Whose Church Is It?Sample

Authority belongs to Christ

Whoever owns something has the authority over it, and whoever pays for it owns it. Jesus Christ paid for the Church with His blood and body. It is His Church, and all the authority belongs to Him. 

In Matthew 28, Jesus is about to ascend to His Father. He has been crucified and raised from the dead, and He addresses a large post-Resurrection crowd outside Jerusalem. He makes a definitive proclamation when He says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” 

How much of authority? All of it! It all belongs to Jesus. In Heaven, all authority is His. He can say anything He wants, and all the angels hop to it. More than that, He didn’t just say He has all authority in the Church. He said all authority on earth as well. He can stop the swirl of human events anytime He wants. He can interrupt and intervene. He still has all power and authority. That is why we should sleep well at night. Not matter what is going on, He is still in control! We can be sure, then, all the authority in the Church belongs to Him. 

Jesus said, “I will build my church”—very possessive. It is His Church in ownership and authority. It is “our church” in the sense of membership, fellowship, privilege, and responsibility for service and support, but it is always HIS Church. 

When we begin to think it is our church and act as if it were “built for me”—we have issues. He bought it, and He is building it according to His purpose. The first thing we must resolve is this: All the authority in the Church and in each local church belongs to Christ.

Do you recognize Christ as the authority of your local church?