Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. Luke 4:36–37
I am often asked to identify the primary difference between the church of Christ and other churches. The fact is that there is only one church (Matthew 16:18), and this church honors Jesus as its only head (Ephesians 1:22–23), the supreme authority in all things the church does. While this church is composed of fallible human members, it operates under the direction of the infallible Son of God. The difference between the true church of Christ and every other church is that His church seeks His approval in all things and refuses to accept anything that is not authorized by His word.
Whether we like it or not, just about everyone recognizes the need for authority, because without it, there would be chaos. The Jews recognized the need for authority, but too many of them honored the wrong source for it (John 5:43). Pilate respected the jurisdiction of Herod (Luke 23:7) and boasted of his own authority before Jesus, failing to recognize that any power he possessed originated in God Almighty (John 19:10–11). Jude reveals that even faithful angels act only in keeping with God’s commands (Jude 8–11), and if it is so with them, it ought certainly to be with mortal man.
Just before His ascension back into heaven, Jesus told His disciples that all authority both in heaven and on earth had been vested in Him by the Father (Matthew 28:18). It was this unique authority which had characterized His teaching from the beginning of His ministry and which made Him stand out from the crowd of Jewish teachers who only spoke with the authority of the rabbis before them (Matthew 7:29). Jesus’ authority extends beyond the role of teacher to that of judge: He told the Jews that the Father had put it into His hands to execute judgment (John 5:26–27). It is not only Jesus’ right to judge man, but also to pardon the one who comes to Him in obedient faith (Matthew 9:1–8). Just as the Father gave so much authority to the Son in these areas, He also “put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:22).
Jesus often showed that He had no respect for human authority which did not originate with God (John 5:34). In fact, He would not even act on His own authority apart from the Father (John 5:30). If this is the case with the Son of God, shouldn’t we seek heaven’s authority for all that we do? We need to seek that authority in the home, in everything from the definition of marriage itself (Matthew 19:4–5) to how we raise our children (Deuteronomy 6:7). We must respect His authority in the church in matters of organization, worship, and doctrine. It is absolutely imperative that we consult this authority exclusively when it comes to the salvation of our souls. Paul sums it up this way: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name [by the authority] of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). Have you submitted to this authority?