Chapter 3 – God’s House
Bishops, Elders, Apostles & Servants
JESUS gave clear instructions that we are to be called brothers. If anyone desires to be contentious about this, we have no other practice. Those who desire to do the work of God are diligent to do the work and fulfill the duty of what God calls us to do. We do this with no desire for any title or office other than brother. This is the role to which God has called us and to owe no debt save the debt of love.
It is interesting to look through the greetings of each of the epistles. What we note is that Paul refers to himself as servant and/or apostle, but in every epistle he wrote with other brothers he refers to themselves collectively as servants. Peter refers to himself as apostle, James to himself as servant and John to himself as presbyter, also known as elder.
ONLY JESUS is referred to as Shepherd (poimen, also known in Latin & Spanish as pastor), Chief Shepherd (archipoimen) & Bishop (episkopous, also known as Overseer).
JESUS is also referred to as our Apostle & High Priest.
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Wisdom in the WORD 
Although specific categories of servant-leaders are identified and their qualifications and behaviors prescribed, verse 15 makes it clear that these things apply to the entire household of God, because it is the pillar and support of truth.
Paul makes a clear correlation here between sustaining the truth and the behavior and reputation of those in God’s house.
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As you know, I have searched diligently into these matters of biblical leadership for a number of years now. This current study of 1T3 has actually brought me just within the past 5 days or so to an openness to the possibility that episkopous could actually be a singularity in a local fellowship. The erroneous singularity of poimen has been a key focus in my studies of this leadership topic over the past 4-5 years which I have just in the past few days realized could be a reason we never looked much into the episkopous role as our shared upbringing was in a context where the key term in focus was always poimen rather than episkopous.
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Certainly a possibility. Episkopos is also translated bishop, and in the early church it seems this role was commonly occupied by 1 individual in a local fellowship.
How do we know that the singularity of poimen is an error?
Jesus is both (1 Peter 2:25).
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Ezekiel prophesied there will be 1 Shepherd
JESUS said I am the Shepherd
Otherwise pastors is only once, and in plural
Greek has only 1 word poimen, shepherd
English split the 1 meaning into 2 words arbitratarily altering the meaning in 2
Peter made clear JESUS is the chief Shepherd and no others in the first century took that term for themselves
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It may be that Peter, James & John, if not all the original apostles were intentional in their usage of poimen and episkopon only for JESUS? John of course using the term prebyterous of himself.
1 Peter 2:25
1 Peter 5:4
2 John 1:1
Et al
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Interesting that in addressing presbuteros, Bible Hub says this:
That they did not differ at all from the (ἐπίσκοποι) bishops or overseers (as is acknowledged also by Jerome on Titus 1:5 (cf. Lightfoot’s Commentary on Philippians, pp. 98f, 229f)) is evident from the fact that the two words are used indiscriminately, Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5, 7, and that the duty of presbyters is described by the terms ἐπισκοπεῖν, 1 Peter 5:1f, and ἐπισκοπή, Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 44, 1 [ET]; accordingly only two ecclesiastical officers, οἱ ἐπίσκοποι and οἱ διάκονοι, are distinguished in Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1, 8. The title ἐπίσκοπος denotes the function, πρεσβύτερος the dignity; the former was borrowed from Greek institutions, the latter from the Jewish; cf. (Lightfoot, as above, pp. 95ff, 191ff); Ritschl, Die Entstehung der altkathol. Kirche, edition 2, p. 350ff; Hase, Protest. Polemik, edition 4, p. 98ff; (Hatch, Bampton Lects. for 1880, Lect. 3 and Harnack’s Analecten appended to the German translation of the same (p. 229ff); also Harnack’s note on Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 1, 3 [ET] (cf. references at 44 at the beginning), and Hatch in Dict. of Christ. Antiq., under the word . Cf. ἐπίσκοπος.).
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This ought to produce profound fear of God to any who serve as leaders in God’s Kingdom.
All should clearly grasp the difference between the work and the title.
There are many called to the work
Because of the arrogant state of things
None should ever take any title but brother
Many are called to the roles, to the task, to the work
Nevertheless
There is only ONE to be called Shepherd
ONE to be called Bishop
ONE to be called LORD
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Here is an insightful passage
“From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders (presbyterous) of the church. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopous), to shepherd (poimainein) the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:17, 28
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