TITLE: ABSOLUTE SUBMISSION
ENTRY: 19JUN26 1400Z
BY: Bro. Salvatore Frisella Evg.
LOCATION: @FRISELLAHQ
I believe, proclaim, and teach that Jesus Christ alone is Lord of His Church, and that the Holy Bible is the first and final authority for faith, doctrine, conduct, and Christian practice.
No human minister, regardless of title, office, gifting, experience, or reputation, possesses an authority that supersedes the Lordship of Jesus Christ or the authority of the written Word of God.
God has established pastors, elders, teachers, evangelists, prophets, and other ministers to serve His people, equip the saints, proclaim the Gospel, teach the Scriptures, provide spiritual oversight, and build up the Body of Christ.
Their authority is therefore delegated and ministerial, not absolute or sovereign.
Christ is Lord.
The Scriptures are authoritative.
Ministers are servants.
The New Covenant fundamentally establishes the believer's direct relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
The believer does not need a human ruler to stand between him and God.
Jesus Christ is our Lord, our High Priest, our mediator, and the Author and Finisher of our faith.
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”
—1 Timothy 2:5 NKJV
Under the Old Covenant, God established priests and other forms of covenantal leadership through which He administered His relationship with Israel. But through the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, the believer has direct access to God through Christ.
The veil of the Temple was torn when Jesus died, signifying that access to God was no longer restricted to an earthly priesthood.
The New Covenant therefore does not eliminate spiritual leadership, but it fundamentally changes the nature and limits of that leadership.
Peter declares concerning believers:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.”
—1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
Every believer has access to God through Jesus Christ.
Every believer may pray.
Every believer may worship.
Every believer may study the Scriptures.
Every believer may seek God's wisdom.
Every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
And every believer is called to participate in the work of ministry.
This does not make pastors or teachers unnecessary. Rather, it establishes the proper relationship between the minister and the believer.
The minister equips the believer.
The minister does not replace the believer's relationship with Christ.
Paul writes:
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.”
—Ephesians 4:11 NKJV
Why did Christ give these ministry gifts?
“For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
—Ephesians 4:12 NKJV
The purpose is therefore equipping, not domination.
The minister is not called to create permanent dependence upon himself.
He is called to equip believers so that they can mature in Christ and fulfill their own God-given calling.
The healthy minister does not gather people around his personality.
He gathers people around Christ.
He does not make himself the source of truth.
He teaches people how to know and rightly handle the Word of Truth.
He does not demand absolute personal submission.
He teaches believers to submit themselves to Christ.
Jeremiah gives us a concise picture of the kind of shepherd God desires:
“And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
—Jeremiah 3:15 NKJV
The shepherd is therefore called to:
Feed the flock.
Feed them with knowledge.
Feed them with understanding.
This means that pastoral ministry must be fundamentally rooted in Scripture.
The pastor's primary responsibility is not merely to provide inspiration, motivation, administration, or personal direction.
He must teach God's people how to understand God's Word and how to live according to it.
Every relationship in the Christian life is governed by the Word of God.
Our relationship with God is governed by His Word.
Our relationship with our spouse is governed by His Word.
Our relationship with our children is governed by His Word.
Our relationship with parents and elders is governed by His Word.
Our relationship with spiritual leaders is governed by His Word.
Our relationship with fellow believers is governed by His Word.
Our relationship with unbelievers is governed by His Word.
Our business relationships, friendships, responsibilities, authority, submission, correction, forgiveness, generosity, and service are all subject to God's Word.
God establishes the terms.
We do not.
Therefore, no minister has the authority to establish a relationship of submission that contradicts the Scriptures.
Peter gives explicit instructions to church leaders:
“Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
—1 Peter 5:2–3 NKJV
This establishes an essential boundary.
Pastors have authority.
But pastors are not lords over God's heritage.
The flock belongs to God.
The shepherd is entrusted with its care.
Therefore, pastoral authority must always be exercised as servant leadership.
The pastor teaches.
The pastor protects.
The pastor corrects.
The pastor encourages.
The pastor equips.
The pastor oversees.
But the pastor must never assume the place that belongs exclusively to Christ.
Jesus directly contrasted worldly leadership with Kingdom leadership:
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.”
—Matthew 20:25 NKJV
Then He gave the standard for His disciples:
“Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.”
—Matthew 20:26 NKJV
Jesus did not abolish leadership.
He redefined leadership.
Kingdom leadership is not based upon domination.
It is based upon service.
Jesus Himself became the ultimate example:
“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
—Matthew 20:28 NKJV
Therefore, intimidation, manipulation, coercion, and authoritarian control have no place in biblical pastoral ministry.
I reject the doctrine that believers are required to give absolute and unquestioning submission to a human pastor, prophet, apostle, teacher, or other spiritual leader.
Absolute submission belongs to Jesus Christ.
Human leaders must themselves remain under the authority of Christ and His Word.
A believer should respect legitimate spiritual authority, receive biblical instruction, submit to proper church order, and honor faithful shepherds.
But such submission is never a blank check.
No minister has the right to demand obedience to something contrary to Scripture.
No title makes a man's word equal to God's Word.
No prophetic gift makes a person's statements automatically infallible.
No pastoral office makes a man incapable of error.
And no spiritual leader should require believers to abandon their responsibility to search the Scriptures and follow Christ.
One of the greatest safeguards against spiritual manipulation is biblical knowledge.
Paul warned believers about those who would seek to influence them improperly:
“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.”
—Galatians 4:17 KJV
The believer must therefore become personally grounded in Scripture.
The Bereans provide an important example:
“They received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
—Acts 17:11 NKJV
They did not reject Paul's teaching.
Neither did they blindly accept it.
They listened.
They received.
And they searched the Scriptures.
That is a healthy biblical model for every believer.
The New Testament gives another important safeguard concerning prophecy:
“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.”
—1 Corinthians 14:29 KJV
New Covenant prophecy therefore operates within the accountability of the Body of Christ.
Prophetic statements are not placed beyond examination merely because the speaker claims to be a prophet.
They are to be weighed and discerned.
This is consistent with the broader biblical command:
“Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
—1 Thessalonians 5:20–21 NKJV
A genuine work of the Holy Spirit will never require God's people to violate God's written Word.
The Spirit who inspired Scripture does not contradict Scripture.
Therefore, every claimed revelation, prophecy, teaching, or spiritual direction must be examined according to the established Word of God.
Scripture speaks of the household of God as:
“having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.”
—Ephesians 2:20 NKJV
A foundation is laid; a building is then built upon it.
The apostolic and prophetic witness recorded in Scripture provides the foundational revelation upon which the Church is built, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone.
The New Testament also teaches that the ministry gifts continue to serve the Body by equipping believers for ministry and spiritual maturity.
Therefore, contemporary ministers should not claim the unique foundational authority belonging to the biblical witnesses through whom the foundational revelation of Christ and His Gospel was established.
The standard for contemporary ministry remains the already-established Word of God.
No claimed prophet is exempt from biblical examination.
Moses gave Israel a standard for testing prophetic claims:
“And when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken.”
—Deuteronomy 18:22 NKJV
The New Covenant no longer operates under the Old Covenant civil penalties for false prophecy. But the principle that God's people must not accept false claims to divine revelation remains.
Believers are not commanded to fear a person merely because that person claims to speak for God.
They are commanded to test what is said.
Jesus taught His disciples to recognize false prophets by their fruit:
“You will know them by their fruits.”
—Matthew 7:16 NKJV
This means that a person's title is not the final evidence of his calling.
His life matters.
His doctrine matters.
His conduct matters.
His treatment of people matters.
His faithfulness to Scripture matters.
His willingness to be corrected matters.
His fruit matters.
A minister cannot use a title to escape biblical examination.
Paul provides a powerful example of servant leadership.
He told the Ephesian elders:
“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”
—Acts 20:26–27 NKJV
Paul then said:
“I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.”
—Acts 20:33 NKJV
Biblical ministry is therefore not supposed to be driven by greed, personal enrichment, control, or the accumulation of followers.
The shepherd serves the sheep.
The minister serves Christ.
And the glory belongs to God.
God's Word does not change according to the personality of the minister.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
—Isaiah 40:8 NKJV
The Psalmist declares:
“Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.”
—Psalm 119:89 NKJV
And Jesus demonstrated the proper response when confronted by the enemy.
Satan attempted to distort God's Word, but Jesus answered with Scripture:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
—Matthew 4:4 NKJV
Jesus did not defeat deception by personal charisma.
He answered it with the Word of God.
This provides a model for the believer today.
When spiritual authority is claimed, examine it by Scripture.
When prophecy is given, weigh it by Scripture.
When doctrine is taught, examine it by Scripture.
When leadership demands something, test it by Scripture.
When personal experience appears to contradict God's Word, submit the experience to God's Word.
The legitimate ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers does not compete with Scripture.
It serves Scripture.
It does not replace the believer's relationship with Christ.
It strengthens that relationship.
It does not create spiritual dependency upon a human personality.
It equips believers for maturity and ministry.
It does not establish a ruler-guru over God's people.
It establishes servants who point God's people toward Christ.
Therefore, biblical leadership can be summarized in four principles:
NEVER SUBJECTIVE.
God's Word cannot be redefined according to personal preference.
NEVER SELF-SERVING.
Ministry exists for Christ and His people, not for the minister's personal advantage.
NEVER TYRANNICAL.
Biblical leaders are not to lord themselves over God's people.
NEVER CONTRARY TO SCRIPTURE.
No spiritual experience, prophetic utterance, ministry title, or personal revelation has authority to contradict the established Word of God.
The ultimate question is not:
“Who said it?”
The ultimate question is:
“What has God said?”
Jesus Christ is Lord.
The Holy Spirit is the divine Helper who indwells the believer.
The Holy Scriptures are God's written revelation and the first and final authority for faith and practice.
Pastors are shepherds.
Elders are overseers.
Teachers teach.
Evangelists proclaim the Gospel.
Prophets minister according to the grace and gifting God has given.
Apostolic ministry serves the purposes of Christ.
But none of these ministries replaces Jesus Christ as Lord or Scripture as the final standard of truth.
The healthy Church therefore does not produce people who blindly follow a personality.
It produces mature disciples who know Christ, know His Word, discern truth from error, serve one another, and walk by the Holy Spirit under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
—Galatians 3:26 NKJV
And above every earthly office, every ministry gift, every pastor, every prophet, every teacher, and every leader stands one Lord:
Jesus Christ.