Well this evening is a momentous occasion in the life of First Presbyterian Church as we set apart seven brothers whom you have chosen for the office of elder. It is for them, the culmination of an extensive and demanding process. They have undergone a course of training that has included the study of the calling, character and work of an elder. It has included the confessional theology and the Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America. It has required significant seasons of self-examination and personal scrutiny in light of the qualifications for sacred office laid down in God’s holy Word. They have been examined, both in writing and orally by our elders in their knowledge of the Scriptures, their Christian testimony, their sense of call, their commitment to the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, their understanding of our church’s polity and procedures. And then last Lord’s Day, they were elected by the communing members of this congregation. And now tonight, after all that, they will be ordained to serve as ruling elders in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so our hearts are full, aren’t they? Our hearts are full. We are witnessing the King and Head of the Church Himself, the Lord Jesus, supply to us the shepherds for whom we have been praying. Shepherds for His needy flock, in direct answer to our many prayers. And that is a glorious thing. Before we proceed to the ordination itself, we do need to hear from God in His Word once again about the purpose and role an elder ought to fulfill among us. And one neglected place where we see something of the Scriptural teaching on those important questions, is the book of Revelation, chapters 4 and 5. Revelation chapters 4 and 5. If you would take your own Bibles and turn there with me please, or if you are using one of the church Bibles, you can find that on page 1030; Revelation 4 and 5.
You may remember, while you’re turning there, the book of Revelation opens in the first three chapters with a series of letters from the risen Christ to seven representative churches. But now in chapters 4 and 5 that we are about to read together, the main body of the book begins in earnest. And the visions these chapters report are really intended to set the tone for the rest of the book. We are stepping here into the throne room of heaven. It is holy ground. Undoubtedly in that place there were countless wonders to fascinate and amaze, but as chapter 4 opens, John’s eye – John, who wrote the book of Revelation – John’s eye is riveted, perhaps unsurprisingly when you think about it, to one thing only. One thing captures all his attention. Look at chapter 4 verse 2. “At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.” Here is the theme of these two chapters, actually the theme of the whole book of Revelation. It’s all about the sovereignty, the reign of the living God.
You may know, the book of Revelation was written originally for the suffering church in John’s own day, facing mounting opposition and persecution in the hostile Roman empire. And so right as all the drama and the mystery and the symbolism gets underway and begins to unfold in the book of Revelation, it starts out ringing with unassailable assurance that whatever suffering the people of God may endure in the Lord Jesus Christ, God has already triumphed and He reigns over the world and the flesh and the devil, presiding as the great King upon His throne of glory. That’s why the throne stands in the absolute center of the vision John sees and everything else emanates outward in ever expanding circles, sweeping wider and wider from the throne of heaven.
I want you to try and get the scene clear in your mind before we read the passage together. The throne itself is described in chapter 4:1-6, but in chapter 4 verse 4 we learn there are twenty-four lesser thrones encircling the great throne of God. And seated on those lesser thrones are twenty-four elders. Then in verse 6 of chapter 4, we discover that surrounding the elders there are these four strange living creatures, angelic beings; they are covered with eyes, each with six wings. The first, like a lion. The second, like an ox. The third, like a man. The fourth, like an eagle. And they are singing praises to God in His holiness. And then after them, chapter 5 verse 11, there is an angelic choir, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. And there after them, the widest possible circle – notice in chapter 5 verse 13 – is the rest of the created universe, so that now every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them, takes up the song. And John bears witness to wave upon wave of heavenly worship pulsing outward from the throne of God until every creature everywhere joins the anthem and fulfills its purpose by glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. It is a breathtaking scene, breathtaking.
And as we try to take it all in, just try to take it all in, I do want you to look with me in particular at the part played in all the drama by these twenty-four elders. Remember, we are asking the question tonight as we ordain new elders, “Why has God given elders to His Church? What are elders for?” And I want to point to three things as we seek to answer that question from these two chapters. First, we are going to see that elders are leaders. They are leaders. Secondly, they are worshipers. And thirdly, they are pastors. Elders are leaders, they are worshipers, and they are pastors. Before we get to all of that, let’s bow our heads and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit and then we will read the Word of God together. Let us all pray.
Our great and holy God, we bow before You as the One who presides upon the throne of all things. And we ask that You would open our eyes. Show us more of Your glory. Lead us to Your Son, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. And help us, like the elders and the living creatures and the countless angels of heaven, to adore You and praise You from this time forth and forever. For we ask it in Jesus’ name, amen.
Revelation chapter 4. This is the Word of God:
“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,
‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’
And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
Elders are Leaders
Let’s think about the elders as leaders, first of all. Our passages really highlights four aspects of their leadership. They lead in privilege, power, purity and prayer. Wasn’t it really kind of God to arrange things so that they would alliterate so beautifully? Privilege, power, purity and prayer.
Privilege
Privilege first. Look at verse 4 of chapter 4. Chapter 4 verse 4, “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.” The number of the elders, there are twenty-four of them, the number likely represents the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel combined with the twelve apostles of Christ, so that here, symbolically represented, we have the whole people of God; the Church of the Old and New Testaments. Not two churches but one Church; one people of God gathered around the throne of their Redeemer.
And it is significant, I think, that it is they who are seated closest to the throne. Not the four living creatures, not the numberless, angelic choirs; the representatives of the whole people of God, they are seated in the innermost circle as though to demonstrate by the very furniture and architecture and choreography of the throne room of heaven itself the depth and wonder of our privileges. The Church of Jesus Christ, John is showing us here, lives in the closest possible fellowship with the God of all glory. Closer than any other creature in heaven or on the earth. And it belongs to the elders here in John’s vision to represent that amazing fact.
And while we do need to keep in mind carefully that this scene is symbolic in its character, I don’t think it’s pressing the point too far to say that these ideal and symbolic elders in heaven do still teach us about the work and the privileges of every real elder on earth. Certainly all Christians possess the incalculable privilege of living in close proximity to the throne of God. We have access to the throne of God through faith in Jesus Christ. That is the blood bought birthright of every single child of God. But an elder is called upon especially to live up to those privileges. How many of us live well below our privileges. We live as though we did not have free, unfettered access to the throne of grace. We live as if we were not adopted children of the living God with all the rights and privileges that bestows upon us. We live as if we had no reason for joy. But the vision that John sees reminds us of the wonder of our privileges. We live in intimate proximity to the One who reigns upon the throne of the universe and we can go to Him at any time and have His ear.
And elders, John shows us, are meant to model such a life so that looking at them we might all be reminded of the blessedness that belongs to us too in Jesus Christ, the great privileges that are ours – to live close to the throne of grace, to come to the throne with boldness, to obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. The elders lead us by representing to us the wonder of our privileges, living up to the privileges that are ours, living from those privileges, living close to the throne.
Power
Secondly, elders lead us in the exercise of power. Notice the elders are sitting on twenty-four thrones of their own. Do you see that? And each of them is wearing a crown, a golden crown on his head. No matter what we could say about these symbolic elders, I think we have to say that they are certainly rulers. They occupy a position not only of privilege but of power. To them belongs a kingly role, subordinate to the great King Himself to be sure, just as their thrones are lesser thrones, surrounding His greater throne. But they still sit on thrones all the same. There’s a reason we call elders in the Presbyterian Church in America “ruling elders.” They exercise a ministry of governance. The New Testament also calls elders “overseers, episkopoi, bishops.” And in the Bible, that word entails the management and good ordering of the life and government of the church.
So think of it this way. Think of it like this. What we are witnessing in the ordination of these seven brothers in a few moments, is the display of the kindness of the great King who reigns from His throne towards First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi. He cares enough about us that He should give us elders to see to the good order and the wise government of our congregation. And that should make us profoundly grateful. Here is a token of the care and attentiveness of the One who presides on the throne of heaven. Elders lead by living up to their privileges, but they’re also called to lead by the right exercise of church power. They are governors.
Purity
Thirdly, elders are to lead in their lives and in their conduct by embodying Christian purity. Christian purity. You will have noticed that the elders are described in chapter 4 verse 4 as “dressed in white garments.” In Revelation, white garments are always used to depict the people of God. It’s virtually the uniform of a Christian in the book of Revelation. Whenever you see them, that’s how they’re described. So John puts it like this in chapter 7 verse 14, believers are those who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” So a Christian, every Christian, you today if you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are someone who is clean. That’s the point of the image. Your garments have been washed and made white in the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. All the stain of your sin and your guilt is gone forever. Praise God! Isn’t that wonderful?
But it’s important to see that these elders here in our passage are the very first people in the whole book that John actually sees dressed like that. Jesus, in chapter 1, the exalted Christ is described to us as radiant and dazzling in His purity, but we’re not shown anything about His robes. In chapter 3, Jesus, the risen Christ, promises Christians if they overcome that they will be dressed in white garments. But the first people John ever sees actually showing up dressed like this are these twenty-four elders. So here they are described in Revelation 4 as sitting in this incredibly prominent position within the line of sight of everyone and everything else. Right at the center of it all. And they are embodiments of the purity Jesus promises to all His people.
Or put it a little differently, elders are called to be examples of universal Christian holiness. They are called to be examples of Christian holiness. They are not called to be holier than other people, as though there were a different standard, moral standard for elders than there is for the rest of us. That’s not the point. Rather, elders are called to embody and model the same standard of holiness to which we are all called. We are meant to look at these elders here at the center of the picture, we are meant to look at the elders in our own congregation and aspire to grow up to the same kind of maturity and godliness that we see already displayed in them. I hope you pray, I really hope you pray for your elders, that you pray for their purity, for their holiness, that they would be and stay models of a consecrated life.
Prayer
Elders lead us by their privileges. They lead us by the careful and judicial exercise of church power. They lead us in purity of life and character. And they lead us, in the fourth place, by prayer. Did you notice when John describes the elders worshiping later on in chapter 5 verse 8, he says they are “each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” So what are the elders doing? What’s going on here? They are bringing the prayers of the saints. “The saints” there, that’s a reference to every Christian. You are a saint if you are a Christian, a holy one. That’s what the word means – set apart by the grace of God. And we are praying, and the elders here are, as it were, gathering up those prayers and presenting them to God. Whatever that means, it must mean at least this – that elders are profoundly invested in the ministry of intercession. Elders make the prayer burdens of the flock of God the burden of their own hearts. It’s their duty to be men who pray, who are occupied by bringing the prayers of the church to the Lord.
Brother elders, ordinands for sacred office, pastors in the Church of Jesus Christ, never forget that prayer is your principle work. Prayer is your principle work. It’s your main business. Elders are called to the ministry of prayer. That’s how they lead us. Not in their decision making, not in their wise and careful policies. They lead us first by being men often at the throne on their knees pleading Christ’s cause in your life. Sometimes prayer doesn’t seem like very much at all. It can feel like a very inadequate response. We’re also very activistic, aren’t we? We want to be doing. We want to respond to challenges with action. Let’s make a decision, call a meeting, form a committee, develop a plan. That’s the Presbyterian way.
But that’s not the picture that we have here, is it? John shows us the epitome of a faithful elder, and what are they doing? They are men of prayer. It’s not the first response of the church in the New Testament to a crisis. Take ten minutes when next you have the opportunity, scan through the book of Acts, and look to see what the church does every time crisis begins. It doesn’t plan or act first of all. What does it do first? It gathers to pray. The church turns to pray. Brother elders, pray. Lead in prayer. Lead through prayer. Prayer is your great work. So elders are leaders and they lead by living up to their privileges, staying close to the throne. They lead by the just exercise of church power. They lead by embodying and modeling the same purity promised to every Christian. And they lead by prayer, by being men of prayer.
That’s the first thing that I want you to see. Elders are leaders. Pray that the Lord would give you elders like this and make the elders He has given like this.
Elders are Worshipers
Secondly, I want you to see that elders are worshipers. Since COVID-19, we’ve all become much more adept at online worship. Haven’t we? It’s been an amazing provision of God to have access to technology like this that has allowed us to continue to sit under the Word even in those moments when we couldn’t be physically together. We still have access to the ministry of the Word. What a lifesaver, a spiritual lifesaver that’s been for so many! In Revelation 4 and 5 it’s almost as though John were livestreaming the worship services of heaven itself. He sees and he hears it all. And look how the worship service around the throne proceeds. First, the four living creatures begin to sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come!” And then notice what the elders do when they hear that song. These elders who lead in privilege and power and purity and prayer, who sit nearest the throne in a place of preeminence and dignity, what do they do? Verse 10. “The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and they worship Him who lives forever and ever and they cast their crowns before the throne saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things and by Your will they existed and were created.’” They make no boast of sitting on thrones of their own or wearing crowns on their own heads. Do they? They don’t think for a moment that their place of prominence or their position of power should attract the admiration of anyone, least of all the one seated on the throne at the heart of everything.
In humility rather, they slide from their seats – isn’t this beautiful? They slide from their seats and they throw their crowns at the feet of their Redeemer so that He might get all the glory and have all the praise. What authority they wield, they wield only that He might be made much of. What power they have, they use only to magnify His greatness. Now that is very often the opposite of how we like to think about leadership and position and the exercise of power. Isn’t it? We like to be given place to. We want to be recognized and honored. And we get a little pouty and petulant when our sense of personal importance is not pandered to. But these elders give no thought to their own reputations, no thought to how they look or the honor that they think they deserve. They give everything, surrender everything, lay it all at the feet of the One who reigns on the throne of glory.
And really that’s the essence of true worship, isn’t it? It’s not a show. It’s not saying the right words. It is sliding from your throne and tipping the crown from your head to cast it at Jesus’ feet. Isn’t He worth it, after all? Isn’t He worth it? These elders certainly seem to think so, don’t they? Look at the song they sing in verses 9 and 10 of chapter 5. “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals.” Now why is He worthy? “For you were slain,” they say to Jesus. “You were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God, from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God and they shall reign on the earth.” They’re singing about the cross, aren’t they? They’re singing about how Jesus has redeemed me and you and redeemed brothers and sisters of ours from every tribe and language and nation all over the world by His precious blood. And as they think about it, they can’t contain themselves. The Gospel has a hold of their hearts and it erupts out of them in adoration and praise.
So elders, ordinands, pastors, people of First Church, has the Gospel got a hold of your heart like this? Has the Gospel got a hold of your heart like this? Do you see the wonder of it? Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah died, He died to make you kings and priests. So slide from your throne, cast before Him your crowns. You are not special. You are not the center, not even of your own world. You do not need to be adored, not even by yourself. O, but Jesus. Jesus stands at the center, in the center of the throne amidst the four living creatures and among the elders. He is the epicenter, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb standing as though it had been slain. And He is worthy. I’m not worthy, you’re not worthy, but He is gloriously worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. He is worthy. His throne, His throne is the center, not me and not you. He’s already, He’s given everything to make you His, so get down from your throne, won’t you, and tip the crown from your head and adore Him. That is your first business, your most important business. Elders, you are to be worshipers before and above everything else. Worshipers. Captured, captivated by the wonder of such love that God the Son should give Himself for your deliverance.
Elders are Pastors
Elders are leaders. Elders are worshipers. Finally and very briefly, elders are pastors. In the opening five verses of chapter 5, the heavenly worship service gets interrupted, if you could imagine such a thing. It pauses. Heaven’s worship just sort of grinds to a halt like one of those spaghetti westerns. You know, in the saloon, the music is playing and someone walks through those swing doors and everything just stops and every head turns to see what’s about to happen next. Tension suddenly fills the air. That’s sort of like what happens in the first verses of chapter 5. John tells us what’s going on. God is holding a scroll in His hand with seven seals. The rest of the book shows us this scroll is a picture of God’s purpose and plan, the unfolding of which will spell the deliverance of the church, the salvation of sinners to the ends of the earth, and judgment on sin and death and Satan forever. And no one can open the scroll. It looks to John like the purpose of God is doomed to fail. Righteousness will not prevail. Justice will not be done. Evil wins. That’s not a small disappointment, it’s not a minor setback, it’s not a bump in the road – that is a cosmic disaster and it is devastating to John.
And the mere possibility of that ought to be devastating to us. No wonder John says he “weeps loudly.” He’s sobbing. This is ugly crying right here in the middle of the worship service. But look at verse 5. “One of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.’” And John turns to look for this conquering lion and he sees the Lamb, standing as though it had been slain in the center of the throne. He sees Jesus who was crucified and is risen. Only He can open the scroll. He is able to bring the saving plan of God to fulfillment. He has purchased sinners from the clutches of death and hell. He thwarts the purpose of evil. He has triumphed. The elder doesn’t come to John and put his arm around him and say, “There, there. No sense crying over spilt milk. Things will look better in the morning!” He says, “Look at Jesus. Look at the Lion of Judah. Look at the Lamb who was slain. Do not forget.” God has not left evil unanswered. He has not let suffering and tragedy and sin and death have the last word. No, He has acted decisively in His Son. In Jesus Christ He has won the victory so that now none of the promises of God will fall, none of the plans of God will fail. In Jesus, they are all “Yes” and “Amen” because He has died and is alive again and now He reigns over all.
That is the message that dries John’s tears and comforts John’s heart. That’s the message that then makes elders and angels and every creature in heaven and on earth sing. The elder pastors John. Do you see that’s what he’s doing? Not with platitudes and pleasantries and pie in the sky. He pastors John with the Gospel of God’s redemption in Jesus Christ who alone is mighty to save. Elders are not called to be political sophisticates or public schmoozers or glad handers or people managers. They are called to be pastors, faithful shepherds, who will point you relentlessly back to the only One that your heart really needs. They will point you to Jesus. They will say, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Weep no more! Fill your gaze with the One who stands in the middle of the throne, the Lamb who has been slain.” That’s what elders are really for.
Elders are leaders, they’re worshipers, they’re pastors – one last point as we pull all of this together and then wind it up. Elders are leaders, worshipers and pastors, but a leader who is not first and supremely a worshiper will always be a terrible pastor. A leader who is not first and supremely a worshiper will be a terrible pastor. Do you get that? He’ll be a monster. He’ll be arrogant and self-aggrandizing and demanding and insecure, but he will not be a pastor. A leader who slides from his throne, however, and casts his crown at the feet of Christ, a leader who joins the great congregation not as someone special but as just one of the redeemed who owes it all to Christ alone, a leader like that, well he will shepherd the flock of God with tenderness and compassion and joy because he knows that he is, just as we know we all are, debtors to mercy alone.
So the men before you tonight are men like that. Praise God that they are. Pray for them. And even better, will you join them where we all belong? Not on little thrones of our own, with little crowns on our head, carefully polished so that we look good. But in the dust at the feet of Christ whose glory fills our hearts, whose majesty fills our eyes, before whom we gladly cast our crowns that all praise and glory might be His. Let’s pray together.
Our Father, we adore You for the Lord Jesus Christ who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who presides over all, the Lamb who was slain, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Forgive us, forgive all of us for those times when we want to be something, when we want to be made much of, when we would rather have our throne right at the epicenter of it all. Instead, would You show us how worthy Christ is, how beautiful, how glorious, how sufficient He really is and help us, help these seven brothers who are being ordained tonight, help our elders and pastors, help all of us to slide from our thrones and to cast our crowns at our Savior’s feet. For we ask this in His holy name, amen.