God’s Authority

“Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.”
“I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”
John 12:44-45, 49-50 NLT

John, at the start of his Gospel, portrayed Jesus as the “Word”, a Person who “existed in the beginning with God” (John 1:2). And then a few verses later John wrote, “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:10-12). And then we read, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (John 1:14). Jesus’ inclusion in the Trinitarian Godhead is indisputable and a solid foundation of the Christian faith. When Jesus came to Planet Earth, He cast off much of His divine identity and attributes, and became a human being. Still divine but also human. He was the very essence of God’s escape plan for humanity, a plan that enabled them to escape the clutches of the devil and be freed of sin and wickedness, and, more, be adopted into God’s family.

Jesus always claimed that He was God’s Son and had been sent on mission to our world – John 3:17, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him”. John the Baptist also testified about Jesus and His mission when he said, “For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. … And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:34, 36).

So when Jesus declared to the crowds that those who trusted in Him were also trusting in His Father in Heaven, He was speaking out truth and a warning to those who didn’t trust Him and believe in Him, a warning that they would have to face “God’s angry judgement” one day. Father God gave Jesus the authority to act on His behalf here on Planet Earth, offering salvation and eternal life to all who believe in Him.

We pilgrims also have God’s authority to go about His business. Jesus said to His disciples, “ … I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” So, exercising our God-given authority, when was the last time we made a disciple? Salvation is a process, and we plant seeds in people’s lives, with ideas and Biblical truths, and move them, step by step, closer to making a decision for God. Thinking back to my own salvation process, there was no “light bulb” or Damascus Road experience, but instead faithful men helped me transition from a life of darkness to a life living in the light of God’s redemptive power. And the process took a year or so. In my pride and stubbornness I tried to find the way on my own, but there was that day when I had to admit defeat and place my life in God’s hands. But I know others who did indeed experience a blinding revelation of God’s grace. For those who God has given us, we pray and witness, sharing the journey with them. We plant seeds of spiritual truth, praying that the Holy Spirit will bring about the growth into eternal life.

Dear Father God. It is You who brings about the birth of a new Christian through the power of Your Spirit. Please find us opportunities to plant Your seeds of eternal life in all we meet, by our words and deeds. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.”
2 Peter 2:9-10 NLT

‭Authority is not a popular word these days. Whether we citizens of Western societies like it or not, there will be people in authority over us. If we are at school, there will be teachers and the head master or mistress. In work, there is the foreman or employer, manager or supervisor. In civil society there’s the police, or a judge or magistrate. If we are sick and end up in hospital, there are doctors and nurses. Then there are the bank managers, politicians, and lawyers. Even in our homes, there will be certain rules to be followed, set there by an implicit authority. We must also consider that there is such a thing as spiritual authority, and this introduces a different perspective, a Godly perspective, on what authority really means.

In our secular societies, the concept of authority can upset people. Sinful people want to be free. Free to violate laws. Free to insult our teachers, our policemen and women, our medics and so on. And all because many people feel it is their “right” to push back against those who do not share their world view, or do not endorse what they consider to be their “rights”. Whereas people in authority were respected by past generations, even if their decisions or behaviour didn’t warrant it, today’s authority figures are often afraid to exercise that authority, for fear of social media fuelled abuse or worse. Many ideological groups have emerged and they will sometimes violently reject any authority figure who does not agree with them. We see that happening with issues over climate change, over sexuality and marriage, over transgender “rights”. And we see it particularly when opinions about Israel or the Jews are expressed.

The highest authority that we know of is God Himself. There is no authority higher than Him. We read Genesis, and see how God created everything. That gives Him absolute authority over all His creation. He is free to exercise that authority at any time, but we are grateful that God is kind, compassionate and loving, righteous and fair. He exemplifies true and perfect authority. And we see throughout the Bible, how God delegated authority to certain individuals throughout Israel’s history. We see the laws given to Moses, God’s sovereign laws designed to be followed for the good of the people. Jeremiah had a prophetic message for the Jews in exile – the account is in Jeremiah 30 – and we read that God wanted to bring His people home to the land He had provided for them, and He said, “You will be my people, and I will be your God” (Jeremiah 30:22). His authority was purely motivated by the highest good for His people.

But some people get a bit upset when Holy-Spirit-inspired rules and laws, as recorded in the Bible, cut across what today’s “enlightened” society thinks. Some individuals take authoritative Bible verses out of context and bandy them around to embarrass God-fearing believers. I used to work with a man who always tormented me for my faith by claiming that believers have to hate their families to be a proper Christian, and he quoted, out of context, Luke 14:26 (NKJV), “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple”. But there are other teachings about authority that can be contentious to some. Take for example 5:23-24, “For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Saviour of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything“. But again this can be taken out of context, by omitting Ephesians 5:21, 25, 28, “submitting to one another in the fear of God. … Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, … So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself“.

There is teaching in the New Testament about being obedient to secular authorities. Romans 13:1-2, “Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.” ‭This really puts into context the role of a Christian in secular society. Paul goes on, “The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong” (Romans 13:4). There is only one “get out” to these Romans verses – God is the higher authority when there is a conflict, and this fact has cost many their lives, as they stand up in obedience to God and His ways.

Peter wrote that God “is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority“. Believe it or not, God set out the way humans should apply their sexuality, and it is interesting that Peter particularly emphasised the importance of getting this right. Looking inwards at our own sexual desires in an unhealthy way will apparently lead to the despising of authority. Many in society today lack a moral compass because they have rejected God and all His wonderful Biblical precepts. Without it, they are unable to discern what is right and wrong and try and impose their own “twisted” ways on all they do, or get involved with.

God knows what is best for us Pilgrims. We are saved, are being saved and will be saved (Justification, Sanctification and Glorification) and look forward to that glorious day when God’s authority will shine out in a relationship of love. His authority is perfect. Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light“. That’s how it will be in God’s presence as we journey towards Paradise.

Dear Father God. You are perfect in all Your ways, and we submit to Your authority this day and always. Amen.

The Father’s Authority

Despising Authority