The Simple Answers… To Life’s Most Important Questions.
Bible Study Course Lesson 8 – 7
Men have spent 2,000 years developing ideas about the Christian religion that are so deeply ingrained in our thinking we don’t even realize they’re there. But if “church” doesn’t mean “Church”, it means we have to go through every office, every command that has been applied to the “church”, and apply it as God originally intended.
Don’t underestimate the magnitude of that job. What is a minister, if he isn’t the head of a church congregation? What is an ordination, if it isn’t done by a church body? What is a baptism, if you’re not baptized into a church?
Where is the spiritual authority of God on this Earth, if it is not based upon the hand-to-head chain of baptisms and ordinations supposedly tracing back to St. Peter? Where it always was, of course. We just couldn’t see it, because we thought we already saw it.
THE BEGINNING OF GOVERNMENT
In the Garden of Eden, God said no word about government until after the first sin. Then what did He say? Genesis 3:16. Eve was not subjected to her husband before that moment. The natural fact that he was bigger and stronger than she was certainly gave him an edge in the relationship, but nothing official was said until she proved unable to rule herself.
As with all of us, once we prove that we need government God gives it to us. So God placed her under Adam’s rule. Not that his rule was perfect – but at least he wasn’t deceived by the devil like she was (1 Timothy 2:13-14).
Likewise, on the way out of Egypt, government was not mentioned at all. They were supposed to obey God; but when obedience out of love was lacking, God settled for fear (Exodus 14:31, Deuteronomy 4:10).
But when they wouldn’t even fear God (Deuteronomy 5:29) and chose Moses instead (Exodus 20:19), God gave Moses authority so they would at least fear him (Numbers 12:8). After he died, God magnified Joshua through the miracles and power He gave him, and the people feared and obeyed him as they had Moses (Joshua 3:7-4:14).
This wasn’t the government God wanted; as always, He had to grudgingly settle for what He could realistically get. Yet again, how was Israel governed when they first entered Canaan? Judges 17:6. Who was their king? 1 Samuel 12:12. Why did they reject God as their king? 1 Samuel 8:7.
Like Eden and the Exodus, Israel started out with a clean slate in the Promised Land, and each man “did that which was right in his own eyes”, just as you have for most of your life. But as they repeatedly went a-whoring after other gods (Judges 2:17), God tightened the government.
First, they had a loose government under the judges, who corrected sin and got the nation back on track and then faded into the background. When that wasn’t enough, the judges came more and more often until, by the end of the judges period, they were a constant presence in Israel, and might as well have been kings.
So when Israel demanded a king, it was time for a more despotic government anyway – the people being incapable of any other (1 Samuel 8:10-18).
MOSESITES
After Sinai, Israel had rejected God. They were going to be ruled the hard way. But God went into great detail on how, exactly, they were going to be governed. Why? 1 Corinthians 10:11. The pattern of how Israel was governed shows us a great many things; but before we get into that, you need to see what it was.
First in authority was Moses. God referred to his position as “God” and Aaron was his “prophet” Exodus 7:1. Now remember, Elohim doesn’t mean “divine being” or “deity” in the sense we understand the word… it just means one of the family of God. It is the last name of everyone in the ekklesia, the called-out people. And Moses’ name literally means called out (Exodus 2:10).
Ok, “drawn out”. Whatever. The point is, Moses was clearly meant to represent God to the people (Exodus 18:19), and Aaron would be his prophet. Everyone else in the nation was, effectively, beasts (Exodus 19:12-13). You can already see the pattern shaping up here; but that’s only one of the points we’re getting at.
Moses was the soul of the nation; Aaron was the spirit of the nation; and the people themselves were, as mobs always are, beasts – a carnal people, just like the nations around them (Ezekiel 5:5-8). They were hardly unique in this; it’s only worse because they alone had a chance to be something more (Exodus 19:5-6, Amos 3:1-2).
But notice that last reference: He called Israel “the whole family”. We already established that the relationships in a family correspond to the soul, spirit, and heart; why wouldn’t they be the same in a nation – particularly a nation which was all related? (Exodus 1:1-5).
So would it be a stretch to call Moses the father of Israel? Numbers 11:11-12; Moses was never meant to be the Father; that was meant to be God’s job (Deuteronomy 32:6-7, 19). But they specifically asked for Moses to perform the role instead, as a go-between.
When Moses couldn’t handle that job (who could?), he complained to God, and God gave him people to help with the same job (Numbers 11:16-17). Under them were various layers of captains of fifties and hundreds and so on (Numbers 31:48).
These people were to have the same spirit that Moses had. So the role Moses had, they were to have. So if Moses was acting as Israel’s father, so would they. After all, Moses’ job was to judge the people (Exodus 18:13). Isn’t that what a soul should do… or a Father? 1 Peter 1:17.
So since they wouldn’t take the responsibility to rule themselves, to be souls over their own bodies, God put Moses to be a soul over the whole country; and since that was too much for any human soul, God gave him lesser souls to help. And naturally, he called them elders… for they were to fulfill the role of fathers in Israel (1 Timothy 5:1).
Remember, the whole point of the OC was that Israel didn’t know the real Father (John 14:8-9). Because they wanted HUMAN fathers in between them and God! And so that’s what God gave them… Rabbis!
CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
That would make Aaron, the spirit, the mother of Israel. Now yes, that sounds a bit weird… until you realize that Aaron was the head of the Old Testament “church”, which Paul said was pictured by a WOMAN, Hagar!
Moses made the judgments and ran the nation/family, but the daily teaching and… well, mothering of Israel was left to the priests. Because they were the Hagar Paul referenced – they were the organization created at Sinai, after all (Galatians 4:25-26).
And that would make the people the children of Israel, wouldn’t it? Puts a new spin on that phrase, doesn’t it? They were not just the children OF Israel, they were Israelites who were only capable of behaving like children! (Hebrews 5:12-13).
And these children of Israel, collectively, form a body of people who acted like beasts. And beasts, like children, need parents (Proverbs 29:15) – someone to watch them, rule them, and tell them when they’re being evil (Proverbs 23:13-14).
All of the priests performed the role of mother to Israel, the role all mothers do for their children – teaching them good habits, like telling them not to say “ain’t” and forcing them to sit up when they eat. And if they did this well, there would be few actual sins for Moses to have to judge.
Moses and Aaron taught them these statutes as a schoolmaster, to hopefully bring them to Christ (Galatians 3:24-25). The hope always was, that people who heard God’s commandments, Aaron’s statutes, and Moses’ judgments could, through faith, grow beyond the need for such a schoolmaster and see Christ behind the laws.
It was possible, if they loved all these things and meditated on them, to become wiser than their teachers – wiser than Moses and Aaron (Psalms 119:97-100). Possible for men like Joshua and Gideon and David to become souls over their own bodies, souls who would no longer need “fathers after the flesh”, souls who could give reverence directly to the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9).
As always, this specifically meant our physical fathers. But also as always, it is true in every possible sense; for were not the Rabbis in Israel, who taught a covenant of bondage, a covenant “weak through the flesh” (Romans 8:3)… were not these men in a sense “fathers after the flesh”?
And if the Hebrews (which is who the book of Hebrews was written to, after all) were willing to endure the grievous burdens those fathers placed on them (Matthew 23:4), how much more should they be willing to endure laws, statutes, and judgments from the true Father of all? Laws which are not burdensome? (1 John 5:3).
A MALE WOMAN
While Moses occasionally sacrificed (Leviticus 8:13-15), usually that job was delegated to Aaron, who represented Hagar; for like any mother, or any spirit, it fell to him to offer sacrifices and excuses for her children (Romans 8:26-27).
To be clear, Aaron was not a/the woman. He was her head. And Moses was his head, precisely as 1 Corinthians 11:3 says. So Aaron was the soul of the woman, and Moses acted as his soul. Likewise, Jesus is not a/the woman, but as the husband of the church, He is the head of the woman! (Ephesians 1:22-23).
Just as every human female has her own internal soul, even though she may have a husband who acts as her soul. Her soul is neither male nor female – only her beast is (Galatians 3:28). In the same way, her husband is part of the church, of which Jesus is the head/soul.
And of course, the Father, in turn, acts as Jesus’ soul. Because all “a soul”, “a lord”, “a master”, or for that matter, “a God”, really means is… “the one who judges”.
So Aaron was the head of the woman; the soul of the body of Israel. And Moses was his head, even as God is Jesus’ head. And Jesus is also the head of the woman… but a different woman. For Aaron was the head of Hagar, and Jesus is the head of Sarah!
Sarah is the heavenly, spiritual church; Hagar is the Earthly, physical church. Sarah’s members are spiritual, and are not in bondage to a beast – not a nation-beast, nor a body-beast, or a devil-beast. They are free (John 8:31-37).
But Hagar’s members are physical, they are in bondage; bondage to the law, bondage to a covenant of works, bondage to their Earthly body – both literally and metaphorically. For God has not prepared for them a spiritual body, as He has us (1 Corinthians 15:38, Hebrews 10:5). They will get a new body in the second resurrection, but it will just be a new version of the same physical one (Ezekiel 37:11-14).
And being physical, that body will not continue forever, not unless they, too, overcome it. Thus, the “servants” who are in bondage “abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever” (John 8:35). Because the Son, and every son and daughter, has a body like the Father, which does not age or die any more (Luke 20:35-36).
And the son, all sons and daughters, are named Elohim, and therefore qualified to be called “God”, as Moses was! (Ephesians 3:14-15).
AARON’S HELPERS
The women were identical in design (Hebrews 8:1-5)… it was only their materials which were different. A building of wood and a building of stone might have the same design, but a greatly differing value and longevity.
We always think of that Hebrews verse as referring primarily to the temple itself… but if you read closely, you’ll see that the primary point of the passage was the priesthood, which is to say Hagar, that was *specifically* patterned after Sarah ( Hebrews 8:6).
So what one does, we’ll see the other do in some way – just as a working model of an airplane functions on the same principles as a real airplane. Both women, for example “ever lived to make intercession for us”.
Both wives interceded with the Father for their children; as all mothers, everywhere, do; and as all of our spirits constantly criticize us, even as they vehemently justify us to others. It’s just that the one wife tried to justify her children’s sins with the blood of bulls and goats, the other with her own blood (Hebrews 9:6-14).
You might say that Hagar was willing to kill an animal for her child, but not to give her own life. Remember, she did completely abandon him when it got rough (Genesis 21:15-16). Sarah on the other hand, was willing to die for her child – a very real risk in giving birth, for one “well stricken in age” (Genesis 18:11).
But no one person could mother 2 million people alone; so, like with Moses and the 70 elders who co-fathered under him, Aaron was given the Levites to help (Numbers 3:6-10). But was that the original plan? Numbers 3:11-13.
Notice! The Levites were, themselves, a backup plan! For God’s intent was to have the firstborn of every house do this job for Aaron! When a dispute arose over whether Levi should be performing the job of priest for the nation, these twelve – not the seventy under Moses, but the twelve heads (!) of the twelve tribes (bodies) competed for the spiritual leadership of Israel – for the right to be the sole head of Hagar (Numbers 17:2-11).
To perform the role of mother/priest/spirit for each house, the initial intent was the firstborn – see Job 1:5. Job, the head of his house, was responsible for making excuses – sacrifices – to God for his sons, just as Noah did in Genesis 8:20-9:1, and just as the heads of the tribes of Israel would do in Numbers 7:2.
Just as Aaron did daily, and Moses did when they really screwed up (Exodus 32:30-32). For in a sense, Moses was the “firstborn” of all Israel, as the first one God had called out of Egypt! (Exodus 3:3-4).
THE JOB OF TEACHING
In the early centuries, there was no continual king, no judge, no leader. Only Aaron’s descendants to teach and offer sacrifices. So who then, was to picture the soul for the people? God! (1 Samuel 10:19).
Moses, and all those who judged Israel after him, were only necessary when the people were incapable of listening to “the still small voice”, and required a physical presence to judge them. Which, as it happened, was most of the time.
After Aaron, the spirit-authority at first fell to the twelve firstborn heads of the twelve tribes – the patriarchs. Under the twelve princes were the heads of the major houses that made up each tribe (see Numbers 3:24, 30, 35, etc.). Below that, it’s spelled out in Joshua 7:14.
The twelve heads of the houses are obviously male; and, presumably, souls over their own house. Yet by putting them under Aaron’s authority, they form part of the woman, classing them as spirits, not souls. The spirit of Moses, the soul, was not put upon them, but the spirit of… well, the spirit.
Which explains why Jesus told the disciples “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of” (Luke 9:55), after they wanted to call fire down from heaven – as Elijah, did, who was the soul of Israel! Because the twelve are part of the spiritual authority, not the soul authority!
Their jobs, ideally, were to provide the guidance necessary to teach their own offspring to obey God (Proverbs 22:6, Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:7, etc.). When they failed at this so catastrophically and continuously, God took the job away from the firstborn and gave it to the Levites.
By making it their job, He concentrated the power and responsibility to teach in a single place, making it easier to supervise… and easier to lay blame on those who failed. If you’re paying very close attention, you’ll see that God created a church.
What HAD been an ekklesia at Sinai (Acts 7:38), a scattering of house-heads who ruled their own descendants, became, through the incompetence of those firstborns, restructured as the church of Hagar. A physical organization, managed by people whose job it was to teach the law, instead of leaving that to be every man’s job, as it had been at first.
Like the firstborn heads of every house, since Levi had replaced them in authority, Aaron was now responsible for any sin that was not properly statuted-off (Numbers 18:1-9). Because they were the spiritual government, government by the spirit, whose role was the establishment and enforcement of statutes to fence off sin!
If they obeyed the priests, no one would need to FORCE them to be righteous (1 Timothy 1:9). Just as, if a heart obeys his spirit, the soul never need get involved. If they did their job, no judge would be needed! For whether the heart judges itself, or the spirit judges the heart, the soul need not be involved!
So to avoid bearing the blame for the nation’s sins, they must keep them from happening in the first place! How? Malachi 2:7. But Aaron and his heirs failed, continually, to manage the priesthood, teach the statutes, explain the laws, as the twelve princes had failed to do it before him. And when that happened, when the mother’s teaching was not enough, the judgment of a soul, a king, was required.
What does that tell us? That all of these leaders were, in effect, acting as the souls of people whose own souls could not judge themselves. Because what need has a good soul of a king? 1 Corinthians 11:31-32.
THE TWELVE
So Moses was the soul of the nation, and Aaron was its spirit. The nation itself, as always, was a beast – although it could have been a spirit if they had listened to God’s first offer (Exodus 19:3-6). For any group of souls automatically becomes a spirit. But a group of spirits automatically becomes a beast.
God had hoped that He could be the soul of the nation, but without a human judge/king/soul, the priests/spirits/mothers descended from Aaron simply weren’t capable or willing to keep the beast in line. The fact that Aaron couldn’t even do that for the few weeks Moses was on the mountain was something of a clue to that effect (Exodus 32:1-6).
After they entered the Promised Land, Joshua took over Moses’ job, and Eleazar and then Phinehas took over Aaron’s job. The rest of the structure continued to work the same (Joshua 22:30 for instance).
For about the next 500 years, judges came and went while high priests tried (with varying dedication and success) to keep order. Every time the priests failed, the people sinned, were punished, repented, and God took pity on them and sent a judge/hero/soul.
But after the judge liberated the people, the priests and the people went back to doing what they had done. As God grew ever-more frustrated by this (Judges 10:10-14), the intervals between judges shrank until they became nonexistent, and still the people were sinning. The spirit just couldn’t do it alone.
So God set up a king – at their request, but He clearly had plans to do this all along (1 Samuel 9:16, Deuteronomy 17:14-15). Because when a cow breaks out of your fence… clearly, you need stronger fences.
So God gave them a surrogate soul, to continually watch over the fences, never again leaving it up to the spirit of Aaron’s descendants. The change between judges and kings really wasn’t as big a change as people think; it was in fact the same form of government, just tighter, more oppressive… and continuous.
What did a judge do? Judges 3:10. What did Moses do? Exodus 18:26. What did kings do? 1 Kings 3:16-4:1. The only real change was that God appointed judges as needed, and kings were hereditary.
Likewise, the priests continued to do the same job as before, subordinate to the king just as they had been subordinate to the judges and as Aaron was subordinate to Moses. All the basic parts of government remained the same, for example 1 Kings 4:7, 1 Chronicles 25:5-10, Ezra 8:24 and Judges 9:2.
Then came the NT church. Did the pattern of government really change? If you remember the very first lessons, you already know that the government didn’t change at all… it simply moved inside!
NT GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
The structure of government in the NT was, as always, the same as it had been in the other layers of the pattern. In this layer, Jesus was Aaron, who set up a priesthood with the twelve firstborn apostles. For were they not called… first? John 6:70. And were they not meant to be heads over the twelve tribes? Matthew 19:28.
Like Aaron, Jesus didn’t speak His own words (John 12:49-50). So Jesus was the word – the mouth – the prophet of the Father (John 6:14), as Aaron was of Moses. And so the one who gave those words, the lawgiver, was the Father, the one true Lawgiver (James 4:12) – which, of course, was exactly what Moses did, give Israel the law.
So it is no surprise then that Jesus’ apostles fulfilled the role of the firstborn. But unlike in Israel, the firstborn didn’t fail at their job, and have to be replaced by a priesthood tribe. This time, the twelve apostles did their job, and ruled their own houses (Romans 15:20).
Yet the touch of this rule was light, at first. The apostles were clearly in charge, despite the age of brotherhood and equality (Acts 4:32-35), for it was at their feet that the money was laid for distribution.
But, just like in Eden and Canaan, that age of equality and brotherhood was destroyed – and in the same exact manner. Read Acts 5:1-11. And what was the aftermath of that sin? Acts 5:12-13. From that point the apostles were magnified in the eyes of the people, just like Joshua and Adam had been – and for the same reason.
They were placed on pedestals, separated from the people by fear of their power and authority. This marked the beginning of authority among the ekklesia, the first time that fear was used in the New Testament as a tool of authority. What was that fear good for? Psalms 111:10.
Until that point, no one NEEDED fear to obey God! No one NEEDED to be afraid of the apostles to respect and learn from them! But Ananias and Sapphira proved that there was selfishness in the church only weeks after Pentecost. And as you’ve learned, where selfishness goes, government must follow.
Suddenly, it was necessary that people fear to do evil; they clearly didn’t fear to “lie to the holy spirit”, but for their own safety, they should have. Whom did this fear affect? Romans 13:3. Why did God give the apostles that authority? 2 Corinthians 10:8.
And yet that authority wasn’t enough to maintain order, was it? Acts 6:1-7. This new sin of showing favoritism to Jewish widows over Greek widows now caused a new layer of government to be created; for sin begets government.
DEACONS
But this government involves a familiar number, seven – as Moses was given seventy elders, to judge the people at all seasons, so the apostles were given seven deacons to judge the civil matters of the church… leaving the firstborn-apostle-priests free to teach.
The whole purpose of creating this new group of people was to manage the civil affairs of the church, as Moses had Israel. That is why these men had to be full of wisdom (Acts 6:3), so they could judge God’s people (2 Chronicles 1:10-11), as Moses had done.
But there is something missing from this pattern; where is Moses? If the seven “have the spirit that was upon Moses”, then where is the leader, Moses himself? Where he always truly was: atop the mountain of God (Joel 3:17). God was always supposed to be their Moses!
So any time in history that any group of people had to have a Moses, an Elisha, or a Stephen, they were automatically a disappointment to God. Because they’re edging back towards being Hagar again (Acts 6:1).
So what would Jesus have done? Would He have appointed someone to be the Moses of the people? He faced an identical problem, the rationing of food to a multitude, in John 6. Now, if you’re like most people, you’re going to answer “the solution was to pray and God would multiply the bread so there would be plenty for the Greeks as well as the Hebrew widows”.
But that’s not the answer I want you to get out of this chapter; yes, Jesus did do that, to get past the immediate problem… but what did He do next? John 6:51-66. When the people grew too many, so that their physical needs were too hard to handle… He trimmed the size of the herd down.
And He did that in the easiest way possible; He knew 99% of these people, like any church/group/herd, were there for the wrong reasons (verses 15, 26). He simply gave them some hard truth that only those who truly loved the truth would be able to swallow.
And suddenly, the problem of government became easy again, as His flock dropped from 10,000 back to twelve. No deacons necessary if your flock is spiritual, and not “yet carnal”. No deacons necessary, if your leader is truly following the Elohim and keeping the flock free of tares. For it’s the tares who make the whole flock need government.
NT CHURCH GOVERNMENT
What is the foundation of the church? Ephesians 2:20. Hah! Trick question, for church is not mentioned there! No, these things are not a part of a church, but part of a future house of God, which doesn’t yet exist.
And yet the foundation is being laid now, so it can grow in this life (Ephesians 2:21-22). And the foundation of that house of God, in one of many senses, is Jesus; the first, large stone laid in the corner of the house.
Then, forming a row around the base of the house, are the largest stones after that – the apostles and prophets. Note, that’s two classes – apostles, the spirits; and the prophets – those who speak for God, messengers of God’s words, who act in God’s place, and thus represent souls.
In 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, we see a list of offices in the ekklesia; in Ephesians 4:11-12, there is another one. Now you see, apostles are above prophets. Why, when the prophets are the souls? Shouldn’t souls be in charge? No, because God is the soul!
The prophets are not there to be the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. They are not building a house for themselves; they are merely there, in GOD’S NAME, to correct and remind those heads of what they’re doing wrong… exactly as the judges always did!
And as long as they’re on-mission for God, yes, they outrank apostles. But they are not replacing apostles in authority; merely “nudging” that authority back into the right direction. Nathan was not king of Israel, but he was speaking to the king with God’s words (2 Samuel 7:4-5, 16-17).
That gave him authority over David… but to say that Nathan ruled Israel was to miss the point of verse 16.
Likewise, Agabus wasn’t the apostle of the Gentiles; but he had authority from God, and Paul should have listened to him (Acts 21:10-11). But at the same time, Paul didn’t HAVE to listen. Because it wasn’t Agabus’… house.
And Agabus, though he spoke for God, and spoke the words of the Father of all, still Agabus wasn’t in charge of Paul’s children… Paul was. How Paul built on that foundation was solely his business (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)… and he alone would bear the cost for failure, or the joys of success.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
In the Old Testament, the structure of government changed several times. God used different forms of government at different times. From Adam to Moses, it was a simple patriarchal system; Job (who lived several hundred years before Moses) offered sacrifices for his children (Job 1:5).
Abraham offered sacrifices to God several times; and Sarah obeyed him and called him “lord”, which Peter holds up as an example for the NT Christians as well (1 Peter 3:6). So clearly, the patriarch was also the priest for the family until the time of Moses.
Moses was a father to the Israelites, and Elisha was a spiritual “father” to the King of Israel (2 Kings 13:14, 2 Kings 6:21). Elijah the prophet was in turn Elisha’s metaphorical “father” (2 Kings 2:12).
Was Deborah (the only female judge) a mother to Israel? Judges 5:7. Did David call king Saul his father (when in fact his father was Jesse)? 1 Samuel 24:11. So you see, God never really changed the government at all, because all of those rulers were just camouflaged patriarchs!
With that in mind, what was the goal of the NC Church? 2 Timothy 2:2. Is that what Jesus did? John 17:12. Jesus took God’s words and committed them to twelve faithful men. Well, eleven faithful men anyway. But then those apostles were supposed to go off and gather disciples of their own and commit the gospel to those faithful men; who in turn were to do the same.
Were their converts considered children of the apostles? Titus 1:4, 1 Timothy 1:2. Did Paul teach the church as a father would his children? 1 Thessalonians 2:11. Did Paul think of himself as their father? 1 Corinthians 4:14-15. It was through Paul that God called them and taught them the truth. Paul – through the gospel – had begotten these children in Christ. Thus, they were his sons!
So when Timothy and Titus brought the gospel and converted others, those people in turn became their sons in the faith, and Paul’s “grandchildren”. The point is, this is the same style of government as Abraham’s, as Moses’, and as the judges and kings, because the patriarchal system never died, it just changed.
What the world sees as a wide variety of very different types of government, the Bible shows is in fact the same type of government, over and over and over again; just adapted to fit the needs of the time, or applied internally instead of externally, or applied spiritually instead of just physically!
Those patriarchs all ruled over literal children of Abraham, and raised up literal families of their own. In the NC, that wasn’t abolished! It was simply changed! No longer were families composed of people who look like you, in the NC your true family – and hierarchy of authority, above and below – is composed of people who act like you!
Because instead of ruling over people who looked like Abraham, the church was intended to create people who acted like Abraham! In hindsight, this is obvious; for the church is the family of God! How else COULD it be structured??
It’s also obvious in another way, for Abraham was the founder of the NC church; and why did God make him the FATHER of the faithful? Genesis 26:4-5, 18:19. God liked the way Abraham ruled his family because that was exactly what God wanted the FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL to do! To lead the church like a father!
And so OF COURSE we do it the same way Abraham did it… because that’s why God liked Abraham in the first place!