CHURCH ORGANIZATION

-Since we have established that we must have authority for the things we do and don’t do in the church, then

 we should understand that the organization of the church must be in accordance with the scriptures.

-When we talk about the organization of the church, we usually are referring to the chain of authority.

-We have already addressed the fact that God formulated a plan “before the foundations of the world”

  that led to the establishment of the church.

-As a part of that overall plan, Jesus was sent to this earth with authority and  served as the perfect sacrifice

 for our sins.

-John 12: 48-50

-Matt 28:18

-power - (Vines) - denotes “freedom of action, right to act”, authority, the ability or strength

with which one is endued, the right to exercise power

-NAS, NKJ, NIV, ASV - all use the word “authority”

-Jesus then gave authority to the apostles.

-Matt 28: 18-20

-It was the apostles who were baptized in the Holy Spirit - guided into all truth.

-Matt 16:19 - If something is binding, what is it?  - authoritative

-The verb tense here actually indicates, “shall have been bound in heaven” and “shall have

  been loosed in heaven”.

-With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were teaching that which originated as

  authoritative from heaven - that which originated from the Father through Christ.

-So we see that Jesus acted under the authority of the Father and then gave authority to the apostles.

-The apostles then gave authority to the elders.

-Acts 14: 21-23

-Acts 20: 17, 28

-Jesus ascended into heaven and the apostles died.  So, who does that leave with authority in the church? Elders

-There is no authorization in the scriptures for earthly headquarters, boards of regents, boards of directors and so on.

-The scriptural pattern for church organization is individual, autonomous congregations overseen by a plurality of elders.

-Contrast of Worldly Systems

-So we see that the church was organized under the initial authority of the apostles (who derived their authority

 from Jesus who was given authority by the Father).  We have that pattern established for us according to the

  scriptures, God’s inspired word.  Therefore, we know what pattern to follow.

-We are not to have earthly headquarters, head offices, districts and regions, man-made creeds, boards of

  directors, boards of regents, presidents and so on.

-We are to have autonomous congregations under the authority of their own elders.

-But actually many in the world have done is the exact opposite of what the scriptures teach.

-Many have reversed the process as it took place in the book of Acts.

-In Acts, we see the church starting in Jerusalem and spreading out from there with elders being

  established in each congregation to serve as the authority.

-In the world, many religious systems have taken the authority away from the local congregation and

  have set up a variety of systems, each with some form of centralized headquarter with authority.

-The denominations violate the scriptures in the very way they are organized, not to mention what they then

  teach within those organizations.. 

-If a person is seeking the New Testament church, a look at the organization of the religious systems today in 

  comparison to the pattern as set forth in the scriptures, will eliminate the majority of those that exist. 

-This one aspect would certainly narrow the person’s search.