Subject: THE AUTHORITY AND ORGANIZATION O
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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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