“Elders. This office is also expressed by the words, bishop, pastor, and overseer. To show that these are interchangeable terms for the same thing we refer, first to Titus 1:5, 7: ‘For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city as I had appointed thee; for a bishop must be blameless,’ etc. The word elder in verse 5, is from presbuteros, and signifies, primarily, according to Robinson, ‘an elder person, a senior; as an officer of the church it signifies the elders of Christian churches, presbyters, to whom was committed the direction and government of individual churches; properly the same as episcopos-which see.’ The word rendered bishop in verse 7 is from this word episcopos, and is defined by the same author as follows; ‘In the New Testament, spoken of officers of the primitive churches an overseer, superintendent. This was originally simply the common Greek name of office equivalent to presbuteros, which latter was a Jewish term.’ That elders and bishops are identical, is also shown from Acts 20:17, 28. The word elders in verse 17 is from presbuteros, and word overseers in verse 28 is from episcopos (bishop). The term pastor is from poimen, and signifies literally a herdsman, a shepherd, especially a pastor, a teacher, a spiritual guide of a particular church. The definition of this term shows that it signifies the same office as presbuteros (elder), and episcopos (bishop), a local office confined to a particular church. COOD 129.2