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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 361

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

IX. 2016 RESOLUTION 13-01A TASK FORCE REPORT
6.

The Holy Spirit is at work wherever the saving work
of God in Christ is made known, whether that message
is delivered by a layman or a pastor. The Gospel alone
is the power of salvation (Rom. 1:16). This means that
the proclamation of the Gospel by members of the royal
priesthood as they speak of Christ to others, at home,
with fellow believers, and in society, is an effective
Means of Grace by which the Holy Spirit creates and
nurtures saving faith (Acts 11:19–24).

The royal priesthood does not undermine or negate the
Office of the Public Ministry which Christ gives to the
church. Members of the royal priesthood, in various
ways, choose individuals from among them who are
equipped to teach and called in an orderly manner to
hold the Office of Public Ministry and to perform its
distinctive functions. (See 1 Cor. 4:1; 1 Cor. 12:28–29;
Eph. 4:11; James 3:1; Titus 1:5.)

III. The Office of Public Ministry within the “Blessed
Partnership”
Send, O Lord, Your Holy Spirit On Your servant now, we
pray;
Let him prove a faithful shepherd That no lamb be led
astray.
Your pure teaching to proclaim, To extol Your holy name,
And to feed Your lambs, dear Savior, Make his aim and
sole endeavor. (LSB, 681, v. 1)
The foregoing discussion of the royal priesthood makes plain
that any Lutheran consideration of the priesthood leads one inevitably to the topic of public ministry and to the “Office of Public
Ministry.” (We remind the reader of some of the Synod’s previous statements on the public ministry that are noted above on page
2 of this report [p. 354].) It is quite clear that Lutheran teaching,
from the Confessions through Luther and other fathers, affirms both
the priesthood of all believers and the Office of Public Preaching
and teaching that is held only by some believers. So, the Treatise
(67–70) asserts the royal priesthood in order to preserve the right
of the Reformation churches to appoint men to the Office of Public
Ministry. Luther in his comments on Psalm 110 distinguishes Office and priesthood without divorcing them, saying, “Even though
not everybody has the public office and calling, every Christian has
the right and the duty to teach, instruct, admonish, comfort, and
rebuke his neighbor with the Word of God at every opportunity and
whenever necessary.”110 Walther merely echoed Luther with: “But
in all places where Christians live together, the rights of the priesthood are to be administered publicly on behalf of the fellowship
only by those who have been called by the fellowship in the manner
prescribed by God.”111
In all of this we see a central Lutheran contention: “A Priest
is not identical with Presbyter or Minister—for one is born to be
priest, one becomes a minister.”112 Moreover, the church’s ministers are appointed not merely because it is helpful or traditional or
orderly, but because it is required by God. They are given as a gift
to the royal priesthood.
a.

The Office of Public Ministry in Scripture

The Lord Himself, who is the very Shepherd (that is, Pastor113)
of Israel (Ps. 23; Ps. 80:1; Ezek. 34:11–16), promised shepherds
for His people who would feed the sheep “with knowledge and un-

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derstanding” (Jer. 3:15), caring for them and seeking the lost (Jer.
23:4). So it is that the incarnation and sacrificial death of the Good
Shepherd (John 10) then leads directly to the Holy Spirit’s provision of shepherds to oversee and care for the precious flocks—the
gathered assemblies, the “church of God”—of the NT (Acts 20:28–
30). As the royal priesthood connects directly to our Great High
Priest, so shepherd connects directly to our Good Shepherd. The
ministry of preaching, teaching, and sacramental administration is
from the Lord Himself.114
The Office of Public Ministry is a term we employ for this
gift of Spirit-given shepherds who serve the Good Shepherd and
His one flock in its many folds (John 10:16). Those who hold this
Office rightly do so as servants, and only as servants (1 Cor. 4:1–2):
“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness
of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is
going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you,
exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God
would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And
when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading
crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:1–4).
There should be no doubt that it is Christ Himself who has
established this Office. Like all the apostles, Peter, “a witness of
the sufferings of Christ,” was commissioned directly by the Lord
to shepherd Christ’s flock (John 21:15–17; see also Matt. 4:18–19
and 1 Cor. 15:1–8). Peter and the apostles were called to this “Office of Public Ministry” to serve under Christ’s very own authority
(Matt. 10:1; Luke 9:1–10). The risen Lord then sent them forth to
make disciples of the nations, assuring them of His presence, His
Spirit, and His authority to declare the forgiveness of sins (Matt.
28:19–20; John 20:19–23). These words of Christ in Matthew 28
and John 20 apply not only to them, but also to all their successors who enter the public Office of Preaching by the call of Christ
through the Church and its congregations (Acts 14:23).115
1 Peter 5 is a beautiful reminder that the work of public ministry does not end with the apostles and their direct call, their eyewitness testimony, and Christ’s direct command to them to baptize and
teach. Our Lord Himself makes this clear when He sends out not
only the 12 but the 72 with the words, “whoever hears you hears
me” (Luke 10:16). And in 1 Peter 5, although he was called directly by Christ, Peter identifies himself with “elders” who are called
through the Church as he exhorts them to shepherd their flocks even
as Peter himself did.116 These shepherds or elders or overseers were
not directly called by the Lord Jesus, but their calling is as sure
as that of the apostles. “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to
all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to
care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood”
(Acts 20:28, emphasis added). “And He,” that is, Christ Himself,
“gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and
teachers” (Eph. 4:11). “And God has appointed in the church first
apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts
of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues”
(1 Cor. 12:28).117
Note that in 1 Peter 5:1–4, elder118 is interwoven with pastor
(“shepherd the flock”) as well as bishop (“exercising oversight”119).
Each term speaks of the individuals within the Office of Ministry
and the work they are called to do.120 As the Lord promised through
Jeremiah (3:15), the work of shepherds-elders-overseers share a
ministry of the Word—teaching and proclaiming and so feeding
the sheep “with knowledge and understanding.” It is this minis2019 Convention Workbook