TEEN TREE 
OF LIFE
THE DOCTRINE OF AUTHORITY ORIENTATION
Part 5
August 19, 2018
BEFORE we begin, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, take a moment to name your sins to God the Father. This will allow you to be filled with the power of The Holy Spirit as you read this booklet (EPH 5:18 & 1JO 1:9). IF YOU HAVE never believed in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have that opportunity right now. Simply tell God the Father that you are believing on His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you make that decision, you are now a believer and will always be a child of God! When you die, you will spend eternity with Him forever in heaven! (JOH 3:16 & ACT 16:31).
We are looking at Christ’s Authority over the Church and last week we looked at two analogies: the first was how Jesus Christ is called the last Adam as The Ruler of the Church and believers are called the new spiritual species. The second analogy we learned was that He is The Shepherd and believers are the sheep. And now we are going to see that Jesus Christ is The Vine and believers are the branches. This analogy is taught in JOH 15:1‑6: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already [b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” This verse teaches us about our union with Christ which is also called positional truth and/or positional sanctification. The vine always represents stimulation and growth. The production of the branches is your advance to maturity.
Another analogy concerning Christ’s Authority over the Church is that He is the Chief Cornerstone and believers are the stones of the building. Jesus calls Simon Peter a rock in MAT 16:16‑18: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. This reference to Christ as the Chief Cornerstone is found in EPH 2:20: … having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone …
Another analogy is that Christ is the High Priest and believers are the Royal Priesthood. This is found in 1PET 2:5: … you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. REV 1:6 says it beautifully: … and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Only when the God‑Man ascended and was seated could Jesus Christ be a High Priest. Every believer in union with Christ is a royal priest.
Yet another analogy is that God is The Groom and we are the bride, found in EPH 5:25‑27: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. This will not be fulfilled until the Second Advent at the wedding feast of The Lamb. It takes seven years for the bride – the Church – to be prepared before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Jesus Christ is The King and believers are the Royal Family of God. This analogy is taught in EPH 1:22‑23: And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. It is also taught in COL 2:10: and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
Because it is God’s Word, the Bible is our authority, too. The Bible was written by Divinely-inspired men. It is God’s way of revealing Himself to man. It is the how-to book of Divine instruction! It has God for its Author, Salvation for its end, and is made up of truth, without any mistakes! All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. Of course, the Bible itself has a relationship to God. It records the history of His dealings with men. It reveals to us who God is and what His Will is. And because of all of this, the Bible also has a delegated authority from God. This authority is somewhat different, though, because the Scriptures represent themselves as being the verbal expression of God.
Believers who are positive toward doctrine advance to maturity, they execute the Pre-Designed Plan of God, and they also become invisible heroes – we know this for certain! But a positive believer cannot keep going forward in his/her spiritual walk unless he/she RESPECTS AUTHORITY. Authority orientation means knowing who is boss!! And you must show respect for the authority in your life. Remember, learning and applying Bible doctrine is the only way to advance spiritually. And in order to learn doctrine you have to have respect for the man teaching it! It is impossible to read your Bible by yourself and understand and execute God’s Pre-Designed Plan. That is why God has given the spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher: And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers … (EPH 4:11)
Now, let’s look at joy and authority! Don’t laugh! We build capacity for joy through Authority Orientation. Joy is having the Mind of Christ. Having the Mind of Christ results in enthusiasm for the doctrine you know.
Joy is thinking not showing emotion. This type of joy results in enthusiasm and exultation. As the use of Bible doctrine becomes more of a reality in your life, you will experience this joy. This is why the Bible equates joy with undeserved suffering. Look at LUK 6:22: “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.”
Joy is simply sharing God’s happiness no matter what the situation may be. The Holy Spirit produces joy in our lives and it is not dependent on environment, relationships, or circumstances of prosperity. You cannot receive true joy from the details of life; however, if you have capacity from your spiritual growth, you can enjoy these things to the maximum. And again, you can only have spiritual growth if you have respect for authority. You only gain capacity for joy by learning God’s Word and applying it to your life! When you apply God’s Word in life, your soul is freed from sin and the garbage of Satan’s Cosmic System which hinders happiness. The result is that you build capacity within your soul. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ said: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (JOH 15:11)
We do not have joy when we reject authority in our lives. This is taught in ROM 8:5-8: For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
{to be continued}