Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Elder » In the Christian church
So the disciples decided to send a contribution, each in proportion to his prosperity, to help the brothers who lived in Judea. And this they did and sent it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Some people came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised in accordance with the custom that Moses handed down, you cannot be saved." So, as a dire disturbance and a serious discussion had been created between Paul and Barnabas and them, they decided that Paul and Barnabas and some others from their number should go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question. So they were endorsed and sent on by the church, and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told of the conversion of the heathen and brought great rejoicing to all the brothers. read more.
When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported what God had done through them as instruments. But some members of the Pharisaic party, who had become believers, arose and said that such converts must be circumcised and told to keep the law of Moses. Now the apostles and elders met to consider this matter. After a lengthy discussion Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose among you that through me the heathen should hear the message of the good news and believe it. And God who knows men's hearts testifies for them by giving them the Holy Spirit, as He did us, and in this way He put no difference between us and them, because He cleansed their hearts by faith. Then why do you now try to test God by putting on these disciples' necks a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we could bear? In fact, we believe that it is through the favor of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." By this he quieted the whole congregation, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell of the signs and wonders which God had done through them among the heathen. When they finished, James responded as follows: "Brothers, listen to me. Symeon has told how God at first graciously visited the heathen to take from among them a people to bear His name. The words of the prophets are in accord with this, as it is written: 'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen dwelling; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again, So that the rest of mankind may earnestly seek the Lord, Yes, all the heathen who are called by my name, says the Lord, who has been making this known from ages past.' So I give it as my opinion, we ought not to put difficulties in the way of the heathen who turn to God, but we should write them to abstain from everything that is contaminated by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from tasting blood. For Moses from the ancient generations has had his preachers in every town, and on every sabbath has been read aloud in the synagogues." Then the apostles and elders in cooperation with the whole church passed a resolution to select and send some men of their number with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers. They sent this letter by them: "The apostles and elders as brothers send greeting to the brothers from among the heathen in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. As we have heard that some of our number have disturbed you by their teaching, by continuing to unsettle your minds, we have passed a unanimous resolution to select and send messengers to you with our beloved brothers Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we send Judas and Silas to you, to bring you the same message by word of mouth. For the Holy Spirit and we have decided not to lay upon you any burden but these essential requirements, that you abstain from everything that is offered to idols, from tasting blood, from the meat of animals that have been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves free from these things, you will prosper. Good-by." So the messengers were sent out, and they went down to Antioch, called a meeting of the congregation, and delivered the letter. When they had read it, they were delighted with the encouragement it brought them. Now Judas and Silas, as they were prophets themselves, in a lengthy talk encouraged and strengthened the brothers. After spending some time there, they were sent back with a greeting to those who sent them. Omitted Text. But Paul and Barnabas stayed on at Antioch, and with many others continued to teach the Lord's message and to tell the good news.
When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported what God had done through them as instruments. But some members of the Pharisaic party, who had become believers, arose and said that such converts must be circumcised and told to keep the law of Moses. Now the apostles and elders met to consider this matter. After a lengthy discussion Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose among you that through me the heathen should hear the message of the good news and believe it. And God who knows men's hearts testifies for them by giving them the Holy Spirit, as He did us, and in this way He put no difference between us and them, because He cleansed their hearts by faith. Then why do you now try to test God by putting on these disciples' necks a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we could bear? In fact, we believe that it is through the favor of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." By this he quieted the whole congregation, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell of the signs and wonders which God had done through them among the heathen. When they finished, James responded as follows: "Brothers, listen to me. Symeon has told how God at first graciously visited the heathen to take from among them a people to bear His name. The words of the prophets are in accord with this, as it is written: 'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen dwelling; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again, So that the rest of mankind may earnestly seek the Lord, Yes, all the heathen who are called by my name, says the Lord, who has been making this known from ages past.' So I give it as my opinion, we ought not to put difficulties in the way of the heathen who turn to God, but we should write them to abstain from everything that is contaminated by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from tasting blood. For Moses from the ancient generations has had his preachers in every town, and on every sabbath has been read aloud in the synagogues." Then the apostles and elders in cooperation with the whole church passed a resolution to select and send some men of their number with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers. They sent this letter by them: "The apostles and elders as brothers send greeting to the brothers from among the heathen in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. As we have heard that some of our number have disturbed you by their teaching, by continuing to unsettle your minds, we have passed a unanimous resolution to select and send messengers to you with our beloved brothers Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we send Judas and Silas to you, to bring you the same message by word of mouth. For the Holy Spirit and we have decided not to lay upon you any burden but these essential requirements, that you abstain from everything that is offered to idols, from tasting blood, from the meat of animals that have been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves free from these things, you will prosper. Good-by." So the messengers were sent out, and they went down to Antioch, called a meeting of the congregation, and delivered the letter. When they had read it, they were delighted with the encouragement it brought them. Now Judas and Silas, as they were prophets themselves, in a lengthy talk encouraged and strengthened the brothers. After spending some time there, they were sent back with a greeting to those who sent them. Omitted Text. But Paul and Barnabas stayed on at Antioch, and with many others continued to teach the Lord's message and to tell the good news.
They helped them select elders in each church, and after praying and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Stop neglecting the gift you received, which was given you through prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you.
As they journeyed on from town to town, they delivered to the brothers to keep the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So the churches through faith continued to grow in strength and to increase in numbers from day to day.
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, so as to continue to be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. Because I know that after I have gone violent wolves will break in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will appear who will try, by speaking perversions of truth, to draw away the disciples after them. read more.
So ever be on your guard and always remember that for three years, night and day, I never ceased warning you one by one, and that with tears. And now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of His favor, which is able to build you up and to give you your proper possession among all God's consecrated people.
So ever be on your guard and always remember that for three years, night and day, I never ceased warning you one by one, and that with tears. And now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of His favor, which is able to build you up and to give you your proper possession among all God's consecrated people.
On the next day we went with Paul to see James, and all the elders of the church came too.
Elders who do their duties well should be considered as deserving twice the salary they get especially those who keep on toiling in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox when he is treading out the grain," and, "The workman deserves his pay." Make it a rule not to consider a charge preferred against an elder, unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.
I left you in Crete for this express purpose, to set in order the things that are lacking, and to appoint elders in each town, as I directed you -- each elder must be above reproach, have only one wife, and his children must not be liable to the charge of profligacy or disobedience. For as God's trustee a pastor must be above reproach, not stubborn or quick-tempered or addicted to strong drink or pugnacious or addicted to dishonest gain, read more.
but hospitable, a lover of goodness, sensible, upright, of pure life, self-controlled, and a man who continues to cling to the trustworthy message as he was taught it, so that he may be competent to encourage others with wholesome teaching and to convict those who oppose him.
but hospitable, a lover of goodness, sensible, upright, of pure life, self-controlled, and a man who continues to cling to the trustworthy message as he was taught it, so that he may be competent to encourage others with wholesome teaching and to convict those who oppose him.
Is anyone sick among you? He should call in the elders of the church, and they should pray over him, and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer that is offered in faith will save the sick man; the Lord will raise him to health, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
So, as a joint-elder with them, a witness of the suffering borne by Christ, and a sharer of the glory that is to be uncovered, I beg the elders among you, be shepherds of the flock of God that is among you, not as though you had to but of your own free will, not from the motive of personal profit but freely, and not as domineering over those in your charge but proving yourselves models for the flock to imitate; read more.
and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious crown that never fades. You younger men, on your part, must be submissive to the elders. And you must all put on the servant's apron of humility to one another, because God opposes the haughty but bestows His unmerited favor on the humble.
and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious crown that never fades. You younger men, on your part, must be submissive to the elders. And you must all put on the servant's apron of humility to one another, because God opposes the haughty but bestows His unmerited favor on the humble.
The Elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I truly love, and not only I but all who know the truth,
James » An apostle, son of alphaeus
Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector, James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus,
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot,
When they reached the city, they went to the room upstairs where they had been staying; they were: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
and because they recognized the favor God had shown me, James, Cephas, and John, the so-called pillar apostles, gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the heathen and they to the Jews.
and not another single one of the apostles did I see, except James, the Lord's brother.
On the next day we went with Paul to see James, and all the elders of the church came too.
James » Characteristics of » Regarded by many as one of the leaders of the church at jerusalem
On the next day we went with Paul to see James, and all the elders of the church came too.
James » An apostle » Hears of the success attending paul's ministry
On the next day we went with Paul to see James, and all the elders of the church came too. Paul first greeted them and then gave them a detailed account of what God had done among the heathen through his service.
Luke » To jerusalem
When we had torn ourselves away from them, we struck a bee line for Cos, and the next day on to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. There we found a ship bound for Phoenicia, and so we went aboard and sailed away. After sighting Cyprus and leaving it on our left, we sailed on for Syria, and put in at Tyre, for the ship was to unload her cargo there. read more.
So we looked up the disciples there and stayed a week with them. Because of impressions made by the Spirit they kept on warning Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem. But when our time was up, we left there and went on, and all of them with their wives and children accompanied us out of town. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed; there we bade one another goodbye, and we went aboard the ship, while they went back. On finishing the sail from Tyre we landed at Ptolemais. Here we greeted the brothers and spent a day with them. The next day we left there and went on to Caesarea, where we went to the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters who were prophetesses. While we were spending some days here, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came to see us and took Paul's belt and with it bound his own hands and feet, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says, 'The Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt like this, and then will turn him over to the heathen.'" When we heard this, we and all the people there begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? Why, I am ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem but to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus." So, since he would not yield to our appeal, we stopped begging him, and said, "The Lord's will be done!" After this we got ready and started up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and took us to the house of Mnason, a man from Cyprus, one of the early disciples, to spend the night. When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers there gave us a hearty welcome. On the next day we went with Paul to see James, and all the elders of the church came too.
So we looked up the disciples there and stayed a week with them. Because of impressions made by the Spirit they kept on warning Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem. But when our time was up, we left there and went on, and all of them with their wives and children accompanied us out of town. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed; there we bade one another goodbye, and we went aboard the ship, while they went back. On finishing the sail from Tyre we landed at Ptolemais. Here we greeted the brothers and spent a day with them. The next day we left there and went on to Caesarea, where we went to the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters who were prophetesses. While we were spending some days here, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came to see us and took Paul's belt and with it bound his own hands and feet, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says, 'The Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt like this, and then will turn him over to the heathen.'" When we heard this, we and all the people there begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? Why, I am ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem but to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus." So, since he would not yield to our appeal, we stopped begging him, and said, "The Lord's will be done!" After this we got ready and started up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and took us to the house of Mnason, a man from Cyprus, one of the early disciples, to spend the night. When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers there gave us a hearty welcome. On the next day we went with Paul to see James, and all the elders of the church came too.
public Opinion » Concessions to » James and the Christian elders, who required paul to observe certain rites
On the next day we went with Paul to see James, and all the elders of the church came too. Paul first greeted them and then gave them a detailed account of what God had done among the heathen through his service. They gave the glory to God, when they heard it, and said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousand believers there are among the Jews, all of them zealous champions of the law. read more.
They have been repeatedly told about you that you continuously teach the Jews who live among the heathen to turn their backs on Moses, and that you continue to tell them to stop circumcising their children, and to stop observing the cherished customs. What is your duty, then? They will certainly hear that you have come. Now you must do just what we tell you. We have here four men who are under a vow. Take them along with you, purify yourself with them, and bear the expense for them of having their heads shaved. Then everybody will know that none of those things they have been told about you are so, but that you yourself are living as a constant observer of the law. As for the heathen who have become believers, we have sent them our resolution that they must avoid anything that is contaminated by idols, the tasting of blood, the meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality." Then Paul took the men along with him and on the next day went into the temple with them, purified, and announced the time when the purification would be completed, when the sacrifice for each one of them could be offered.
They have been repeatedly told about you that you continuously teach the Jews who live among the heathen to turn their backs on Moses, and that you continue to tell them to stop circumcising their children, and to stop observing the cherished customs. What is your duty, then? They will certainly hear that you have come. Now you must do just what we tell you. We have here four men who are under a vow. Take them along with you, purify yourself with them, and bear the expense for them of having their heads shaved. Then everybody will know that none of those things they have been told about you are so, but that you yourself are living as a constant observer of the law. As for the heathen who have become believers, we have sent them our resolution that they must avoid anything that is contaminated by idols, the tasting of blood, the meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality." Then Paul took the men along with him and on the next day went into the temple with them, purified, and announced the time when the purification would be completed, when the sacrifice for each one of them could be offered.
Paul » Testimoney » Gentiles
When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers there gave us a hearty welcome. On the next day we went with Paul to see James, and all the elders of the church came too. Paul first greeted them and then gave them a detailed account of what God had done among the heathen through his service. read more.
They gave the glory to God, when they heard it, and said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousand believers there are among the Jews, all of them zealous champions of the law. They have been repeatedly told about you that you continuously teach the Jews who live among the heathen to turn their backs on Moses, and that you continue to tell them to stop circumcising their children, and to stop observing the cherished customs. What is your duty, then? They will certainly hear that you have come. Now you must do just what we tell you. We have here four men who are under a vow. Take them along with you, purify yourself with them, and bear the expense for them of having their heads shaved. Then everybody will know that none of those things they have been told about you are so, but that you yourself are living as a constant observer of the law. As for the heathen who have become believers, we have sent them our resolution that they must avoid anything that is contaminated by idols, the tasting of blood, the meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality."
They gave the glory to God, when they heard it, and said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousand believers there are among the Jews, all of them zealous champions of the law. They have been repeatedly told about you that you continuously teach the Jews who live among the heathen to turn their backs on Moses, and that you continue to tell them to stop circumcising their children, and to stop observing the cherished customs. What is your duty, then? They will certainly hear that you have come. Now you must do just what we tell you. We have here four men who are under a vow. Take them along with you, purify yourself with them, and bear the expense for them of having their heads shaved. Then everybody will know that none of those things they have been told about you are so, but that you yourself are living as a constant observer of the law. As for the heathen who have become believers, we have sent them our resolution that they must avoid anything that is contaminated by idols, the tasting of blood, the meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality."