Section 2
which the New Testament describes as elders or overseers. Overseers are the elders in a local church (Acts 20:17, 28). "Elder" denotes the per son, whereas "overseer" denotes the function. When an elder functions, he exercises over sight. Hence, he is an overseer. Here overseers are mentioned instead of elders to indicate that the elders were proper in their responsibility.
In Philippians 1:1 Paul also mentions the deacons. Deacons are the serving ones in a local church under the direction of the overseers (1 Tim. 3:8). The English word deacon is an anglicized form of the Greek word diakonos, which means a serving one.
FELLOWSHIP UNTO THE GOSPEL
The church in Philippi also had fellowship with Paul in the furtherance of the gospel. In Philippians 1:5 Paul speaks of "your fellowship unto the gospel from the first day until now." Fellowship here means participation, commun ication. The same Greek word is translated "contribution" in Romans 15:26 and "sharing" in Hebrews 13:16. The saints in Philippi had fel lowship unto the gospel, participating in the furtherance of the gospel through the Apostle Paul's ministry. This participation included their