As was true in the first century, however, each congregation has its local body of elders. Of such men, the apostle Paul wrote Christians in his day: “Be obedient to those who are taking the lead among you and be submissive, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will render an account.” (Heb. 13:17) Or, rendering the Greek word used by the apostle more literally, they should be obeying the ones “governing” them. (See Kingdom Interlinear Translation.) Does this mean that each local body of elders formed a separate governing body operating independently of the governing body of the ‘faithful and discreet steward’ class?

No, that could not be. Why not? Because that would mean disconnecting themselves from the headship of Christ Jesus. The connection of all those composing the Christian congregation with their Head, Christ Jesus, is likened to the ways the members of a human body are joined to the head. Of Jesus, the apostle writes: “From him all the body, by being harmoniously joined together and being made to cooperate through every joint that gives what is needed, according to the functioning of each respective member in due measure, makes for the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Eph. 4:16) So, the Head, Christ Jesus, has various arrangements for ‘joining’ the individual members of the congregation to him, and these cannot be disregarded.

Christians are urged to be “obedient to those who are taking the lead” among them or governing them. (Heb. 13:17) But this, of course, does not mean that bodies of elders will be enacting their own laws or formulating rules according to their own personal viewpoints and then requiring all in the local congregation to conform to these. Rather, these elders take the lead by setting an example of faithful adherence to what the apostle called “the law of the Christ,” the “law of faith,” found in God’s Word. It is to obedience to this law that they exhort their brothers. (Gal. 6:2; Rom. 3:27) They also receive guidance in applying that law of faith through the governing body and the agencies it employs.