Turn with me your copy of God's Word to Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11. As we continue a series on church government. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11. This is the very word of God. And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. Amen. Last week we were looking at The first three offices of apostles, prophets and evangelists. Today we come to consider the two of the four permanent and common offices of the church that Christ is given to his bride. The other two are not named here, here in verse 11, which is ruling elders and deacons. They are named in other parts of the Bible. But today we'll be giving attention to the offices of pastors and teachers. We'll consider these offices, and I'll be touching also on the office of teacher or doctor, which I must admit is not used today in the Reformed churches as an office, but more as a role or function. And I will say, just to put your mind at ease, this is not something that's new. The Reformed churches of the 16th and 17th century more or less held to the office of teacher or doctrine in the church. Depending on which national Reformed church you look at and read on how they describe the office of doctor, will determine just how far that role was actually established in their churches. My conviction is to teach and preach what I believe is the teaching of scripture which a multitude have also taught and believed on this matter. And if you were to read any systematic theology of that time period, you will come across the office of doctor or teacher. Of all the common and permanent offices that are given in the scriptures, the office of pastor is the least controversial and the most widely accepted. No matter what theological persuasion among the Christian faith, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, they all admit that the Bible teaches the office of pastor. So this should be pretty cut and dry. It should probably be a five-minute sermon to prove to you that the scriptures teach the office of pastor. But, men are sinful. You probably will run across men that deny the office of pastor or relegated to an option that certain people can just take up on themselves. And so we have to look at what the scriptures actually teach regarding the office of pastor. Because there are many churches today, as throughout the centuries, that admit there is an office of pastor, but relegate the office of pastor to a subordinate office. And so as I unpack and exposit the scriptures, I will also in passing demonstrate why the Episcopalian scheme which is the hierarchy of bishops, right? You have bishops as a hierarchy, and pastors are down here, bishops are above them, and above bishops you have an archbishop. And then in Psalm, you have an archbishop, above them you have a carnal, carnals, and then above the carnals you have a pope. And I will demonstrate why the Word of God does not teach this. In addition, the exposition of the Word also demonstrates why the independent or congregational scheme, as practiced by Baptists in most denominations today, is also flawed and not founded on the Word of God. And this all matters, brothers and sisters. This is not bashing of churches. This is what the Scriptures teach, and it matters because Jesus Christ Himself, by His own divine right, has established for us how the church is to be governed. And we know what that is. And we must ensure that we follow what our only head and king of the church has taught us. And taught the church in this regard and for us to believe it and practice it. And as I have demonstrated so far in this series, the government that Christ Jesus has established for the church is a Presbyterian government, meaning governance by elders. And so we'll look at four points. First, what makes the office in the first place? Secondly, the titles of a pastor. Thirdly, the office of teacher or doctor. And lastly, the message of the office of pastors and teachers. So first, what makes a man set apart for a specific office, be it apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, or ruling elder? What makes them assume this office? How is it that a greater part of a congregation, being both men and women, that from that congregation, certain men take up this office? When you look at the functions of these offices, and you look among the congregation, you will find men and women taking up in their day-to-day Christian life and in fellowship and in the congregation of the saints, some of these actual works of these particular offices. For example, some of you are really good at reaching out to those who are poor and destitute and providing for them. Some of you are very wise in giving advice. Some of you know how to handle controversial topics that are theological in nature and get into the nitty gritty, so to speak, and debate others. that have a contrary view of scripture, and you're really good at it. Some of the ladies are very wise, and know how to give wisdom to others. Some of the ladies are very good at serving. Some of the ladies know their scriptures. So why is it that among men and women in the congregation, only some men then take on the actual office of pastor, teacher, ruling elder, or deacon, and not every single man or woman? And these are legitimate questions, and have given rise to much confusion throughout church history and into our own day. And even in our own denomination, these are important questions to ask, especially as it pertains to the office of deacon, as we will see in a near future sermon. So how is it then that from the midst of the congregation, certain men are set apart for these offices? Who decides? Who decides? Who decides these things? Well, first of all, it's Jesus Christ who decides these things, right? He is the head and the king of the church. And in the scriptures, he has told the church how to make these decisions. And we're going to look at them. But first, it's important to understand that these offices that have been set up in the church by Jesus Christ, are derived from Jesus Christ. They are derived from Him. Remember, Jesus Christ is called the Apostle, sent by God. He is called a Prophet, for He unfolds the Word of God, and teaches the Word of God, and reveals the Word of God. He is called an Evangelist, right? Who greater evangelist is there but Jesus Christ, who preached the Kingdom of God? He is called a pastor. He is the shepherd of our souls. He is a teacher. He teaches us the Word. He rules in a church. And He is a servant of the church. He served His people. He was a suffering servant. Within Christ, then, are all the offices. that He has then given to the Church. So the offices are derived from Jesus Christ. They're not derived from men. And that is a very important distinction to understand. Because if they're derived from men, as the Church of Rome teaches, then these are just man-made offices. But if they're derived from Christ, then these are offices of divine right, with a certain structure and a certain governance on how a man is to assume these offices. They're not optional, in other words. They're not take it or leave it. A man then is set apart from others in the church, and particularly for the pastorate, as we're considering the pastorate today, by the act of ordination on part of the presbytery, by the laying on of hands. As we saw before, we see this throughout the New Testament. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 14 states, Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. So, by the laying on hands of the presbytery. which is described in Acts chapter 14 verse 23 in this way. So the laying on of hands is Ordination. Ordination is the act of elders laying hands on men to set them apart for a certain office in the ministry, for the ministry, for the church. And given the context would determine, you know, the context in New Testament writing that would determine which office specifically they're being ordained unto. And so a pastor, a man who's being ordained unto the pastorate, is ordained for that particular office unto the pastorate by the presbytery. If he's a ruling elder, he's being ordained as a ruling elder by elders. And when a deacon is ordained, he is ordained by elders. The elders ordained, as we see here in Acts 14.23, and when they had ordained them elders, they being other elders. Elders ordained elders. This is throughout the Scriptures, particularly in the New Testament. And these elders, again, it comes from the Greek word for Presbyterian or Presbyters. The Greek word is presbyter, in English we translate as elder. So the ministers of the gospel then are ordained by elders or presbyters, and not by the general membership of the church, not by the laity. And that is important to understand. While members of a local congregation do rightfully have a say in voting for which man will be their pastor, The members of the congregation do not transfer or lay on their future pastor an authority on their part through their vote. So when a congregation votes for a man to be their pastor, they're not saying, and with my vote, I give you authority. No. It's just, we choose this man to be our pastor. The presbytery are the ones that confer the authority upon the man to be a pastor. the vote on part of the congregations to say, we would like to have this man minister to us the ordinances of Christ and to be our shepherd. But they do not set, the congregation does not set the man apart to the gospel ministry. It is the presbytery alone that actually sets apart a man to be a pastor with all the rights and powers that a pastor receives from Jesus Christ through the presbytery. Nowhere in the New Testament will you see the laity laying hands on men to ordain them to the pastorate or any office of the church. And the act of laying on of hands is the act of conferring the gift of the ministry through the Holy Spirit. This is why the Apostle Paul warns Timothy, who was an evangelist, the office of evangelist, not to ordain any man too suddenly and to ensure that they are actually called to the ministry. Because a man who is pursuing a ministry needs to be trained up to take on the office. Elders train future pastors to serve in the church as pastors. They are to be trained up. As we read in 1 Timothy 5.22, Paul is telling Timothy, lay hands suddenly on no man. Neither be partakers of other men's sins. Keep thyself pure. When men in many churches today, especially independent ones, the congregation says, hey, you know what? You're really good at the scriptures. You really understand the scriptures better than anyone here. We're going to tell you to be our pastor. And so we call you to be a pastor. And he gets up there and it's a disaster. He leads them through all sorts of craziness as we see today. This is why he says, Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins. Keep thyself pure. As we saw before, the apostles were the first to go about ordaining men to the church offices and transferring the gift of the Holy Spirit on others. It was by the apostles that the gift of the Holy Spirit was transferred to others. The scripture states that through the laying on of hands, the Holy Spirit is conferred on the man in a special manner for that particular office. In Acts chapter 8 verse 18 we read this, And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money. Now, Simon here was looking for power. He was a charlatan. He saw the magic, and he thought he can buy it, right? Because back then, that's how it was, you know, with magicians and people who practiced magic in the pagan society. They thought there was a trick to it. But they didn't realize this was real. This was the power of God. But setting that aside, the context is clear. And there's a pattern in the New Testament that the laying on of hands conferred the Holy Spirit. Again, the spiritual charismatic gifts ended with the apostles. Because it was through them that such charismatic gifts were given. Yet the ordinary conferring the Spirit continues today. namely a special setting apart of a man to the church office with the authority given only by Jesus Christ through the presbytery. This fact of the scriptures therefore demonstrates that it is not the laity or the common membership of the church or local congregation that has any power or right to set a man apart to be a pastor, giving them authority as a pastor. That comes only from the presbytery. In addition, nowhere in the Word of God do we have one man ordaining others nor a group of men that may be called a bishopric that are above pastors. In fact, it is instead a council body of fellow elders that perform this act. And so this brings us to our next point, the titles of a pastor. In the scriptures, pastors are called this. Ambassadors of Christ, Heralds of Christ, Shepherds, Pastors, Elders, Teachers, Ministers or Deacons, Servants or Doulas, and Bishops or Overseers. And most of these titles are not controversial. And as you can hear in the titles, they're not titles of supremacy. or of a lord, they're titles of servanthood, being servants. And many of these titles are actually a description of their function and basically are self-evident and without much controversy, except for the title of bishop or overseer. For we know that in the Church of Rome, the Anglican Church, and the Episcopalian Church, they have a church structure that is based on a hierarchy. They have layers of leadership that end up with one man as the head of the church. You have the Archbishop of Canterbury, and you have the Bishop of Rome. And they pretend to be the heads of Christ's church. They claim and argue that a bishop has more authority than a pastor. Then, when the Anglican Church was set up by King Henry, because he wanted to have another wife, and his son succeeded him, when the Presbyterians got into a controversy with the King of England, And Toadie King, no, you are not the head of the church. Because in the Anglican scheme, you had the Archbishop of Canterbury, but then you have the king who is the head of the church, right? Today, Queen Elizabeth is, for all intents and purposes, the head of the Anglican church. But in that time, right, she's not just pretentious as her ancestors, but in the troubles in the Protestant Church, particularly in England and France and Spain, but France and specifically England, was the king of England said, I am the head of the church. And he said, if there's no bishop, there is no king. because he saw bishops as a way to rule the church. Well, what is a bishop? What is a bishop? Is it a man that has more authority than a pastor? Is he some sort of vicar of Christ? Can it be proved from the word of God that there is a separate office of bishop? as the Anakins, Episcopalians in the Church of Rome claim that there is. Because if you can prove it from the Word of God, there is the office of bishop, then you can then say that there are bishops, cardinals, and popes. But if it cannot be proved, then all of these other higher positions crumble to the ground as non-existent from the Word of God, and therefore to be rejected and ignored. Well, just as we get the word Elder from the Greek word Presbyteros, we get the word Bishop and Episcopalian from the Greek word Episkopos. Episkopos means Bishop or Episcopalian. Turn with me to 1st Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 and 2. 1st Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 and 2 says this, This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good thing, a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach. Okay? You're gonna say, wow, right there you have it, office of bishop, case closed, right? Okay, turn to Titus chapter 1 verse 7. Titus chapter 1 verse 7. It's a parallel passage. We read, for a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre. Now, some of your translations may have the word overseer instead of bishop. And that's fine because they both mean the same thing. Bishop and overseer are interchangeable. They're exactly the same word from the Greek. What Paul is describing is, yes, an office. He is describing an office. But he's also describing the function and duty of that office. Now I'm going to demonstrate to you that from the Word of God that the bishop or overseer is one and the same as that of pastor. They're the same thing. Okay? If you're still in Titus chapter 1, look up at verse 5. Look at verse 5. Paul, writing to Titus, who, as you recall, held the office of evangelist, writes in verse 5, For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I have appointed thee, if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of right or unruly, for a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God, and etc. Notice what Paul is saying here. He says, ordain elders. And these elders who are bishops should be like this. He says, ordain elders, Titus. And then he gives the qualifications that men who are to be ordained as elders should have. He says, and these elders should have these qualifications. And you notice the word he uses for elder. He switches to bishop. Why? Because he's describing the role of an elder. A bishop, in this instance, an overseer of the flock. So among the group of elders, because elder is a very general term for many offices, as I'm going to show you in a moment, Although those elders, these particular elders are overseers, bishops, or pastors, and these are their qualifications. He is stating that this is how they are to be. They are not distinct. They are the ministers of the Word. If you look at Philippians chapter 1, verse 1, a few books before that, We read this, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are Philippi, with the bishops, or overseers, and deacons. So he's talking about elders and deacons, or bishops and deacons. They're interchangeable. I'm going to continue to show this, in case you're still not convinced. In Acts chapter 20, verses 27 through 28, he addresses the presbytery that's in Ephesus. And it's not just one congregation, but multiple ones in Ephesus. And he says this to them, For I am not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Notice the duty of the overseer. He is to feed the church of God. And they are to take heed or attention of the selves and the flock. But the word bishop is not used there, the actual word bishop. But he is talking about the elders as well as we've seen previously as the ordained elders in Ephesians, in the city Ephesus. And notice the duties are parallel to those that are described in Timothy and Titus. Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. Recall the duties of bishop that was described in Timothy and Titus. Keep that in mind, and then how they're described in Acts chapter 20, when he says, you're to be an overseer to feed the church. These are your flock. 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 1. The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. feed the flock of God, which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Neither is being lords over God's heritage, but being in samples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you, be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud and giveth grace to the humble." Here, the word is elder, taking on the exact same qualifications that were given Titus and Timothy. In other words, The New Testament uses the word bishop and elder or pastor or shepherd interchangeably. Just as the titles of ambassador of Christ, pastor, ministers of the word, etc. Interchangeable. Nowhere do you find a hierarchy. Nowhere do you find in the scriptures that bishops then ordain pastors. You're not going to find that in God's Word. See how Peter himself calls himself an elder. He calls the pastors elders. And then speaks about feeding and overseeing them. For a pastor feeds and oversees. But he tells them, don't lord it over the flock as little kings. And you see, when you look at churches that have a structural hierarchy like this, they do lord it over. When a pope speaks as cadre from the chair, he's lording it over. But a bishop, a pastor, do the very same thing because they are the very same office. They hold the same office. In fact, all the officers of the church, except for deacon, are denominated as elders for the spiritual authority they have in their office. Apostles are called elders. You see it here in 1 Peter, and you'll see it in the letters of John. John says, I'm your elder. He calls himself elder. Pastors are elders, and then we have ruling elders, as we'll see later on. And even apostles, in their regular duties in the church, were not above the other elders. Again, this strikes a blow against the bishopric of these other churches. Apostles were not above other elders. They were not above pastors. Acts chapter 15 is very clear in showing this. Turn to Acts chapter 15. So we're going to look at this together. Verse 1. And certain men which came down from Judah taught the brethren and said, Except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. when therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them. They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain of other of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. Notice here, you got some man coming from Jerusalem saying, hey, you guys need to be circumcised if you want to be true Christians. Paul and Barnabas say, wait a minute. No, you don't. Salvation is by grace alone. And they start to have a debate. And they start to argue over this. Nowhere do you see the apostle Paul saying, hey, I'm an apostle. I have the last word. He didn't do that. Nor did Barnabas say, hey, I'm an evangelist. The hands were laid on me and I was set apart. I'm telling you the final word. He doesn't do that. What do they do? Instead, the presbytery say, you know what? Let's refer this disputation to the higher court. As we saw last time, the higher court being the Senate or General Assembly. So let's take it to them, which was at that point, meaning in Jerusalem. And so the lesser court of the presbytery refers the matter to the Senate or General Assembly. And who goes there? Apostles and elders. Bishops in the scheme of the Episcopalians is not mentioned here. Apostles and elders. They go up to Jerusalem. Look at verse 4. And when they are come to Jerusalem, they received of the church and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees, which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. You see them sitting side by side, working this out. Again, the apostles and I say, hey, we are over you, elders, pastors, You don't see that here. You see a parody of elders. You see collaboration. You see them working through it. You don't even see one man coming out and saying, hey, I'm Peter. Remember, Christ founded the church on me. He doesn't even say that. He does not say that. Verse seven. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And he goes on to give an account of that. But Peter doesn't say, hey, Christ founded the church on me. Listen to me. He doesn't say that either. He's presenting an argument that salvation is by grace alone, in Christ alone, and not by circumcision. Verse 12. Then all the multitude kept silence, and then gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. So now Paul and Barnabas get up and they give an argument. The salvation is by grace alone in Christ alone and not through works. Again, they don't say, I'm an apostle. I have more authority than you. Listen to me. Verse 19. Wherefore, my sentence is that we trouble them not. And this sentence is of James, verse 13. I'll back up a little bit. Verse 13. And after they had held their peace, that Paul and Barnabas had just spoken, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken to me. So, let me have the floor now let me give my word about the matter and then verse 19 he says this is my sentence that we should not trouble them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God but we should that we write unto them that they abstain from the pollution of idols from fornication from things strangling from blood etc verse 22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas, surnamed Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren, and they wrote letters. So then they concluded the matter as elders and apostles with joint authority, not one above the other. And James was not the head either. He spoke the final word, yes, after deliberations and in accordance to word of God. So you see apostles and elders coming to an agreement and making and giving the final word. And they sent this word to all the churches. And the words of the General Assembly bound the church. They said that the rest of the church should listen to what this General Assembly has declared, especially in regards to the matter of the gospel. This is then the God-ordained manner of church government and structure. And here we have no room for Episcopalian church structure, where you have bishops above pastors, because here we plainly see the apostles and elders had a parity of authority. They were equal. Nor is there an independent method for the laity, because the laity had no say in these deliberations. It was the apostles and elders. And so we see then, of all the titles of pastor, the one that's controversial being bishop, we see that the scriptures use those two words interchangeably. And of course, this didn't settle much matters back during the Protestant Reformation. And there's thousands of books written on this topic back and forth. These fights, people were put to death over this. Many Presbyterians were burned alive because they would not submit to the king as the head of their church. And many Protestants in France, the Huguenots, were put to death because they refused to acknowledge the Pope as their head. They knew that they were not heads. They knew what the Scriptures teach. Now regarding the office of doctor or teacher. The Reformed churches of the 16th and 17th century marked out from Ephesians 4, verse 11, that Christ had instituted the office of doctor or teacher with a function that was distinct in some ways from pastor. Now this has always been a matter of hot debate, even among Presbyterians, whether this is a separate office or just a function of the pastor, okay? Is it function of the pastor or is this a separate office? Now, we read in the New Testament, we read of scribes and lawyers and usually those men in the New Testament were the ones going up against Christ because they failed to see Christ. This is why Christ, especially when you pay close attention when he's engaging the scribes, he says, you should know better because you're a teacher. You're a teacher. You have the Old Testament, the Tanakh, memorized, forward and backwards. Or in our case, backwards and forwards, right? You know the word. Why? Because in the Old Testament, the scribes were the ones that taught the scriptures in a formal manner and debated anyone who challenged the Word of God. And so they saw Christ challenging the Word of God because he was saying he's the Son of God, right? So they were challenging him because it was given to the scribes to know the Word of God forward and backwards. They were to memorize it. They were the ones that were copying it as well to make sure that the Word of God would be spread throughout all Israel. And we see this office in 2 Samuel 8, verse 17 where it reads, And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Amalek the son of Abiathar were the priests, and Saraiah was the scribe. And Ezra, the most famous scribe of all of them, we have an indication of the work of a scribe. We're actually given a description of what a scribe is supposed to do. It says that Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses. And you read throughout Ezra what Ezra do. Ezra was not just a scribe, he was also a prophet, and he was a priest. He was one of those special men that God raised up who held these offices. But he was one who taught the law of God to the priests and to others. And so the Church of Scotland, back in the Protestant Reformation, they said men that were apt and able teachers of the Bible were ordained to the universities that later became seminaries. And they were called doctors. And if you've read any biographies of say Martin Luther, You'll notice that he is often called a doctor or a master, okay? Master in those days meant doctor, nothing, no master servant kind of thing. It meant doctor teachers, what it meant. Calvin speaks to the church fathers that debated and fought against the heretics of their day as doctors. He calls them doctors because they were master theologians. They understood the Word of God. They debated the heretics. They're the ones out there engaging the intellectual part of the world with these theological debates. And they taught men who would become pastors. They would teach them the Word of God. The Second Book of Discipline of 1578 distinguishes the office of doctor from that of pastor, primarily in the duties I mentioned above, that of teaching. During the Westminster Assembly of the mid-1600s, this office, like that of ruling elder and deacon, was hotly disputed. In fact, Believe it or not, the Office of Ruling Elder, which is very common. Just every reformed church has a ruling elder, has the Office of Ruling Elder. And that's, today, no controversy. Back in that day was one of the most controversial debates about church government among Protestants. Can you prove the Office of Ruling Elder from the scriptures? The Office of Doctor was kind of sidelined. But they still speak of it as a separate office. They say that a teacher has the same functions of a pastor, in that they can preach and administer the sacraments. Whereas a ruling elder cannot preach nor minister the sacraments. But a doctor is basically a pastor. And this is why today, Every Reformed church doesn't have an office of doctor. They just have office of pastor, ruling elder, and deacon. Because they've subsumed the office of doctor into that of pastor. Yet, look at our seminaries. What are they called in our seminaries? How can you become an instructor in our seminaries? You have to be a doctor. Right? You have to be a doctor. I remember many years ago when I went to Synod of our denomination and they were electing a new professor to take over the instruction of biblical counseling. They elected a pastor to take that position to teach biblical counseling in seminary. And many said, but he's not a doctor. So the denomination voted to put him through a doctorate program so that he could be a doctor in a seminary. Every seminary today does this. Every seminary today does this. And the degree, PhD, it's a new degree. If you look into the history of it, it's a brand new degree. It's maybe 200, 300 years old. Before that, they were just called doctors who were instructors, professors. And so today, every Reformed seminary requires that the professors be doctors or hold this PhD, which comes from the old office of doctor that these churches held to. And this is one of the reasons why during this time period this office was debated but not as hotly as ruling elder and then later on deacon. Because even in the Roman Catholic Church they have doctors. Thomas Aquinas is one of the most famous. They call him the master doctor. the master you know even Calvin calls him doctor Luther calls him doctor okay so they this office of doctor teachers been seen throughout church history as a distinct office to train and teach future pastors and to debate theology and that's what seminaries do today so while on paper most or most denominations either hold to a two office or three office view Every reformed denomination in practice practices a four office view. Practically speaking, it happens. Everyone. We may not have it on paper, but we practice that. What then is the message? Pastor of the pastor and the doctor what is their chief message again doctor? Performs the same functions as the pastor except that he's a teacher they pre they can preach they can minister to sacraments So but what is their message? Pastors are called the messengers of God, the ambassadors of Christ, heralds of the kingdom. Whether one likes it or not, the Bible is pretty clear that when a pastor is preaching in accord to God's Word, it is as if Jesus Christ our Lord were preaching to you. And many are taken aback by this. But the scriptures demonstrate this fact, and so did the reformers like John Calvin and Martin Luther. This is why a pastor's sermon is usually called by the Puritans, prophecy. For they are disclosing the Word of God and opening up His Word to you. Luke chapter 10 verse 16 states, He that heareth you, heareth me. One of the Reformed Confessions of 1536 states, Quote, for Christ himself alone is true and rightful head and teacher of his church. It is he himself who gives to his church pastors and teachers who, according to his command, direct the word and the power of the keys in an orderly and regular way. End quote. So pastors direct the word, they teach and they have the power of the keys. But yet even men, many men today, even some who call themselves Reformed, don't like this. They don't like this idea that only a pastor can preach. You know what John Calvin calls them? He says this, quote, They are fanatical men, led by pride, dislike, or rivalry to the conviction that they can profit enough from private reading and meditation. Hence, they despise public assemblies and deem preaching superfluous. End quote. And this is just mushroomed in a day of Zoom. And I've met many men in my 31 years as a Christian that are like this. My private Bible study is just as good as your preaching. No, it's not, according to the Word of God. But they hold to that. These are delusional men that seek to gain a following to cuddle their pride, but they are to be marked as troublers of Zion and ignored. Calvin says of preaching, quote, the word goeth out of the mouth of God in such a manner that it likewise goeth out of the mouth of tongues of men to his service, making his own voice to be heard in them, end quote. So then pastors are heralds of the kingdom of Christ. They are ambassadors of Christ, not speaking their own words, but those of Christ. Paul tells us in Titus 2.15 how are pastors to perform this duty. He says, these things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. So pastors are to speak, exhort, and rebuke with authority. that the pastor speaking is a prophet in God's voice. 1 Peter 4.11 says this, If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen. They do not speak nor govern in their own name. or by their own authority, but that of Christ. Pastors are not called to be diplomats. Diplomats, you know, they negotiate. They negotiate. Pastors are ambassadors. They are representatives of Christ. And ambassadors never negotiate. They represent. They declare and they hold firm the ground of the message that they're delivering. They don't waver. There is no negotiation with ambassadors. So pastors are not diplomats, they're ambassadors. And whether many may not like the message, the message stands. Paul states about being a pastor, that he is an ambassador, as though God was speaking through a pastor. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20 says this, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. And so then, that is the message of the pastor. Be reconciled to God. We are not lords, we are servants. And we have a message from Christ, that if you are a sinner, if you are a man or a woman in rebellion against God, and you recognize that, because the Pharisees, as you remember, they didn't think of themselves as sinners, when they were. Look upon yourself. If you are outside of Christ, then you are in a dangerous spot. And the message of Christ is this. Be reconciled to Christ. Turn from your sins. Repent of your sins and turn to Christ for your salvation. Be reconciled to Him. Look to Christ for your redemption. No pastor, no deacon, no prophet can save you. Only Christ can save you. Recognize that you are a sinner, no matter your age, young or old. Recognize that you are a sinner in rebellion against Christ. That you have violated his law, that you have been a prideful person, arrogant in your ways, unwilling to bend to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Confess that and believe on Christ. And if you believe on Christ, You will have rest like you've never had before. There is nothing you can do to earn His favor. No amount of philanthropy will get you into heaven. No amount of tithing will buy your way to have an audience with Saint Peter at the pearly gates. It's not going to happen. Turn to Christ. He alone is your salvation. He alone saves. And if you turn to Christ, that burden of sin will fall off your back and you will have true rest. And when your day comes to stand before Him, you will not hear, you will not hear, I have nothing to do with you. I don't know you. Instead, He will see His blood on you and say, come and enter into my rest. But if you don't believe in Christ and you die without Christ, you will stand in His presence and you will say, I don't know who you are. Get away from me. I don't want my honor to be touched with yours. And you will be sent away to eternal punishment. where the only thing you'll know about God is His wrath. Choose this day and choose Christ. Choose Christ for your salvation and turn to Him so that when you do die, you will enter His eternal rest and you will sit at His table to sup with the Lamb of God. Let us stand and pray.