Ekklesia: The Nature of Ekklesia Authority
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
A legislative assembly is comprised of members who operate by authority. That authority might be granted by a superior who delegates the right to make decisions and to whom the delegates must give an account. In a structure like the legislative body found in the United States, the representatives govern by the consent of the governed. They derive their authority to rule from the collective vote of the people and answer back to the people in the next election cycle or in the donations and contributions from the people. Authority comes from somewhere.
In the case of the Ekklesia, or the church of Jesus, authority is granted because of the covenant relationship between Christ and each believer. Every Christian is empowered with delegated authorization and may use that power within his or her appointed boundaries. All may pray in Jesus name. Every believer can resist and rebuke the devil, speak God’s Word into every situation, pray heaven into earth, and minister the grace and gifts of God to others. To be a Christian is to be endued with power from on high.
When the Ekklesia gathers as a governing body for a territory, the concept of authority advances beyond the level of that invested in an individual. Those believers who have the right to rule their private lives have also the right to rule the land in which they live. God told Joshua that he could possess every part of the earth on which he walked (Josh. 1:3). Jesus told his disciples to go into all the earth with the authority to make disciples (Mt. 28:19). God told Adam to take dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28). When the righteous take the mandate to heart and act upon it, “the people rejoice,” but when the wicked rule or exert authority in the earth, “the people mourn” (Prov. 29:2). Land management is tied to people and people are authorized to manage land.
Authorized people gathering to make legislative decrees over the region in which they have territorial authority is an Ekklesia convocation. Individual authority and land authority are fundamental requirements for the delegates. Beyond those two basic levels, other kinds of authority are also needed. God appoints different functions and gives His appointees authority commensurate to the calling. For example, the Apostle Paul stated that he was called to be an apostle by the will of God (I Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1) and that calling gave him authority over many churches. “So, if I brag a little too much about the authority which the Lord gave us, I'm not ashamed. The Lord gave us this authority to help you, not to hurt you” (2 Cor 10:8). Elders have assigned power to rule. “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
Acts 15 records the gathering of a council in Jerusalem to decide what to do with the new converts from among Gentile nations. A disagreement as to whether or not the new believers should be circumcised arose, and an assembly was convened to rule on the issue. Scripture says that the apostles and the elders came together to consider the matter (15:6). Whether or not other believers from Jerusalem were present is not disclosed in the text, but the reader is informed that church officials with the level of authority of elders and apostles were present. Later in the narrative, the Apostle James, who seemed to be presiding over the gathering, spoke out of the book of Amos and gave an answer to the dispute. Scripture records James’ words: “Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God” (Acts 15:19). The converts would not be required to be circumcised. The decision was legislated because apostolic authority was present.
Authority and placement are tied together in all levels of society. A boss has more weight than the supervisor but the supervisor has more say-so than the worker. A parent has rights in the house but the civil realm can supersede the parent if the health or safety of a child warrants another level of power. An Ekklesia gathering functions as a legislative, law-creating, and law-enacting arm of the church; therefore the presence of elders, pastors, apostles, or other governmental offices found in the five-fold ministry (Eph. 4:11-12) is often necessary to have the level of authority needed to accomplish the purpose for which the meeting was assembled.
Another form of placement that might be needed when a convocation is called is authority that arises from a sphere of influence. For example, teachers and superintendents have permission to make decisions in education while elected official rule in civil matters. The set agenda for the convocation defines the sphere of culture under discussion. Believers who function is the designated cultural area carry an authority for that area as well as a perspective about the issues. In the Council of Jerusalem, Paul was invited and asked to testify because of his ministry to the Gentiles. He was not only an apostle; his area of labor was in the field under discussion. God opens doors for His people to labor in all areas of society and then mantles his laborers with levels of authority to match their level of responsibility. The collective power of an Ekklesia is augmented when representatives from the sphere under consideration exercise their authority.
One more kind of authority is earned authority, which will be the topic of the next article on Ekklesia.
In the case of the Ekklesia, or the church of Jesus, authority is granted because of the covenant relationship between Christ and each believer. Every Christian is empowered with delegated authorization and may use that power within his or her appointed boundaries. All may pray in Jesus name. Every believer can resist and rebuke the devil, speak God’s Word into every situation, pray heaven into earth, and minister the grace and gifts of God to others. To be a Christian is to be endued with power from on high.
When the Ekklesia gathers as a governing body for a territory, the concept of authority advances beyond the level of that invested in an individual. Those believers who have the right to rule their private lives have also the right to rule the land in which they live. God told Joshua that he could possess every part of the earth on which he walked (Josh. 1:3). Jesus told his disciples to go into all the earth with the authority to make disciples (Mt. 28:19). God told Adam to take dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28). When the righteous take the mandate to heart and act upon it, “the people rejoice,” but when the wicked rule or exert authority in the earth, “the people mourn” (Prov. 29:2). Land management is tied to people and people are authorized to manage land.
Authorized people gathering to make legislative decrees over the region in which they have territorial authority is an Ekklesia convocation. Individual authority and land authority are fundamental requirements for the delegates. Beyond those two basic levels, other kinds of authority are also needed. God appoints different functions and gives His appointees authority commensurate to the calling. For example, the Apostle Paul stated that he was called to be an apostle by the will of God (I Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1) and that calling gave him authority over many churches. “So, if I brag a little too much about the authority which the Lord gave us, I'm not ashamed. The Lord gave us this authority to help you, not to hurt you” (2 Cor 10:8). Elders have assigned power to rule. “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
Acts 15 records the gathering of a council in Jerusalem to decide what to do with the new converts from among Gentile nations. A disagreement as to whether or not the new believers should be circumcised arose, and an assembly was convened to rule on the issue. Scripture says that the apostles and the elders came together to consider the matter (15:6). Whether or not other believers from Jerusalem were present is not disclosed in the text, but the reader is informed that church officials with the level of authority of elders and apostles were present. Later in the narrative, the Apostle James, who seemed to be presiding over the gathering, spoke out of the book of Amos and gave an answer to the dispute. Scripture records James’ words: “Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God” (Acts 15:19). The converts would not be required to be circumcised. The decision was legislated because apostolic authority was present.
Authority and placement are tied together in all levels of society. A boss has more weight than the supervisor but the supervisor has more say-so than the worker. A parent has rights in the house but the civil realm can supersede the parent if the health or safety of a child warrants another level of power. An Ekklesia gathering functions as a legislative, law-creating, and law-enacting arm of the church; therefore the presence of elders, pastors, apostles, or other governmental offices found in the five-fold ministry (Eph. 4:11-12) is often necessary to have the level of authority needed to accomplish the purpose for which the meeting was assembled.
Another form of placement that might be needed when a convocation is called is authority that arises from a sphere of influence. For example, teachers and superintendents have permission to make decisions in education while elected official rule in civil matters. The set agenda for the convocation defines the sphere of culture under discussion. Believers who function is the designated cultural area carry an authority for that area as well as a perspective about the issues. In the Council of Jerusalem, Paul was invited and asked to testify because of his ministry to the Gentiles. He was not only an apostle; his area of labor was in the field under discussion. God opens doors for His people to labor in all areas of society and then mantles his laborers with levels of authority to match their level of responsibility. The collective power of an Ekklesia is augmented when representatives from the sphere under consideration exercise their authority.
One more kind of authority is earned authority, which will be the topic of the next article on Ekklesia.
