Chapter Fifteen – Church Government—with Power and Authority

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Now that you have learned there is only one unified, organized Church that Jesus leads, a related, towering subject must be addressed: How is peace, unity and organization maintained in the Church? What is the entity that allows these qualities to thrive and for everything to be done “decently and in order” (I Cor. 14:40)?

GOVERNMENT is the key!

In fact, it is central to everything in life. Government is the glue that keeps the world together. Families cannot properly function without it. Neither can nations, armies, institutions, companies, churches, schools, teams, organizations or clubs—nor virtually any entity of more than one person. Where there is no government, there is no order—only chaos, confusion and everyone doing “that which [is] right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17:6). Institutions without a governing body do not—cannot—last for long.

God preserves His entire creation through government and law—and both the earth and the universe reflect this. Government, in the right form, brings structure, order, organization, stability, peace, protection and a host of other benefits to groups of every kind!

The Bible, above all else, is a book about government. Though space does not permit detailed examination, briefly consider just these biblical accounts—all of which relate to government: Lucifer’s rebellion against God’s government, Adam’s similar decision when he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, how God governed ancient Israel (Moses, Joshua, the judges, kings and prophets, etc.), Korah’s rebellion, Saul’s rebellion, how Christ qualified to replace Satan, why the governments of this world do not and have never worked, and the coming of God’s world-ruling super government, administered by Christ and the saints, to replace men’s governments and bring peace, happiness, abundance and prosperity to all nations. All of these examples—and more—make this subject central to the Bible!

Furthermore, the gospel of the kingdom of God is a message entirely about government under the ruling Family of God. And this subject is the absolute BEDROCK CENTREPIECE of the entire Bible. (The entirety of the next chapter is devoted to making this clear.)

If government is central to everything in life, it should not be a surprise to learn that Jesus designed and established a specific form of government to lead His Church.

Government in the Church

Two of the great hallmarks of the true Church are that Jesus Christ built it and He is its Head. As its Founder, He is at the top of the governmental structure. This is not the case in other churches. Since Jesus built only one Church, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that men have built all other churches in existence today. Jesus is not in control of the world’s churches—people are!

Men have devised various means to govern their churches. Generally, the top leaders in the large mainstream churches are elected by lower-ranking ministers, and these ministers are hired and fired by deacons or members of the church they purport to lead. How exactly does Jesus head—lead, guide, direct—His Church? How is His Church governed?

In the last chapter, we briefly saw that there are various ministerial offices in the Church, as indicated in Ephesians 4:11-13. Let’s re-read: “And He [Jesus] gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Let’s add another scripture that brings further understanding. Paul told the Corinthians that “God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers [evangelists, pastors and elders]…” (I Cor. 12:28).

Combining these two passages, a number of points emerge. We see that there are specific ministerial positions (apostles, prophets, evangelists, etc.) in the Church, and the words “first, secondarily” and “thirdly” indicate each office carries a different level of authority. Apostles are first, directly under Christ, followed by prophets, who are second, then evangelists, who are third, and so forth. Each successive rank is subordinate to those above it. The office of apostle carries the most authority of any human office in the Church. Authority flows from Christ, through the apostle, and then down the list of ministerial ranks.

These scriptures also reveal that Jesus Himself calls and appoints, after necessary training, some in His Church to the various ranks in His ministry. This is made plain by the word “gave.” As Head of the Church, Jesus has the authority to do this. Just like the Father calls people into the Church, Christ calls members of His Church into the ministry. It is not up to the individual lay member to decide whether he should become a minister.

Lay members and ministers alike in Christ’s Church recognize that God’s government is from the top down, not the bottom up, as is found in all democratic governments of men, in which the people are ultimately in charge.

You may be familiar with the phrase “Government of the people, by the people and for the people.” The true Church is different. While the government that runs it is for the people, it is not run by the people, nor is it of them—it is by and of Christ. For the Church to operate smoothly and efficiently, no other way would suffice.

Peace, unity, harmony and doctrinal purity cannot be maintained under a government that rules from the bottom up. Also, it cannot be maintained in an organization where Christ is not the Head! Just because a church may operate from the top down, and have some correct ranks of the ministry, does not mean it is God’s government. Christ must be in charge for it to be such—and we have seen that He can lead only one group, else He is divided!

In Chapter Seven, you learned that God’s form of government has always been from the top down. Someone is always in charge in a given situation, even when both Beings are God! The Father has always been supreme in command and Christ, formerly the Word, has always been number two.

To prevent separate, independent and competing factions, which would lead to confusion and division, driving many out of the Body of Christ, God has organized government in His Church. That government is the GOVERNMENT OF GOD, and it results in teamwork, not division! God knows that cooperation multiplies and competition always divides.

Recognize that the Church is the kingdom of God in embryo, meaning members are being formed—daily preparing for the kingdom—in the womb of the Church, begotten, but not yet born, into the kingdom. God’s government is similar—it is now only present in the Church, not yet over all nations.

Overview of Offices in the Church

The following is a general overview of the functions of each office in the Church. Space does not permit a full description of the duties of each.

Apostles are charged with announcing Christ’s gospel message to the world, and supervising the proclaiming of that message. This office also oversees the entire Church and within it all administrative functions.

Prophets are those who foretell future events before they happen. Their mission in the first century was to receive messages or prophecies directly from God, and to convey these messages to the apostles. They evidently played a key role in the formation of the New Testament. But no prophets are mentioned as having either administrative or preaching functions in the New Testament Church. Also, there is no evidence of the existence of any prophets in the Church since the New Testament was written. Certainly, none are in the Church today. However, there will be two extraordinary prophets who will arrive just before the Great Tribulation: the Two Witnesses.

Evangelists are senior ministers who proclaim the gospel to the public and in some cases raise up local churches. Under an apostle, they sometimes supervise a number of congregations. Evangelists also can hold top executive duties under an apostle at Headquarters.

Instructive for all that it says about how Christ’s ministers work in His Church, II Timothy 4:2-5states this about the duties of an evangelist: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch you in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of your ministry.”

Pastors generally serve locally over one or more congregations overseeing day-to-day operations. This responsibility is central to the overall unity, stability and spiritual growth of congregations, individually, and the whole Church, collectively. In fact, certain parables given by Christ, such as the “wheat and tares” and the “sheep, wolves and hirelings,” basically centre on labourers in the field—pastors!

The word “teachers,” found in I Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11, refers either to an evangelist, pastor or elder, but the apostle Paul also referred to himself as a teacher. The word in the Greek simply means “an instructor (general or specific), doctor, master, teacher.” So a teacher is simply one who dispenses spiritual knowledge.

An elder is one who is under a pastor in a particular congregation. He assists in the overseeing of the local congregation.

Deacons (men) and deaconesses (women) are the only physical offices in the Church. Those who hold this office are physical or material helpers. For example, these are servants who wait on tables, set up halls for Sabbath services, perform other forms of assistance, among many other physical duties. Acts 6:1-6 details how this office came into existence, and the qualifications for it.

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