Authority
If we wear the
name Christian, than the entirety of our lives should be dedicated to
what Christ wants us to do.
Paul said in Colossians 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.” If the police
bang on the door and declare “open in the name of the law”, they mean
open because of the authority provided by the law. Similarly, to do something in the
name of Jesus means to do it by His authority. So, whatever we do in our daily life including
worship, church organization and doctrine as well as activities and
relationships, should be conducted according to authority given by
Christ.
We should want
to do everything according to Christ’s authority, simply because we
desire to please Him. The
Old and New Testaments are filled with stories of people that displeased
God by doing what seemed right to them. Sometimes it was the direct opposite of what God had
commanded. Often though,
people did things that were not necessarily bad, but they were not what
God commanded. The Bible
denounces actions by individuals when they do that which is right in
their own eyes, without divine authority. Many complex theological arguments can be made to
support this authority principle; but all of these can be simplified to
mean we only want to please God.
Since we need
authority, where is our source of authority? Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth.”(Matthew 28:18).
But then in Matthew 16:19, Jesus said to the apostles “And I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven." Keys
represent authority and the apostles began on the day of Pentecost to
teach the authoritative message to the people. Consequently, the church “continued steadfastly in the
apostles doctrine” (Acts 2:42).
Then during the first century, the apostles, and other writers
with close connections to the apostles, through the Holy Spirit wrote the
New Testament. Now, we have
all the authority we need to be “complete, thoroughly equipped” (2
Timothy 3:17).
The authority principle is also critical to
unity. It is obvious to even
the most casual observer that there is little unity in the Christian
community today. The
differences in church doctrine, government, worship and even matters of
morality are very apparent.
However, Jesus prayed for unity among His people that would be
centered on the unity of the trinity (John 17:20-21). Jesus gave us His authority
through His word to produce a common faith. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of
God” (Romans 10:17). The
solution for division is to practice only those things that are of faith,
which is stated in the word of God.
The authority principle will produce unity.
Church Office:
803-548-7762 Update Line: 803-548-5521
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