How Authority Is Established

In the previous lesson, we discussed the need for authority. In this lesson, we are going to see how authority is established. We will consider how God communicates His will for us, and look at a practical example to see how to apply this.

By Going to the Scriptures

• Part of the apostles’ role was to teach people to obey Christ’s commandments (Matthew 28:20) – they did this because Jesus has “all authority” (Matthew 28:18); they were His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), and what they taught was the Lord’s commandment (1 Corinthians 14:37); the authority of Christ is expressed in the New Testament, which is the covenant now in force (Hebrews 9:15-17)
• We cannot know the will of Christ without what is revealed in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:10-13, 16) – many claim to do all sorts of things in His name, but are practicing lawlessness (Matthew 7:22-23)
• The Scriptures equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17) – so we should be able to cite book, chapter, and verse for why we do what we do
• The Old Testament also contains this principle (Deuteronomy 5:32; Isaiah 8:20) – example of David (1 Chronicles 13:5-14; 15:1-2, 11-15; cf. Numbers 4:15)

Understanding the Way God Communicates

• If we want to express our will to someone else, we can do it in three ways (or a combination of them)*
  • Telling them – direct instruction or command
  • Showing them – teach by example
  • Implying what we mean – not directly stated, but clearly intended
• God created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27) – He knows how we think; we communicate as He does
• For us to understand His will, we have to look to the Scriptures He revealed
  • See what He has told us – commands (Acts 2:38), direct statements (Mark 16:16)
  • See what His word shows us – approved examples (1 Corinthians 16:1-2 – note that this was a command to the Corinthians, and an example for us)
  • See what He has implied in His word – from these we draw necessary inferences (Ephesians 5:19 – an assembly is not mentioned, but is implied)
• This is not a man-made hermeneutic – this is how all communication works

Example: The Lord’s Supper

• The New Testament teaching about the Lord’s Supper helps show how this method works
  • We are told what to do – “do this” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26); we also have statements about the purpose (1 Corinthians 11:26) and place (1 Corinthians 11:18, 33)
  • We are shown what to do – on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7)
  • We are certain matters implied to us – unleavened bread (Matthew 26:17; cf. Exodus 12:15)
• Why do we observe the Lord’s Supper in the way we do? – it is because of the authority for it that has been established in the New Testament

Conclusion

• It is important to recognize the principle of authority – authority of Christ; expressed in His word
• However, we need to understand how to use His word in order to establish authority for what we say and do
• We must see what God has told us, shown us, and implied to us in the New Testament and then act accordingly

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* I first saw the “tell, show, imply” terminology used by Doy Moyer. It is a helpful way to show the logic behind using commands, examples, and necessary inferences to establish Bible authority.