40 Bible Verses about Leaders, Spiritual

And not any man takes the honor to himself, but being called by God, just as also Aaron.

And bring thou near to thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.

For LORD thy God has chosen him out of all thy tribes to stand to minister in the name of LORD, him and his sons forever.

For every high priest taken from men is appointed for men in things toward God, so that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

And Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before LORD continually. And thou shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goes in before LORD. And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the sons of Israel upon his heart before LORD conti

And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before LORD. At his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the sons of Israel with him, even

For every high priest is appointed in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices, whereupon it is necessary for this man also have something that he may offer.

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth. For he is the messenger of LORD of hosts.

and that ye may teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which LORD has spoken to them by Moses.

Thus says LORD of hosts: Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If a man bears holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt touches bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it become holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then Haggai said, If a man who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that [Eli] fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate. And his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty year

And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to LORD. And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against LORD. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah. And when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.read more.
And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry to LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt-offering to LORD. And Samuel cried to LORD for Israel, and LORD answered him.

And when they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, from which were made vessels for the house of LORD, even vessels with which to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold a

For no prophecy was ever brought by a will of man, but holy men of God spoke, being led by Holy Spirit.

And I heard the voice of LORD, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, I am here, send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but do not understand, and see ye indeed, but do not perceive.

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou came forth out of the womb I sanctified thee. I have appointed thee a prophet to the nations.

And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return to LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to LORD, and serve him only. And he will deli Then the sons of Israel did put away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served LORD only.

And Samuel said to the people, Fear not. Ye have indeed done all this evil, yet turn not aside from following LORD, but serve LORD with all your heart. And turn ye not aside after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain. For LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because it has pleased LORD to make you a people to himself.read more.
Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against LORD in ceasing to pray for you. But I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart, for consider what great things he has done for you.

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of LORD, and thou have followed the Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent to all the sons of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to mount Carmel.read more.
And Elijah came near to all the people, and said, How long do ye go limping between the two sides? If LORD be God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

Thus says LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house. And I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, says LORD. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little, and when ye brought it home, I blew upon it. Why? says LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lays waste while ye run each man to his own house.

And having gathered together all the chief priests and scholars of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ is born.

And the Pharisees and Sadducees who came, testing, demanded him to exhibit to them a sign from the sky.

And when he came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him while he taught, saying, By what authority do thou these things? And who gave thee this authority?

The scholars and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat.

Now the chief priests and the elders and the whole council sought FALSE testimony against Jesus, so that they might put him to death,

And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed up of wine. They stagger with strong drink; they err in vision; they stumble in judgment.

For both prophet and priest are profane. Yea, in my house I have found their wickedness, says LORD.

And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it

For they bind heavy burdens and difficult to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they do not want to move them with their finger. But all their works they do in order to be seen by men. And they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the hems of their garments. And they love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,read more.
and the greetings in the marketplaces, and to be designated by men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be ye not designated Rabbi, for one is your leader, the Christ, and ye are all brothers. And do not designate a father of you upon the earth, for one is your Father, he in the heavens. And be ye not designated leaders, for one is your leader, the Christ. But the greater of you will be your helper. And he who will exalt himself will be made low, and he who will make himself low will be exalted. Woe to you, scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye close up the kingdom of the heavens ahead of men. For ye enter not in, nor do ye allow those who are entering to enter in. But woe to you, scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye devour widows' houses, and praying long in pretence. Because of this ye will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye encompass the sea and the land to make one proselyte, and when it happens, ye make him twice more a son of hell than yourselves.

And having summoned them, Jesus says to them, Ye know that those who presume to rule over the Gentiles, lord over them, and their great men have power over them. But it is not so among you. Instead, whoever may want to become great among you, will be your helper, and whoever of you may want to become first, will be a bondman of all.read more.
For the Son of man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

For not even any needy was among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses, selling, they brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and placed them at the apostles' feet. And it was distributed to each, according as any man had need.

And the twelve, having summoned the multitude of the disciples, they said, It is not right for us, having left the word of God behind, to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, seek ye out seven men from you being well reported, full of Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this need.

And having appointed elders for them in every congregation, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.

I left thee behind in Crete on account of this: That thou should set in order the things lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded thee,

Faithful is the saying, If any man aspires to supervision, he desires a good work. The overseer therefore must be blameless, the husband of one wife, without wine, serious minded, disciplined, loving strangers, able to teach, no drunkard, not a fighter, not greedy of base gain, but meek, noncontentious, no lover of money,read more.
a man who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all propriety (but if any man knows not how to rule his own house, how will he take care of a congregation of God?), not a new convert, lest having been puffed up he may fall into the condemnation of the devil. And he must also have good testimony from those outside, lest he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Helpers likewise, be honorable, not double-tongued, not attending to much wine, not greedy of base gain, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having believing children, not with an accusation of debauchery or insubordinate. For the overseer must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed, not prone to angry, not a drunkard, not a fighter, not greedy of base gain, but a lover of strangers, a lover of good, serious minded, just, devout, self-controlled,read more.
holding firm the faithful word according to the teaching, so that he may also be able to exhort by the sound doctrine, and to correct those who contradict.

Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit placed you guardians, to tend the church of the Lord and God, which he purchased by his own blood.

Therefore watch ye, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease warning each one with tears.

Let the elders who rule well be regarded worthy of double compensation, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching. For the scripture says thou shall not muzzle an ox that is threshing. And the workman is worthy of his wage. Accept no accusation against an elder, except at two or three witnesses.read more.
Those who sin, rebuke in the sight of all, so that the others may also have fear.

Tend ye the flock of God among you, watching over, not by obligation, but willingly, nor greedily, but readily, nor as domineering over the lots, but becoming examples of the flock.