The New Testament shows us God’s delegated authority in the leading ones in the ministry. In a family there is delegated authority, and in human government there is also delegated authority. Without delegated authorities, the whole earth would be in anarchy and disorder and would be unsuitable for living in. Today a wind of teaching is blowing in the Lord’s recovery, saying that there is no delegated authority in the church. According to this teaching, Brother Nee was wrong in his book Authority and Submission. If Brother Nee was wrong, the Bible is also wrong because the Bible strongly reveals God’s delegated authority in the church life and in the ministry.
God’s delegated authority in the leading ones in the ministry was for building up and not for overthrowing (2 Cor. 13:10). Paul had authority, not to destroy or overthrow, but for building up. God’s delegated authority was in the teaching of the leading ones (1 Cor. 4:17b-21; 7:17b; 16:1; 11:2; 2 Thes. 3:6, 9, 12, 14). Paul exercised his authority in his teaching. He taught the same thing everywhere in every church (1 Cor. 4:17b), and the churches followed his speaking. This was the demonstration of Paul’s delegated authority. Authority always follows the proper speaking. A teacher’s speaking in a school is with authority. When the teacher speaks, all the students are under his authority.
The leadership in the ministry was in the leading ones’ dealing with the problems and affairs of the churches (1 Cor. 1:10; 5:11-13; 11:34b). Paul was strong in dealing with the church in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 4:21 he said, “What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of meekness?” In 11:34 he said, “And the remaining matters I will set in order when I come.”
The leadership in the ministry was also in the leading ones’ avenging of the saints’ disobedience (2 Cor. 10:6). In 2 Corinthians 10:6 Paul said, “And being ready to avenge all disobedience, whenever your obedience is fulfilled.” Paul intended to avenge all disobedience when the Corinthians themselves had learned obedience.
The leadership in the ministry was also in the appointing of and dealing with the elders (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; 1 Tim. 5:19-20). First Timothy 5:19-20 shows that not only did the apostles have the authority to appoint the elders, but they also had the authority to judge them, including the authority to remove them. This shows us that the apostles were the delegated authority of God.
Even among the children of Israel in the Old Testament, God had a government for His administration to fulfill His purpose. God also has His government in the administration of the churches in the New Testament.
God’s government is neither autocracy nor democracy, but theocracy. Autocracy is dictatorship, and democracy is government by the people. Humanly speaking, democracy is wonderful, but to bring democracy into the church brings in the opinions of the people. This is like the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3. The word Laodicea in Greek means “the opinion of the people.” In the United States government, congressmen and senators represent the states to express the people’s opinion. God’s government in the church is not like this. God’s government in the church is theocratic.
The theocratic government among the people of Israel in the Old Testament was through the priesthood with the Urim and the Thummim (Exo. 28:29-30; Num. 27:15-23). The priests in the priesthood were very close to God, even one with God. God could open Himself to them, and they could open themselves to God so that there could be a mutual understanding between them and God. They had the ability, the capacity, to receive God’s revelation, God’s speaking, God’s oracle.
The high priest wore a breastplate with twelve precious stones bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Two items were added to the breastplate called Urim and Thummim. Urim means light, and Thummim means perfection. The Urim was something that enlightened the stones on the breastplate. The twelve names of Israel on the twelve stones only occupied eighteen of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Therefore, there was a shortage of four Hebrew letters on the breastplate. The Thummim was something added to the breastplate that bore these four additional letters to make the Hebrew alphabet complete on the breastplate. This is perfection.
When the high priest came into the presence of God, he received the speaking of God by means of the shining of the Urim on the twelve stones of the breastplate with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, including the Thummim. The breastplate was like a typewriter to form words, phrases, and sentences. Thus, God spoke to the children of Israel through the high priest with the Urim and Thummim. (For more details regarding the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim, see Messages One Hundred Twenty-Three through One Hundred Twenty-Nine of the Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1381-1434.)
The theocratic government among the people of Israel in the Old Testament was also through the coordination of the prophets (1 Sam. 3:1, 19-21). The prophets were a strengthening to the priesthood when the priesthood was not strong. This is why there was the need of both priests and prophets.