Church on Earth
311
The Authority Invested in the Church
Christ gives power to the voice of the church. “Verily I say unto
you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:
and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
No such thing is countenanced as one man’s starting out upon his
own individual responsibility and advocating what views he chooses,
irrespective of the judgment of the church. God has bestowed the
highest power under heaven upon His church. It is the voice of God in
His united people in church capacity which is to be respected
The Word of God does not give license for one man to set up his
judgment in opposition to the judgment of the church, neither is he
allowed to urge his opinions against the opinions of the church. If there
were no church discipline and government, the church would go to
fragments; it could not hold together as a body. There have ever been
individuals of independent minds who have claimed that they were
right, that God had especially taught, impressed, and led them. Each
has a theory of his own, views peculiar to himself, and each claims
that his views are in accordance with the word of God. Each one has
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a different theory and faith, yet each claims special light from God.
These draw away from the body, and each one is a separate church of
himself. All these cannot be right, yet they all claim to be led of the
Lord.
Our Saviour follows His lessons of instruction with a promise that
if two or three should be united in asking anything of God it should be
given them. Christ here shows that there must be union with others,
even in our desires for a given object. Great importance is attached
to the united prayer, the union of purpose. God hears the prayers
of individuals, but on this occasion Jesus was giving especial and
important lessons that were to have a special bearing upon His newly
organized church on the earth. There must be an agreement in the
things which they desire and for which they pray. It was not merely
the thoughts and exercises of one mind, liable to deception; but the
petition was to be the earnest desire of several minds centered on the
same point
431
Testimonies for the Church 3:450, 451
432
Testimonies for the Church 3:428, 429