So far in our study of hermeneutics, we have discussed the need for authority and how authority is established. As we continue thinking about the concept of authority, we need to consider the difference between generic and specific authority. If we fail to understand the difference, we can get ourselves into trouble, and we will notice how.
Defining Terms
When we use the terms generic authority and specific authority, what do we mean?
- Generic authority means a particular practice is commanded or authorized, but we have various options regarding how to carry it out. For example, if I tell my son to go to the grocery store, he may have multiple options that would enable him to acceptably carry out that instruction (walk, drive, etc.).
- Specific authority is when God is specific about what He wants us to do, or how He wants it to be done. In that case, we must do it in the way God said to do it – we do not have another option. Using the same example from the point above, if I tell my son to go to the store to buy bread and milk, he is to come home with both bread and milk and nothing else.
What happens when we fail to make the proper distinction? In the previous article, we considered the example of the Lord’s Supper. Let us use that to see what can happen if we fail to distinguish between generic and specific authority.
- If we turn generic authority into specific, we make rules that God never made. This could be done by taking the example of the church in Troas meeting in an “upper room” (Acts 20:8) and arguing that it would be wrong to take the Lord’s Supper on the ground floor of a building. However, an “upper room” was not the only place where Christians observed the Lord’s Supper (cf. Acts 2:42); therefore, we cannot argue that the New Testament establishes that type of location as the rule for all Christians.
- If we turn specific authority into generic, we allow things that God never permitted. As we noticed in the previous article, the New Testament shows, using an approved apostolic example, that the Lord’s Supper was observed “on the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7). Yet many ignore this example and claim that the Lord’s Supper may be observed any day. However, the only day that is authorized for this is the first day of the week.
Now that we have the concept of generic and specific authority, let us notice an example.
An Old Testament Example: Noah and the Ark
The Hebrew writer cited Noah as an example of faith:
“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7).
Paul explained that faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). Therefore, when Noah acted by faith, he was following God’s instructions. When we consider this example, we see both generic and specific authority.
What did God specify with regard to the ark?
- The type of wood, that it would be sealed with pitch, the dimensions, that it would have one window and one door, and the number of decks – “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks” (Genesis 6:14-16).
- The number of animals and the food they would bring on board – “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them” (Genesis 6:19-21). This instruction also included the number of clean animals Noah was to bring – “You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female; also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth” (Genesis 7:2-3).
Noah had to follow those specifications in order to be faithful to God. However, there were other matters that God did NOT specify about the construction of the ark – the tools he would use, where he would get the wood, and how he would transport the wood to the construction site. Noah had to do what was specified in the way God instructed. But if God did not specify, he had the option to do what was most expedient or helpful.
Paul alluded to this principle when he wrote to the church in Corinth:
“All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify” (1 Corinthians 10:23).
A thing must first be lawful before it can be claimed as an expedient. For Noah, a saw would have been an expedient way to cut down trees, and it would have been authorized in the command to get gopher wood. But what if oak trees were closer and more convenient? Could Noah say that using oak trees for the ark would be “expedient”? No. Gopher wood was specified; therefore, other types of wood were unlawful and could not be called expedient.
New Testament Applications
The Old Testament was written for our learning (Romans 15:4). God has not commanded us to build an ark as He did with Noah, but we can see the principle of generic and specific authority and apply it to our law today. Let us notice two examples:
- Evangelism – God has specified the gospel as the message we are to preach (Mark 16:15); therefore, we have no authority to teach anything else in our efforts to convert the lost. He has also specified the local church as the organization through which we proclaim the gospel (1 Timothy 3:15); therefore, we have no authority to use another organization (like a missionary society) to do this work. However, there are certain things that were not specified but would be authorized by generic authority. Local churches are to do the work of evangelism, and they have the option of using gospel meetings, tracts, radio programs, correspondence courses, and more to carry out that work.
- Assembling – God was specific about the expectation that Christians assemble with the local church (Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 11:33). Yet the location is not specified. Therefore, churches have the option to meet in buildings, homes, libraries, schools, and more as they fulfill the instructions in the New Testament about assembling.
These are just a couple of examples, but we can do this with anything that has been commanded or authorized in the New Testament. If God specified something, we cannot turn it into something generic and then decide we can do something that God never specified. Likewise, if God’s instructions are generic, we cannot treat them as specific, making rules that God never made and condemning others for using an option that God would permit.
Conclusion
Everything we do must be by the authority of Christ. For some matters, He has told us, in general terms, what to do and we have options for how to carry it out. For other matters, He has told us specifically what to do, and we must do it just that way. But all of this comes down to us recognizing the authority of Christ, and then faithfully obeying Him in all things.
