SUBJECT is half argued when it is clearly stated. I wish on the threshold of my address to state my subject in the clearest possible term. I shall do this by both exclusion and inclusion.

      1. It does not come within the purview of my paper to discuss the source of authority in religion. That would compel me to discuss the various religions of the world with their various standards of authority.

      2. Neither is it my purpose to discuss the source of authority in the different dispensations in the Bible. Patriarchism and Mosaism have expired by limitation and their authority expired with them.

      3. Nor is it my purpose to discuss the source of authority in ecclesiasticism. There is a world of difference between Christianity and ecclesiasticism.

      4. Nor is it my purpose to discuss the interpretation [504] of Scripture. Interpretation is a process by which we arrive at the meaning of a message; authority is the power to command and enforce obedience to a message.

      Authority precedes the giving of a message; interpretation follows the giving of the message. Two men may believe implicitly in the authority of a message, and yet differ widely as to its meaning. A notable illustration of this occurred in Lexington, Ky., years ago, when Nathan L. Rice and Alexander Campbell differed widely in interpreting the Scriptures, but vied with each other in adhering to the authority of them. This clearly evidences that interpretation is one thing and authority is another.

      It is my purpose to discuss the source of authority in the system we call Christianity. If there be any authority in Christianity, its source must inhere in the system. It must carry its credentials in its own bosom. What, then, is the source of authority which Christianity claims for itself? That is the subject I propose to discuss.

      It is very evident that the only authority that can exist in the system of Christianity is objective authority. Subjective authority can not exist in a body or organization or community of men. It is unthinkable--for illustration--that subjective authority could exist in the Constitution of the United States. [505]

      In order that we may profitably study the source of authority in Christianity, we must have clear-cut definitions of both "Christianity" and "authority."

      The Standard Dictionary defines Christianity as "the doctrines and teachings of Jesus Christ."

      Webster's New Unabridged gives it as "the system of doctrines and precepts taught by Christ."

      Both are defective in that they make Christ's teachings plural rather than singular. The Bible speaks of the doctrines of men and the doctrines of devils, but the references to the teaching of Christ are in the singular number. It is a unit. For the purposes of this paper Christianity is the system of teaching and life taught by Jesus Christ and His apostles.

      He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginner and finisher of the faith. Christianity at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him. No matter from what angle we may view it, this is true.

      1. It is a system of teaching or doctrine. As such it centers in and around Christ as the teacher. "We know that thou art a teacher come from God." "And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues." "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you."

      2. It is also represented as a law. As such it centers in and around Christ as the lawgiver. "For [506] the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." Rom. 8:2. "For he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law." Rom. 13:8. "Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Gal. 6:2.

      3. Again, it is represented as a kingdom. As such it centers in and around Christ as the king. "That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. " "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight." "Now is my kingdom not from hence." John 18:36.

      4. Again, it is represented as a life. As such it centers in and around Christ as the model life. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1:4. "When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory." Col. 3:4. "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps." I Pet. 2:21. He is the teacher of the teaching, the lawgiver of the law, the king of the kingdom and the model of the life.

      From the above induction, we conclude that Christ is to Christianity what the sun is to the solar system. It stands or falls with Him, If He is human. If He is divine, Christianity is divine. If Christ rose from the dead, He is divine. The great fact of Christianity is the resurrection of Christ. This supports the great truth of Christianity that He is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." [507] Christianity, then, is the system of teaching and life taught by Jesus Christ and His apostles.

      Authority is defined by the Standard Dictionary to be: "The right to command and enforce obedience; the right to act by virtue of office, station or relation; as, the authority of parent over child; the authority of an officer." Authority is of two kinds. First: Primary authority, which grows out of the relation of those who have the right to command and those whose duty it is to obey. Second: Delegated authority. This is the right to command and enforce obedience which can be given to another by the party holding primary authority. The fountain of all primary authority in Christianity is God. We are His and He made us; we are the creatures of His hand and the product of His intelligence. He is our Maker, our Preserver and our bountiful Benefactor, and has, therefore, the absolute right to command, and it is our absolute duty to obey. But our heavenly Father has rarely seen fit to govern men by His personal and primary authority. He has delegated that authority to others; and rules by His representatives.

      In considering delegated authority, the first delegation in Christianity was from the Father to the Son, as will be seen from the following Scriptures. Heb. 1:1: "God, who at sundry times and in divers [508] manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. " The Son Himself says: " The word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me." "No man knoweth who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." And the Son closes His life on earth, and prefaces His great commission to the apostles, with the statement: "All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me."

      The Son stands nearest the Father in delegated authority. He is the "brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person." "It hath pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell;" and when the Father acknowledged Him after His baptism, He said: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." He was not only the delegate of God on earth, but He is the "image of the invisible God," and He said to His doubting disciples, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."

      The traveler who stands on the banks of Lake Geneva, and looks at the snowcapped mountain peaks that stand guard over the little lake, is often dazzled with the brightness of the sun's reflection from their summits. If he would view the scene, softened and subdued, he has only to cast his glance upon the blue bosom of the lake, and there, mirrored in splendid imagery, he sees the same scene, softened and subdued for the eye. [509]

      Jesus Christ is to the Father what that lake is to the mountain peaks. A reflection of His immaculate purity, power, and love, veiled in human flesh, so that we may look upon Him and live. Jesus is a reflection of the purity of God; from the cradle to the grave He was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners. Nearing the end of His human existence, He stood up in the presence of those who had known Him from His boyhood days, and issued to them the remarkable challenge: "Which of you convicteth me of sin?"--a challenge which was not met by the Pharisees of His own time, nor of any subsequent time.

      Jesus is a manifestation of the power of God. A permanent interest attends the contemplation of power. Whether its manifestation be in the realm of matter or spirit, they alike arrest the attention and challenge interest. Power seems to be apart from mere matter, and to have kinship with life itself. It certainly is the connecting link between mind and matter, and it is the agency through which minds control matter. It is the hand by whose cunning, thought and purpose take on form in the outer world. There is a difference between power and force. Force startles and affrights us; power, directed by intelligence and love, is always pleasing to us. There is force in the thunderbolt as it cleaves the heavens, shatters the monarch of the forest, or [510] razes a building to the ground. There is power in that thunderbolt when, under intelligent control, it propels a boat or a railway train. Jesus Christ is not a manifestation of the force of God, but of the power of God.

      Jesus is a manifestation of the love of God. He Himself says that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life." "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." The birth of Jesus Christ witnessed the flood-tide of God's love to man. When, of old, God laid the foundations of the earth, the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy. This was doubtless an expression of joy over the power and majesty of God, but when the infant of Bethlehem lay in the manger wrapped in swaddling bands, and warmed into life by the breath of oxen, then the angels of heaven came down and sang the overture to earth, "Glory to God in the highest." It was the unfolding of the great heart of God, yearning for His lost children.

      Mr. Moody, used to tell a beautiful story of an old mother in England, whose only daughter had gone astray and wandered down to London and was living a life of sin and shame. After trying all other means, the mother had her photograph taken and under it the legend, "My child, come home." This she had placed in some of the haunts of vice, [511] where the daughter saw it and was led back home by this expression of unfailing love. Jesus Christ is the photograph of the ever-loving Father crying out to sinful mortals: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

      When Jesus was on earth and talked with man face to face, men were directly under His commands, and could claim His promises, but He has passed away from earth and no more rules it by His own direct authority. Just as the Father delegated His authority to the Son, so Jesus delegated His authority to the apostles. This is made very clear if we consider the teaching of His prayer in the seventeenth chapter of John. You are familiar with that chapter and I shall not quote it. In it we find the following statements:

      1. God gave the Son power over all flesh.

      2. This power was given that He might bestow eternal life on all men.

      3. Eternal life is bestowed through the knowledge of the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent.

      4. God gave the Son certain men out of the world, that He might teach them all that God hath given Him.

      5. That all men should believe on Him through their word. [512]

      We have now reached the second step in the transfer of delegated authority; namely, transfer from Jesus Christ to the apostles. In the transfer of authority from the Father to the Son there was no danger of error or mistake. The Son, being as divine as the Father, could receive without misunderstanding all that the Father communicated. But the apostles were human with all the weaknesses and imperfections that pertain to humanity, and there was danger, therefore, that they might misapprehend or misunderstand the communication which Christ made to them, because of their imperfections. It became necessary, therefore, for some power or influence to be exerted on their minds to preserve them from error and from mistakes either in taking in, or in giving out, the lessons which they received. Hence, Christ promised them the Holy Spirit, which was to guide them into all truth in the conveying of this Gospel to the world. This is made evident by a number of Scriptural passages. Christ says to His disciples:

      "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore [513] said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."

      In commenting upon this in later years, the apostle said: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. Now, we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but in words which the Holy Spirit teacheth."

      It is evident, therefore, that Jesus saw fit to impart the Spirit to His apostles that they might make no mistake in making known His will to the sons of men. Just as Jesus was the representative of God on earth, so the Spirit-guided apostles are the representatives of Jesus upon the earth for the purpose of making known His will to the sons of men. Their teaching is Jesus' teaching; their authority, the authority of Jesus. "He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me." "As the Father hath sent me, so send I you."

      When the apostles completed the revelation of the will of God in Jesus Christ, it became the perfect law of liberty to which nothing could be rightfully added; from which nothing could be rightfully [514] taken away. The object of the bestowal of the Paraclete and His divine guidance was to insure against mistakes in the revelation of the Gospel. That object having been attained, there is no more necessity for special illumination and guidance of the Spirit of God, and, therefore, no more special illumination by the Spirit. Men talk of being led and guided and controlled by the direct operation of the Spirit. Such men talk blindly and madly. In the history of religion fanaticism there has hardly been a single case of an infatuated or misguided man who has not made a similar claim. Likewise, the same is true of wicked and designing impostors. That man today is led by the Spirit who is led by the truth, and the man who walks not according to the teaching of the apostles, walks not according to the Spirit.

      The man who teaches men to disobey the plain commandments of the apostles can not be guided by the same Spirit that inspired them to proclaim these commandments. The same Spirit which led an apostle to proclaim a truth, will not lead any one else to ignore or to disobey that truth. "He that hath a dream, let him tell it as a dream. He that hath my word, let him declare my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat, saith God." All attempts to add to the words of the apostles, or to subtract from them, or to substitute other teaching in the place of their teaching, is of the devil. The devil had no opportunity to corrupt the truth, as it proceeded from the Father to the Son, neither had [515] he an opportunity to corrupt it as it proceeded from the Son to the apostles, but his time arrived when the apostles proclaimed it to all mankind:

      "Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."

      The unfolding of divine authority in Christianity may be marked by three steps:

      1. God delegated all authority to the Son.
      2. The Son delegated all authority to the apostles.
      3. They never delegated authority to any one else.

      They are administering that authority today. Jesus told them: "In the regeneration when the Son of man shall be seated upon the throne of his glory ye shall be seated upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The regeneration spoken of is the Gospel dispensation, and the thrones of the apostles are judgment thrones. On the day of Pentecost they ascended their thrones and their first judgment was: "These men are not drunk as ye suppose, but this is that spoken of by the prophet Joel." The world's judgment "that these are full of new wine" was wrong and the apostles' judgment was right.

      Their second judgment was: "This same Jesus whom ye have taken with wicked hands and slain, God hath raised up and made both Lord and Christ." [516] Again the world was wrong and the apostles were right. Their third judgment was to convicted sinners: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto remission of sins"--again they were right. Thus in all their sermons and writings they delivered judgments for spiritual Israel, which stand as authoritative today as when first delivered. There is nothing essential to the being or well-being of Christianity upon which they have not delivered judgments. They are ambassadors of Christ. An ambassador is one who represents all the power of his government. God is acting through them and they represent Christ. "As though God did beseech you by us, we pray in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."

      Would you know God? Know Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. Would you know Christ? Know the apostles whom He hath sent. God in Christ, Christ in the apostles and the apostles in the world is the source of authority in Christianity, or there is none.

      Confirmatory to the foregoing position, I produce one quotation from a full storehouse, showing the trend of modern thought. In Ecclesiastical Polity of the New Testament, the author, G. A. Jacobs, D.D., Episcopal scholar, contends for the polity of the primitive church in opposition to the pro-Papal tendencies of the Church of England. The book is worthy of a thoughtful reading. The extracts are [517] taken from the first chapter on. "The Apostles and the Christian Church."

      "The church of the apostolic period is the only church in which there is found an authority justly claiming the acknowledgment of Christian bodies in other times. And such authority is found in this church--not because it was possessed of a truer catholicity, or a purer constitution, or a more primitive antiquity than belong to succeeding ages; for neither antiquity, purity of form nor catholicity confers any right to govern or command; but because it was under the immediate rule and guidance of the apostles; and it is their infallible judgment alone, as exhibited in this church, which has a legitimate claim to our submission. Of the church of no other period can the same be said, because the apostles had no successors in their office. They stand alone. They stand alone as the divinely inspired teachers, legislators and rulers in Christ's church and kingdom. They stand alone as men appointed and commissioned by Christ Himself, and not by man" (p. 25).

      "I appeal, therefore, from the Nicene Fathers to the apostles of. Christ; from patristic literature to the New Testament; from ecclesiastical authorities and practices of post-apostolic centuries to the primitive church of the apostolic age. To go back to that time, and to endeavor, as far as possible, to reproduce the church of the New Testament, is most needful for us now, if we would preserve, a faithful and [518] distinct acknowledgment of Christian truth amongst our people. By realizing, as far as we may, the ideal of that church in our own community, we shall best maintain its liberty and purity--we shall best meet the peculiar dangers of the present time and prepare for the future which is at hand" (p. 29).

      These are true and wholesome words, and worthy of all acceptation.

      If what I have advanced in this paper be true--and it is--there are some conclusions that will inevitably follow, and I shall state them.

      1. If I am correct as to the source of authority in Christianity, it makes Christianity wholly and absolutely a divine thing. It is not an evolution out of the nature of man, but a deliverance warm and fresh from the heart of divine philanthropy for man's acceptance. It is the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

      2. This will strip Christianity of every vestige of humanism--popes and prelates, councils and creeds, with all their human officers, sacraments and observances, will fade out of the church of God.

      3. This will produce the unity of Christians automatically. Wise and good men have been very busy of late in bridging the chasms, spanning the floods, tunneling the mountains, deploying the skirmishing in their endeavors to find a basis for Christian unity, forgetful of the fact that God has forestalled these [519] efforts by laying the foundation himself ready for them to stand upon. The restoration of the authority of Jesus Christ and of the apostles will destroy every sect in Christendom, Popedom and Heathendom.

      4. It would upset the teaching of a large percentage of the sermons of the Christian ministry, to the glory of God. Not long ago a young man in my home town announced that he would preach the next day upon "The Divine Erasure of the Lachrymose Manifestations of Grief. " A few of the old, faithful ones went out carrying their dictionaries, but a large percentage of his congregation "took to the woods." If a large percentage of the pulpit messages of the day were gathered into a pile and burned, they would give more light in their conflagration than in their delivery. I do not claim entire innocence for myself in this matter. I cry "Peccavi" also.

      5. It would destroy the curriculum of nearly every theological seminary, divinity school and Bible college in the land. In our desire to expand our curricula we have displaced the hot plowshares of apostolic truth with cooling lotions of ontology, soteriology, teleology, eschatology, sociology, psychology, "et id omne genus." In their place it would rear up schools whose classrooms would be filled with young men eager to learn the truth of God and equally eager to go out and sacrifice to proclaim it. A notable illustration of this occurred in the history of the German universities. In the [520] early days all the professors in theology had to affirm loyalty to the Augsburg Confession. But certain professors perjured themselves and taught contrary to that symbol. In the times of Strauss and Baur the authority of Christ and the apostles was dethroned. As a result the pupils deserted the classrooms almost entirely. Young men did not care to devote their life to a teaching that was without authority. When the great reaction came on, under Professor Christlieb and others, they returned. There was a time when Christlieb had more pupils than all the rationalistic professors in Germany. When Professor Schlatter restored the authority of Christ at Heidelberg, his classrooms were filled with students, and many of the professors in other departments attended his lectures regularly.

      6. It would provide Christianity with an armor of truth against which the spears of destructive criticism would strike only to fall harmlessly at its feet. If Jesus rose from the dead and His apostles have the power He promised them, what does it matter whether Moses or some other Moses wrote the Pentateuch, whether Daniel or some other Daniel wrote the Book of Daniel, or whether one Isaiah, or two or a half dozen Isaiahs, wrote the Book of Isaiah? They may be important questions, but not essential to Christianity. They do not invalidate the authority of Christianity, if Christ rose from the dead.

      7. It would tend to the speedy conversion of the [521] world to Christ. The history of the first three centuries demonstrates the fact that such a Christianity penetrated to the darkest corners of the earth, and at the same time it marched up to the throne of the Caesars, took off the purple and the ermine from the form of heathenism and placed them upon its own shoulders. The only reason it did not conquer the world lay in the fact that its adherents began to dilute it by compromising with heathen customs and philosophy. The preaching of a sectarian gospel never has and never will convert an unbelieving world at home or abroad.

[NTC3 504-522]