Articles
One Having Authority
One Having Authority
In what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus “taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mt. 7:29, Mk. 1:22). In what is commonly called the Great Commission, Jesus said, “All authority has been given unto Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Mt. 28:18-20).
Furthermore, the apostle Paul said in 1 Cor. 11:23, “I received from the Lord,” instructions about the Lord’s Supper. It is generally believed that after his conversion Paul spent three years away, probably receiving more revelations from Jesus before he eventually wrote several epistles in the new covenant we have today. In Col. 3:17 he wrote “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” We understand in everyday life that “in the name of” means “by the authority of.” If a police officer comes to your door and says, “open up in the name of the law,” we understand that to mean by the authority of the law backing up the command.
Having established then that authority is important in following Jesus as it is in real life, the rest of this article will be addressing How We Establish Bible Authority for everything we do in worship and the work Jesus has assigned us to accomplish as Christians.
Commands
Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments,” (John 14:15). “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God” (1 Cor. 7:19). “Keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 6:14). In the old covenant keeping commands was important also. In fact, Eccl. 12:13 says, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.”
Commands can be delivered in two forms: General and Specific.
- General: The word “Go” in Jesus’ commission (Mt. 28:18-20) to make disciples of all nations is general, in that He does not tell us how to go. We can go by horseback, walking, auto, or boat. The means we use to carry out a general command is an “expediency.”
- Specific: The word “sing” in Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16 is narrower and eliminates instruments of music or other forms of music. If we send our twelve-year-old to the store with a five-dollar bill and tell him or her to buy a loaf of bread, we would be upset if he or she came back with a loaf of bread and several bars of candy. We specified bread and we meant bread only. Singing means singing only.
Another example of a specific command would be found in 1 Cor. 16:1-2. The topic is about collecting money for a purpose. It specified the first day of the week, and it also specified that the recipients are to be saints (see also 2 Cor. 8:4), not the many charitable organizations that address social issues in the world. The term “saints” in 2 Cor. 8:4, 9:1 is specific. The treasury of saints cannot bring “equality” (2 Cor. 8:4) to the whole world.
Apostolic Approved Examples
In the first letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul says to “be imitators of me, just as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). He was an apostle of Jesus with authority (2 Cor. 10:8), and he wants the Corinthians to imitate him, on the condition that he himself imitates Jesus. That should be the goal of every Christian. Note that not every action recorded in Scripture is an “approved” example—Peter once behaved hypocritically (Gal. 2), and this is not presented to us as an example to follow.
A good use of example is found in Acts 20:7 where Paul found some saints in Troas. He broke bread with them, preaching a message until midnight. Thus, this occasion was an approved example involving an apostle. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper in Mt. 26, but He did not indicate when to take it. This passage, Acts 20:7, provides the only record of when. (Continued next week…)
--Doug Tellinghuisen
