There are two important books in the New Testament that speak of the church. One is Matthew from the Gospels and the other is Ephesians from the Epistles. In the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus spoke of the church only in the Gospel of Matthew. We should pay special attention to the fact that the Lord spoke of the church in the Gospel of Matthew, which is the gospel on the kingdom. In the Gospel of Matthew, a book on God’s dominion and kingdom, the Lord Jesus spoke of the church. Furthermore, when the Lord spoke of the church in 16:18 and 18:17, He also touched the matter of authority. After saying that He would build the church upon Himself as the rock, He spoke of the kingdom of the heavens, telling Peter that He would give him the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (16:18-19). A kingdom involves dominion; the kingdom of the heavens concerns God’s dominion. The keys of the kingdom of the heavens denote the authority of the kingdom of the heavens. In verse 19 the Lord said, “Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens.” These are matters of authority.
In chapter 18 after speaking of the church a second time, the Lord again spoke of authority (vv. 17-20). Some people believe that in chapter 16 authority was given only to specially designated apostles. This view is advocated by the Catholic Church. But chapter 18 shows that the authority given to Peter by the Lord in chapter 16 was also given to the church. This means that the authority of the church does not belong to the apostles individually; the authority of the church belongs to the church corporately. The Gospel of Matthew shows clearly that the kingdom is related to the church. If there is no church, there is no kingdom. This also means that God’s dominion and authority have been given to the church.
In order to see God’s authority we need to look at Genesis 1; however, we will not fully understand Genesis 1 unless we understand the Gospel of Matthew. Since God wanted a man to rule for Him on earth, He created Adam so that He would have someone who could be entrusted with His authority on earth. In Genesis 1 God’s authority was entrusted to a man; however, in the Gospel of Matthew authority was entrusted to the church. As God gains the church, His authority can be exercised on earth. In Matthew 16 the Lord Jesus referred to the keys of the kingdom of the heavens and the church, which the gates of Hades cannot prevail against. God has entrusted the keys of the kingdom to a group of people on earth; this is the church.
In Genesis 1 it seems as if an individual man has been entrusted with God’s authority. However, in Matthew we see that this man must be a corporate man, the church. An individual man cannot be entrusted with God’s authority; this man must be the church built upon Christ as the rock in order to be entrusted with God’s authority. For God’s authority, dominion, and kingdom to be exercised on earth, the church must be built upon Christ. The church is entrusted with God’s dominion; it is also the place where God’s authority is linked to heaven and exercised on the earth. Perhaps we have not yet seen the extent to which the kingdom is related to the church. Without the church, God’s authority cannot be realized on earth.
In Matthew 6:10 the Lord prayed, “Your kingdom come.” How can God’s kingdom come? Revelation 12 reveals that God’s kingdom comes to earth when the church rules for God (vv. 5, 10). Matthew reveals that God’s authority comes to earth through, by, and in the church. In order to understand authority in Genesis 1, we must understand the Gospel of Matthew.
The church’s preaching of the gospel is also a matter of authority. In Matthew 28 the Lord said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations” (vv. 18-19a). The church has both the obligation and ability to preach the gospel because of this authority. The real preaching of the gospel is our bringing God’s authority to every man, every place, every family, and every group of people. We can “go and disciple all the nations” based on authority, with authority, and for authority. In order to know authority, we must know the church; the church is where God’s authority is exercised. This is what the Gospel of Matthew shows.
The book of Ephesians concerns the church as well. However, this book does not present the church from the aspect of authority but mainly from the aspect of image, the aspect of life. In other words, Ephesians emphasizes the church being filled with God’s life and nature. The book of Ephesians does not emphasize the aspect of authority. This book presents the content of the church, which is the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Christ, who is God Himself. When Christ indwells us through faith, we are filled unto all the fullness of God. This means that all that is of God is within us, and we can be like God. This is what it means to be like God and to have God’s image. Therefore, in order to understand Genesis 1 we must also understand the book of Ephesians. In Genesis image and authority are presented. This image is made clear in Ephesians, and this authority is made clear in Matthew. Image and authority are seen in the church.
These two matters, authority and image, are related. According to the order in Genesis, image is first and then authority; however, in the New Testament, authority is always mentioned before image. We must pay attention to this important principle in the Bible—God’s image is God expressed; only when God is expressed can there be His image. For example, when God is expressed in Revelation 4, there is an image, and that image is glory (v. 3). Ephesians speaks of God becoming everything in man and of God being glorified in the church (3:16-21). Whenever God is expressed, He is glorified. When God is glorified, His image is expressed.
Suppose God is expressed in our daily living as a result of our thorough fellowship with Him. People may sense that God is glorified in us, or that God is glorified through us; they may even feel that they see the likeness of God in us. The glory that is expressed is the image of God. The New Testament speaks first of authority instead of image. God can be expressed only through those who submit to His authority. When we submit to God’s authority, His glory can be seen in us, and His image will be expressed in His glory.
This is also the sequence of the last sentence of the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:13: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Where there is God’s ruling, God is expressed, and God’s image, God’s glory, is present. At the end of Revelation we see that the entire New Jerusalem is an expression of God’s image. In Revelation 4:3 the God who was sitting on the throne was like a jasper stone in appearance; in 21:11 the light of the city New Jerusalem was like a jasper stone. This shows that the expression of the New Jerusalem is the image of God, the glory of God. God being glorified through the New Jerusalem is based on the establishment of God’s dominion on the earth. In other words, His glory is upheld by the city; the city is God’s dominion, God’s authority. Whoever damages the city damages God’s glory; whoever damages the city prevents God’s glory from being expressed. Here we see the relationship between authority and image.
Image and authority, however, are the outward expression, not the inner source. Authority is an outward expression, and glory is also an outward expression; neither authority nor expression is the inner source. The inner source is life. Revelation 21 and 22 show that outwardly the New Jerusalem is an expression of glory, but inside the city there is a river of water of life and the tree of life. In Genesis 1 there are outward image and authority (vv. 26-28), and in chapter 2 there are the tree of life and the river with four branches (vv. 9-14). This shows that in order to have authority and express glory, there must be life within; we must allow life to flow within us. God’s life proceeding out of God’s reigning throne brings authority with it (Rev. 22:1). The divine life brings authority into whomever it flows. Only when the divine life flows into man with the divine authority can man rule for God, and only then can God’s glory be expressed through man.
We must see that God intends to gain a place and a means on earth for His authority to be exercised so that His image can be expressed and He can be glorified. The church is the place and the means. It is impossible to obtain God’s authority and image if we disregard the church. Without the church we do not have God’s authority; without the church we do not have God’s expression. Both God’s authority and expression are in the church; without the church God’s authority and expression are absent.
Let us now consider our condition. Everything in a church depends on authority; it does not depend on location or numbers. It does not depend on whether we are powerful, excited, lively, or zealous. Rather, everything in the church depends on God’s authority. This authority is God’s ruling; it is the authority of God expressed through man. We may be zealous but not express God’s authority. We may be excited but not express God’s authority. We may even seem to be very spiritual but not express God’s authority. We may be this or that but not give others the feeling of fear, awe, and God’s dominion.
For example, we may attend a concert and feel excitement, liveliness, and happiness yet not have a sense of authority. However, if we walk into a presidential palace, we may sense something entirely different from a concert hall. In the president’s office we will immediately sense authority. This should be the situation in the church. In a proper church meeting we should sense God’s authority. Regrettably, some people may feel as if they have entered a concert hall, or even worse, they may feel as if they have entered a place of contention. They can only sense man’s opinion, dissension, and the flesh; they cannot sense God’s authority. Of course, all opinion, dissension, and the flesh should be condemned. However, even seemingly good things like liveliness and harmony may still be below the standard if they do not convey a sense of God’s dominion or God’s authority.