Cheryl Schatz

It’s been a long day for me but I’ll try to get through some of the comments and questions here before bed.

Mark #324, you said:

2 metaph. anything supreme, chief, prominent. 2A of persons, master lord: of a husband in relation to his wife. 2B of Christ: the Lord of the husband and of the Church. 2C of things: the corner stone.

Note point 2 which deals with the metaphor. Are we dealing with people or things- this is important, contra Cheryl’s above argument.

While a “corner stone” is normally a “thing”, the Bible often uses the metaphor of things for Jesus. Jesus is the corner stone but He is also “the door” and “the vine”, etc.

Here is the basic thesis as i see it: In Eph 5, it cannot be authoritative since authority is not explicitly mentioned. In Eph 1 and Col, authority is not in view because it is not directly over the Church. In 1 Cor 11, the metaphor is not in view, so thus a meaning of ‘source or pre-eminance’ is employed to remove the authority otherwise prevelant.

Authority is not “removed”. It is just not added into the passage. Authority is a very serious thing and it cannot be assumed. If it isn’t given, it is not to be taken.

My question is why would any Christian want to take authority over another Christian anyway? Any thoughts?

2 side points, if anyone wishes to answer for me…
1. Is Christ in authority over the Church at all?
2. Do Church leaders have authority?

1. Christ as God has all authority. As husband of the body, Christ shares His authority over creation with His bride who is His co-ruler.
2. Church leaders have authority to use their gifts for the benefit of the body of Christ. They do have authority to identify and deal with false doctrine, but they do not have authority over individuals. It is the entire church who is to carry out discipline of unrepentant sinners.

Once again it is important to understand that Jesus has all authority and no one can have His authority unless it has been given to them. If it is “assumed” authority, it isn’t true authority.