pres·by·ter·y
ˈprezbəˌterē,ˈpresbəˌterē/
I've personal served on presbytery questioning sessions/boards and seen elders lay hands on candidates many times. Interesting though I've never seen the members of a congregation lay hands on the ordination candidate. It's always been previously ordained elder/pastors who did the laying on of hands. This series has delved into the the realm of pulpit committees and the biblical evidence for its existence. We have touched on congregational polity and plurality of lay elder texts used to teach a multiplicity of topics within the local church. Today I'd like to dip into a another text for the selection of pastors/elders in local churches and their role in laying hands on ordination candidates. Today we will look at 1 Timothy 4:14.
"Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery." (NASB) (emphasis mine)
Several details help tremendously in understanding this verse. First, the surrounding context. Second, the action happening. Third, who is doing the activity. Finally, what is actually being exhorted.
First, the surrounding context. This verse appears in the first of three pastoral epistles. A previous thread already addressed this designation. As to its recipient, Paul is writing to a young pastor/elder named Timothy. From a technical aspect the recipient Timothy is addressed twice with a second person personal pronoun "you." So there is no congregational or local church address. But to an individual and the activities to function in the local church.
Second, the action happening. Something was "bestowed" upon Timothy. Nothing fancy here. This is the standard term to give or to grant. It occurs over 400 times in the NT. No secret etymologies or special uses. Actually the KJV and ESV translate it this way as "give." So in context something was given to Timothy. The what and the how are where things start getting helpful.
Third, who is doing the activity. The presbytery. The NASB and KJV translate it as "presbytery." Other noticeable translations are the ESV "council of elders" and NIV "body of elders." So who is doing the laying on of hands? It is the presbytery not the members of the congregations in part (a pulpit committee) or the whole (all the members in majority vote). Note the text states "by the presbytery." This term appears three times in the NT (Acts, Luke, and 1 Timothy). Across the board it's a body of leaders (2/3 of which are specifically Jewish leaders) who have authority to make decisions. Here this body is laying hands on Timothy.
Finally, what is actually being exhorted. Timothy is told "Do not neglect...." Do not neglect what? The spiritual gift within you. How should we understand this idea of "spiritual gift"? Is it Timothy's office as a pastor? One study bible comments, "Gift probably refers to something related to Timothy's calling to and gifting for ministry." (ESV Study Bible, p. 2332). Consider also MacArthur, "Timothy's gift was leadership with special emphasis o preaching and teaching." (The MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1867). Knight as well points to "Timothy's calling and appointment to his special ministry" (George W. Knight, The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1992), 208. The gift of prophecy is not the gift. If we look closely at the Greek text, "through prophetic utterance" we will see this is simply a prepositional phrase telling us the means by which the gift was received. This understanding matches the usage elsewhere in Eph 4:11 as one of the four "gifts" to the church being pastors-teachers.
Does this laying on of hands sound familiar? We've seen it before so its not a new concept.
Acts 6 and the selection of servants includes the final approval of the apostles with the laying on over their (the elders) hands" (Acts 6:6). Acts 13 and the selection of Paul and Barnabas includes the laying on of hands by the prophet/teachers (again nothing in context involving the congregation). 1 Timothy 5:22 exhorts this idea with an imperative verb, "Do no lay hands upon anyone too hastily." This is explicitly addressed to Timothy. This laying on of hands, Knight comments "ordination by the group of presbyters" (Knight, NIGTC, p. 209). For what its worth R. C. Sproul comments, "a group of elders, along with Paul, laid hands on Timothy" (The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version. Orlando: Ligonier Ministries, 2005, p. 1752).
I really enjoyed the MacArthur Study Bible notes here on verse 14, "His call to the ministry was thus confirmed subjectively (by means of his spiritual gift), objectively (through the prophecy made about him), and collectively (by the affirmation of apostles and the church, represented by the elders." (John MacArthur Jr., ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), p. 1867).
In conclusion, the answer is fairly clear. Timothy was ordained a pastor/elder, which itself is a gift to the church, ordained and set apart for ministry in the local church. The elders are the ones who performed this action. There is no mention of the congregation's approval or a pulpit committees selection. We want churches who model a godly plurality of lay elders, chosen by God and keeping other accountable.
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