The Authority of the New Testament Church Part 3 by Dan Nelson

Dan Nelson 2/11/21

The Authority of the New Testament Church Part 3

One of the unique characteristics of New Testament churches is their authority to baptize believers and to function correctly in the present day and age. Seldom, does Evangelical Christianity talk about this subject and many would argue it does not exist or is unimportant. However, we find a different picture before and after the church was empowered by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.Although the authority of the local church has been diluted in the present day by many; consider that Jesus called the disciples, who for the most part received the baptism of John the Baptist. They believed in the promise of the Messiah coming because John preached that message. Jesus called these simple fishermen to be fishers of men who believed in Him as Messiah. Jesus called them as a visible body of believers (His church) and He gave guidelines for dealing with matters before the church in Matthew 18:15-18.When He appeared after His resurrection, Jesus said: “All power is given to me in heaven and earth” (Matthew 28:18). This is an authority given which was then given to Jesus’ disciples as the first church. They were His followers assembled, given the authority of the Holy Spirit to carry out His work. The Great Commission was to make disciples, baptize and instruct new disciples and was given to an already. formed church before the day of Pentecost.Many believers feel the church started at Pentecost and believe this strategic point in time is when the Holy Spirit came upon those gathered at Pentecost in mighty power. However, the authority Jesus talked about was before Pentecost. Pentecost was the empowering of the church. It was a very important event because it raises the question: Who has the authorization to baptize? If the church began at Pentecost, then any believer can baptize because there is no specific authority given to any specific group by Jesus.The church must have already been in existence before Pentecost, for they elected Judas’ successor, Matthias, (Acts 1:23), and new believers were added to the church, which was already in existence (Acts 2:41). You do not add to something not already in existence. It was not an invisible body Jesus commissioned, but rather a local body of believers in Christ who were called out, baptized, and assembled—which is what the Bible refers to as the church.If the church began in Jesus’ ministry, then that local body and their successors have the authorization to baptize. Jesus said I will be with you till the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). Individual Christians do not have the authority to baptize; it is a church ordinance that usually authorizes the pastor to do so. The disciples who are in heaven have successors who led people to be disciples, baptize, and instruct new believers. If a local body of believers will observe these commandments, then they will have the authority and blessing of God’s power on them.These commandments are in the Great Commission. The real test for any gathered body of believers calling themselves a church is how important the Commission is today. Most Christians would say it is our mandate. Then what must a New Testament Church do to be under the authority Christ gave His first church? First, we must preach the gospel to the world, personally, by missions, and by whatever means. Then we must practice New Testament baptism which is the sticking point in most groups. Finally, we must be obedient to Jesus’ commands meaning the ordinances and His teachings found in his ministry.The question about New Testament baptism is crucial here. We know it is not sprinkling babies or adults so that eliminates many mainline Protestant churches and Catholics from having this promise. Then this baptism into the local gathered assembly or by a representative of local New Testament church was a practice at Pentecost and afterward, with the disciples coming to Samaria and authorizing Philip goes into the desert and to baptize the Ethiopian Eunuch. Authority was evident when Peter took representatives with him to Cornelius’ household and asked if anyone could forbid water baptism? He explained why he did this to the church in Acts 11. Paul goes on to baptize with this authority in Philippi and Ephesus after he had been baptized with this authority in Acts 9. Church authority was present throughout Christian History and practiced by many Baptistic groups before the Reformation and till the present day. Baptism into the assembly of baptized believers was practiced by the Anabaptists. Balthazar Hubmaier believed this great truth. “The concept of corporate discipleship, of which baptism is the symbol, repeatedly occurs in Hübmaier’s subsequent writings. Baptism was not, then, for Hübmaier simply an individual matter by which a man declares his faith. It is also a symbol of his submission to the discipline of the congregation to which he adheres and a prerequisite to the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is presented as an act of confession, obedience, individual discipleship, and church membership.1 William Estep, The Anabaptists Story, Erdmans: Grand Rapids, MI, 158. This practice is not believed by most if not all Protestant churches. True Baptists though have continued this present day.There was not one Catholic church that all other groups today sprang out of it in the Reformation. There have been groups that have continued the work of Christ and His commission until the present day. They will be mentioned in a later study. But despite the claims of having New Testament baptism most groups fall short of doing what true New Testament churches do today: Baptize with the authority that Jesus gave His first church and function as true New Testament Baptist churches do today.