What Does the Bible Say About Authority #4?

We continue our discussion of authority by noting that Paul used a plea as a direct statement concerning what the Christians at the church in Corinth needed to do. In Acts 20 verse seven we find Paul preaching at the church in Troas on the first day of the week and we are told they had the Lord's Supper on that day. We talk about what this tells us about when to observe the Lord's Supper and why this is important. Glenn begins the next section of our discussion by looking at what the Hebrew writer said about forsaking the assembling of ourselves together and what the assembling requires. Arnie reminds us of what Jesus said about the extent of His authority. We move on to a discussion of the two kinds of authority, general and specific, and why this is so important to understand. We examine several instances in the Old Testament, noting the general and specific authority God used in His instructions. In our next episode, we will note the results when God's specific instructions are not followed. 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 scbamab0y2003@yahoo.com.

Arnie: 0:42

Good afternoon. This is what does the Bible say? Brought to you by the church of Christ at Woodland here in Sumter, South Carolina. I'm Arnie, and with me is Fred and and Glenn, and we've been discussing the matter of Bible authority and and the authority that that really from God governs what we do and how we worship as as Christians. So we've had a couple of lessons on that, and we want to continue that a little bit further. Glenn, are you

Glenn: 1:22

Sure, as Arnie mentioned, our study right now is on authority, and this would be biblical authority, the authority that we've already mentioned comes from God and Christ and the things that they have given us, and particularly those things they have given us. In in the Bible. God's word is authoritative to us that what what it says, those are the things we should do. We've mentioned four different ways in which commands can be given to us, and we can receive the commands from from the Bible. And those are direct statements Express commands. And those two direct statements and express commands are very similar. Approved apostolic examples, and that's when we see something done by the church in the New Testament, we can take that as a command for us to do as well in the church. And then the other one is by necessary inference. We can get commands by necessary inference, by reading God's word and concluding that that's the only thing that we could conclude from what we've read. Therefore it is a command to us. So the next scripture we want to look at is first, Corinthians, 4, 16, and 17, and it shows a direct statement as a plea. And that reads, Therefore, I urge you imitate me. For this reason, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who you remind me of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. So Paul is talking to the Corinthians, and he then he says, I urge you imitate me. This becomes a command from Paul to the Corinthians. And of course, Paul was, was an inspired apostle, therefore, what he said became an express command or a direct statement to to the Corinthians For them to do. Fred.

Fred Gosnell: 3:47

So we have, in Acts 20, verse seven, we have a place where that the apostle Paul was with the brethren there. And in verse seven, it tells us that it was,` Upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread. Paul preached unto them ready to part on the morrow and continued to preach until midnight. So so we know that Paul was, they were there on the first day of the week and and they were there to break bread, this is to have the Lord's Supper. So by apostolic example, Paul was teaching them to observe the Lord's Supper, and was on the first day of the week. Now this is an approved, Holy Spirit inspired example, because in verse nine, we what we find out. Verse eight, it was at night. And then in verse nine, there was a individual by the name of Eutychus was sitting in the window there, and he fell asleep, and he fell out of the window, and he fell down three, three stories, and he was killed. So Paul went down there, and he brought him back to life. In verse 10 says, Paul went down, fell on him and embracing him, said. Trouble, not yourselves, for his life is in him. So this is the place that tells us that the Lord's Supper is to be observed on the first day of the week. And now we know that's specifically when, because Paul performed a miracle, the Holy Spirit approved that, and that's the only time that we are to have the Lord's Supper. There's no other example for any other day. And so that's a when to approve it. Of course, in Matthew 28, 20 Jesus had commanded the apostles to teaching those who were Christians to observe all things that He had commanded them. So Paul was doing that. And so of course, then we have expediencies go along with that. And of course, expediencies are things that are choices that we make. In the case of the Lord's Supper, an expediency would allow the difference in the time, whether we have the Lord's Supper in the morning when we meet or in the evening, and and the number of meetings on the first day. How many times did they meet on the first day of the week? Well, however many times that is consistent with whatever they want to do. Now mention that no other day is mentioned for the Lord's Supper, so the scriptures are silent, silent on having Lord supper on the seventh day or the third day or any other day. So the silence of the Scriptures concerning other days prevents having the Lord's Supper any other time.

Arnie: 6:34

Well with, with that in mind, Fred, I'm looking at Hebrews chapter 10 right here at at the moment, and in verse 25 of of that chapter, the Hebrew writer tells us , Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. And I'm just going to pause there on that point, because you were, you were addressing the fact that we, we should be meeting continually on on the Lord's Day. How many people just decide maybe on, on one Lord's day, they'll they'll worship, and then the next Lord's day, they'll go to the beach or or go to a car racing situation or whatever, and just sort of off and on and and taking the the worship of God pretty casually and ignoring what doesn't seem convenient to them, and that's that's a dangerous habit to get into. So, so verse 25 here, not only speaks about the manner of some is, But says, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. And just interestingly, the next passage, verse 26 said, For if we sin willfully, after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. So there's a warning in there with with that, and the first day of the week comes every week, and that's what we need to do to keep ourselves in sync with what God has commanded in His word.

Glenn: 8:39

Yeah. Now we have to take that as as a command. I think probably many people, when they read the Hebrews, 10, 25, they they take it as a suggestion rather than a command. I believe they probably take the acts 20, verse seven, that Fred read as a suggestion rather than than a command. But when we look at these things and we understand how we receive commands through God's Word, we can understand that these are that in Acts 27, 20 verse seven, where it says they came together on the first day of the week. Well, that is an approved apostolic example, and the the statement that that Arnie read in Hebrews 10, 25, that when we think about forsaking the assembly of the of the saints, that's saying that we are saying, well, it's okay, you know, the Saints don't have to meet on the Lord's day, but it is a command that that the saints do meet on the first day of the week. Well, the command necessitates a place. So we can look at Acts two, verse one, and I'm going to have four scriptures I want to read. Acts two, verse one, When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Now this is, I guess there could be some debate as to whether this was the church at this point or not, but it was the beginning of the group of people that would become and make up the church. This was the apostles. They had, they had already received their commission from Jesus Christ that they needed to come to Jerusalem and wait there for the power to come, come on them, the Holy Spirit, that is, and we would read later in this chapter, in chapter two, where the Holy Spirit indeed did fall upon the apostles, and they were able to preach in in various languages to all the people from different countries that were in Jerusalem at that time. So and they it shows that they were all together in one place, and we can take that as an example, that that when we come together, we need to come together in one place. We've recently seen within the past few years, where we had by by government instruction that we should stay away from one another, and many people started staying away from the assembly of the saints and started listening to to the broadcast over the internet and things of that nature. So they weren't coming together in one place. They were they were together in various places. So we may take that as possibly being a a violation of a command. Then acts five. Verse, verse 12, Acts 5 verse,

Fred Gosnell: 11:55

One thing Glen in Acts two, one of the things in verse 15, we need to point out is the time that they met. They were together. It was the third hour of the day. It was nine in the morning. So just because we're going to find out that they met at other times other than nine in the morning,

Glenn: 12:14

Okay, thank you. Acts Five, Verse 12, it says, And through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. So they had come together, and they were all together in the in the same place, and this was Solomon's porch, where they where they were. It's not saying that in order to worship we, today all have to be in Solomon's porch to to worship. But it is showing that that the saints came together from that local that area, and assembled in one location to to worship. Then acts 20, verse nine says, And in a window set a certain young man named Eutychus who was sinking into a deep sleep. And he was overcome by sleep. And as Paul continues speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. Fred read and talked about this just a few moments ago, but they were all together. Acts 20, verse seven, says Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread and ready to part. On this day, Paul spoke to them and continued his message into midnight. So they were all together. These were all the saints of this area. They were together, and they were they were worshiping.

Fred Gosnell: 13:38

Well, Glenn one other thing in verse eight, it says there were many lights in the upper chamber. So, so this was at night. So, so they were, they were meeting in a different place. It was at night, but they were all, as you point out, they were all together.

Glenn: 13:52

They were all together. In other words, I think what Fred is is, is specifying here is that there's not a specified, specified time of the day in which we meet. We can meet many different times. We can meet at any time we we desired to meet on the Lord's day, but we need to meet on on the Lord's day, and all together in one place. And then Colossians four for verse 15 says, Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and in Memphis, and the church that is in his in his house. Well, in this case, in Laodicea, the church met in Nymphas's house. So we we see that there was a there was a place where the church in Laodicea met. Now, whether they met, met in Nymphas's house every time they worshiped, that that, that may not be the case, but at least in this time, it shows that all the saints in Laodicea came together in Nymphasa's house.

Fred Gosnell: 15:01

Well, and of course, the the reason that we're going through this is that that this is, this is illustrates an expediency. The brethren in the first century met in various places, whatever was convenient for them, and not, as Glenn mentioned, not a specific place all the same time. Now, the reason we want to notice that is that anyone that spends any time on the internet will find out that there are some people that say that we can only meet in houses, because that's what they did in the first century. Well, as you can see, that's not the case. They met in different places, so those places, they met at different times of the day and at night. So with the apostles approval, so whatever is expedient for the local church is authorized. Well, whether it's one home, whether it's a rented facility, or whether they purchase the facility, a lot of people don't like it that brethren than spend money to purchase a place, well, that's an expediency. Or if you want to meet the tent in the woods, that's fine, day or night, those are all authorized because that's what the apostles approved in the first century.

Arnie: 16:14

Yeah, keep in mind what we're speaking about here is just one aspect of authority, there are a number of things, everything that's a part of our worship and service to the Lord is are things that are governed by biblical authority. So keep that in mind, it's not just on the Lord's day, where we're we're governed by authority, but every day, everything that we do needs to be in accordance with God's will. And and I'm looking at Matthew, chapter 28 here, and verse 18, beginning and Matthew, Matthew tells us that Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. It keep that in mind that Jesus is the absolute authority and and he is in command. You might think of him, if you're military people, you might think of him as being the the commander of of the faith there. Verse 19 says, Go you therefore, therefore relates to to Jesus and His authority. Go you therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of world. And then the the the writer who is Matthew concludes that with saying, Amen. So that's how it is, in other words. So Jesus is the final speaker in the in the book of Matthew and and he's he's telling us what we need to be doing and keeping in mind, and we want to be sure not to omit any of those things, because somebody in some high position that we think of maybe as being in a high position in the in the church says that that's how it ought to be. Ignore that. Look at what the Bible says and stick with that, and you'll stay out of trouble with the Lord.

Glenn: 18:55

Okay, you know we can know that the Lord authorizes something to be done in three ways, and we just covered this a few moments ago. We can know that the Lord authorizes it by direct statement. That's a statement that is made that that basically tells us what to do anexpress command, precept, for example. And it also is something that tells us what to do. It's as Arnie was talking about, having a commander, and the commander giving a command, saying, This you shall do, or this you must do. Those are expressed commands. By example, apostolic and Holy Spirit approved examples. These are when we see how the church did something in the first century. We can take that as being an example from the apostles who were commissioned by Jesus Christ and inspired or it was authorized by the Holy Spirit, who is part of the Godhead. And the other one is by necessary inference, or unavoidable conclusion. And we've mentioned, we talked about that, and that's that's a situation in which we're reading the scriptures, and it's the only conclusion that we can come up with. We can't come up with another conclusion by what we've read. Therefore it becomes a command. Because of that, There's two kinds of authority specific, and that's when God is in His Word specifies the instructions to be obeyed. And then there's generic. That's when God in His Word only supplies general instructions to be obeyed. Arnie read that Matthew 28, 18, and 19. And one of the statements there is a generic one. It says go. It doesn't say how we are to go, whether we're to walk, to ride a camel, to ride a horse, to ride a car or or even today, use the the forms or methods that we have of transmitting the Word of God to other people, but it's to go. It's to do that. So that's a generic term or generic instruction that's God God has given us. So in order to obey God, we cannot make his specific instructions generic, nor can we make his generic instructions specific. To do so would be to change God's directions to us. We have no authority to do that.

Fred Gosnell: 21:47

Right. So what we want to show is the fact that this is something that's consistent. This means of establishing authority. It's consistent throughout the Bible. So let's just look in the Old Testament, examples of generic and specific authority. So in Genesis 6, 14, through 16, notice what was said there. Of course, this is where God gave Noah the instructions to make the ark. So he told Noah, Make thee an ark of gopher wood rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without, with pitch and is a fashion that shall make it of the length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, the breadth of the of it, 50 cubits, the height of it, 30 cubits. A window shall thou make in the ark and in a cubit shall thou finish it above and a door of the ark shall thou set in the side thereof, with lower second and third stories shalt thou make it. So God told Noah to make an ark. Well, what was he going to use to make it? Well, whatever was means, whatever he needed to use to make the ark. Make is general. So he said, make it a gopher wood. Well, gopher wood is a specific kind of wood. So he couldn't, he couldn't use oak or anything other than gopher wood. So he said, rooms shalt thou make the ark? Well, how many rooms? Well, doesn't say how many rooms. It's however many rooms he would need in order to house the animals that he was going to put in there. So then pitch it within and without. Well, what's pitch? Well, pitch is local tars like tar. So how's he going to pitch it? Well within and without. So he's going to make it with boards, and then he's going to put pitch to seal it up specifically pitch. So then the fashion of it, he says, the length of it, 300 cubits. Well, that's specific. Could it be 301 cubits? No. God specified 300 cubits, then breadth, 50 cubits, height, 30 cubits. Again, Noah could not change those measurements. He would be violating God's will. So how many windows would it have? Well, a window, one window. So how big was the window? Well, a cubit, cubit, we think, is 18 inches or so. And so, how many doors in the ark? Well, the door of the ark Thou shall set. Where are you going to put the door? In the side thereof. So again, the lower second and third stories shalt thou make it. The Ark's going to have three stories. Well, could he put four? No, only three. God specified. So when God specifies something, we can't change it. When God gives us general instructions, we have the authority to use whatever means in order to accomplish the instructions.

Arnie: 24:31

There is a statement in Numbers, chapter nine and chapter 19 in the old in the Old Testament, and and it's an ordinance of the law. And certainly there's instruction there that needs to be obeyed beginning in verse two. This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring forth a that they bring thee, a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. And you shall give her unto Eleazar, the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face. Now it's interesting here that that there are a lot of specifications just in that short, short statement. In the first place, it's an ordinance. It that means it's a part of the of the law, the Lord has commanded this. Moses didn't just come up with it or somebody else say, Oh, we think this ought to be a good idea for us to to do. No, the Lord gave specifications there and and that's what they were to do. They were to speak to the children of Israel and make sure they understood that and that they would bring the red heifer. He was not to be sparse. She was not to be spotted in in any way. There were not to be any blemishes. How many people would just ordinarily say he's not a bit, not the best one I've got. But, you know, I don't want to use the best one. Well, you better use what the Lord said to use, or it won't be of any value to you. Your worship won't be what the Lord commanded. It's got to be, in this case, without any blemish, and the same is true with regard to other matters of worship and other matters of how we're to live and so forth there. Verse three says You shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, and that he may bring her forth without the camp. And so they wasn't going to be in the in the middle of the camp somewhere that she was, that she was slain for the sacrifice, but but rather, one shall slay her before his face outside of of the camp. So the Lord's very specific about a lot of things. And I think, I think people tend to blow some of that off as if it's not of any, of any consequence. Don't think that that's a dangerous way, dangerous attitude to have with regard to anything that the Lord has said.

Glenn: 27:47

You know, it's, it's really amazing, and particularly in this example that that Arnie just read. And you notice in the verse three, it says, And shall give her to Eleazar, the priest. Well, the Israelites is estimated that they numbered about 2 million coming out of Egypt. That's a lot of sacrifices coming to Eleazar, the priest, outside the camp, so that sacrifice could be slain. Just think how busy Eleazar was and the ones who were slaying the the sacrifice. But that's what God said to do, and that's what they were required to do. Well, we have another example in Exodus, 25, 10, and 11, And they shall make an ark of Shittim wood. Take two cubits and a half shall it be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof? And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without, shalt thou over overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. Well, this is talking about the Ark of the Covenant. Fred read a few moments ago about the the ark that took Noah and his family out to freedom from the from the flood. But this is the Ark of the Covenant, which God commanded the Israelites to construct so that they would be in in accordance with His commands. Now notice he told him exactly how, how to make this, this ark. It's out of Shittim wood. Two cubits and a half it would be, that's how long it would be a cubit and a half would be how wide it would be, and a cubit and a half would be how tall it was. And then he told them, said that they needed to overlay it. That's to cover it with pure gold and cover it both inside and out with pure gold. And should make point. It a crown of gold. Round about now, these were all the specific instructions that God made or gave the the Israelites in order to make the Ark of the Covenant. Fred.

Fred Gosnell: 30:14

Yeah, well, we're about out of time. So, so what we're going to do now is, next week, we're going to talk about the results of what happens when you change God's specifics and don't do what God tells you to do. And these will be Old Testament examples, and we will see that there can be really bad consequences. So we need to learn from this, so be back with us next week about two o'clock, and we'll be talking about authority, and we'll find out what happens when you change God's specifics and do something different from what he says. Have a good week.