Chapter Seven--Bishop, Bear

Lesson Seven

BISHOP, BEAR

Bishop

The word "bishop" in the Greek is episkopos, literally meaning "an overseer (epi, over, skopeo, to look)." Such lexicons as Liddell-Scott define it as "overseer, watcher, guardian."

In pre-Christian usage it is primarily applied to the gods. Homer calls the gods watchers over covenants sanctifying their inviolability: "Let us, then, give pledges to one another by our gods who are the fittest witnesses and guardians of all covenants" (Illiad XX.255). Bacchus is called "master (episkopos) of the voice of the night" (Sophocles, Antigone 1148). Nemesis, the messenger of justice, is appointed episkopos to watch over the offenses of children against their parents (Plato, Laws IV.717). In an inscription of the second century A. D. a curse is laid against anyone who injures sepulchral monuments: "Let him have the Erinyes (Furies) as his guardians."

The same basic meaning episkopos has in reference to the gods is also used in reference to men; for example, "watchers of the corpse" (Sophocles, Antigone 217); "The dragon kept watch and ward o'er Dirce's springs" (Euripides, The Phoenician 932); "And let Maidens the women whom we have chosen overseers of such matters . . ." (Plato ,VI.784);"Therefore lord, the master of the house" (Aeschelus, Eumenides 739, 740); "You who were its saviour, the guardian of our wives and children" (Homer ,XXIVIlliad.729).

In the classical period of ancient Athens the word episkopos is used to describe those who are guardians or overseers of the affairs of the State. Plato wrote, "I am sure, I said, that he who does not know how the beautiful and the just are likewise good will be but a sorry guardian of them; and I suspect that no one who is ignorant of the good will have a true knowledge of them . . . And if we have a guardian who has the knowledge our State will be perfectly ordered" (Republic VI.506). In an inscription of the second century B. C. the word episkopos is applied to communal officials in Rhodes, where we read of a council of five episkopoi. A later inscription gives one of the earliest uses of the word as applied to men in a religious sense, where it is mentioned in a list of officials of the temple of Rhodes.

Examples of the use of episkopos in Jewish Greek literature are the following: "In the selfsame manner wrote he to his whole kingdom, and appointed overseers over all the people" (1Ma 1:51); "Moreover , overseers,he that ordained they.certain.might judges have regard and to justice above all things, and distribute it with the same concern they would have about their own souls" (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews X.4, 1).

The meaning of episkopos in secular Greek as an overseer, watcher, or guardian is essentially the same in its New Testament usage. As the ancient Greeks applied episkopos to their gods as the highest use of the word, so in like manner the New Testament applies it to Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the true and living God, who is the Bishop of bishops: "For ye were going astray like sheep; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls" (1 Peter 2:25). Jesus is the supreme Guardian, Watcher, or Overseer of His disciples. He has perfect concern for their spiritual welfare. He is the great head of the body, the church (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22). He is, strictly speaking, the Archbishop of the church, under whose supreme oversight are His repre-sentatives and servants who are designated by the word "bishop ,"episkopos,in the New Testament (Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timo-thy 3:2; Titus 1:7).

In seeking for a full understanding of the New Testament use of the word "bishop," we must consider the meaning of two words associated with it: "elder" and "pastor." The word "elder" is from the Greek presbuteros, literally meaning "an older man," and the word "pastor" is from poimen, literally meaning "a shepherd." It is significant that the same church leaders designated in the New Testament as elders or pastors are without exception also called bishops. illustrative of this is Acts 20:17-18; Acts 20:28, "And from Miletus he [Paul] sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, " . . .Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood." Notice that the apostle refers here to the elders as bishops, telling them that they are responsible to feed the church. The word "feed" is from the Greek poimaino, which corresponds to the noun poimen (pastor). It is evident here that one and the same person is designated by the words "pastor," "elder," arid "bishop." See Ephesians 4:11.

Another illustration of the New Testament use of the terms "elder" and "pastor" for the same person designated as a bishop or overseer is 1 Peter 5:1-2, "The elders therefore among you I exhort, who am a fellow-elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Tend the flock of God among you ,exercisingPetertheinformsoversightusthat."the elders are to tend the flock. This means that they are to function as shepherds or pastors since the word "tend" is from the Greek poimaino, answering to poimen (pastor). The apostle also states that the elders are responsible for "exercising the oversight," which is from the Greek episkopeo, answering to episkopos (bishop).

Still another illustration of the term "elder" for the same person desig-nated as bishop or overseer is Titus 1:5.7, "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge; if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly. For the bishop must be blameless as God's steward; not self-willed, etc." Paul does not write of two different persons in his use of the words "elder" and "bishop," but to one and the same person as the context plainly shows.

The distinction which has been made since apostolic times between the elder and bishop is devoid of New Testament authority. Contrary to the New Testament teaching concerning the elders of the church being the same as the bishops, with a plurality of them in every congregation (Acts 14:23; Acts 20:17; Php 1:1; James 5:14), a gradual change was made concerning this original arrangement as ordained by the inspired apostles. Augustus Neander wrote, "What we find existing in the second century enables us to infer, respecting the preceding times, that soon after the Apostolic age the standing office of the president of the pres-bytery [eldership] must have been formed; which president, as having preeminently the oversight of all, was designated by the special term Episkopos [Bishop], and thus distinguished from the other presbyters."

Not only did the unwarranted distinction made between the bishops and the elders lead to the former assuming authority over the latter, but the bishops gradually extended their authority beyond the local congregation and assumed control of a plurality of congregations in a district known as a diocese. Written during the last half of the second century is the following description of the distinction then recognized between the bishop and elder, affirming God's approval of this distinction: "It is necessary, that the Church, as a city built upon a hill, have an order approved of God, and good government. In particular let the bishop, as chief, be heard in the things which he speaks; and let the elder give heed that the things ordered be done" (The Clementine Homilies III. 57, 1).

As early as Ignatius, who lived during the latter part of the first century, we read of the elders or presbyters being subordinate to the bishops. He wrote, "Your bishop, presiding in the place of God; your presbyters in the place of the council of Apostles" (Epistle to the Mag-nesians VI. 5).

No scholar of good standing denies that in New Testament usage presbuteros and episkopos are used interchangeably to describe the same person, and that this person is given the pastoral function in the church. The great lexicographer Joseph Henry Thayer says, "That they [presby-ters] did not differ at all from bishops or overseers (as is acknowledged by Jerome on Titus 1:5) is evident from the fact that the two words are used indiscriminately, Acts 20:17; Acts 20:28; Titus 1:5; Titus 1:7, and that the duty of presbyters is described by episkopein, 1 Peter 5:1 sq." W. E. Vine says "Presbuteros, an elder, is another term for the same person as bishop or overseer . . . Poimen, a shepherd, is used metaphorically of Christian 'pastors,' Ephesians 4:11. Pastors guide as well as feed the flock; cp. Acts 20:23, which with ver. 17, indicates that this was the service committed to elders (overseers or bishops); so also in 1 Peter 5:1-2, "end the flock . . exercising the oversight.' "

Although the three words "elder," "bishop," and "pastor" designate the same person in New Testament usage, they do not describe the same thing concerning him. The word "elder" denotes his dignity and maturity of experience; the words "bishop" and "pastor" denote his function as one who oversees and shepherds the flock of God.

1 Timothy 3:1 declares, "Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." Many have misinterpreted this passage by stressing the office of the bishop rather than the good work of the bishop. Actually, there is no word in the Greek of this passage that signifies an office. The sentence should literally read, "If a man seeketh overseership (episkopes), he desireth a good work." The qualifi-cations set forth by the apostle that follow this statement (verse 2-7) are all related to the function or work of the bishop. None of them are arbitrary. It is the good work of overseeing, watching, or guarding His flock that God has ordained for the bishop to do, and it is His will that he who aspires to the overseership be qualified to effectively do this work. Nothing can be more absurd in the eyes of God than for a man to desire to be called a bishop, to seek for an office or exalted position in the church, but not to desire the weighty responsibilities a true bishop must assume. Many in the church hold to the erroneous idea that a congrega-tion has scriptural bishops or elders when it selects some men to be called bishops, to have their names listed on a letterhead and weekly bulletin, whether or not they actually oversee the flock of God. It is a misnomer to call a man a bishop or overseer who does no overseeing , just as it is a misnomer to call a man a pastor who does no shepherding.

The church of our Lord constantly stands in need of qualified members who will function and work as bishops, assuming the divinely ordained responsibilities of overseership, who will truly "watch in behalf of souls" (Hebrews 13:17). Those who love the Lord must do everything within their power to discourage any man from taking upon himself the over-seership who desires a position of prominence and honor but who does not evidence any desire to do the actual work of overseeing the people of God.

Bear

Several Greek words are translated as "bear" in the New Testament. However, the particular word which is the concern of this discussion is bastazo, occuring twenty-seven times in the New Testament. It is one of the most graphic, colorful words found in the sacred scriptures. It has various meanings, which we shall now consider.

1. Take up with the hands. An illustration of this meaning in classical Greek is in Homer, Odyssey IX.593, "And I saw Sisphus at his endless task of raising his prodigious stone with both his hands." This is also the meaning of the word in John 10:31, "The Jews took up stones again to stone him."

2. Bear what is burdensome. Bastazo refers to the bearing of physical burdens, such as the cross of Christ: "They took Jesus therefore: and he went out, bearing the cross for himself" (John 19:17). It is used metaphorically in respect of sufferings endured for the cause of Christ: "Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). It describes the burdens or responsibilities of laborers in a vineyard, those who have "borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat" (Matthew 20:12). It describes the sufferings and troubles borne on behalf of others: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). See Matthew 8:17; Romans 15:1. It further describes religious regulations imposed on others (Acts 15:10), the judgment believers will bear who fail to discharge the obliga-tions of discipleship (Galatians 5:10), and the personal responsibilities each disciple must carry (Galatians 6:5).

Bastazo is also used for bearing what is burdensome in the sense of "endure." In a secular manuscript of A. D. 117 it appears in the fore-going sense in a formula about taxation. It also appears in a phrase of Epictetus, "no one could endure your arrogance" (Discourses 1.32). This is similar to the use of the word in Revelation 2:3, where the apostle writes to the Ephesian church: "thou canst not bear evil men." These Christians could not tolerate evil men, which means that they were utterly opposed to their evil practices and refused to allow them to hinder the work they were doing on behalf of Christ. And certainly, in the same way, Christians today should not bear evil men.

3. Carry something. A document of the third century A. D. speaks of Trajan granting an audience to rival Greek and. Jewish emissaries from Alexandria, "each one carrying (bastazontes) his own gods." We are reminded of Acts 9:15, "He [Paul] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." As the Greek and Jewish emissaries carried their own gods before the emperor Traj an in the sense of speaking in favor of them, so Paul carried the divine Christ before kings and other men in the sense of bearing testimony concerning Him.

A papyrus of the third century A.D. contains a spell in which the sentence occurs: "I carry the corpse of Osiris . . . should so-and-so trouble me, I shall use it against him." Just, that is, as the bearing of a particular amulet associated with the god Osiris acted as a charm against the troubling gestures of an adversary, so Paul found himself protected against similar attacks by bearing the marks of the Lord. The apostle said, "Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus" (Galatians 6:17). It was not an amulet Paul wore on his body, not some magical charm to stave off the attacks of his enemies, but the actual physical marks of the hardships he had suffered and endured as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3). See Acts 14:19; 2 Corinthians 11:23-27.

The word Paul employs for "marks" is stigmata, the primary meaning being that of the brand which a slave wore on his person, containing either the initials, mark, or name of his owner. Herodotus mentions a temple of Hercules in Egypt in which if any slave took refuge, and had the sacred brands or marks (stigmata) impressed on him, he thereby devoted himself to the gods (History 11.13). Paul bore branded on his body the stigmata, the sufferings he had endured for the One who bought him, which marked him as truly belonging to Christ. He appealed to this as confirming his apostolic authority, as if to say, "Let no man trouble me by setting my apostolic authority at nought, for my Master will surely uphold and vindicate the apostleship of one who has suffered for His sake through the years."

4. Carry away, remove. This is the most common meaning of bastazo in the papyri; for example, "allowing him to carry off 28 artabae;" "it shall not he lawful to remove or sell or pledge this hay." This is also the meaning of the word in such passages as Matthew 3:11 and John 20:15.

5. Pilfer, take surreptitiously. This is also a common meaning of bastazo. For example, the word is used in two papyri of the second century A. D. where petitions are made to the strategus complaining of a robbery. In the New Testament it describes the thievery of Judas: ". . .he was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein" (John 12:6).

Questions

• What is the meaning of episkopos as it is used both in secular Greek and the New Testament?

• What evidence do we have that the words "elder," "pastor," and "bishop" apply to the same person in the New Testament?

• Discuss the importance of the good work of the bishop and the need of stressing this in our teaching concerning the overseership.

• What are some of the burdens that Christians are to bear for the cause of Christ?

• In what sense are we riot to "bear evil men"?

• Discuss the use of bastazo in Acts 9:15 and Galatians 6:17.