_Acts 20:17_—“_And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church_”; _Phil. 1:1_—“_Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons_”; _Tit. 1:5_—“_For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge._” See, however, _Acts 12:17_—“_Tell these things unto James, and to the brethren_”; _15:13_—“_And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me_”; _21:18_—“_And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present_”; _Gal. 1:19_—“_But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother_”; _2:12_—“_certain came from James._” These passages seem to indicate that James was the pastor or president of the church at Jerusalem, an intimation which tradition corroborates. _1 Tim. 3:2_—“_The bishop therefore must be without reproach_”; _Tit. 1:7_—“_For the bishop must be blameless, as God’s steward_”; _cf._ _1 Tim. 3:8, 10, 12_—“_Deacons in like manner must be grave.... And let these also first be proved; then let them serve as deacons, if they be blameless.... Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well_”—in all these passages the bishop is spoken of in the singular number, the deacons in the plural. So, too, in _Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18 and 3:1, 7, 14_, “_the angel of the church_” is best interpreted as meaning the pastor of the church; and, if this be correct, it is clear that each church had, not many pastors, but one. It would, moreover, seem antecedently improbable that every church of Christ, however small, should be required to have a plural eldership, particularly since churches exist that have only a single male member. A plural eldership is natural and advantageous, only where the church is very numerous and the pastor needs assistants in his work: and only in such cases can we say that New Testament example favors it. For advocacy of the theory of plural eldership, see Fish, Ecclesiology, 229‐249; Ladd, Principles of Church Polity, 22‐29. On the whole subject of offices in the church, see Dexter, Congregationalism, 77‐98; Dagg, Church Order, 241‐266; Lightfoot on the Christian Ministry, appended to his Commentary on Philippians, and published in his Dissertations on the Apostolic Age. B. The duties belonging to these offices. (_a_) The pastor, bishop, or elder is: First,—a spiritual teacher, in public and private;