What Does the Bible Say About Authority?

In this episode we begin a discussion of authority according to what the Bible says. We note that Jesus was challenged by the religious leaders of the day concerning what authority He had to say what he did, and where He got that authority. We discuss this. We note that Jesus tells us there are two sources of authority, from heaven and of men. We talk about these. We find that Jesus said He has all authority, so we discuss what that means to us. Pilate questioned Jesus about why He didn't speak to him and noted the authority he had over Jesus. We talk about what Jesus said to him. Jesus was also asked about paying taxes. We note what His response was. We move on to a discussion about why it is important to find out what the Bible says about authority. We discuss how this relates to worshipping God and serving Him. Paul makes a statement about the things that he wrote. We look at that and how that relates to authority. Paul also mentions our bodies and our spirit and why we are responsible to care for them. We will continue this episode next week. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

Transcript

Fred Gosnell: 0:00

This is a presentation of the Woodland church of Christ, meeting at 3370 Broad Street in Sumter, South Carolina. We meet for worship on Sunday at ten thirty am and five thirty pm. We meet for bible study at nine thirty am on Sunday and seven pm on Wednesday. If you have questions or comments on this lesson, you may email them to Fred Gosnell at fgosnell@ftc-i.net or to Arnie Granke at agranke440718@twc.com or to Glenn Landrum at scbamaboy2003@yahoo.com.

Arnie: 0:42

Good afternoon. This is what does the Bible say? Brought to you by the church of Christ at Woodland on Highway, 76 378, just outside the city boundary here. 3370 is the number, and we are glad to have you with us. We hope that you'll consider the things that we're talking about today. We're going to talk about the Bible. We'll talk specifically about the subject of authority, which is a topic probably most most folks don't get an opportunity to think about. So we want to give you a couple of thoughts that'll that'll get you in the right direction, we hope in in that regard. And if you have any questions, why don't feel at all timid about calling us or writing us a note or whatever, and we will try to deal with whatever questions that you have and give you a a biblical answer. Fred. You want to kick us off here? I think Glen's prepared. Glenn's gonna do that.

Glenn: 1:59

I'll take care of that. Well, we're going to be speaking about authority, and specifically it's going to be whose authority are we concerned with. And of course, we're concerned with God and Jesus, as the ones is having authority, and authority, of course, is having charge of ones we look to for guidance, ones we look to for our instructions, for our laws, for our rules. And that's that's what we'll talk about. And it's important that we understand the authority of God, of Jesus, of the scriptures, because it determines how and what we do in in our lives. The first passage we're going to look at is Matthew 21, 23 to 27 and it reads, And when he was coming to the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him, as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things, and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also ask you one thing which, if you tell me, I and likewise, will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John? Whence was it from heaven or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we say from heaven, He will say to us, why did you not believe him? But if you say of men, we fear the people for all the hold John as a prophet, and they answered Jesus and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. In this passage, even though Jesus did not actually answer their question, because they didn't answer his he implied that his authority came from God.

Fred Gosnell: 4:07

Of course, what that shows us is that these religious leaders were concerned. They were really concerned for their own positions, and they wanted to know from Jesus where his authority came from. And of course, I think they knew, they knew it came from men, but they just weren't simply willing to answer it. So the word there is the power of authority, if anyone has a strong concordance number 1849, and so it's the influence and of the right. So they were asking Jesus, well, who gave you the right to say these things, the authority to say these things? Then it's the power of rule or government. Of course, Jesus said, in Matthew 28, 18 after his resurrection, in Matthew 28, 18, he said, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and in earth and and so. And specifically, this authority has to do with judicial authority and judicial decision so and so. Look at Matthew 28, 18, through 20 with us. Of course, he's Jesus is with the apostles, and he tells them. He says, He came to them saying, All authority is given to me, notice in heaven and in earth, so that doesn't leave any any other place where he does not have authority. So then he tells them to, Go you therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you and lo I'm with you always, even unto the end of the world. So so after Jesus was resurrected, He was given all authority by God everywhere in heaven and on earth. And so then he used that authority to tell the apostles to go and to make the disciples everywhere. And then the last thing he said , Teaching them to observe, notice all things whatsoever. I commanded you. So kind of think about that just a minute. And so when the apostles went and started teaching the gospel, and then they wrote it all down, everything they taught, they had the authority from Jesus to do so. And then those things that they wrote down were those things which Jesus commanded them to write down. So that gives us the idea that the whole New Testament contains the commandments of Jesus.

Arnie: 6:46

You know, let me back us up here and take another look at what Jesus was saying and why he was saying it. Because these people were pretending to have authority, but they didn't have the authority that they were acting as if, as if they had. And Jesus caught them on that and and so he threw a trap in there, and they, they looked at both sides. Well, should we say this, or should we say that? That's not authority, that's not even honest. They were totally dishonest, and they and they knew it, but didn't want to, didn't want to admit that the two, two sources of authority that Jesus spoke about, are mentioned in a couple of other passages, Matthew, chapter 21 and and verse 20, 25, beginning, Jesus was, was challenging the the temple chief priests and and elders and and so forth, and so he asks about, the question about the baptism of John. And in verse 25 Jesus said that the baptism of John, whence was it from heaven, or of men? And so, you know, they, they wanted to kind of figure that out and and didn't want to honestly respond to that. And then, then also, the high priest was speaking to to the Apostles in Acts chapter five, and beginning in verse 28 he said, Did we not straightly command you that you should not teach in this name? Well, did they have the authority? Well, he didn't think they did, but the Lord certainly had given it to them. He goes on, they said, Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Glenn: 9:15

That that's an important standard that even we need to consider when, when we are thinking about how we conduct our lives and things that we should do. Many times, the word of God is contradicted by people that are not Christians, or sometimes even who are Christians, but are telling, telling someone to do something that is not included in God's word. So what Peter was saying, along with the other apostles, we ought to obey God rather than men. So when they're become, when there is a situation where it's either we follow God's instructions or we follow the instructions of someone else we are we are bound to we are obligated to follow God's instructions. Well, men have authority. John 19, 10, and 11, says. Pilate said to Him, You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and I have authority to crucify you? Jesus answered, You would have no authority over me unless it had been given to you from above. For this reason, he who delivered Me Up to you has the greater sin. I'm going to read another passage as well, Mark 12, 16, and 17. He saith to them that's Jesus, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. And Jesus answered and said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God, the things that are God's. So in this situation, Jesus was acknowledging that there are some things that that are due to be given to those who are in authority in a government type situation, and this situation was the the coins, the coins had the impression of Caesar on them, just like our coins Today have the have the impressions of usually, presidents and some other important people in our history. Well, that money belongs actually to the government. We get to use it for a while, but it belongs to the government. It has the inscription of something that is associated with the government. So Jesus has said, yeah, there are people who have authority. But when he speaking in that John 19, 10, and 11, he said that those who are in authority in government situations, those people have been given that authority by God,

Fred Gosnell: 12:18

And we always need to remember that as well. So how do we determine the source of authority? So of course, we, you know, it's kind of easy. We know that the President's in charge of the country, and some people don't seem to think that, but we know that. But how do we determine the source of authority from the biblical standpoint. So Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in first, Thessalonians, 2, 13, 14. And he wrote to them saying, For this reason, we also thank God without ceasing, because when you receive the Word of God which you heard from us, you welcome, welcomed it not as a word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. So what Paul was saying to them as what he was preaching to them was the Word of God, and they received it as the word of God. They didn't receive it from Paul as his opinion. Of course, one of the things that we discussed in the last few lessons, we talked about miracles, and we talked about the fact that the miracles were in the first century. One of the reasons those miracles were there was to confirm the words that the apostles taught. So when the they taught people, they confirmed those words with miracles, and then received those words as the word of God, not as those just as the word of men.

Arnie: 13:56

You know, one of the things that we that we understand about authority is that that authority goes hand in glove with responsibility. When you're responsible for something, then you have the authority, usually, to accomplish that that particular situation.

Glenn: 14:17

So why is this important? Now what we were just speaking about. Matthew 15, seven through nine dimensions that, You hypocrites. Well did Esaias prophesy of you saying, This, people draweth nigh to me with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain, they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Very important in this passage that we need to take from this that we don't have the authority to worship God, to speak about God and His Word in a way that is using the doctrines, the thoughts, the opinions of people. We need to use the commandments of God, and where do we get those? We have a Bible, which is the word of God, we need to go by it. And that's exactly what was being mentioned here that they they needed to go by the commandments of God, not the commandments of men. Do you think that we have a situation today where many people are trying to impose their thoughts, their ideas, their even commandments on other people, in a religious sense? I would say that very possibly, that is true, since we have anywhere between 2,000 and 40,000 denominations, all who teach something different. Somebody is teaching something other than the Word of God, and it's a lot of somebody's doing that. I'm going to also read Titus 1, 13, and 14. This witness is true, wherefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men that turn from the truth. That turn from the truth, it says, and that's important. Anytime that that we have something being said, taught or shown about God's word, and it's somebody's opinion, and it differs from what God's word says we need to reject, that we can only accept that which God provides. And why do we do that is because God has the authority to provide that to us, and he has done that through one Jesus, Jesus apostles and those that followed the apostles, and we have the recorded message in our Bibles.

Fred Gosnell: 17:18

Yeah. Now remember, we already read those passages from Matthew 28, 18 through 20. Jesus said he had all authority in verse 18. Then he sent the apostles to teach the gospel all over the world. And then he told them, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. So the all things are the things that we find in the New Testament in particular, and, and of course, that's that passage that Glenn read from Titus said, these Jewish fables and commandments of men, they turn from the truth. And of course, Jesus said very short statement, Luke, chapter six, verse 46 he said, Why call you Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say, and remember that the things that they are to teach are all things that Jesus commanded. Well, if you read your New Testament, you will find out what the those apostles and first century disciples taught, and you'll find out that they taught what Jesus commanded them to teach. And so, as Glenn noted, there, there's so many denominations and other religions any number, we don't know the exact number, and they teach all kinds of things that are different from our program says, What does the Bible say? So in the Bible, we have words that come from God, in the New Testament, in particular those that come from Jesus. And of course, one of the problems that that the Jews had was that, of course, they were following the Old Testament law. But when Jesus came, Jesus fulfilled that law, and he instituted his New Testament, and now they were obligated to obey what Jesus said. And of course they wanted to continue to follow the Old Testament law, and that was not what they were under. So again, Jesus says, Why call you Me Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say. And of course, that goes to to people today as well. Why do you call Jesus Lord, Lord and follow the Baptist Church or the Methodist church, or the Mormon Church or the Jehovah's Witness church, or any number, of the Hindu religion, the Muslim religion? Why do you do that when you're talking about the Lord, when he doesn't say anything about those things,

Arnie: 19:43

Yeah, if, if the Bible doesn't say it, there's no authority for it. That's the that's the best rule to to understand the authority that Jesus has delegated to us in the in serving Him and and teaching others. In Matthew, chapter 28 verse, verse 20, Jesus was with 11 of the the apostles on a mountain in in Galilee. And beginning in verse 20, the Bible says, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. What did they have authority to do? Teach what Jesus had commanded them. If he hadn't commanded it, they didn't have the authority for it. And he said, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world Amen. Paul was, the apostle Paul was inspired and and he taught things that Jesus had had commanded. In First Corinthians, chapter 14 and in verse 37 is is an example there. Paul said, if, If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. They don't acknowledge that, then there seems to be a lack of authority there for them to have the authority that that they hope to to exercise, it's got to be based on what the Bible has to say.

Glenn: 21:29

Yeah, know we've mentioned several times that this authority comes from Jesus, comes from God. And we read into Matthew 28, 20 I Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. Well. Jesus had had taught the the apostles for for three years. During his time in preaching, he also told them that there was going to be someone else, a Helper, the Holy Spirit that would come to them and teach them even more. John 14, beginning in verse 10, says, Do you not believe that I am(in) the Father, I am in the Father and the Father in me. The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me. Or else, believe me for the sake of the words. And then going down to verse 25 says These things I have spoken to you while being present with you, I just mentioned Jesus was with them three years. So he taught them a lot of stuff. But now he says, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said. Now that that's pretty important, that Jesus had taught the apostles a lot of stuff, but he still had was going to send the Holy Spirit to them to teach them all things and bring to them the remembrance of the things that he had already said to them. So God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, they're all one. They're all God, and it's the through their authority. Well, Luke six, 46 says, And why call Me Lord, Lord, I think we just covered that, didn't we? So we're at Second Corinthians 10, three through six. For though we are weak in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of the strongholds, casting down imaginations in every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. So the battle that we're in, the ones that we fight are and the ones we're in warfare with are not it says carnal. Carnal means those that are human, those that are flesh. But it's mighty through God, the pulling down of the strongholds, casting down the imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God. Every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, that's the things in the spiritual realm that that are very powerful. Those are the things that we are fighting against we need to have God's authority, God's Word, to be able to fight against that. If we, if you wanted to do that, you could go to Ephesians six and read about that armor of God that we need in order to fight against those principalities in high places.

Fred Gosnell: 25:19

Of course, the last thing he says there, he says bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. So so the whole, the whole thing that we have to do is to teach people what Jesus says and to change their mind about the things that they think about from a religious standpoint well and in their life as well, so to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. So ultimately, the only way that you can get people to change what they think is to give them something to follow that's different from what they follow. And of course, the authority of God's word is that which people are to follow, because we are accountable to him. And at some point in the future, there's going to be a judgment, and the judgment will be based upon whether or not we obey what God said. And God's words are the things that we are responsible to follow. First Thessalonians, four, one through four. Now, again, Paul to the brethren Thessalonica, he said, Finally, then brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you received of us how you ought to walk and to please God. Well, how did they know how to walk and please God? Well, what they received from them. Well, they they received the word of God. So even as you do walk, talking about the way they live their lives, that you abound more and more for you know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification. Notice, That you abstain from fornication, that each one of you know how to possess his own self, his vessel in sanctification and honor. So he's talking about there the vessel there is the body that we live in and the things that we do while we're in this life, and we are to walk according to what the Lord says and according to what His Word says. So that was what Paul and the rest of the apostles, the rest of the teachers the first century, that was their responsibility to teach them the word of God, they had the authority to do so. And then, of course, that authority means that we have the obligation to obey what God says.

Arnie: 27:28

I'm thinking of a passage from First Corinthians, chapter chapter six, and I'll just kind of introduce that a little bit. We think, I suppose, in many cases, that we can do with our body whatever we want, and that's just not the way that it that it is. Even the government, to some extent, regulates what we're what we're allowed to do with with our body. We're not, we're not allowed to to use various kinds of drugs for, for example, the fact that we that it's our body doesn't, it doesn't permit us to do that. And and God also regulates what what we're allowed to do. So first, Corinthians, chapter six, and beginning in verse 19, Paul asks the question. He says, What, know you not that your body is the temple of the holy spirit, which is in you, which you have of God, and ye are not your own? People don't realize that a lot of times, I think, or they, they choose to ignore that, that fact. That the next verse, verse 20, says, For you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are Gods? And it doesn't mean that they that that's a god, it means that they belong to God. It's his it's his possession. So when we start doing things and or requiring people to do things that are contrary to God's will, then we have stepped beyond the authority that God has allowed.

Glenn: 29:25

We are obligated to take care of those things which God has given us. One of those things that God has given us is our body, and we're obligated to take care of it in the way that he has instructed us to take care of it. Why? Because he said for us to because he told us that he is the one that created us. He is the one that created all things. We need to understand that. We need to respect that because it is, it's his authority to be able to tell us to do those things. We need to respect God and Christ, the Holy Spirit, for they have authority over all things.

Fred Gosnell: 30:13

Well, the problem, of course, we have, is our Jesus said, The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak, and then that's our problem there, because we do things according to the flesh sometimes, and not according to the spirit and according to what God says. So we're out of time, so we're going to have to take up this study on authority next week. So we will invite you to keep your bibles handy. Follow along with us, and we'll go continue on talk about the authority based on what the Bible says, whether that authority is from God or men.