Government in the Assembly of God, Part 4

The Authority of Rulers in the Assembly of God

This is the last of four parts of a Bible study that I did some years ago.  Instead of writing out all my thoughts, I have decided to provide you only with my old notes and let you and the Lord fill in the gaps.  Enjoy the time with Jesus.

1. Hebrews 13:17:

There is a spiritual gift of ruling among the saints (Rom. 12:6–8).  Some examples of God’s anointed servants exercising authority among the saints are:

Acts 4:32–35 and 1Timothy 5:8–11:

authority to make decisions concerning the money brought to the Lord by the saints

Acts 6:1–6:

authority to appoint certain people to certain jobs for the welfare of the saints

1Corinthians 9:1–15 and Philippians 4:10–18:

authority to live, or to refuse to live, from the financial support of the saints, whatever is best for the Assembly

Note: 

(1) Tithes and offerings are a person’s confession that there is government in the Assembly of God, that there are rulers among God’s people.  It is a confession much like Abraham’s, when he met and rendered tithes to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:6–7).

(2) It is unreasonable to bring God’s money to a man who is unable to bless you.  It is unreasonable to bring tithes and offerings to a man whose displeasure you do not fear or whose commandments you would not obey.

(3) A ruler in the Assembly has authority to give commandments to God’s people.

(4) The servants of God have authority to deal with troublemakers:

2Thess. 3:4–16: forbidding them to eat at the expense of the saints

1Tim. 1:20: turning them over to Satan

1Cor. 5:9–13: sending them away from the Assembly

(5) Rulers over the saints are free to do WHATEVER is in the best interest of the Assembly.  That is the reason they exist.

When God Has to Judge:

The rulers among the saints are a shelter for them from the wrath of God.  Where there is no one with an anointing to judge among the saints, Jesus steps in.

1Cor. 11:31; Rev. 2:13–23; 3:1–6