In my book – Independent Eldership – I make an argument for a model of polity that is elder-led but member-ruled. It inevitably carried the question, why does the the Congregation rule? Aren’t elders the highest authority (under Christ) in the church? Whilst you will have to buy yourself a copy to hear the full explanation, here is a short section from the book briefly explaining the theology behind the position:
We have already seen that the formal cause of the Reformation was a fundamental disagreement about where authority lies in the church: is the church bound by Scripture alone or are there two infallible sources of authority for the church, the Bible and the Pope? The Reformers insisted that Scripture alone was the final source of authority in matters of faith and practice. From that core belief flowed other important convictions concerning the church.
By insisting on the doctrine of Scripture alone, Martin Luther was in turn led to the view there was no distinction between the clergy and laity – between the ordained leaders of the church and its ordinary members. He not only rejected the Pope, but the entire priesthood. Bruce Milne says, ‘He restored the idea of the church as a spiritual communion of believers, all of whom are priests to God’.[1] This doctrine of the priesthood of all believers was developed from the explicit statements of 1 Peter 2:5,9 and Revelation 1:6 which refer to all believers as ‘a holy priesthood’, ‘a royal priesthood’ and such like. Peter also refers to believers offering ‘spiritual sacrifices’ as priests. Hebrews 13:15–16 and Romans 12:1–2 likewise speak about believers offering sacrifices of praise and presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, putting each believer in the role of a priest bringing offerings and sacrifices directly to God. Jonathan Leeman says:
The universality of this priesthood, at least for early Luther, meant that church power rests in the whole congregation. The church possessed the authority to name officers:
For whoever comes out of the water of baptism can boast that he is already consecrated priest, bishop and pope, though … just because we are all in like manner priests, no one must put himself forward and undertake, without our consent and election, to do what is in the power of all of us. For what is common to all, no one dare take upon himself without the will and the command of the community.
The universal priesthood also meant any believer could baptize in a pinch: “In cases of necessity any one [sic] can baptize and give absolution, which would be impossible unless we were all priests.” Or interpret Scripture: “An ordinary man may have true understanding; why then should we not follow him” against any errors of popes or bishops? Or reprove the pope or any erring Christian: “But if I am to accuse him before the Church, I must bring the Church together.”[2]
It is this theology of the priesthood of all believers that underpins the authority God has given the congregation to rule in the local church. More specifically, the Bible teaches that the church community is given the authority to determine: who belongs, what is taught and who can lead.
[1] Milne, B., Know The Truth, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England, 1982, p.245
[2] Leeman, J., ‘A Baptist View on The Royal Priesthood Of All Believers’, Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 23.1, Spring 2019, p.123