This long section on the way of love ends with a word on the ministry of an elder and the obligation of the believer to recognize the elder and his work. The rule of the elder must be acknowledged. “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves” (13:17a). The Christian community is not a democracy where the majority rules, nor is it anarchy where every man does whatever pleases him; it is a theocracy over which God rules through elders. An exhortation such