September 2005   No. 237

Specific Authority * Does The Holy Spirit Work Directly In the Heart?  * Search the Scriptures  * Meetings *  Contact Information  

The very term “specific” denotes something which is restricted or is in some way to be handled with certain provisions. We specify what color we wish when we purchase a pair of shoes or buy paint for our house. If we don’t fully understand, we sometimes ask the person with whom we are communicating to be “specific.”

It is even so regarding the revelation of God’s will. God often expresses His will in a general way, but either at that time or perhaps later informs us of specific details which must be observed. Therefore, very many of the generic commands of God have their own specific limitations.  

Adam and Eve were told to “be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Gen 1:28). They were the only two humans in existence, so God’s righteous will regarding fornication and adultery did not at the time need to be stated. When the human population began to grow, however, it then became necessary for God to reveal certain limitations to sexual activity and child birth. This is noted as early as Genesis 12:18 when Pharaoh would have taken Abram’s wife but was prohibited by God’s intervention. We note in many later passages God’s amendment to His original statement of authority.  

The Scope of Matthew 28:19

 In Jesus’ general instructions to His disciples, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations” (Mat 28:19) is the beautiful and powerful authority under which Christians throughout the ages have shared the message of salvation. This message has been carried over desert sands, through dense jungles, across vast seas, and even to the frozen North by those dedicated souls, often unknown and who never sought glory, to share the glorious story of God’s grace and the Savior’s death with those who would listen.  

Not by a modern-day clergy, but mostly by the common man was this cause promoted. In Acts 8:1 is found the means used by God to cause the spread of early Christianity – persecution. You will note that the apostles remained but the church was scattered. “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1). Then verse 4 informs us, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Men and women alike, slaves and their masters, parents to their children, prisoners to their prison-keepers – these were the ones who most effectively caused the spread of the Lord’s cause. Aquila and Priscilla, a husband and wife team, taught the eloquent Apollos (Acts 18:26). Onesimus, a slave converted by Paul returned to his master (Philemon). Timothy was taught by his mother and grandmother (2 Tim 1:5). The jailor and his family were converted by his prisoners, Paul and Silas (Acts 16:30-33). These all served effectively under the generic command, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” The result was indeed marvelous.

The Limitations of Matthew 28:19  

Sinners are converted as a result of hearing the truth taught. But there were then and there remains today certain limitations in teaching the Master’s message. Those who were converted and became spiritual children of God enjoyed a relationship known as the church. This family of believers gathered upon the first day of each week in what the New Testament refers to as the assembly (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, Hebrews 10:25, James 2:2). As individuals the early Christians taught everywhere they found opportunity, but as an assembly they had specific limitations. In 1 Corinthians 14 these restrictions are found:

It is to be noticed, therefore, that the generic authority of Matthew 28 is qualified by the SPECIFIC authority when the church assembles. Many women are excellent teachers and have been most effective in spreading God’s word. It was through the influence of a kind and concerned Christian woman that I was converted. That is not the issue. God has specified a beautiful role for the woman as opposed to that of the man. The restrictions here simply serve to agree with Paul’s explanation in 1 Timothy 2:11-15. “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.”  

Every assembly recorded in the New Testament was conducted in harmony with these limitations. Popular social trends are often the source of problems to those who would maintain a Bible-patterned church. Some teach that the “Go teach” of Matthew 28 is general in nature and not affected by the specific found in other passages. But contrariwise, the specific would not have been given if it had no meaning or place.

As It Concerns Submission to Civil Authorities  

In a general way, Paul in Romans 13:1 instructs the Christian to obey and be in submission to those he refers to as “the higher powers.” “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom. 13:1). But as in most instances, the generic is qualified by the specific. Sometimes those in positions of higher power require that which a Christian cannot conscientiously perform. Peter and John were faced with just such a situation when they answered, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than to God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard…We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 4:19-20, 5:29).  

Application of What We Have Learned  

God has spoken! His speaking is recorded in the pages of Holy Scripture and is unmistakably meant for our learning and obedience. Sometimes God has revealed His will in a general sense, but most often He has qualified the general by the SPECIFIC. He has not left man’s obedience to man’s own preference. Let us be extremely careful in not overlooking or neglecting that which God has revealed.  

HARRY COBB

Wedowee, AL

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

1.     Who did Philistine King Achish appoint as his bodyguard for life?

2.     Where did the prophet Daniel look to find the number of years Israel would be in exile?

3.     According to 1 Peter, what will love cover?  

4.     According to Psalm 34, who is close to the brokenhearted?  

5.     What did the Kinsman remove when he gave Boaz permission to buy Naomi’s land?

     ANSWERS NEXT MONTH . . .  

and remember last month’s questions?  

1.     When Abram left the land of Ur, he took his nephew with him. What was the nephew’s name?   LOT (Gen. 11:31 & 12:4)  

2.     According to Isaiah 53, in the prophecy about Christ, why was He pierced?   FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS (Isa. 53:5)  

3.     What does Romans 3 say we become conscious of through the law?   SIN (Rom. 3:20)  

4.     For what does the writer of the book of Job say man is born?   TROUBLE (Job 5:7)  

5.     When Hanna asked the Lord for a son, what two things did she vow?   THAT SHE WOULD GIVE HIM TO THE LORD FOR ALL HIS LIFE, AND THAT NO RAZOR WOULD TOUCH HIS HEAD (1 Sam. 1:11)