The sources pertaining to the early church concur that all church authority comes from God (Ring, 1975, 64). Jesus (Christ, Jesus, 01: Survey) himself already gave the church all essential rules of discipline during his lifetime. The authoritative mediators and interpreters of these rules are the twelve apostles (Apostle/Disciple), insofar as they genuinely witnessed the proclamation of Jesus with their own eyes and ears. God himself caused many of…