Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
If Old Testament "deputy authority" were really in the plan of God for the church age, then we would definitely have clear teachings and patterns in the New Testament to support this teaching. We do not. Neither do we see any endorsement for a centralized "work." Absolutely none of the Twelve initial apostles appointed by the Lord Himself came under Paul's "deputy authority."
WL built his "deputy authority" paradigm based on bad teachings and bad patterns, taken mainly from the exclusive Brethren he was with early in his Christian life. Today these Brethren "descendents" have fully developed their errant thoughts and have become some of the weirdest folk on earth. Their leaders can trace their lineage back to John Darby himself, yet they have become among the narrowest, most judgmental, legalistic and suspicious lot in church history.
The real issue here is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Apparently the teaching of "deputy authority" promotes His Lordship, actually in practice the opposite is true. Men lord it over men, and men become pleasers of men. The system is perpetuated by fear and a well-established network of spies, often ready to rat out their own brothers and sisters for program perks. One only needs to read about the Pharisees and Judaizers in the New Testament to see how the teaching of "deputy authority" always ends up.
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We are operating under two different definitions.
The teaching of "authority" is done extensively in the NT. According to the NT we are currently being trained to be kings in the next age. Surely the term king refers to authority, and surely this authority is a "deputy authority" to the Lord Jesus.
If your definition of deputy authority is that Paul has authority to make deputies then I agree that this cannot be found in the NT and is comparable to Nabal's twisted teaching.
But rejecting that teaching doesn't change the fact that we are being trained to deal with authority. Matt 18 is a good example. Head covering is a good example. Paul telling the Corinthians to "be followers of me" is a good example. Joining together in prayer to bind and loose is a good example. Peter telling the lame man "why are you looking at me as though it was by my power" is a good example. Paul's teaching in Ephesians that Jesus was made head over all "to the church" is a good example. Matt 28:18-20 is a good example. Mark 16:17-18 is a good example.
"Children obey your parents in the Lord" is a good example and has a perfect link with the OT.