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In this chapter we will consider the matter of the authority of the church.
When God created the universe, He ordained authority as the governing principle for His rule over it. He alone is the highest authority. He is also the origin of all authorities. Some archangels were under Him, and under these archangels were many other angels. The record in Jeremiah and Isaiah shows us that there were other living creatures on earth during that time. This was God's original order of administration over the universe. Not only was man upheld by His authority, but even the stars in the universe, including the earth and all the living creatures, were upheld by His authority. God established natural laws through His word of authority over every living creature and every natural element. Authority is crucial to the universe. If any object or creature acts contrary to God's ordained laws, the whole universe will be thrown into confusion.
What happened after God's creation? We know that the previous world became fallen when Satan, the archangel appointed by God, tried to exalt himself.
He said in his heart, "I will ascend to heaven;/...I will exalt my throne./...I will be like the Most High" (Isa. 14:13-14). Satan's rebellion was not against other things but against authority. He wanted to be equal with God. He wanted to exalt himself to be God. He did not think that being the lord over everything under God was enough. He rebelled against God's authority and tried to usurp His authority. As a result, the morning star became Satan; the angel of light became the devil. This happened before the creation of man.
God placed man in the garden of Eden after his creation. He arranged everything and appointed authorities in the world. He created man first, and then the woman. He created the husband first, and then the wife. God's intention was for Eve to submit to Adam and for Adam to submit to Him. In this arrangement He laid the foundation for children to obey their parents, slaves to obey their masters, and citizens to obey their rulers and kings. God arranged things in a definite way. He established authority in the universe.
Then Satan came in and tempted man in the garden of Eden. Through temptation Satan induced man not only to sin but also to overthrow God's appointed authority. God ordained for the woman to obey the man. But in the garden of Eden the man followed the woman. God appointed Adam to be the head, but in the garden of Eden, Eve took the lead. She taught and made decisions and suggestions. The rest of mankind was not yet born; only Adam and Eve were there. The only rule was that the woman should submit to the man. The wife should submit to the husband. But this unique arrangement was immediately broken because of Satan.
Though only two persons rebelled in this catastrophe, it was in effect a rebellion of the whole world. Not only was the authority of man over man overthrown, but even the authority of God over man was overthrown. Satan said that in the day they ate thereof, they would be as God, and that God had forbidden them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so that they would not become as Him. There were two rebellions: One was man's rebellion against God's appointed authority among men. The other was man's rebellion against God's own authority. In other words, God's direct authority was overturned, and His deputy authority was overturned as well. Man did not submit to God. He thought he could become God by doing what he did. God's authority was overthrown in this way. Man wanted to be God himself; he wanted to overthrow God's authority.
Eve should have submitted to Adam. She should have consulted with Adam about everything, but she did not check with him. Instead, she considered and made the decision. She took the lead to sin. Please bear in mind that independence in thought is the first step toward sin. If a man refuses to learn from God's appointed deputy authority and if he never presents things to God but cultivates his own independent thought, considering only what is pleasant to the eyes, what is good for food, and what is desirous to make one wise, he is rebelling not only against God but also against His appointed authority on the earth. The single act of transgression in the garden of Eden overthrew two authorities at the same time: God's deputy authority and His direct authority.
The story in the garden of Eden was a repetition of Satan's history. Satan wanted to uplift himself to be equal with God. He also tempted man to uplift himself to be equal with God. In the first paradise, the bright cherub rebelled. In the second paradise, man rebelled. Since that day man has been walking in the way of disobedience. Romans 5 says that through one offense, condemnation came to all men (v. 18), and through the disobedience of one man, the many were constituted sinners (v. 19). Please bear in mind that in God's eyes, what happened in the garden of Eden was not only an offense but an act of disobedience. Do not think that there was only sin in the garden of Eden; there was disobedience as well. Sin entered the world through the disobedience of one man. Since that day, man has been living under the principle of disobedience.
At the time of the flood, God appointed men to be rulers. This was the beginning of human government. From the time of Adam to the time of the flood, there were families, not government. Government was instituted 1,656 years after the creation. After the emergence of government, we find authority resting not only with the family but also with government. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed" (Gen. 9:6). This was the beginning of government.
After the flood, Ham rebelled against his father's authority (Gen. 9:20-27). Then God established the nations. But the people of the nations united together and built the tower of Babel for themselves. Though they did not rebel against each other, they united to rebel against God. In the garden the individual and the family rebelled against God. But at the tower of Babel, the nations rebelled against Him. Man's intention was to build a tower to go to heaven and to climb to the top to stand in God's place. God prepared stones on earth. But man prepared bricks as a counterfeit of God's stones. Mankind prepared bricks and built a tower for itself. Man tried to be like God. After the flood, the nations united to rebel against God.
God chose Abraham not only to be the father of faith but also to be a pattern of submission. In the midst of the rebellion of the nations and the confusion of the tower of Babel, God chose Abraham not only for his faith but also for his submission. God demands, expects, and desires to find a man of submission. He desires to find a man who will stand on the ground of submission in the day of rebellion.
Not only was Abraham a man of submission, even his wife was in submission. Not only were Abraham and Sarah submissive to God, Sarah was submissive to Abraham as well. Sarah submitted to God and accepted His direct authority. She also accepted Abraham as her deputy authority. Both the husband and the wife were submissive to God, and between the husband and wife, that is, between one human being and another human being, there was also submission. They maintained the principle of God's authority on earth. As a result, God's people came out of them. God's people were chosen based upon His authority.
God told Abraham that his descendants would become slaves in Egypt, but that He would bring them out by the fourth generation. In the exodus from Egypt, Moses brought the Israelites out. First, God gained one man, Moses, who was submissive. After Moses learned authority, God commissioned him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Among the Israelites, God established His direct authority. We see this in Exodus, when God's presence was manifested by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. The Lord also expressed His authority through the commandments. He also appointed Moses and Aaron to be His authority. Moses and Aaron were God's appointed authority, His deputy authority, among the Israelites.
God would not tolerate men's sinning against Himself, and He would not tolerate men's sinning against His servants. Not only did God forbid men to sin against Himself, but He also forbade men to sin against His priests and prophets. God appointed authority among the children of Israel, and when they offended His authority, judgments and punishments would come upon them. Those who offended His authority were not allowed to enter the land of Canaan.
After they entered the land of Canaan, the Israelites again flagrantly rebelled against God. They wanted to have a king among them. They did not want God to rule over them; they wanted to follow the way of the world to have a king among them. God said to Samuel, "It is not you whom they have rejected, but they have rejected Me" (1 Sam. 8:7). Saul was chosen, and he was followed by David. God appointed David to be the authority, and through his hands gathered the materials for the building of the temple, a place for His dwelling among His people. At the time of Solomon, the temple was built.
Immediately after Solomon's death, the Israelites turned to idols. From that day forward, the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah were forsaken. Although God tolerated them for many years and allowed them to keep their kings, it was only His promise to David that kept the nation of Israel, not His desire for keeping it. Nothing offends God more than idolatry. Idolatry usurps the worship of God. From that point forward, the history of Israel became nothing but a history of rebellion.
When Jesus of Nazareth appeared, He was God's chosen One on earth. He said that He spoke only what He heard and that He could do nothing from Himself except what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). He did not seek His own will but the will of the One who sent Him (v. 30). Here was a man who would not speak or act by Himself. He submitted fully to God's authority.
The Lord Jesus is God Himself. Yet He did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped, but emptied Himself fully under God's authority. After His death on the cross, God raised Him from among the dead and highly exalted Him to be the Lord and Christ and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:5-11).
The Lord formed His church after His ascension. He did not establish His church in the way that men establish a society or an organization. The resurrected and ascended Lord is now the Head of the church. The church is His Body. In other words, He wants to manifest the submissive life which He lived on earth through the church today.
The gospel constitutes a commandment in the Bible. The Bible shows us that after one hears the gospel, he should believe. But at the time he believes the gospel, he should also submit to the gospel. The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God (Acts 5:32). We are people who have obeyed from our hearts the word which was preached to us (Rom. 6:17). Please bear in mind that the receiving of the Lord Jesus and our faith and salvation in Him are related to obedience. This is God's commandment; He is charging men everywhere to believe in it. Therefore, to believe is to submit. A person should learn to submit to the Lord and to God's authority from the first day he enters the church.
History throughout the ages shows that the whole world is in rebellion. The underlying principle of the world is an overthrow of either God's direct authority or His appointed authority. Today is the age when the Body of the Lord, that is, the church, is built on earth. The underlying principle of the church should be the principle of submission. God puts a high demand on the church; He wants to secure what He originally planned to secure in the world. Today in the church God puts a high stake on the woman; she must submit to the man. How difficult it is for God to secure such a thing in the world! If you ask a woman in the world today whether she is willing to submit to man, she will feel that such a demand makes no sense. Yet in the church today, God demands that the woman be submissive to the man, and the wife to the husband.
Ephesians and Colossians are lofty books, but what kind of commandments do we find in these Epistles? They tell us that wives should be subject to their husbands, children to their parents, and slaves to their masters. This is not something that can be found in the world; it can be found only in the church.
Ephesians and Colossians touch the highest things. They show us that we were once sons of disobedience. Just like the world, our former principle of life was rebellion. We were called sons of disobedience. Today God has given us a commandment: Wives should be subject to their husbands, children to their parents, and slaves to their masters. This is something different from the whole world. This shows us that submission is the basic principle of the church today.
We see an even clearer word in the book of Romans. Romans 13:1 says, "For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are ordained by God." All authority is ordained by God. This verse and those that follow show us in particular that we should be subject not only to authorities but also to rulers. Render to them what is due: Tax to whom tax is due, fear to whom fear is due, and honor to whom honor is due (v. 7). No other book speaks about salvation as clearly as the book of Romans. Yet this same book tells us, beginning in Romans 12 on the matter of consecration to Romans 14, that we should be submissive not only in the church but also in the world. A man must submit to all the authorities over him.
The church is a body of people. This body has one characteristic — submission. While we live on earth today, we take submission as our very nature and as the principle of our very living.
Today the church should be strong enough to declare that it can offer to God what He failed to gain at the time of Adam. It should be able to offer to God what He could not gain from the world, from the nation of Israel, or from many tribes, peoples, nations, and tongues. In other words, there must be at least one place on this earth where God's authority is upheld. The church should lift up her eyes and say, "Lord, what You could not gain from Satan, You are gaining from us. What You could not gain from the devil and the rebellious angels, You are gaining through the church."
Today the church is demonstrating the authority of God to all the rulers and authorities. The church is on earth today not only for the preaching of the gospel or for self-edification, but also for the manifestation of God's authority. God's authority has been rejected everywhere on earth. It is being honored only in the church. Nowhere else on earth are people seeking God's will. The church is the only place where men seek God's will. In other words, the church is the "institution of submission." If you are not yet saved and are not yet in the church, nothing more can be said. But if you are in the church, you must uphold one basic need and principle before the Lord — you must insist that God's authority be carried out in the church today. God's will cannot be done every place on earth, yet His will must be done in the church. We must uphold God's authority in the church.
For this reason, all the brothers and sisters in the church must learn submission. Please bear in mind that no sin is more serious than the sin of rebellion. This is something altogether contrary to the very existence of the church. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was not just good; He was submissive. Of course, whatever the Son did in Himself could only be good. Yet He said that He could do nothing by Himself. He lived not by Himself but by the will of the One who sent Him. We should remember that there is one unique authority in this universe, and we should maintain this authority. The Lord maintained it; the church must maintain it as well.
Today God is gaining in the church what He failed to gain in every age and in every other place. The church is the only place where one can learn submission. In the church, it is a matter not of good or bad, right or wrong, but of submission. The church is the place where one learns submission. No testimony is more important than the testimony of submission. The whole universe has rebelled, fallen, and taken a different stand. In the whole universe, God cannot find any other place where His authority is acknowledged. This is why God's children must all learn submission in the church.
Submission is the life and nature of the church. It is the basic principle that underlies the church. The church exists for the purpose of upholding submission. The church is diametrically opposed to the rebellious situation of the surrounding nations. Today the nations of the world say, "Let us break apart their bonds/And cast their ropes away from us" (Psa. 2:3). This is like saying, "Let us be free and be delivered from the bondage of the Son of God." But today the church says, "We gladly put ourselves under the bondage and chains of the Son of God to learn the lesson of submission." As a result of this declaration, something special is happening in the church. It has become the "institution" where submission is displayed. The church on earth maintains not only God's direct authority but also His indirect authority, that is, His deputy authority.
The Bible tells us many things about submission. We will consider submission from four different angles.
The church is the Body of Christ; this Body has its own law. Every organ has its particular function, and every member has its own law that governs it. Today human knowledge has expanded tremendously, but man can still not understand his own body. No one can understand all the biological laws regulating him. Nevertheless, every member in the body must submit to these laws. If a member acts and works individualistically according to its own will, it will immediately become sick. What makes the body so unique is its wholeness. As soon as this wholeness is broken, the body will surely become sick.
No child of God should violate the law of the Body of Christ and act individualistically. All independent acts are expressions of rebellion. Another word for rebellion is independent action. To act individualistically is to act against authority. It means to not submit to the authority of the Head, to not submit to the principle of oneness which God ordained in the Body, and to not submit to the law of oneness which God ordained in the Bible. Individualism is rebellion not only against the Body but also against the Lord.
The Lord has baptized all of His children into one Body through the Holy Spirit. Such an inward union is very intimate. If one member rejoices, the whole Body rejoices. If one member suffers, the whole Body suffers. We may not realize how deep this relationship is. Sometimes a brother will come and ask me, "Why was I sad for no reason at all when I woke up today?" or, "Why am I so happy these last few days?" Many times I cannot give an explanation. But very often the reason for their joy or sadness is not found in themselves. They have no reason to be particularly happy or sad. The Body functions in mysterious ways. When we appear before the Lord one day, we will be clear why we felt the way we did on certain days. We will be clear why we were so energized on certain days and why we were so conspicuously weak on other days. Please bear in mind that other members can affect us, and we can affect them. Although we do not understand how this interaction works, we know that oneness is a reality. Today we are not altogether clear about this oneness and how it functions in mutuality. But the fact remains that we are one and every member affects every other member in the whole Body.
There is one law among us which we must all observe: We have to see what the Body sees, reject what the Body rejects, and accept what the Body accepts. We cannot function independently. The Body has its own law, and oneness is the authority. We cannot follow our own will. Following our own will is disobedience and rebellion against authority. Today we must realize that the Body is the authority, and the Body is the representative of the authority of Christ. If we move independently of the Body, we are rebellious.
I have used the illustration of a cancerous tumor. Cancer is one of the most serious illnesses; it is even more menacing than tuberculosis. When cancer breaks out in certain parts of the body, the cells of that part begin to multiply. One cell becomes two, two become four, and four become eight. Ordinarily every cell has the ability to grow, but there is a law that regulates its growth. This law tells it when it should grow and when it should not grow.
The cells in my hand do not multiply continuously and indefinitely. If I cut my hand accidentally, the cells around my cut will start to grow again. Two cells will multiply and become four, and four will become eight. They will continue to grow until the cut is healed. The cells do this because there is a law which causes the cells to grow. When the wound is closed and the cut healed, the cells will stop growing. What tells the cells to stop growing? We do not know how they grow, and we do not know how they stop growing. We know only that it is right for cells to grow when there is a wound, and it is right for them to stop growing when the wound is healed. There is an inner law which the cells obey. They know through the biological law of the body when to grow and when to stop growing. They know submission.
Please bear in mind that the law of our body tells us about the authority of God. Every cell submits to the body's authority. When does an ailment become serious? Suppose my hand is cut by a knife and the cells on both sides of the wound grow around it. When the wound is healed, the cells stop growing. I thank God that all the cells stop growing when the wound is healed. What would happen if they continued to grow? If they did, it would be a cancerous growth. Cancer means that the body has no need of more growth, yet a cell disobeys the regulation which governs this body and continues to grow independently. This growth becomes a cancer.
Every cell must be restricted in its growth. With cancer, however, cells do not want to be told when to grow and when to stop growing; they just grow on their own. They ignore the other cells in the rest of the body. They grow by themselves continuously. We call this kind of cell malignant and evil. Please bear in mind that the whole body is affected by its growth. The cells of the whole body will be affected by malignant cells and will be forced to help them grow. Cancerous cells only cause growth to themselves; they do not bring health to the whole body. All the cells of the body should bring health to the whole body. But they all become affected by cancerous cells. When a person has cancer, the cells of the other parts of body are corrupted by the cancerous cells as soon as they come into contact with them. All the while, the cancer continues to grow. It becomes a separate entity, something no longer under the law of the body.
If a person does not submit to authority, if he does not submit to the law of the Body or work according to the principle of oneness but works according to his own will, he is a cancer in the Body. All the nutrients passing through him will be eaten up by him for his own growth, not for the growth of the Body. He will only take care of his own growth, not the growth of the Body. It is difficult for a doctor to treat cancer because another principle is operating in the body, a principle that operates on its own.
The Body of Christ is a living entity. We may say that nothing is more living, more one, and more vital than our body. Before believing in the Lord, a brother might have been individualistic, acting on his own. After he believes in the Lord, he becomes a cell in the Body, a member of the Body. Every cell is restricted by the law in the Body. There is a binding law in the Body, and a man must act according to the law of the Body. He cannot work by his own will. Once a person acts according to his own will, he becomes a tumor, a cancer in the Body. This is not a help but a damage to the Body.
We are wary of those who act individualistically, those who are not bound by the Body, who act according to their own will, and who have never learned to come under the authority of the Head. After we believe in the Lord, the first spiritual principle we should bear in mind is that the Body is God's ordained authority on earth. The Body is the authority. God's law is in the Body, and we cannot violate it. We cannot act carelessly according to our own will. When we act according to our own will, we will become unchecked malignant cells in the Body, doing our own things and completely damaging the oneness of the Body. We immediately will become a tumor. We will no longer be one with others and will become independent persons. We will not be a help to the Body but a damage to it. We must learn to accept the judgment and restriction of the Body and submit to the operation of the life of the whole Body.
The longer we go on in our Christian life before the Lord, the more we will realize the reality of the oneness of the Body. Sooner or later, we will see that oneness is a reality. It is a very sobering reality. We must learn to not damage it. It is lawlessness, rebellion, and disobedience for anyone to damage the oneness of the Body. The authority of God will not be with us if we damage it. Authority must be manifested in every cell of the Body. The cells in the Body function mutually, not individually. This is a marvelous fact. The more we comprehend the things of the Body, the more we will realize how appropriate it is to compare the church to our body.
There is another principle in the Bible which we must obey — the principle of the two or three. Please read Matthew 18:15-20. The Lord Jesus said that where two or three are gathered together in one accord, whose voices are in harmony like that of music and who meet under (or are gathered into) His name, He will be in their midst. Whatever they ask, it will be done for them. This is a very great promise of the Lord. If two or three can be fully in one accord, the Lord said that He would be in their midst and would answer their prayer.
The Lord told us something more. Suppose I sin against a brother today and he comes to me and says, "You have done something which offends me. You were very wrong." Suppose I say, "I do not think I was wrong. You are the one who is wrong. I do not feel that I was wrong. I feel that I was very right." Since this brother says that I am wrong, what should I do? I should learn to listen to my brother. If I am a person who has learned this lesson before the Lord, I will immediately feel that I have sinned when the brother comes to me. This is another principle in the Body. One person can represent the Body. I may be right; I may think that I am not wrong. But this brother is much more experienced than I am in the Lord, and he has learned much in the Lord. He sees that I am wrong and corrects me. If I am pliable before the Lord, I will immediately say, "Brother, please forgive me, I am wrong."
One person is enough to be the authority; there is no need to have many people. The person beside you can be the authority; he can represent the Body, the whole church. You must acknowledge that your independent way is wrong. If one person points this out to you, it is good enough. I am not saying that you have to accept every reproof that comes along. I am saying that you should have a quick response before the Lord. Often there is no need to have two or three or the whole church tell you something. You should touch and see something of the reality of the spiritual world as soon as one person says something to you. That person is the Body; he is enough to be a representative of the Body.
Sometimes there is the need for the testimony of two or three. When one brother comes to me, I may not see the light. That brother may invite one or two other brothers to come along, brothers who are clear before the Lord and who love the Lord wholeheartedly. They may be more weighty before the Lord and more mature in their service to the Lord. When these two or three are called into the situation, they may say, "In our opinion, you are wrong." At such times, I should remember the word of the Lord: "For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst" (Matt. 18:20).
If these two or three are in one accord, the Lord will answer their prayer and do things for them. If they are in harmony in judging certain matters, the Lord will honor their judgment. If the Lord honors their judgment concerning certain matters, should we not honor it as well? If the Lord accepts their discernment, should we not accept it as well? If the Lord considers what they have done in one accord as right, can we say that it is wrong? We should yield to their judgment immediately. If the Lord agrees with their rebuke in one accord, can we afford to ignore it? Whatever they bind shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever they loose shall have been loosed in heaven. Should we not follow what has already been done in heaven?
Two or three can be the authority. Of course, these two or three cannot speak rashly. They must be men of authority before the Lord. They must fear the Lord and obey Him. If they tell you in one accord that you are wrong, even if you do not feel that you are wrong, you have to yield to their judgment. You have to say, "I am wrong." You do not have to wait until the whole church comes to you and tells you that you are wrong. The ones who are keen will know what to do as soon as one person comes. The ones who are slower will know what to do when two persons come. Often you may not feel that you are wrong, but if two or three godly men see things the same way, you should humble yourself before the Lord. Do not be proud and do not say that you are always right.
If you still feel that you are right after two or three brothers speak to you, Matthew 18 says that these brothers should take the matter to the church and let the whole church consider the matter before the Lord. If the whole church decides before God that you are wrong, what will you do? You may say, "Although the Body says I am wrong, the Head says that I am right. Though my parents forsake me, Jehovah will receive me. The brothers have rejected me, but the Lord will not reject me. I am bearing the cross." If you say this, it clearly shows that you are outside the church. You think that you are persecuted, martyred, and suffering under the hands of the brothers. But what you really have to do is learn to humble yourself and say, "If the church says so, that is it. There is no other judgment. All the brothers and sisters say that I am wrong. I am wrong even if I am right." While we are on earth today, we must learn to subject ourselves to the authority of the church.
The church on earth bears God's authority. You must never be hardened and say, "All the brothers say that I am wrong. But I insist that I am right." A proud person has no place in the church. Proud ones cannot be submissive. They do not know what the church is. When the whole church says that you are wrong, you must learn to be meek, humble, and submissive. You must acknowledge that you are wrong. Do not say that the church has no authority to do what it does. The church has the authority. God acknowledges the church's decision before Him. He also rejects what the church rejects. Do not be so obtuse as to say that you are right when all the brothers and sisters say that you are wrong. If the Lord allows them to pronounce in one accord that you are wrong, you are probably wrong.
Every child of God should learn to humble himself in the church. Sometimes one person can represent the church. Sometimes two or three can represent the church. You must learn to be meek and pliable before the Lord. Learn the lesson of submission. God's children should stand on the principle of submission. In the church we all must learn submission.
God's authority in the church is represented not only by one or two or three persons. Very often it takes the whole church to represent His authority.
God shows us through the Bible that the brothers who are bearing responsibility before the Lord, who are called overseers, and who serve as the elders, are the ones who represent His authority in the church. The rest of the brothers must learn to take a submissive stand before God. God has established authorities in the church; their work is to oversee the church. All the brothers must learn to accept their judgments and submit to them.
Everywhere God's children are on earth, they should seek commandments to obey; they should seek the opportunity to submit. They should not just seek work. I often feel that many young people are of little use to the Lord, because even though they can work, they cannot submit. There are many people who cannot be submissive. If you ask how many years they have been working for the Lord, they can tell you that they have worked for ten years and have done many things. But if you ask to whom they have submitted, they may not be able to name one person. The basic principle of the church life is submission.
Everyone among us should learn submission. It is pitiful for a person to have never submitted to anyone his whole life. We must learn to submit to God, and not to Him only, but also to the authority God has appointed on earth — the church. We must submit to God's ordained authority in the church, that is, the responsible brothers. We can boast of the many years we have worked for the Lord, but we cannot boast of our obedience to the Lord. We have never been submissive to anyone. This is the basic problem and the basic challenge before us. If we consider this matter carefully before the Lord, we will realize that this kind of submission is mandatory in the church.
Let us read a few verses together concerning the elders.
First Corinthians 16:15-16 says, "Now I exhort you, brothers: You know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and they have set themselves to minister to the saints; you also be subject to such ones, and to everyone co-working and laboring." The household of Stephanas had no other thought in the church in Corinth except to minister to the saints. Paul told us to be subject to such ones. We must be subject to the deputy authority of God in the church. We must be subject to those who are like the household of Stephanas and also to everyone who co-works and labors with those who are like Stephanas. These are brothers more mature than we; they are firstfruits in Christ and were begotten before we were begotten. They are also concerned about our affairs. We should honor them, not despise them. Rather, we should be subject to them.
First Peter 5:5 says, "In like manner, younger men, be subject to elders." The passage before this verse speaks of those who are elders. Here is a group of people who have more days in the Lord; they may be the elders. Peter said that the younger men should be subject to the elderly ones, who are patterns to others before the Lord (v. 3). If a young person finds someone taking care of him according to God's will, he should learn to subject himself to such a one before God. This one is a pattern to him, and he should learn to subject himself to this pattern. We should pay particular attention to our submission to the elderly brothers; they are clearly qualified to represent the Lord in the church.
First Timothy 5:17 says, "Let the elders who take the lead well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in word and teaching." You must render double honor toward those elders who take the lead well in the church and should never despise or criticize them. You should honor the elders, even more those who labor in word and teaching. You should also honor those who have the gift of the ministry of the word. Some elders can fulfill the ministry of the word and some cannot. You should honor not only those who can fulfill such a ministry but also those who cannot. I would like to point out that many brothers hold a wrong concept about submission; they choose the kind of people they will submit to. They think they should submit to only perfect individuals. Please bear in mind that this is not the Lord's ordained way. We do not submit only to those who are perfect. We submit rather to the authority the Lord has placed over us. If it were up to us to choose a person to submit to, we would never find such a person on earth, because we would always find faults. Even if Peter appeared in our midst, we would still find many faults in him. Only one thing is necessary for our submission; if a brother is before us in the Lord, we should listen to him.
You can find a million reasons to excuse yourself. An elder may know only how to take care of the church but have no ministry of the word. You may think that you do not need to honor him since you can speak better than he can. But God's Word says, "Let the elders who take the lead well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in word and teaching." This is not a matter of choice. Many people cover their lawlessness and disobedience with the excuse of choice. This is foolish. If a person is more mature than you are and is ahead of you, you should submit to him and not criticize him.
Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey the ones leading you and submit to them." God's Word is clear. You should submit to all those who are before you and who are leading you. You cannot choose the ones you like and submit only to them. If you only listen to one brother's word and refuse another's word, this is not real submission. It is not difficult to only listen to one brother. For a person to learn submission, he must learn to submit to all the ones who are before him, not only to those who are immediately above him. He must learn to submit to those leading him, not only to the elderly who are particularly gifted and used by the Lord. You must always seek out those who are before you.
In the coming days, when you go to other localities, three or five of you will be gathered together. The first question you should ask is: To whom should I submit? You should submit to those who are before you. When three or five brothers gather together even for two or three hours, spontaneously one will be manifested to be God's appointed leader. You must submit to this one. The characteristic of a Christian is submission, not work. The characteristic of a Christian is the acknowledgment of all the leading ones. When five or six brothers are together, it is a sweet thing to see them all standing on the proper ground. As soon as you sit down with ten or twenty brothers, you should immediately identify those who are ahead of you. Once you identify them, you should submit to them.
"Obey the ones leading you and submit to them." This is because "they watch over your souls as those who will render an account, that they may do this with joy and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable to you." Anyone who is ahead of you is concerned about your soul; he has to render an account for your soul. You should submit to this person before God.
First Thessalonians 5:12-13 says, "Furthermore we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who labor among you and take the lead among you in the Lord and admonish you, and to regard them most highly in love because of their work." Some people have a responsibility in the Lord to take care of you and to lead you. You should honor and regard them highly. They are the ones to submit to. A Christian who has no one to submit to in this world is a strange person. Every Christian should find many who are ahead of him, who are weighty spiritually and who can render him spiritual guidance. He should submit to them.
If we do this, we will maintain the right principle in the church. God cannot find this principle in Satan, the world, or the whole universe. This principle is the principle of submission. We must all learn this basic lesson in the church. The world has rejected this principle. God must now secure it in the church. The underlying basic principle in the church is submission.
We have seen that the oneness of the Body is authority itself. We have also seen that one person, two or three persons, or a local church, can represent the Body of Christ. Finally, we have seen that the elders in the Lord, those who take the lead among us, also represent the Body of Christ. All of these constitute God's authority. They are the deputy authority of God among us, and we must submit to them and honor them. We must inquire of them and listen to them. If we practice this, the Lord's name and His word will be magnified in our midst, and we will be Philadelphia indeed.
