“He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:9)
As a good shepherd leads his flock to the finest grass (Ps. 23:2), so elders should provide the finest spiritual food for the flock, namely God’s word. The Scripture is “life-giving” (Rom. 4:17), “solid food” (Heb. 5:14), “spiritual milk” (1 Peter 2:2), and “health” (Prov. 4:22). It needs no additives (Prov. 30:6) and no enrichment (1 Peter 2:2).
Six principles can frame this elder qualification:
- The elder, as a shepherd of God’s people, must himself be firm in his conviction of the Word of God. He should not be feeble or unsure of what he believes. He is to, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
- Elders must provide the whole counsel of God, to the full spectrum of believers at their various stages of maturity. Paul tells the Ephesian elders that he did not hesitate to proclaim to the church the FULL counsel of God, that is, the whole of Scripture (Acts 20:27). This begins with new believers, who need the pure milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2). And it extends to seasoned believers as well, who should be able to teach others (Heb 5:11-14, see also Paul teaching Timothy & Titus).
- The good shepherd must be faithful in “rightly handling” the Word (2 Tim. 2:15). He must understand and apply good hermeneutical principles.
- The elder shepherd must carefully apply the Word to himself first, and then to others (1 Tim. 4:6, 12-16; Titus 2:6-8, Acts 20:28).
- The godly elder must be faithful in communicating God’s Word (2 Tim. 4:1-4).
- The pastoral elder must be faithful in correcting error when there is departure from the Word (1 Tim. 1:3-5; 2 Tim. 2:24-26).