The apostle Paul and the elders of Ephesus, part 1

Once, while traveling to Jerusalem, the apostle Paul stopped to give instructions to the elders of the church in Ephesus.

The Bible says: “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church.” And these elders Paul exhorted: “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.”

The verses above show how Paul instructed specifically the elders of a local church — here Ephesus — exhorting them to care for the wellbeing of the local church. It would indeed be illogical to think that they were to care for all believers everywhere.

At the same time as there is Christ’s worldwide body, there are local churches through which — by means of the believers committed to their life — the kingdom of God comes near to those who live in a particular place.

In the local church each one can grow at their own pace with the growth God gives. The place in John’s second letter according to which “ye need not that any one teach you” does not mean the individual believer, but specifically the local church, in which the gifts and grace-gifts God has given operate for one another’s good. The local church to which John wrote possessed so much heavenly anointing that it was “not in need of any one’s teaching.”

Scripture:

Acts 20 1 John 2