Please see the previous article for background material. If you do not have a copy of the article, please ask someone where the previous article can be found.
Having established that God is the ultimate source of Imperial authority (that is, the final One who commands and must be obeyed), and that Christ is the ultimate of all derived (or delegated) authority (meaning all authority that flows from the Imperial source and through something/someone else), we turn now to the question that was posed in the final paragraph of the last article:
"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?"
Before we can answer that important question, we must determine what is the expressed will of God and how is it expressed? From the standpoint of believers (the limitation we place on this series), we will all agree that the will of God is expressed in the Word of God, the Bible. But, we must be careful to avoid the error of saying that the Bible is authority for itself, when in fact that authority that is vested in the Word of God exists solely because of its origin. If the scriptures are not inspired of God, they could have no authority at all. This is why the mere assertion of Divine origin (such as is affirmed of the Book of Mormon or the Koran) is of so little worth. What matters is not the claim, but the authority that stands behind the claim.
Consider the following scripture, from Acts 1:6-8, in a conversation between Jesus and His apostles, shortly after His resurrection and just before His ascension to the Right Hand of the Father in Heaven:
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
Notice first that there are some things that are fixed by God’s own authority. This is what I meant when I spoke of God’s Imperial authority, the ultimate source from which all authority must find it origin. But, that does not mean that God would keep all authority for Himself, for this very scripture points out that God’s authority would be granted to Christ’s apostles. God’s dominion and jurisdiction (authority, vr. 7) would grant might, strength and ability (power, vr. 8) to Christ’s apostles when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
The granting of power from the Father through His Holy Spirit would equip Christ’s apostles to be witness of Him, that is, of His living Presence before His death and His living Presence after His resurrection. That is why it was required of an apostle to be a witness of the resurrection of Christ (cf. Acts 1:22), but not necessarily before the fact (as some erroneously argue). Paul is an example of an apostle who became a witness of Christ’s resurrection, exactly as Acts 1:22 said it would be.
What we need to see is that the apostles were moved upon by God’s Spirit in such a way that Divine authority was manifested through them (as those who derived authority from the Father). This was not something that had not been done before. Peter spoke of the prophets of old who spoke and wrote according to the same process of delegated authority that directed the preachers of the first century gospel:
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look (1 Peter 1:12).
Looking further into the matter, Peter moved beyond that which was revealed to those early prophets, and even the apostles with their oral declarations (as the scriptural text of the New Testament was being prepared), by saying:
19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:19-21).
Notice two important points in this scripture: (1) the prophetic word made more sure, that is the unfolding of the events and words that establish that what was revealed before did truly and actually come to pass, and (2) no private origin (interpretation) of any prophecy of scripture, that is, If it is from God, it does not have its origin within man.
Then, how did it come; what was its origin? Quite simply, it came exactly as Jesus said it would come, "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8, see above citation). Is that not exactly what Peter said in 2 Peter 1:21, "…men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." You can’t make it any simpler than that!
Now, don’t miss the point: We are not content to establish that the apostles and prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak from God (that is, as those who were used by God in expressing His will). We must see that what they spoke has been given to us, that we are the latter-day recipients of the Divine will that was fully and completely revealed when the last stoke of the 1st century pen was made, the punctuation was affixed, and the signature attached.
So, it was affirmed by Paul that his words were the commandments of God (1 Corinthians 14:37), being delivered to him, not by man or even the product of man’s teaching, but by revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:10). And, when he wrote of the resident authority of the scriptures, he connected it directly to their origin in the mind of God:
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The validity of the scriptures is seen in their practical profitability, not only for teaching (which is obvious), but also for reproof (exposing and convicting), correction (lit. "to set straight" or rebuke), and training in righteousness (discipline in the practice of righteousness), but also (and more effectually) to fully and adequately equip us for every good work.
Next week, Lord willing, we will examine in more detail the answer to the question which we posed at the beginning of this article. More later…