In the Presbyterian and Reformed world today, and especially in the PCA, there are ongoing discussions about our worship principles and practices. One of the issues that is often discussed is who should be leading and administering the various elements of the worship services. While many believe that it is problematic to have non-officers leading in these ways, there is still confusion about whether these are responsibilities which belong to all the elders of the church or particularly to ministers or teaching elders. There is a consensus that preaching and administering the sacraments are elements reserved for ministers, but what about reading the Scriptures or praying in the public service? It is the aim of this article to consider the element of public prayer in particular and argue that this is an element which belongs specifically to the office of the teaching elder in distinction from the ruling elder. This could be demonstrated historically in surveying the Reformed tradition’s reflections and practice in this regard, but ultimately it is the Holy Scriptures which must determine this question. While there are numerous lines of biblical reasoning for this position, one passage in particular stands out as of primary significance, and that is Acts 6.
When we approach Acts 6 and the statements we find there about the ministry of the Apostles, we would specifically argue that the words of the Apostles are an example of the office of the teaching elder and not that of the ruling elder. Presbyterians have historically seen a distinction between teaching and ruling elders that rests upon a difference of roles or functions between the two. This distinction has been argued from passages such as 1 Timothy 5:17, which teaches that ruling elders have an office of rule in the church while teaching elders have not only the office of rule, but also that of the ministry of the word. Therefore, when we come to such a passage as Acts 6 where we see the Apostles describe their ministry of the word, we ought to draw applications particularly for teaching elders. We must also note that while there are clear differences between the apostles and the continuing office of the teaching elder, there is still continuity between the office of the Apostles and ministers of the Gospel. James Henley Thornwell identifies this continuity, writing, “The permanent features of the apostolic office were the same as those of the ministerial office at the present day.”[1] He goes on to write, “While, therefore, the peculiar functions of the apostleship ceased with those who had been the eye-witnesses of our Saviour’s resurrection, we have reason to thank God that, in the solemn and important duties of the ministry, the twelve are now followed and will be followed by successors to the end of time.[2]” With this in mind, it is right for us to view Acts 6 as describing part of those “permanent features” which continue with ministers of the Gospel and show the foundational work which all ministers of the gospel are called.
In turning to the text of Acts 6, we find the Apostles’ response to the problem of caring for the needs of the widows of the church by calling for the institution of the diaconate. The Apostles in that context state that they “will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Here we find two functions of the ministry to which they sought to commit themselves. It is noteworthy that they had such a high view of preaching that they understood the need to be wholly devoted to it. But it is also significant that they were likewise committed to prayer, and this commitment to prayer was not simply a statement about the private prayer lives of the Apostles. The Apostles here are speaking about prayer as a public function of the ministry and an element of the church’s worship. In short, this apostolic commitment in Acts 6 is to a public ministry of prayer in the worship services of the early church. Even here we can note the implication that just as preaching is a primary function and responsibility of the teaching elder (here expressed in the apostolic ministry), so is the duty of public prayer.
Several commentators note the context of corporate worship that lies behind this statement and the understanding that what is being discussed are public responsibilities in relation to the worship of the church that ministers of the word are called to fulfill. Simon Kistemaker notes the definite articles which precede both prayer and the ministry of the word in the verse, arguing that “both articles signify that the writer points to stated prayer and preaching services.[3]” This similar construction is seen earlier in the book in Acts 2:42 when Luke writes that the early church was committed to the Apostles teaching, fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and “the prayers.” This mention of “the prayers” in Acts 2 is clearly made in the context of the corporate worship of the early church and therefore when we read of the Apostles committing themselves to “the prayers” we should rightly understand this to be the element of public worship.
Kistemaker is not alone in identifying this context for Acts 6:4. F.F. Bruce follows this same reasoning and says of the statement in verse 4 that “the regular worship of the church is meant.[4]” J.A. Alexander provides another example of identifying this emphasis in verse 4 when he writes of, “Prayer, not personal devotion merely but the business of conducting public worship, as the ministry of the word, evidently means the work of preaching or public and official teaching.[5]” Alexander’s argument is that as this verse speaks of the public or official preaching and teaching of the minister, so also it speaks of the public or official praying of the minister. What is evident in this passage is that public prayer is a particular function that belongs to the office of the minister. Ministers are not merely those who publicly preach the word of God, but are also those who have the public ministry of prayer. As Matthew Henry observes, what is described here is “the great business of gospel ministers.”[6] Gospel ministers are gifted and called to be the public prayers of the church.
Passages such as Acts 6 and others provide the biblical and exegetical basis for what the Reformed tradition has always understood about the ministerial office and public worship. It is ministers who are gifted and called to read and preach the Scriptures publicly, administer the sacraments, and lead the church in prayer. These have been understood as distinctive features of the office of ministers or teaching elders as distinguished from ruling elders. The great Scottish Presbyterian George Gillespie once summarized this distinction between pastors and ruling elders when he wrote, “The power of order alone shall make the difference between the pastor and ruling elder; for, by the power of order, the pastor does preach the Word, minister the sacraments, pray in public, bless the congregation, celebrate marriage, which the ruling elder cannot.[7]” Gillespie identifies praying in public as one of those distinctive functions which belong to pastors and not ruling elders. In reading passages like Acts 6, we find that this longstanding Reformed conviction is not a result of personal opinion or ministerial bias but is grounded in the Word of God. The question for the Presbyterian church today is whether this perspective is worth recovering and putting into practice.
Alex Sutherland and I am an assistant minister at the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia.
[1] John B Adger, ed., The Collected Writings of James Henry Thornwell (vol. 4 Ecclesiastical; 4 vols.; Edinburgh:
Banner of Truth Trust, 2024), 562.
[2] Adger, Collected Writings, 563.
[3] Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles (New Testament Commentary Series; Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Baker Book House, 1990), 223.
[4] F.F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1973), 152.
[5] J.A. Alexander, A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1980), 244.
[6] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody,
Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991), 1668.
[7] George Gillespie, Shorter Writings (vol. 1 of the Shorter Writings; 2 vols; ed. Chris Coldwell; Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books, 2021), 124.