What Does the Bible Say About Authority #3?

We continue this episode on authority by again noting that the Lord authorizes something to be done in three ways. We note those three ways as expressed by Jesus. We talk about how the Lord delegated authority to His apostles and look at passages that teach that as well as passages showing the apostles using those three ways in correcting the false teaching about the circumcision after the manner of Moses in Acts chapter 15. We also look at what the Bible teaches on the silence of the scriptures. We note that the apostles again in Acts 15 use this principle. Paul discusses expediencies and we look at what he wrote about them. We begin looking at illustrations of Bible authority, but run out of time before finishing that discussion. We will begin there 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, meeting for worship on Sunday at ten thirty a m and five thirty pm. We meet for bible study at nine thirty a m on Sunday and seven p m 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 Glen Landrum at scbamaboy2003@yahoo.com.

Glenn: 0:41

Hello. This is what does the Bible say, and we're talking about authority. I'm Glenn Landrum, and I have Fred Gosnell with me. The others that are normally with us are not here tonight, so hopefully they'll be back with us before long. As I mentioned, we're, we've been talking about authority, and this is our second major lesson that we're we're dealing with, and so we want to express and impress upon you and anyone that's listening that that it's important, that we understand the authority and understand that God has all authority, and he's given that authority to Jesus Christ. So Fred's gonna pick up here and introduce this thing topic tonight.

Fred Gosnell: 1:28

So we can know that the Lord authorizes something to be done in three ways. We find these ways used in the Bible. So the first one by a direct statement or an express command. For instance, if it says It is written or it says This Do, then we can know by a Holy Spirit approved apostolic example. For instance, if you go to Acts chapter eight or Acts chapter 20, and where Paul there is speaking to the brethren there, and he's talking about the first it's the first day of the week, and there's the individual that's on the third floor. He's in the window. He falls asleep and falls down, and then Paul goes down and he brings him back to life. So that's by that a miracle. We've talked about the miracles confirming God's Word by that miracle, that's a Holy Spirit approved example. So then the last way would be a necessary inference or an unavoidable conclusion. And Bible gives us some facts based on those facts, there is an unavoidable conclusion that we have to draw from. So the the first direct statement, and we we see this illustrated in Matthew chapter four. And of course, that's where Jesus was tempted by Satan, and he was tempted three times. And in verse three, of course, Jesus had been not eating anything for 40 days. So Satan said, you know, if you be the Son of God, verse three, command these stones, that they be made bread. So then what Jesus did there? He in verse four, he said, answered, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. So in order to defeat Satan's temptation, what Jesus did, he went to a statement in the Old Testament. It is written. So then he did the same thing in verse seven, when Satan wanted to tell him to go up to the top of the temple and jump down off of the temple. And he then Satan quoted Psalm 91 as authority for Jesus to be able to do that, and then he wouldn't be hurt. Of course. Then Jesus said in verse seven, It is written, again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Of course, Satan misapplied that passage. Then the third time, it was in verse 10, when Satan told Jesus said, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. He said, If you fall down and worship me, I'll give you all these kingdoms. And of course, Jesus, again, verse 10 said, Get thee hence Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve. So. So he used a specific verse to defeat Satan's temptation. So that those are all direct statements.

Glenn: 4:38

So those were direct statements. We also have expressed commands. And express commands and direct statements are very much the same. We all understand, or should understand, what direct statements and express commands are. We we receive commands quite often, and we don't often call them. Commands, but that's what they are. When anyone gives us instructions about what to do that is a direct statement and express command. Places where we work, our our managers, our supervisors, they often tell us what to do and give us instructions about about what to do. Those are a direct statements, and they are Express commands that they command us to do those things. And we we know we understand those. So another example of an express command is in Luke 22 verse 19, And he took bread and gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me. Well, this is about Jesus instituting the Lord's Supper. It's when he was with the apostles and they were partaking of the Passover feast, and he instituted what we call the Lord's Supper. And if you notice that that last statement, he says, Do this in remembrance of me. Jesus actually gave, he made a direct statement, and he gave an express command about how the the apostles should do something in the future, and that was to partake of the bread which represented his body. Also in John 13, 15, through 17 is another. And I'm going to begin in verse 12 with this. So then, so when he had washed their feet, taken his garments and sat down again. He said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. If then your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, and you also to wash one another's feet, for I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor he who is greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them? So in verse 15, he said, For I have given you an example. That's what he had done. He had showed them how to do it, and then he says that you should do as I have done to you. So he's given them a direct command, an express command, to do as he has shown them to do it.

Fred Gosnell: 7:38

Well, you know later on in chapter 22 of Luke, verses 26 and 27 notice over there that Jesus said again, he talks about what they have done, really. In verse 25 Jesus said to them, because there was some strife among them, they wanted to know, figure out who was going to be the greatest. So in verse 25 said, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors, he says, But you shall not be so. But he that is greatest among you, let him be as a younger and he that is chief as he that does serve. For whether is greater he that sitteth at meat or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat, but I am among you as he that serveth. So when Jesus washed their feet, he was he wasn't giving them an example of foot washing, he was giving them example of serving others, and that was the whole point of what he had done there.

Glenn: 8:48

Okay, so we have an what we call necessary inference or unavoidable conclusion. Now this is a little bit more difficult for us to understand and then direct commands or approved examples, because now this requires us making an inference or making a deduction about something that has been said or told to us., An example of a necessary infar inference or unavoidable conclusion, is in Matthew 22, 29 through 32, and God is not not the God of the dead, but of the living. Now I'm going to read the whole whole passage 29 through 32 And so there, Jesus answered and said to them, you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God, for in the resurrection, they neither marry nor given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. So our necessary inference here is that we have we understand that there's about a resurrection of the dead. And he says, Have you not read what it was spoken to you by God? And so we understand that when by this, that after we die, there will be a resurrection of the dead. And we read in other places where that after that resurrection of the dead, there will be a judgment to determine where a person spends eternity.

Fred Gosnell: 10:46

Of course, what that then forces us to conclude there is if God is the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and if God is not the God of the dead, then Abraham Isaac and Jacob must be alive. And of course, that, as as Glenn pointed out, that also leads us to the resurrection. Our body is going to be in the grave, turn to dust, so there's but we're not dead. We're going to be resurrected. So, so, so there are unavoidable conclusions that that we draw from facts that are given in the Bible. When we look at Matthew 28 verse 20, what we find out there is Jesus had told them in verse 18, that All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Then he told them to go and go therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But then he said, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even at the end of the age. So what Jesus had done there is he gave the authority, He delegated to the authorities, a certain amount of, to the apostles a certain amount of authority and to teach those who they had, baptized. Notice Jesus said, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. So when we, when we read more of the of the Bible of what the apostles wrote, What we then find out is that they are writing what Jesus commanded them to teach, and so they had the authority to do it. So, you know, just because the letters aren't in red, some people seem to think that the letters in red are what Jesus spoke, and that's the most important thing. That's not necessarily the truth. Everything in the New Testament is important, and the apostles had the authority to teach it, and then they had to teach everything Jesus commanded them.

Glenn: 12:47

You may remember a few lessons back, we were talking about how this authority had been passed on to the to the apostles. Jesus in John 14, 15, and 16 talked several times about the Holy Spirit coming to the apostles and giving them the ability teaching them to, all things that they needed to know and to remind them of the things that Christ had already taught them. What we're going to look at First Corinthians four verse six. Now, First Corinthians four verse six says, now, now these things, brethren, I have figurative transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one, one against another. Well, Paul is saying that he's basically giving the information that he has. He's got the the authority, and Apollos had the, the authority to pass on the information to them, and that's what he's doing. He's been given that, that right, that commission, that authority to pass on that information to them so that they can, they can grow, and they're not puffed up against one another. That's so that one is doesn't think that he's better than the other. They're all receiving that word.

Fred Gosnell: 14:21

So, so then, when, when you get to Acts chapter 15, and pretty well the whole chapter, what they had there, they had a problem. There were certain Jews that were telling those who had become Christians, who were Gentiles, that they had to be circumcised after the manner of Moses, according to Acts 15. Verse one. So in order to solve this false teaching which what it was, Paul and Barnabas. Verse two, they went to Jerusalem, and of course, in Jerusalem, evidently the rest of the apostles were there, and the Sanhedrin was there, all of the Jewish religious leaders. And so they went there to solve this problem of this false teaching. So and in this, this exercise of doing this, what we find out is that they used all of the means of establishing authority by solving this problem that they had. And of course, this what, what this tells us is that this is the way that we can solve problems of people who say something, the Bible says this, or the Bible teaches that, and then we can use the same means to establish whether or not it's true. So what we find out is that in Acts 15, 19, and 20, now notice, and this is James that's speaking here, and he and he says, after he talks about certain things that had been said in the Old Testament, in verses 19 and 20, he says, Now my sentence is that we trouble not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God. So then, then he says in verse 20, But that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood. So James wrote this down. Basically it is written. And the problem that the Gentiles had in their worship, their worship considered were used by worshiping idols, and they used fornication in their worship, and then they drank blood as a part of their worship. So rather than telling them, You have to be circumcised, which wasn't necessary, so James said, we will write to them and tell them these are the things that you need to abstain from, the things that you worship, part of your worship.

Glenn: 17:02

Now, what Fred just gave was an exam, an example of a direct statement made by James in this situation. Now, just before that, in verses 15 through 17, in Acts 15, there's there's another example of James saying that it is written, okay, so he says, and within this, the words of apostles agree, just as it is written. After this, I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which was fallen down, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord who does all these things. Now, that was a quote from, from Isaiah 11, 10, and Isaiah 54, one through five. So James has said, he said, you want to follow this because it is written. It is alright. The statements have already been made that we know that they needed to follow those things that were done, that were written for their learning.

Fred Gosnell: 18:22

Exactly. And then, of course, we, we find it in Acts 15, verse verse 12, Peter had been speaking. He started speaking up in verse seven. And then, then in verse 12, the multitude kept silence and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul. And of course, Barnabas had Paul had been teaching the Gentiles and so declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. So, so why did they mention the fact that they had wrought miracles and wonders? Of course, whatever Paul and Barnabas were teaching the Gentiles was confirmed by the miracles that they performed as as we talked about before. So their teaching was approved by the Holy Spirit. And then those what they taught, they talked about that according to verse 12.

Glenn: 19:21

Yeah, you may wonder why in this passage, in Acts 15, it seems like we're going backwards. Well, it's it's because the way we have laid out the things that we're talking about, about direct statements, approved example and necessary inference, so backing up a little bit more from where we were in Acts 15, seven through 11 gives a necessary inference. Okay, so And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago, God chose among us that my by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart and acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us and made no distinction between us and them to purify their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor nor we were able to bear. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved in the same manner as they. So, this necessary inference is that we don't need to to burden people with things that that are not not important. We need no we need to press upon anyone the things that that matter in relation to God's word. And notice in verse 11, he says, but we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved in the same manner as they. So, this is the important part of this is that believing that Jesus Christ is going to save us. We've talked before about about the what the kind of definition of the gospel is, first, Corinthians, 15 actually spells that out. Paul spelled that out in First Corinthians 15 at the at the very beginning. And we'll take a look at that. I'm turning to it right now, First Corinthians 15, beginning in verse one, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel. Now see, he says, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which also you receive and in which you stand by, which also you are saved if you hold fast the word which I preach to you, unless you believe in vain. Now here it is, For I delivered you, first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures. And he was seen by Cephas and by the 12, and he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain and a present and some falling asleep. So Paul laid out this, this gospel. The good news is that thing that's is which saves us, believing on Jesus, one who died for our sins, was buried, resurrected, ascended to heaven. So we need to believe those things. We need need to discard things that are that are not important and do not relate to that.

Fred Gosnell: 22:49

Remember that Glenn read from First Corinthians, four, verse six, and remember what Paul said was, don't go beyond what is written there. So, so then what we need to understand is that if it's not written in the Bible, if the Bible is silent about something, doesn't say anything about it, then we can't do it. Sometimes you hear people say, Well, the Bible doesn't say, I can't do it well. But that's not a way to establish whether you can. A matter of fact in Deuteronomy, 29 verse, 29 there it is written, The secret things belong to the Lord, our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us, to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. So So Moses is saying that if it doesn't say anything about the about something in the law, that's something that God has chosen not to reveal, and that's something we cannot assume that we might be able to do it. And then back to Acts 15. The final thing in Acts 15 is in in verse 24 the 24 the passage says, For as much as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you, and this is the apostles saying this subverting your soul, saying you must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we gave no such commandment. Apostle says We didn't say anything about it. So if they didn't say anything about circumcision after manner of Moses that Gentiles had to do, then the Apostle says We didn't say it, and it's not required. So the silence of the scriptures is restrictive. It restricts us from doing things. It doesn't allow us to do things. And a lot of people seem to think that, well, it doesn't say I can't, so I can. No, that's wrong.

Glenn: 24:49

Okay. And that's that's an important point for us to remember. And and you really do. You hear people all the time use that statement that Fred mentioned that say, well, it doesn't say I can't. So must mean that I can. That's not true. We have to pay attention to the scriptures and things that are similar to one another. We we pay attention to those, and we don't do the things that are similar to other other things that are are mentioned as as being sin. Acts, 15, 20, which one did you just read Fred,? 15, 24. So we want to go to expediency facilitates, a command. First, Corinthians, 10 verse 23 says, All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Then 24 says, Let no one seek his own but each one the other's well being. Well we we have to use our brains a little bit in reading and understanding the scriptures. When we when we read something in the scriptures, just just for example, when we see the restriction of fornication that we are not to participate in fornication. Well, that encompasses a lot of things that is simply sexual immorality, so things that are similar to fornication we have to avoid as well. And that's what Paul is saying hered. Is it really he says All things are lawful for him, but not all things are helpful just because, just because we think we can do it doesn't mean that we need to do it, or that it's going to do the other people that I'm associated associated with any good or help them out in any way. So the we It must be helpful, must be lawful, and it must be done to edify others.

Fred Gosnell: 27:07

And we'll a little bit later on, and it's probably going to be next week, we'll talk about these expediencies, and that's what we're going to do now. We're going to talk about these things we we noted about authority, about the Scripture authority, as it's illustrated in a number of passages. So if you turn with me to First Corinthians 11, 23, and 24 and Glenn had had mentioned where Jesus established the Lord's Supper. And here Paul is teaching the Corinthians about the proper way to observe the Lord's Supper. And in verses 23 and 24 notice, notice what he says. He says, I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, same night which He was betrayed, took bread and we had when he had given thanks, he break it and said, Take, eat. This is My body which is broken for you, This do in remembrance of me. So there's a direct statement said by Jesus as a command. So that's why we have the Lord's Supper, because Jesus commanded it. It's it's not something that we just kind of decide we may or may not do. That was a command, a direct statement, Jesus said in Paul's instructions on the Lord's Supper.

Glenn: 28:29

Now there's in that same chapter, in verse 34 there's another statement, a direct statement given. And actually this, this statement is made in a prior verse as well. But verse 34 says, But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment and the rest I will set in order when I come. So he's telling them that in order to to solve the problem that the that the Corinthians were were were having with coming together and eating and and some people not, not getting, getting food, while others did. Even they simply said, eat at home. If you're hungry, eat at home. Don't, don't bring your problems to the to the assembly of the saints. And we'll go ahead and move to First Corinthians 4, 16, and 17. It'll be at another talking about a direct statement. This is First Corinthians, 4, 16, and 17. Therefore I urge you imitate me. Now that's, that's, that's an direct statement there, imitate me. He's saying, do as I do. For this reason, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach every where in every church. So this is interesting. Paul says he's writing to the Corinthians, and he's telling them. He says, I want you to imitate me. Yet Paul isn't there with them. He can't see, or they can't see what what he's doing. But he says, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, he will remind you of my ways in Christ. When we understand that, that the apostles and those who wrote these letters had authority given to them by God to write these things and to teach these things. Anyone reading these things or hearing these things are obligated to obey them, and that's because it's a direct command. It's authority given to Paul. Paul transferred Timothy, and Timothy gave it to the Corinthians.

Fred Gosnell: 31:11

And of course, all of that is written down in our Bible, so we're out of time. So we'll invite you to tune in next week, two o'clock, same time, same station, and we'll continue our discussion on authority. Very important, if we're going to worship God, we're gotta worship Him in in spirit and in truth according to what He says, Not according to what we want to do. So have a good Have a good week.