Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents
Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 1 – Prelude
The paradox of authority
[Bible references: Jeremiah 29:7; Matthew 18:16-20, 21:22-24; 28:16-20; Romans 13:1-3; 1 Corinthians 2:6-13; 13:9-11; 1 Timothy 3:1-12; 1 Peter 2:12-14]
On the one hand, we consider scripture to be inspired by God and therefore to be authoritative and a means by which God can speak to each of us. On the other hand, scripture was determined by the operation and traditions of the church because the church, as the Body of Christ was given the authority to preserve, teach and preach God’s Word.[1] This process creates a tension concerning authority when there is an apparent conflict between the authority of scripture and the traditions of the church. One of those conflicts resulted in the Protestant Reformation when the Reformers, seeing the corruption inside the Roman Catholic Church, wanted to place the Bible’s authority over the traditions of the Church.[2]
[1] Terry, Tom. “The Power and the Authority of the Church” Preachitteachit, preachitteachit.org/archives/12186; Uttinger, Greg “The Power and Authority of the Church” Chalcedon Foundation, chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/the-power-and-authority-of-the-church
[2] History.com “The Reformation” History.com, www.history.com/topics/religion/reformation
Reflect
When you assemble a gathering of imperfect Christians, they will make an imperfect congregation. And yet, as a part of the Body of Christ, they have the authority to preserve, teach and preach God’s Word. In our current day, many people are dissatisfied with the organized church. Why do you think this is?
Observe
Read Matthew 28:16-20; Romans 13:1-3. What do we do if there is a conflict between the authority of the government with our authority as Jesus’ disciples to make disciples?
Dancing In The Kingdom 