The teachings of the New Testament were designed to help the Church avoid the dangers concerned with leadership. Ironically, the very thing they were meant to protect against ended up occurring. The early Church Fathers introduced the error of hierarchy and institutionalism, which happened to take on the form of the Old Testament Levitical priesthood.
As we discussed in the previous blog article, the authoritarian hierarchical structure developed amidst the fight against unacceptable beliefs when Gnostics were claiming to have received special knowledge from the Holy Spirit. What the early Christians were facing is not much different from what we see today. Masses of Christians claim to be, or to have been, led by the Holy Spirit in regard to something they have done or something they believe, being completely ignorant of the fact that the Holy Spirit does not lead people contrary to the Word of God, of which He inspired to begin with. Nor does He lead two different people in two different directions with regard to beliefs and practices (e.g., election vs. universalism). By attributing their own thoughts, feelings, and opinions to the voice of the Holy Spirit, they are in essence claiming inspiration. They are claiming the same authority as the original apostles. If what you do or believe comes from the Holy Spirit, then who can question it? This is the crux of the issue, which I have discussed in the blog article What Is Your Authority?
Because they did not possess the complete Bible at their fingertips the way we have today, and they failed to recognize the authority of the Bible and the teachings, traditions, and practices of the Lord Jesus and His apostles, the early Church Fathers reasoned that authority rested in and with the apostles and then introduced the heresy of "apostolic succession," claiming the same authority and inspiration as the original apostles. They reasoned that if God sent Jesus, and Jesus sent the apostles, then anyone appointed by the apostles, and in turn appointed by the watchmen (episkopos), must have the same authority and inspiration. Apostolic succession is a demonic deception utilized by those who were given too much power and influence, which inevitably resulted in spiritual pride and arrogance wherein deception and error flourish naturally.
"The high priest has been given his own special services, the priests have been assigned their own place, and the Levites have their special ministrations enjoined on them. The layman is bound by the ordinances of the laity." -Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (A.D. 95)
Here we have the first suggestion of a clergy/laity divide among the people of God. This divide did not originate with Jesus or His apostles, yet it has haunted Christianity for two millennia. Who do you think the "high priest" of his quote will turn out to be?
"Your reverend presbytery is turned to the Bishop as strings to a lyre... Let us be careful not to resist the Bishop, that through our submission to the Bishop we may belong to God... We should regard the Bishop as the Lord Himself..." -Ignatius to the Ephesians (A.D. 110)
"I advise you to always act in godly concord with the Bishop, presiding as the counterpart of God, and the presbyters as the counterpart of the council of the Apostles... As the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by means of the Apostles, so you must do nothing without the Bishop and the presbyters." -Ignatius to the Magnesians (A.D. 110)
"...respect the Bishop as the counterpart of the Father, and the presbyters as the council of God and the college of the Apostles: without those no church is recognized." -Ignatius to the Trallians (A.D. 110)
"Let no one do anything that pertains to the church apart from the Bishop... it is not permitted to batize or hold a love-feast independently of the Bishop. But whatever he approves, that is also well-pleasing to God." -Ignatius to the Smyrneans (A.D. 110)
Did you notice that non-hierarchical co-equality is no longer present, and how the "presbytery" (presbuteros = elder) is growing in both importance and spiritual authority? This is where the audacity of a minister attaching the designation "Reverend" to the front of his name originated. Reverence belongs to no one except God Almighty! Did you spot the blasphemy here? The Bishop is to be looked up "as the Lord Himself."
"The supreme priest (that is the Bishop) has the right of conferring baptism: after him the presbyters and deacons, but only with the Bishop's authority. Otherwise the laity also have the right... how much more is the discipline of reverence and humility incumbent upon laymen (since it also befits their superiors)... It would be idle for us to suppose that what is forbidden to priests is allowed to the laity. The distinction between the order of clergy and the people has been established by the authority of the Church." -Tertullian (A.D. 200)
With the clergy/laity divide firmly in place, clergy are now said to be superiors of the laity, with the Bishop as supreme. The idea that the clergy/laity divide "has been established by the authority of the Church" demonstrates the claim of divine authority in order to sanction their own institutionalized system. Church leaders were now beyond question or challenge, which meant you could not hold them accountable as a layperson. Many denominations still function in this manner today, the "pastor" claiming to be untouchable, falsely quoting and misapplying Scripture such as, "touch not God's anointed."
"If Christ Jesus our Lord and God is Himself the High Preist of God the Father, and first offered Himself as a sacrifice to the Father, and commanded this to be done in remembrance of Himself, then assuredly the priest acts truly in Christ's place when he reproduces what Christ did, and he then offers a true and complete sacrifice to God the Father, if he begins to offer as he sees Christ Himself has offered." -Cyprian (A.D. 250)
Here we have the Catholic Mass in its genesis. This priestly hierarchy eventually led to the culmination of the Pope, the Bishop of Bishops. We see the progression of the early Church Fathers in taking the Church from a non-hierarchical co-equal family unit and little by little turning into an authoritarian hierarchical religious corporation. This was and is the foundational error of the early Church Fathers, which inevitably led to other errors, such as withholding baptism for a lengthy period of time, removing the love feast and replacing it with a wafer and a small glass of juice, and turning membership into some sort of club with a bunch of silly hoops to jump through first.
This foundational error concerning the nature and function of leadership and government within the Church resulted in Christian leaders being given such authority that whatever they ended up teaching became acceptable simply by virtue of being as from the Lord Himself. When you supposedly have the same authority and inspiration as the Lord Jesus Himself, who can question you, challenge you, or hold you accountable? No one! And this was the point. If you speak for the Lord, if what you say is inspired by the Holy Spirit, then upon what basis would anybody have to challenge your teachings? Here are some arguments from the early Church Fathers toward their having the same authority and inspiration as the original apostles:
"The Apostles have received the gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was sent forth by God and the Apostles by Christ. Both these appointments were made in an orderly way according to the will of God... The Apostles appointed the first-fruits of their labours to be bishops and deacons for those who would believe." -Clement of Rome
"I advise you to always act in godly concord with the Bishop, presiding as the counterpart of God, and the presbyters as the counterpart of the council of the Apostles... As the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by means of the Apostles, so you must do nothing without the Bishop and the presbyters." -Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch
"By knowledge of the truth we mean: the teaching of the Apostles: the order of the church as established from the earliest times throughout the world: the distinctive stamp of the Body of Christ preserved through the episcopal succession: for to the Bishops the Apostles committed the care of the church which is in each place, which has come down to our time, safeguarded without any written documents." -Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons
"Therefore we should be careful to observe and keep the procedure we received from the Divine Tradition, and from the practice of the Apostles which is kept among us." -Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage
God sent Jesus, and Jesus carried the same authority as His Father in Heaven. This is absolutely true. Jesus sent the apostles, and they were divinely inspired and authoritative (though they were not inspired in everything they did or said). This is also true. The apostles appointed watchmen (episkopos), or "leaders," but these were not inspired, infallible, and authoritative in their teachings as were the apostles before them. Once the authority of the apostles was gone, the Church then had to figure things out for themselves. Unfortunately, she took a turn for the worse, from which she has never fully recovered.
Failing to understand the New Testament's teaching with regard to Church life and practice, many so-called "house churches" utilize the same dysfunctional and unbiblical authoritarian hierarchical system that is the core problem with institutional "churches." The pyramid structure goes entirely against the teachings and practices of Jesus and His apostles. The "Moses model" of church government is not only unbiblical and dysfunctional, but it is also extremely dangerous. The traditions of men go against and make void the Word of God.
Just because your denomination is dysfunctional and its traditions and practices are unbiblical does not mean that they are not Christians. This kind of thinking plagues every denomination, thinking they are the only true Christians. Even having all of the Bible's teachings, traditions, and practices correct does not mean we should think ourselves better than everyone else. You might be part of a house church and meet all the criteria for a biblical church, but that does not make you a "true" Christian, nor does it make you better than other Christians. You might be better off, and certainly more in line with biblical teachings, but not better than.