This article’s beginning gets it off on the wrong foot.
To claim that the church is now in charge because the early Church helped identify the legitimate writings of the Apostles is simply illogical.
It’s the same as saying that soldiers who identify a message from their Commander are now in charge. Hardly, they’re to follow the instructions of the Commander as presented in the message.
Since the Church is built on the foundations of the Apostles and Prophets, once the instructions written by those are identified, then the Church is SUBJECT TO those instructions.
It’s at this point that we look biblically for the existence of a hierarchy in the first Church. It is there. I think it is undeniable biblically that Paul looked for guidance to Jerusalem, that Jerusalem established guidelines that were then communicated to the far-flung churches, and that the sent Paul, who commissioned over-leaders, who commissioned local leaders, who were expected to be obeyed by the Christians in local churches. That is a minimum of 4 levels of leadership.
Why is it legitimate to claim this? Because THE APOSTLES produced inspired literature!
Now, the Apostles also passed on great authority reserved by Jesus to the Church, and we are biblically based on that, too. “Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”
Anyone who thinks the Church lacks authority is not looking clearly at scripture, in my opinion.
The opening of this article makes it UNHEARABLE by so many. A great disservice has been done to a valid point...the authority of the Church.
Chaplain excellent analogy. The one I like to use is of the curator of the Louvre. The curator did not make the works of art, but being well versed in art knows art when he sees it and thus sets up the displays.