I.　Our God is a God of purpose; in order for His purpose to be carried out, there is the need of His administration, His government—Isa. 9:6-7:

A.　The divine concept concerning God's administration is the same throughout the Bible, that is, the same in both the Old Testament and the New Testament— Exo. 4:29; Titus 1:5.

B.　God's administration in the Old Testament, as in the New Testament, involved apostles, prophets, and elders; on the human side, these three groups are the main constituents of God's administration—Psa. 105:26; Exo. 4:29; 1 Sam. 3:20; Eph. 2:20; Acts 14:23.

C.　From Exodus onward, we see that God deals with His people through the elders; the elders are crucial because they are the leading ones among God's people and represent God's people—Exo. 3:16; 4:29; 12:21; Titus 1:5.

II.　According to the revelation of the entire Bible, the elders are the basic factor of God's administration among His people—Acts 11:30; 14:23; 20:17:

A.　The basic category of persons in God's administration is the elders; the elders existed before Moses was raised up as the first apostle—Exo. 3:16; 4:29; 12:21.

B.　The basic factor in God's administration today is the elders; the apostles and prophets do many things, but the basic constitution of God's administration is the elders, for it is the elders who directly administrate—Acts 14:23; Eph. 2:20.

C.　The direct administration in both the Old Testament and the New Testament was with the elders—Acts 11:30; 20:17.

D.　The genuine administration of God in the local churches depends basically and directly on the elders—Titus 1:5, 9.

III.　In the sight of God, it was a great wickedness, a great evil, for the people of Israel to insist on having a king—1 Sam. 8:5-19:

A.　It was the degradation among the children of Israel in the Old Testament that caused a king to come in; the desire of the children of Israel for a king was according to the custom of the nations, which is abominable in the eyes of God—vv. 5, 19:

1.　Israel had been chosen by God to be a particular people on earth; therefore, they should have been absolutely different in every respect from the nations, but they took the way of the nations by rejecting God as their King—Exo. 19:6; 1 Sam. 8:5.

2.　By insisting on having a king, the elect of God turned from God to a man; in so doing, they offended God by rejecting Him as their King and thus replacing Him—v. 7.

B.　The thought of a human king is altogether offensive to God; God does not want to have a human king among His people, because once a king comes in, the headship of God is usurped—12:12.

C.　The principle of keeping the kingship and headship uniquely for God is consistent throughout the Bible—Matt. 23:8-10; 1 Pet. 5:2-3.

D.　We must see that in God's economy for His administration, He desires to keep the kingship uniquely for Himself—1 Sam. 8:7:

1.　The Bible clearly reveals that God does not want to have a human king in His administration, because He does not want anyone to replace Him by usurping His headship and kingship.

2.　The headship and kingship must be left to God alone—1 Chron. 29:10-11.

E.　God wants to have only the apostles, prophets, and elders as His sent ones, His spokesmen, and the leading ones among His people, for these do not usurp His headship—Acts 13:1-2; 14:23; Eph. 2:20.

F.　Although the apostles, prophets, and elders are part of God's administration, the kingship should be kept for God Himself—Isa. 6:1, 5:

1.　The apostles, prophets, and elders do not interfere with, offend, or usurp the kingship of God—Acts 2:42; 11:27; 14:23.

2.　When God's people bring in a king, this is a direct offense against God's kingship—1 Sam. 8:5, 19; 12:12.

G.　Whatever we may do, no matter how good, "spiritual," and even scriptural it may be, it is evil in the sight of God if we reject Him as our Head and our King; it is not a matter of right or wrong but a matter of whether we take God as our King or reject Him—1 Chron. 29:10-11; Psa. 72:1, 11; 145:1.

IV.　Because God desires to keep the headship and kingship absolutely and uniquely for Himself, He needs a group of elders in each locality who participate in His administration without offending His headship—Acts 14:23; 20:17; Titus 1:5:

A.　The eldership does not offend God's headship, but if anyone becomes a king, this offends God's headship—Matt. 20:25-26.

B.　The elders in the local churches may be capable and strong, but they must be careful not to become kings—1 Pet. 5:1, 3.

C.　The plurality in the eldership is crucial because it helps to prevent anyone from becoming a king—Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5:

1.　If there is one elder above the others, that one is a king, which is an insult to Christ's headship and kingship—Matt. 20:21, 25-26.

2.　Among His people today, God desires to have a plurality of elders; this will allow God's economy to be carried out yet avoid offending God's headship.

D.　The elders in every local church should be diligent in directly seeking the Lord for everything; for every need they should pray, fellowship, and wait on the Lord to receive direction, guidance, and leading directly from Him—1 Tim. 2:8.

E.　The elders in a locality should not allow one elder to become a king—Matt. 23:8-10:

1.　Every elder must exercise discernment and pray to seek the Lord's leading while respecting the Lord's leading in the other elders—Eph. 5:21.

2.　If all the elders are exercised in taking the lead, there will be no opening for anyone to become a king, which is contrary to God's administration— Heb. 13:7, 17.

F.　In order to receive God's blessing, we must not open the door for a king to come in, nor should we desire to be a king—Matt. 20:26; Rom. 15:29; Eph. 1:3.