15 Bible Verses about Apostles, Authority In Church

That is why I write this while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be harsh in my use of the authority the Lord has given me, for it was to build you up, not to pull you down.

For suppose I do boast a little too much of my authority??hich the Lord gave me to build you up, not to pull you down?? will not have to blush for it.

No one among them was in any want, for any who owned lands or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sale and put them at the disposal of the apostles; then they were shared with everyone in proportion to his need.

So the Twelve called in the whole body of disciples and said to them, "It is not desirable that we should give up preaching the word of God to keep accounts. You, brothers, must pick out from your number seven men of good standing, who are wise and full of the Spirit, and we will put them in charge of this matter, while we devote ourselves to prayer and to delivering the message."read more.
This plan met the approval of the whole body, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, who had been a convert to Judaism. They brought these men before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them.

As they traveled on from one town to another, they passed on to the brothers for their observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.

For you remember what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus.

For I tell you plainly, brothers, that the good news that I preached is not a human affair. I did not receive it from any man, and I was not taught it, but it came to me through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

God has thought us fit to be intrusted with the good news, and so we tell it, making no effort to please men, but to please God, who tests our hearts.

So whoever disregards this is not disregarding man, but God, who gives you his holy Spirit.

They appointed elders for them in each church, and with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

And Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan taken such possession of your heart that you should lie to the holy Spirit, by appropriating part of the price of your land? As long as it was unsold was it not yours, and after it was sold was not the money under your control? How could you think of doing such a thing? You did not lie to men but to God!"

For my part, though I have been absent from you in person, I have been present with you in spirit, and as thus present I have already passed judgment upon the man who has done this, and meeting with you, in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, by the authority of our Lord Jesus I have handed the man over to Satan, for his physical destruction, in order that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

We never sought praise from men, either from you or anyone else, though as Christ's apostles we might have stood on our dignity.

You remember, brothers, how we toiled and labored. We worked night and day, when we preached the good news to you, in order not to be a burden to any of you.

Do you think that I did wrong in degrading myself to uplift you, because I preached God's good news to you without any compensation? I robbed other churches, letting them pay me so that I could work for you! And when I was with you and wanted money, I did not burden any of you, for when the brothers came from Macedonia they supplied what I needed. So I kept myself, as I shall always do, from being a burden to you in any way.