fairly common practice in the churches (Acts 13:11; 1 Corinthians 14:3, 29). It should be noted that women prophesied as well (Acts 21:8,9; 1 Corinthians 11:5). 35. Who would you consider to be a prophet in today’s church?

Evangelists 36. What do you understand is the ministry of an evangelist?

Though the New Testament does not tell us what an evangelist is, from the example given in the life of Philip, who is the only person in the New Testament who was given that title, an evangelist is a person who God gives an unusual ability to equip others to win people to Christ while winning people to Christ himself. Every follower of Christ is called to be a “fisher of men,” a witness for Christ. However, there are certain people whose principal ministry is leading people to Christ and teaching others to do so as well. When Philip ministered in Samaria, multitudes of people came to Christ (Acts 8:5-8). The apostles Peter and John came to assist in the formation of the group into a church (Acts 8:14-17). Later we see Philip evangelizing the Ethiopian one-on-one (Acts 8:26-40). Some people are public evangelists, that is, they present the gospel to a group of people, many or all of whom accept Christ. Others are personal evangelists, winning people to Christ one by one. 37. Name a modern-day evangelist.

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Pastors 38. What do you understand the ministry of the pastor to be?

The New Testament uses the word “pastors” only once—in this passage. Originally the name implied a shepherd, one who leads and tends a flock of sheep. In other words, a pastor is one who leads God’s people, as a shepherd would tend sheep—protecting them from danger, leading them to pasture, ministering to them in times of illnesses, etc. The New Testament doesn’t give the name of anyone as being a pastor, although there seems to be some examples that fit what we would think of as a pastor/leader. James, the brother of Jesus, seems to have been the pastor of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15; 21:17-19). Timothy and Titus seem to have fulfilled this role, and the letters Paul wrote to them are called the Pastoral Epistles. 39. Name a pastor in the church today.

Teachers 40. What do you understand the ministry of a teacher to be?

Jewish teachers were held in great respect as being experts in the Scriptures. This concept carried over to the New Testament church as well. Though teachers in the church were respected as people who knew the Word, James warns that they will be judged more strictly (3:1).Though the New Testament does not give us specific names of teachers, Acts 13:1 tells us that the church in Antioch enjoyed their ministry, and we are given the names of five people. 41. Name a modern-day Bible teacher.

The purpose of these offices The people who carried out these ministries in the church were gifted by Christ to assume roles of leadership. From the examples we have in Scripture of people who held these offices, most of them seem to have had itinerant ministries. Some went from place to place frequently, like Paul. Others stayed in a location for longer periods of time, but they did not stay permanently in a local church. Agabus, the prophet, ministered in Antioch and Caesarea, even though he was from Jerusalem. Philip ministered in

Class Notes

Lesson 2 – Leadership in the New Testament

Jerusalem, Samaria, the desert near Gaza, various Judean towns and ultimately settled in Caesarea. Timothy and Titus, considered to be pastors, were not permanent in Ephesus and Crete either. Their ministry was larger than just one church. Even today, though a minister may stay for several years in one place, most ministers do not stay in the same church for their whole lifetime.

Class Notes

42. What was the purpose of the ministry of these five types of leaders? (Ephesians 4:12)

The goal of the vocational ministers is to train the people in the local church to do the work of the ministry. In the New Testament, vocational ministers were not always present in the local church, so the local people had to learn how to minister. There seems to be a distinction between these “vocational” leaders and another type of leader. The second type of church leaders were those who came from that local congregation: the elders and deacons. They were more or less permanent in the local church. 43. What did Paul and Barnabas do as they revisited the churches on their first missionary journey? (Acts 14:22-23)

44. What task did Paul give to Titus in the churches in Crete? (Titus 1:5)

We will study in greater detail the role of the elders and deacons of the local church in later lessons. Our purpose in this lesson was to point out that Christ has called and gifted people for specific types of ministry to the church, but that there are also local church leaders that God uses to serve in His church. The “vocational” ministers are to train or prepare the “lay” leaders to minister as well, so that the body of Christ may be built up and reach maturity. Personal Application: 1. What do you believe is the most important quality that a church leader should have?

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2. Do you have that quality?

3. If you don’t, what should you do to develop it?

Class Notes