The Authority of the Church!

Mt 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given

to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

I don't know about you, but I have really been enjoying this study!

■We have seen many things so far about the NT church and there are many more to come, but this lesson is perhaps the most important one!

■Ultimately the authority of the church is found in one place (doctrine) yet on the local level there is also authority given in matters of (decisions) as well!

■In this lesson the 1st part, next the 2nd!

It is impossible to maintain unity unless we agree on the same standard

of authority!■This is the standard for which Christ

prayed! (Jn. 17:11, 21-23 “be one” 4x)■This is the unity that Paul

addresses! (1 Cor. 1:10-13; 3:1-9)■The single-mindedness of Christ!

○Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

I. The Person!Jesus has “all” authority! (Mt. 28:18)■Coming to properly understand

“who” Jesus is should make this point clear!○Yet, far too many have a misconception of

Jesus and then they struggle with this!■Mt 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be

with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."○See Jn. 1:1-3, 14

Misunderstanding the concept of “authority!”

■Most base what they do or allow on the idea that “if the Bible doesn’t say I can’t then I can!”○Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or

deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

■This is ultimately what caused th division in the Restoration Movement!

Why authority is important?■1 “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of

Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace. (Lev. 10:1-3, See also (Rev. 22:18, 19)

II. The People!Jesus delegated authority to the Apostles!

■With this in mind, we must also understand that Jesus has delegated this authority to the apostles!○Delegate = a person sent to represent another;

authorize someone to act as a representative○The apostles doctrine/doctrine of Christ!

■These are used interchangeably throughout the New Testament!

■Act. 2:41;Heb. 6:1; 2 Jn.1:9-10; Eph.2:20

Called to be ambassadors for Christ! 2 Cor 5:18-20 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is,

that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them,

and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us:

we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.■Ambassador = a diplomatic official of the

highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative

Would receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and become the Lord’s witnesses!Act 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy

Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and

Samaria, and to the end of the earth."■They were the ones given/lead into truth!○Jn. 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27; 16:13-14■The Holy Spirit did come and they were

given all truth!○Act. 20:27; 2 Pet. 1:2-3; Jude 1:3■The apostles were given all that we need

to know to be right with God & know Him!

III. The Pattern!The Apostles have written these things down!

■As these men were lead into all truth they wrote down God’s will/Word for us!○Eph 3:1-5 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of

Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-- if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:

That you might believe! Jn 20:30-31 And truly Jesus did many other

signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in

His name.■These are written that we might come to

read & study them & come to the same understanding!

■God’s Word is meant to be understood!○Jn. 8:31-32

Able to complete us! 2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,

for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly

equipped for every good work.■We do not have to depend on our

own thoughts or feelings, we can know for certain the will of the Lord!■“In matters of faith unity, in matters of

opinion liberty, in all things charity!” (Thomas Campbell)

Conclusion:"All authority has been given to Me in heaven

and on earth.” (Mt. 28:18)■If we desire to be the NT church then

we must understand who has the authority and what this means!

■We have in fact been given all that we need, the question is “what will we do with it?”

■If you are here and not yet a Christian, then today is the day, tomorrow maybe too late!

Relax, I am in charge!

1 Jn 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

This is my church I am in charge!

-JesusCol. 1:18

Yet how often do we want to run the show!