Quote:
Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah
Maybe I'm missing something but it seems to me this whole "MOTA" and "apostolic authority" refers to those who love preeminence in the church, like the false brothers who wanted to bring others into bondage.
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It seems to mean that, for example, when Paul tells Timothy to speak with all authority, he is not saying you have the authority to command, but you have the authority to speak. Whether someone listens to you is their affair.
But I agree with you, the kind of authority the LCM has granted apostles is a perversion of that.
Let's be clear. Nee and Lee both once condemned workers employing extra-local authority. Lee said the idea of a bishop, a worker who has oversight of several churches, was a fallen concept. Well, what did he and his successors become but just that, whether you call them co-workers, bishops, cardinals or apostles. They are all birds of the same feather. Ducks with the same quack, dogs with the same bark.
I will grant you apostles that works as missionaries and church planters, setting up and advising churches. I will not grant you apostles who have the right to wrest authority from established elders, even in churches they planted.