Ecclesiology 101 Part 3

We have recently begun a new topical study on the church. Last week we saw who made up the church and what the purpose of the church is. With this understanding, it is important that we now move into the spiritual authority within the Church, a topic that will take the next couple of weeks to fully understand.

It is a sad fact that we have to state this, however, due to the growing number of unbiblical churches we need to understand who the ultimate authority is and how this came to be. It is a simple but powerful statement, the ultimate authority of the church is Jesus Christ. This is defined in several verses in Scripture. “22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church,” Ephesians 1:22 And“18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” Colossians 1:18 are just two of the verses that identify this.

However, there are many churches out there who deny Christ’s deity, His resurrection, and the individual’s need to place faith in His action. So today, I want to look over some verses that will show us that a church needs to have Christ in the center.

It is important to understand that Jesus Christ’s authority over the church comes from the Father.

“27 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.” Matthew 11:27

“35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand.” John 3:35

“36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2:36

Scripture continually identifies times where Jesus showed ultimate authority over demons (Matthew 8:32, 12:22), disease (Matthew 4:23-24), sin (Matthew 9:6), the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28), and death (Mark 5:41-42), this power over death was also seen in His resurrection (John 10:18). However, there are so called churches out there who seek to deny these aspects. In doing so, they are denying the true power of Salvation and what makes up the church.

Submission to Jesus Christ is not something that is optional to the born-again believer. It is our highest calling and obligation to submit both individually, with acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior, and corporately, belonging to a Bible believing church. If any church seeks to deny Jesus’s authority, then they are not truly a member of the body of Christ as discussed last week.

While Jesus is the ultimate authority within the church, scripture also identifies individuals who hold positions of authority within the church. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be discussing the role of pastors, elders, and deacons.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex