In order to manifest His authority in the church, God as appointed elders and apostles; in the church, God’s authority is expressed and represented by the apostles and elders.
On one hand, God is the unique authority and Christ has been made Lord of all, even Head over all things to the church; on the other hand, God has ordained a deputy authority in the church.
The order of the church comes ou of the authority of the church; the order of the church comes out of the unique headship of Christ.
We need to have a proper realization of the headship of Christ, learning to give Him preeminence in all things and submitting ourselves to His headship.
When we honor the headship of Christ, we will realize that His authority is flowing through the members of the Body; in particular, the Lord has set some members to be His deputy authority, that is, the apostles and elders.
There must be order in the church, but this order comes from the headship of Christ; it is not by human organization or by human arrangement but by being under the headship of Christ that we can maintain the order of the church.
Some, however, may want to organize their church and the churches in their area, even the churches in their country, until they become a colossal organization; such an organization may look good and well-structured and maintained, but it is a counterfeit, not the real Body of Christ.
May the Lord deliver us from being merely in organization and man-made system, and may we be brought under the headship of Christ!
It is only by submitting to the unique headship of Christ that we can have the real practice of the church life.
We may practice what we consider to be the church life, but unless we are under the headship of Christ, it is not what the Lord considers to be the real church life.
May the Lord’s headship be realized among us in a practical way so that we may live and practice the real church life, being under the headship of Christ in all things and maintaining the order in the Body.
May we be saved from “spiritual leprosy” that can take place in the church; may we be saved from any rebellion against God and His deputy authority, and may we hold Him as the Head and function in our measure in the Body, realizing we are members of the Body and Christ is the Head.
There is a hunger in all of us for reality, for us to live in the reality of the Body of Christ under the headship of Christ, so that we may fulfill God’s purpose through our living in the church life.
In the Church God’s Authority is Expressed and Represented by the Apostles and Elders
Christ is the unique Head of the Body; however, in the church, He has arranged for some to express and represent His authority.
In the universal church, for example, there is only one office – the apostleship; in Rom. 1:5 Paul refers to this, saying that he has received grace and apostleship unto the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of the Lord’s name.
Later we see that the apostles have the position and right to appoint elders in the local churches.
Therefore, in the universal church, there are the apostles and in the local churches there are the elders; in the church, God’s authority is expressed and represented by the apostles and elders.
We need to see this and abandon any thought or hierarchy or any kind of organization.
The Lord doesn’t want to bring the church into a good organization, with good services and leaders of groups, etc; He wants to head up all things in Christ, and He has ordained that the apostles and elders would represent His authority.
In the church, God’s authority is expressed and represented by these two offices – the apostles and elders (1 Cor. 12:28; 1 Pet. 5:1-3).
The apostles and elders do not have authority in and of themselves; they merely express and represent God’s authority.
First, they need o express God, and then, they can represent God with His authority.
Moses was one who expressed God and represented Him; however, he had one failure in representing God, and he came under God’s governmental judgment.
This shows that there’s no such thing as a lifetime elder or lifetime apostle; rather, God’s authority is expressed and represented by the apostles and elders in His own way and in His own time.
God has appointed elders and apostles to be the authority in the church in the sense of expressing it and representing it (Acts 14:23).
Apostles and elders do not have authority in themselves; rather, they have authority only as they stand under the authority of the Head.
They exercise authority in the church by representing the authority of Christ, the Head.
It is by means of their organic union with Christ, the Head, and by His appointing that the apostles and elders can express and represent God’s authority.
It is such a peaceful and harmonious situation when the apostles and elders express and represent God’s authority in the church!
The saints are at peace, the young ones feel safe, and the weak ones are being cared for in the church as the house of God whenever the authority of God is properly expressed and represented.
The more experienced saints sense and discern when there is a wonderful representation of Christ, the Head of the Body; at the same time, there’s a clear sense when authority is not expressed and represented or when it is abused.
It is so precious to see the expression and representation of the authority of God in the church life by the ones whom God has appointed!
These do not have authority in themselves, but they place themselves under the authority of Christ, and His authority can flow through them to all the saints.
Lord Jesus, You are our Head; we submit to You as the unique Head of the Body. We want to be under Your authority so that we may grow in life in a normal way and develop properly in the Body for the fulfilment of Your purpose. Make us those who express God and represent Him. May we realize that there are some who are appointed by God to be apostles and elders to express and represent God. Amen, Lord, gain a proper expression and representation of God’s authority in the church! May all the saints in the church life continue in the grace of the Lord and grow in life under the Headship of Christ and the proper expression and representation of the authority of God! Amen, Lord, how we yearn to live in the Body under the Head, receiving the supply from the Head and through the members of the rich supply!
For Him to Manifest His authority in the Church, God Appoints Elders in Every Church to Represent His Authority
God has appointed some as apostles; these are gifts given to the universal church, the whole Body of Christ.
According to the New Testament, such ones are not necessarily outstanding persons who are always successful and always right; they are the vessels God has prepared and appointed for the work of apostleship.
In the universal church, there is the office of apostleship; this gives the apostles the position and the right to appoint elders for the administration of the local churches (1 Cor. 12:28; Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5).
In the so-called churches today we see all kinds of reverends, pastors, bishops, and leaders, but in the New Testament, we see only these two offices who express and represent God’s authority – the apostles and elders.
The Holy Spirit was one with the apostles in their appointment of the elders, and the apostles did this according to the leading of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 20:28).
Acts 14:23 says that the apostles had appointed elders for the saints in every city; Titus 1:5 says that Paul left Titus in Crete to set in order the things which he had begun that remains and appoint elders in every city, even as he directed him.
These verses show that there are elders in every city, that is, in every church; there is one church in one city. In the church there are certain brothers who serve as elders; in the first church – the church at Jerusalem (Acts 8:1) there were elders taking care of the government of the church (Acts 11:30; 15:2, 4, 6, 22; 16:4).
The apostles appoint elders in every church; for example, there were elders in Ephesus (Acts 20:17).
The elders are not “voted” in their function by the congregation, neither are they self-proclaimed; the church is not a democracy or autocracy – the church is a theocracy, where God is ruling, and He has a certain way of doing things.
The New Testament shows us that the elders are appointed by the apostles according to their maturity of life; they are charged by the apostles to care for the leadership and the shepherding in the churches.
On one hand, the elders need to oversee the flock of God among whom God placed them; on the other hand, they need to function in the church by shepherding the saints.
The elders bear the burden of shepherding the local church; the local church is like a flock, and the elders love the Lord and love the saints, shepherding the saints according to God.
The authority of the elders is for representing and expressing God’s authority (1 Pet. 5:1-3).
The main responsibility of the elders as overseers is not to rule or exercise authority in the meetings; it is to shepherd the saints, taking all-inclusive tender care of the flow, which is the church of God.
If the elders try to rule over the saints, they misrepresent God; if they truly shepherd the saints, they express and represent Him who has appointed them to that function.
And they are not even aware of it; they just function to shepherd the saints, and in this way, they express and represent God’s authority.
We need to learn to care for one another in the church life; the more we love the Lord, the more we are entrusted with shepherding the saints, caring for them according to God.
When we shepherd others, we need to care for their person; we do not care for others by giving them advice based on our experience but rather, by realizing that it is only the Lord who can help them, so we lead them to the Lord.
It is by leading one another to the Lord that we can shepherd one another according to God.
In relation to the elders, the scriptural principle with regard to eldership is plurality; with the plurality of the eldership, there’s no definite leader, like a “lead-elder” but rather, the unique headship of Christ is regarded, preserved, and respected.
In the church life, we need to obey the ones leading us and submit to them (Heb. 13:17); they watch over our souls, and we learn from the Lord and from the leading ones to care for one another by watching over the saints’ souls.
If we cannot submit to God’s deputy authority, we cannot submit to God.
But if we open to the Lord, take Him as the Head, and open in fellowship toward other members of the Body, we will be supplied, shepherded, and cared for, and we will be open to receive the flow of the Lord’s authority through the fellow members of the Body.
Thank You, Lord for putting us in the church life to enjoy You, partake of You, and experience You together with all the saints under the headship of Christ. We open to You, Lord, and we take You as our Head. Grant us to see that You have appointed elders in the local churches to represent Your authority. May we be those submitting to Your authority and to the delegated authority You have ordained. Keep us under Your shepherding and under the shepherding of those who oversee us; may there be much shepherding according to God among us in the church life. We love You, Lord, and we want to shepherd Your sheep according to God. Keep us in fellowship with You and with the saints so that we may receive Your supply, Your leading, and Your instruction as we advance with You and in the church life!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament (pp. 2159-2163), by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Vital Factors for the Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life (2021 ITERO), week 4, The Factor of Authority in the Body of Christ and in the Local Churches.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Submitted to God’s ruling, / All virtue thus will win; / Rebellion to His Headship / Is but the root of sin. / The evil aim of Satan- / God’s throne to overthrow; / Our aim and goal is ever / His rule to fully know. (Hymns #941)
– Today we must learn to submit to His throne, / How to have a strict life and His government own; / His authority then we’ll be able to share, / o’er the nations to rule with God’s Son as the heir. (Hymns #947)
– Thru the Church which is His Body / Christ as Head will sum up all; / All will fitly join together, / All things either great or small. / Under Christ, by His full headship, / All in union will subsist; / In the light the Church expresses / All in oneness will exist. (Hymns #981)
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