In the House of God

Authority and Submission in the Church 

As we begin the new year, the first sermon series will take our attention to the Scriptures and what they have to say about authority within the church. During these four weeks, we will first look at the contrast between the world’s view and use of authority, and the view and use of authority defined in Scripture and exemplified in Christ.  After this, we will look at the three different human authorities of the church as seen in the New Testament: The Congregation, the Elders, and the Deacons. 

Get a preview of our new sermon series in this podcast introduction.

TWO IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

With each, we will attempt to answer two questions, 

1.    What instructions does God give the church for each of the three authorities in the church?  

2.    How does proper use of the authority guard the church’s effectiveness in presenting, preserving, and promoting God’s truth?

SERMON SERIES SCHEDULE

January 4, 2026 | Authority in the Heavenly Kingdom (Matthew 20:20-28)

January 11, 2026 | The Congregation (1 Corinthians 5:1-13)

January 18, 2026 | The Elders (1 Peter 5:1-5)

January 25, 2026 | The Deacons (Acts 6:1-7)

OVERVIEW

In the New Testament, the household of God refers to a people, not a building.

1 Timothy 3:15 ESV

If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

These people are the church over whom God is chief and with whom God resides. The church is God's church just as those in the household of Abraham are Abraham's household.

Sometimes, the church in the Scriptures speaks of all believers past, present, and future as in the universal church, which will one day assemble in its fullness at the second coming of Christ. Most of the time, however, when the Scriptures speak of the church or a church, the authors speak of or to a specific assembly of Christians that regularly gathers in a particular place. These are local churches, and it was to a pastor of a specific local church to whom Paul wrote the letter of I Timothy.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 ESV

14 I [Paul] hope to come to you [Timothy] soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

These few words express the reason that compelled Paul to write. In them, we find several noteworthy features of the local church.

FIVE REASONS THE CHURCH MATTERS

1. There is a way those in a local church “ought to behave." This implies order and expectations. Individual churches and each individual member lack the autonomy to behave in the household of God, whichever way they wish.

2. There is the preexistence of authority. Someone is defining what ought to be done within the household. Since it is God's household, it is right that God alone possesses the authority to define what is acceptable and unacceptable. He, more specifically God the Son, is the head of His church.

3. The local church should and can know how they "ought to behave" in the church. Paul and the other apostles have written so we might know how one ought to behave. Their words, because they are God's Words, are sufficient for instructing us. The members of the local church should strive to know what God's word has prescribed. We should "devote [ourselves] to the apostles' teaching." (Acts 2:42)

4. The local church is an institution. It is an organization. Within it, there is a proper order, roles, members, authority structures, official actions, responsibilities, and expectations. Contrary to popular trends, a church does not exist wherever a group of professing believers gathers. Students gathering on campus for chapel services do not constitute a church. A handful of believers gathering for dinner at one of their houses does not qualify them as a church, no more than their gathering would make them an official city and entitle them to recognition by other governments. Just as a people must meet certain criteria to qualify as a city, so must a particular gathering of people meet certain qualifications to qualify as a church, an official assembly of the heavenly kingdom.

5. The order and design prescribed by the head of the household has a particular purpose in mind - present, preserve, and promote God's truth.

   1 Timothy 3:14–15 ESV

   I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

   The church exists to preach the word, contend for sound doctrine, and radiate light into the dark world. When the local church behaves in the way it ought, the truth is elevated and secured. However, if the church conducts itself improperly, the church will crumble like pillars shaken in an earthquake, and the truth will fall. The faith of many will be shipwrecked, and more than a few souls will be lost to the powers of hell.

For these reasons, we do well to urgently study the Scriptures with the aim of learning what ought to be done in the household of God. It is for this purpose that we have set aside the first four weeks of 2026.