Authority In The Church: Who Has It?

"But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." (1 Corinthians 4:19-20).

Hello To All:

Authority is one of those words that gets a lot of use in church organizations. One of the most frequent charges, directed towards me, is that I am not a man under authority. In one very real sense, those who accuse me of not being under authority are correct. It just depends on how you define authority.

The Apostle Paul was a man who believed (and rightly so) that he was a man under authority. We see the certainty of his belief and his position of authority, expressed time and time again in the opening verses of many of his letters. Our opening text comes from the first letter to the Corinthian church. In verse one of chapter one, of that same letter, we find written: "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God."

In the opening verse of the letter to the Galatians church, Paul, once again, clearly states the truth regarding the source of his authority as an apostle. We find written, at Galatians 1:1: "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.)"  Paul served God with the steadfast knowledge that his authority came directly from Jesus Christ. He was unwavering in his belief regarding the source of his authority. This unwavering belief, that Paul maintained, throughout his service to Jesus Christ, was often affirmed by God. This affirmation that Paul's authority came from Jesus Christ; and thus as being of God, came by the manifestation of the power of God, in and through His servant: Paul the apostle.

Paul's letters to the Corinthian churches, were letters written to divided churches. The issue of authority and who has it, was one of the forces dividing those churches. The Corinthians were following a variety of leaders (see chapter one). In verse ten of chapter one, Paul rightly uses his authority. We find written: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement." Please note, my beloved, that Paul was not seeking to force unity; rather he was stating the truth that through Jesus Christ, being "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment," was and is possible.

Later on, in chapter five, we find another example of Paul rightly using the authority he had from Jesus Christ.
The divisions of the church had resulted in a carnal nature that was pervasive (see chapter three). This carnal nature had resulted in a tolerance of sexual sins (see chapter five). Paul would have nothing of this; and he made this very clear. We find the following written at 1 Corinthians 5:2-5:

2. "And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you."
3. "For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,"
4. "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
5. "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."

Let me ask you this my beloved brethren: when was the last time you heard a church leader speak in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and rightly use the authority of Jesus Christ, in the manner of and with the power of the apostle Paul?

Lest we think, as some do, that this power was only for the apostles, turn with me to 2 Timothy 1:6-8:

6. "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."
7. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
8. "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;"...

Paul was reminding Timothy that he had the same power as he (the apostle) had. Timothy needed to be reminded of this; and the apostle did just that.

The word power has been often used in this essay. Whenever it appears, in a quoted text from the King's Book, it appears as a translation of the same Greek word from the original Greek text of the New Testament. This word appears 120 times in the New Testament; and is translated into 18 different English words. The following is a list of these English words along with the number of times they were used: Power (71), Wonderful Works (1), Mighty Works (10), Ability (1), Virtue (3), Miracle (1), Powers (6), Miracles (7), Workers Of Miracles (1), Meaning (1), Strength (7), Mighty Deeds (1), Mighty Work (1), Might (4), Mightily (1), Mighty (2), Violence (1) and Abundance (1).

It should be very clear, from the above list, that there is nothing symbolic about this word. It should also be clear that the supernatural work indicated, by this word, comes not from the hand of men; but, can only come from God; and given to men to work His mighty works. Can we say thank you Jesus? Amen and Amen and Amen.

The opening text, for this essay, should remind us of the difference between the power of men and the power of God. The apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian church (and thus us), that the power of God is not manifested in the empty words of puffed up men. Earlier, in the same letter, the apostle, moved by the Spirit of God, took the opportunity to get the Corinthians rightly focused on the power of God. We find written at 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, the following:

4. "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:"
5. "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

Let us close, by saying in a most emphatic way, that the only authority that we should be subject to is the authority of Jesus Christ. Anyone else or anything else that seeks to make us subject to their claimed authority is a usurper and should be rebuked and ignored. Usurpers are typically puffed up and filled with words empty of power. We should be praying for them! We should not be following after them; nor should we be giving our allegiance to them.

When next we gather, we shall continue our examination of this matter of authority; as we seek to answer the question: Who has it?

Until next time my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus