The Authority Of Christ
The language of Jesus in the following passage evidences the vast authority which he possessed: "Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." (Matt. 7:24-29. )
For a mere man to make an assertion such as that recorded above would be the worst sort of blasphemy. Yet Jesus Christ taught "as one having authority" because he possessed great authority. None can deny that the subject of religious authority must be studied carefully and prayerfully before peace and unity can prevail in the religious world of today. The apostle Paul affirmed in Colossians 1:18 that Jesus is to have the preeminence in all things. Now if He is preeminent in all things, He must have the preeminence in authority. What, then, was the nature and origin of the authority with which He taught? In Deuteronomy 18:18, 19, we find this language: "I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."
Now concerning this prophecy of Moses, the apostle Peter has this to say in Acts 3:22,23: "Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me, to him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people." Thus from these passages we have learned the nature and source of Christ's authority: His authority was divine authority and His voice was the voice of God. God said of Him, "I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." This explains why He said every one who hears His words and does them is wise, and every one that hears His words and does them not is foolish. This also explains why Peter said, "Every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet shall be utterly destroyed." (Acts 3:23.)
But in order to hearken unto the prophet Jesus, and rightly divide the word of truth which He spake, we must understand the difference between the word of Moses and the word of Christ; between the authority of Moses and that of Christ. We must know the relationship between the New Testament and the Old Testament. Is the New Testament of Christ just a codicil, just an addition or supplement, to the Old Testament, as many believe it to be? When a man makes a will and then wants to change it a bit, or add a little something to it, he can just add a codicil to his will without making a new will. Is the New Testament like that? Just a supplement to the Old Testament? No, it is not. When God showed Moses and Elijah to the apostles on the mount of transfiguration, along with Christ, He taught them in no uncertain terms that men are no longer to hear Moses or the prophets, but to hear Christ. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." (Matt. 17:5.) And speaking of the law of Moses, Paul said, "having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross." (Col. 2:14.) Clearly it is seen that a new will went into force when Jesus died, and men were made dead to the law by the body of Christ." (Rom. 7:4.) His death took the Old Testament out of force. Moreover, the writer of Hebrews proves beyond doubt that Christ and the new covenant are superior in every respect to Moses and the old covenant. Moses served the people of God in his day, and he served them well. For that cause he holds a place of honor in the Book of God. But the Old Testament as a document is no longer binding upon men. The commands which God gave through Moses are no more binding upon us today than the commands which God gave to Noah, to Adam, or to any of the other patriarchs. We must "hear" Christ, not them.
But we must understand the scope of His authority in order to properly hear Christ. In the first place, Jesus is our prophet or law giver. "A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me; to him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you." (Acts 3:22.) Thus it was His function to deliver the law. The apostle Paul declared that the gospel which he preached was not received from men, neither was he taught it by men; but it came to him through revelation of Jesus Christ. (Gal. 1:11, 12.) But the authority of Christ includes more than his position as prophet. He is the head of the church — our Lord and our King. "And he is the head of the body, the church." (Col. 1:18.) When he had made purification of sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, having been made both Lord and Christ. (Heb. 1:3; Acts 2:38.) Thus He possesses executive authority, and is properly referred to as, "The Lord Jesus Christ"; "Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ"; and "Lord of lords, and King of kings." He is also our mediator and great high priest. "There is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus." (1 Tim. 2:5.) "Named of God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek." (Heb. 5:10.) In addition to all of these, the authority of Christ includes the position of Judge. We read in John 5:27, "And he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man." And in Acts 17:31, "he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Thus we have learned that the authority of Christ includes the following: (1) Legislative — He is our low giver or prophet; (2) Executive — He is the head of the church and the king of God's kingdom; (3) Mediatorial — He is our great high priest and our advocate with the Father; and (4) Judicial — He is to be our great final judge. The scope of His authority is truly great. Can you not now see the reason why He attached such great importance to the hearing and doing of His words?
Let us now notice some general characteristics of His authority by which we all need to remember. First, His authority is final. He said in John 12:48, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day." For one to reject the authority of Christ, and the sacrifice He made for sin, is to reject the only means we have of being redeemed from sin. But a second characteristic of His authority is that His is a complete message. God said of Him, "I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." Thus, after He had faithfully done this, the apostle Peter could say, "Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us." (2 Peter 1:3.) A third characteristic of His authority is that it requires human submission. "To him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you." (Acts 3:22.) Have you hearkened unto the words of that prophet? Have you submitted your heart and soul unto His care and keeping? You must do so in order to be saved. The terms or conditions of acceptance with Him are simple. He teaches us that men must believe His gospel repent of every sin, confess with the mouth one's faith in Him as God's Son, and then be baptized for the remission of sins. (Mark 16:16; Luke 13:3; Rom. 10:10; Acts 2:38.) If you have done this you have hearkened unto the authority of Christ. If not, you are still without the ark of safety.
Let us plead with those who are not Christians to "look unto Jesus" the author and finisher of our faith. We plead with those who are Christians to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might." Don't be a foolish builder. Be a wise builder by hearing and doing the words of God's Son. The opinions and traditions of men are powerless to save, and helpless to guide the souls of men in their immortal destiny. May we all have the courage and honesty to lay aside all personal desire, and rise above all prejudice, in order that we may hearken to that final and complete message which was delivered once and for all. Then may God help us to be loyal to Christ and the word of truth above all earthly considerations.