Determining God’s Will - 1

What Do We Mean by "Authority"

Royce P. Bell

The battleground in religion has always revolved around the subject of authority. Whether we are comparing Christianity against any other religious expression or practice, or are examining only those matters that are held to be distinctively "Chrisitian" in their nature, the point is still the same, namely: "Wherein does authority reside, and how do we determine what is right?"

God, the Source of Imperial Authority

Assuming that we are limiting the scope of our discussion to those matters that are distinctively Christian, we can all agree that God is the ultimate source of all authority. In Him all authority dwells and from Him all authority flows. In other words, we only have authority when we act according to His will, having determined what that will is. This is an axiomatic truth that should be self-evident to those who are believers in God, so I will not belabor the point by showing the hundreds, if not thousands, of scriptures where this is evident. If we believe in God at all, this point is beyond question.

Christ, the Source of All Delegated Authority

Actually, we need to be very careful that we are not misunderstood on this point. It is true that Jesus, the Word (John 1:1-3, 14) is God and was with God, being one of the Godhead (or "Godhood," as in "boyhood" or "girlhood," or "womanhood"), but that presence in and with God was not something that was selfishly guarded and kept. Instead, He emptied Himself and became as one of His creatures (Philippians 2:5-8).

Faithful to the task, for which He had willingly surrendered His former glory and presence in the Heavens, He suffered and died in behalf of His sinful creatures, becoming a sacrifice for them. But, what does that mean? How do we know His sacrifice was sufficient before God? Consider:

His death alone was not sufficient, else a mere dead body in some unknown place might have been sufficient.
His burial after His death was not sufficient, in itself, else some grave containing bones and other residue of decomposition would be testimony of a savior.
His resurrection from the dead after His burial, was not within itself sufficient, else any other person raised from the dead (eg. Lazarus, etc.) would be a savior.

Rather,

It was the completion of all of these things, consummated when He ascended on to the right hand of the Father and received "all authority in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18) that constituted Him as the Source of a all delegated authority.

Remember that in His former glory, He, as God, possessed all imperial authority. But, His coming to Earth and accomplishing the magnitude of redemption’s plan is what qualified Him in that particular respect, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

"9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

The force of this truth is succinctly stated in Colossians 1:15-20, wherein Paul argues from several directions that Christ is the ultimate source of authority:

15And He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Let’s examine this argument:

Christ’s likeness to God as the "image of the invisible God" (v. 15), and His presence with and as God from the very beginning establishes His right and claim. He has the right to command and to be obeyed, for He is God.
Christ’s position as Creator and Sustainer (vr. 16-17) is an equal claim to imperial authority. It is not only so because He is God, but specifically because He created all things, by Himself and for Himself. Yet, His creation was not without the full knowledge and concurrence of the Father and the Holy Spirit. He sustains all that is created. In Paul’s words, "in Him all things hold together." If He was to relinquish His sustaining power that is manifest in His ordinance of the physical laws, all that exists would simply fly apart and return to the chaos that was before He placed order into His creation (see Genesis 1:2).
Christ’s position as qualified Redeemer, secured by virtue of His faithfulness to the task of incarnation (becoming a man), sacrifice, and coronation (being vested with Kingship, sitting at the Father’s right hand) has made Him "first place in everything" (vr. 18). Furthermore, all the fullness of Divine authority resides in Him (not only as God, but in this context, more particularly as Redeemer), according to the good pleasure of the Father (vr. 19).
Christ’s reconciliation (as Redeemer, Lord) of all things unto Himself (as God, Creator), by the blood of His cross (that is, by His sacrifice), has given Him the right and claim to all manifest and delegated authority over those things which were reconciled, whether on earth or in heaven (vr. 20). It is in this way that, as He said, "all authority has been given to me in Heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18).

So, What is Authority?

Simply stated, "authority" is the "power of choice, leave or permission," or "the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises" as the "power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)." Concerning God, authority is "the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)" (composite definition from Thayer).

The point for you and me is actually quite simple: How can we know that we have the power of choice, leave or permission to act or do, as manifest in the expressed will of God? We must, in some way, know what is God’s will, else we would have no permission to act. But, how?

More later…