THE AUTHORITY AND
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
-Introduction
-Over that last several weeks, we have
studied about God’s pattern for N.T. worship.
-Now, in this morning’s lesson, I
would like to take a look at another important
topic pertaining to the church -
it’s organization and authority.
-Chain of Authority
-1 Cor 11:1-3
-God > Christ > Man >
Woman
-Quick note:
By looking at passages such as John 14-16, we could place the Holy
Spirit after Christ. It was Jesus who sent the Holy
Spirit.
-Side note: It is very
important to realize that submission does not necessitate
inferiority. Jesus submitted to the Father but was not inferior to
Him. The idea of
women being in submission to the men (in terms of authority and
leadership) does
not mean that the church belittles the women within it.
-God, the Father, is ultimately in
authority.
-God, the Father, gave authority to
Jesus. John 12:48-50, Matt 28:18-20, Eph 1:20-23
-Matt 16:16-19, Col 1:18 -
Jesus is in authority over the church.
-Therefore, the church
must abide within His authority and by His doctrine. Col 3:17,
2 John
9-11
-Jesus gave authority to the
apostles. Matt 28:18-20
-The baptism of the Holy Spirit
was given to them in Acts 2 so that all things Jesus
taught them would be brought to
their remembrance, that they would be guided into
all truth
and that they would receive additional teaching (see John 14:26, 16:13).
-Matt
16:19 - “shall be bound...shall be loosed” (KJV) - Greek verb tense
indicates a
meaning
of “shall have been bound...shall have been loosed.”
-With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were teaching that
which
originated and was authoritative from heaven.
-The apostles gave authority to the
elders in the church.
-Acts 14:21-23; 20:17,28
-Current System of Authority and
Organization
-Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts
1:9-11) and the apostles eventually died. So, who did
that leave in authority within the
church here on earth? - the elders
-side note: As we know,
there is also the office of deacon designated within the
church. Yet, even
though this office is part of the leadership of the church, it is not a
position of authority.
Let’s be careful not to confuse issues of leadership & authority.
-Acts 15:1-6
-Here, we see that the
apostles were being very respectful of the elders in the church.
At that time, the
apostles were the highest authority in the church on earth. Yet, they
still consulted with and
worked with the elders of the church.
-Heb 13:17
-We, as members of the
Lord’s church, are to submit to the elders as long as what they
do is in accordance with
the doctrine of Christ.
-We might not always fully
agree with their decisions regarding non-doctrinal matters.
But, even so, we need to
accept those decisions and submit to them.
-1 Pet 5:1-3 -
Elders are not to be dictators. They are to oversee, lead and feed.
-The church is to consist of
independent, autonomous congregations that operate under the
oversight and authority of their own
elders within the doctrine of Christ.
-We don’t have the time to
explore this fact with this lesson, but this truth is evident
throughout the N.T.
scriptures.
-Summary and Invitation
-By looking at the scriptural pattern
for the church, we can see that we are not to have
earthly headquarters, head offices,
districts or regions, man-made creeds, boards of
directors, boards of regents, popes,
presidents, national conventions, etc., etc.
-When one considers the topic of this
lesson, the topic of the previous lessons regarding
the pattern for worship and
considers the doctrine of Christ - every man-made religious
organization is exposed.
-Eph 4:4-6
-Are we being too narrow minded? Is
the church of Christ too exclusive?
-Those are very important
questions that we’ll address in next week’s lesson, Lord
willing.
-I think
you will definitely want to hear that lesson.
-I don’t point these things out in an
arrogant “look at us” fashion. I’m simply trying to
show that the church is distinctive
and identifiable. It is unique and therefore different
than manmade organizations.
-It is the church that we need to
identify and be a part of. It is the body of Christ - the
saved.
-What about you this morning? Are you
a part of the church? Have you obeyed the Gospel?
-If not, believe (John 3:16,
8:24), confess (Matt 10:32, Rom 10:9-10), repent (Luke
13:3,5;
Acts 17:30), be baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38).
-If so,
have you remained faithful? If not, confess your shortcomings, repent
of them and
pray for
God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24).
Date: Feb
12, 2006
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