The History of the Office of Elder (3): During the Apostolic Age
This article by Douglas Kuiper traces the history of the office of elder in the apostolic church, arguing that it represents a continuation of the Old Testament elder office as practiced in Jewish synagogues. Drawing on biblical evidence and historical sources, Kuiper demonstrates how the New Testament church adopted and maintained this presbyterial governing structure without explicitly recording its institution, making it foundational to Reformed church polity.
Previous article in this series: May 1, 2012, p. 353. Having treated the history of the office of elder during the intertestamentary period and at the time of Jesus in our last article, we now treat the history of the office during the time of the apostles. Our thesis is that the office of elder in the New Testament church is the continuation of the office of elder in Old Testament Israel and in the synagogues of the intertestamentary period and of Jesus' day. This thesis is not original...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org