1. Part 7b What is the Church? – Presbyterian?
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Inquirer’s Class

2. Review: Review: The church of Christ –
the bride of Christ – visible and invisible.
Various denominations are due to history, geography, doctrinal emphases, and commitment to biblical integrity and loyalty.
Is known by her preaching, ordinances
and discipling.
Review:

3. The various church
denominations today
will vary in terms of:
Government
Doctrine

4. New Covenant Church
is Presbyterian
which refers to our:
Government

5. How is the Church to be governed?
God has always led his church through elders.
How is the Church to be governed?

6. The church’s elders - OT
Elders first appear in Gen. 50:7:
So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
& then the elders appear prominently
in the story of the Exodus:
Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, (Ex. 3:16, ESV)
The church’s elders - OT

7. The church’s elders - OT
Moses had to have the approval of the elders:
Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. … And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped. (Ex. 4:29, ESV)
And the cooperation of the elders in instructing the people about the Passover:
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. (Ex. 12:21, ESV)
The church’s elders - OT

8. The church’s elders - OT
The elders were prominent with Moses
in the wilderness:
And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. (Ex. 17:5, ESV)
And in the confirmation of the covenant:
Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. (Ex. 24:1, ESV)
The church’s elders - OT

9. The church’s elders - OT
So, far from being just Moses leading the Israelites,
The elders were the ones
in the lead with Moses.
The church’s elders - OT

10. The church’s elders - NT
The elders are still there in the New Testament.
- But here, the elders led the people
in rejecting Jesus.
- They transpired to put Jesus to death.
(Mt. 16:21; 21:23; 26:47; 27:1, etc.)
Jesus rejected these wicked men but not the office.
- His apostles served as the first elders of the New Testament church,
- and they raised up other elders for the coming generations.
The church’s elders - NT

11. How is the Church to be governed?
God has always led his church through elders. The elders are charged with spiritual authority and oversight of the people of God.
How is the Church to be governed?

12. Elder Qualifications Spiritual character of the elder counts the most!
Spiritually growing individually and by leading
his family – not just be “elderly”.
To be considered as elder, the man must be spiritually
mature and proven (1 Tim 3:1-13; Tit. 1:5-16).
The man must be willing to take the call to office
with humility and devotion.
He must serve as unto Christ and not as ‘a lord’
over the people (Mk. 10:42-45). El
Elder Qualifications

13. The elders’ spiritual authority
The elders’ responsibilities:
To teach the truth of the Word of God.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, … : preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Tim. 4:1-5, ESV)
The elders’ spiritual authority

14. The elders’ spiritual authority
The elders’ responsibilities:
To teach the truth of the Word of God
To guard against falsehood and corruption.
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that … fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:28-30, ESV)
The elders’ spiritual authority

15. The elders’ spiritual authority
The elders’ responsibilities:
To teach the truth of the Word of God
To guard against falsehood and corruption.
Even to judge and expel the rebellious.
Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?  God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” (1 Cor. 5:12-13, ESV)
The elders’ spiritual authority

16. The elders’ spiritual authority
The elders’ responsibilities:
To teach the truth of the Word of God
To guard against falsehood and corruption.
Even to judge and expel the rebellious.
To equip the saints for the ministry.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (Eph. 4:11-13, ESV)
The elders’ spiritual authority

17. Church government Three common forms of church government:
Hierarchical
Church government

18. Church government Three common forms of church government:
Hierarchical
Independent
Church government

19. Church government Three common forms of church government:
Hierarchical
Independent
Presbyterian
Church government

20. The business of the elders
The proclamation of the Word, administration of the sacraments and overseeing discipleship,
Missions, foreign and domestic,
Christian Education
The work of the Deaconate and mercy ministry,
Judicial affairs and cases,
Other items of church business.
The business of the elders

21. Having a biblical government
So, we are “Presbyterian” –
presbuteros (Greek for “elder”)
the Presbyterian system
of church government
was first organized by John Knox
in Scotland in the 16th c.
Having a biblical government

22. Presbyterianism in the U.S.A.
Francis Makemie –
Presbyterianism in the U.S.A.

23. New Castle Presbyterian Church New Castle, Delaware, 1707
Presbyterianism in the U.S.A.

24. Presbyterianism in the U.S.A.

25. New Covenant PCA, Abingdon, MD

26. The History of Presbyterianism
1979
The History of Presbyterianism

27. New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Preaching God’s Sovereign Grace
to a World of Need
128 St. Mary’s Church Rd. Abingdon, MD