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It is possible that the office was variously referred to according as it was viewed with
respect to authority ("bishop") or ministry ("shepherd"); the appellation "elder" being
applied in recognition of age or maturity.
A bishop must be able to teach (I Tim. 3: 1, 2) and this accounts for the connection
"pastors and teachers" in Eph. 4: 11. That there was just as much need for this office
after Acts 28: 28 cannot surely be doubted.
A "deacon" (Greek diakonos) was simply a servant, who was concerned with the less
spectacular, but equally essential duties in the assembly, that the "clerks" had dealt with
in the synagogue. The deacons of Acts 6: were a special company who apparently
existed only for a time, but the duties divulging upon them give some idea of the work
these men were intended to do.
When the "hope of Israel" was succeeded by the hope of the Body of Christ, there was
still the need for organization within the assemblies, and so the offices of bishop and
deacon continued. But with the turning away from the teaching of Paul, and hence the
truth (II Tim. 1: 15; 4: 4), a confused darkness settled over the assemblies, and out of it
eventually arose the Catholic church. Pretending to the authority of the Apostles, it
exalted the office of bishop (and to a less extent that of deacon) above all that was ever
intended by the Lord, until at the present time that office bears no resemblance to the
N.T. ideal.
No.12.
Miracles.
pp. 66 - 71
When the true setting of the Acts period is perceived, it may be understood why
miracles continued throughout that time, but ceased abruptly after Acts 28: 28.
Apart from their prophetic import as the credentials of the Messiah (Luke 7: 19-23;
Isaiah 35: 4-6), miracles are intimately bound up with the earthly purpose of God.
They were a foretaste of restoration of earthly blessing, when the effects of sin are
removed. They do not belong to a heavenly calling with "spiritual blessings".
A useful comment on the true meaning of a miracle, which may help to show why
they were found in connection with the earthly, but not heavenly purpose of God, is given
in The Unrealized Logic f Religion by W. H. Fitchett:
"The old crude, not to say false, definition of a miracle described it as `a suspension,
or violation, of the ordinary laws of nature'. Most of the objections against miracles hold
only against this false conception of them. In the sense of a `violation of the natural
order', sin is the true miracle. It is essentially a breach of the divine order of the
universe, and Christ's acts of supernatural healing are the restoration of law to its
kingdom; the arrest of that disorder in man's physical nature which sin produces. His
miracles are not a breach of the divine order, but its reassertion. They are prophetic hints,
in physical terms, of the great ends of His redemption."