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Acts 14 · a question people ask

"When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly" (14:23). What were these elders?

In the text

The verse says only that they appointed them "in every assembly", prayed "with fasting", and "commended them to the Lord on whom they had believed" (14:23). It doesn't say what the elders did. Acts names elders in other places, among them "the elders" to whom relief for the brothers in Judea was sent (11:29-30) and "the elders of the assembly" at Ephesus (20:17). These notes don't say what office the elders of 14:23 held, and apply the verse to no church today.

The verses

“When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they had believed.”
Acts 14:23 · World English Bible
“As any of the disciples had plenty, each determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea; which they also did, sending it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.”
Acts 11:29-30 · World English Bible
“From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to himself the elders of the assembly.”
Acts 20:17 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Acts 14

Acts 14: A door of faith

At Lystra, to a crowd about to sacrifice to them, Barnabas and Paul say they "bring you good news" (14:15): the same verb as "preached the Good News" (14:7, 14:21). And back at Antioch they report "all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations" (14:27).

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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions