TYPES OF AUTHORITY
There are two kinds of authority is this world
I. Temporal
or Delegated authority
II. Transparent
authority or transmitted authority
I. Delegated authority
Delegated
authority is earthly, human kind
Is
exercised by man, responded to by man and recognized by those who live on this
earth.
The
kind of authority which governments and other earthly rulers have is called
"delegated authority."
The person who
has this authority is a representative of guides and procedures which are incumbent
on all people to follow, but not all have access to them.
The
kind that kings, presidents, governors, military officers, and police have is
power and authority delegated to them
by men above them.
As we
have seen, God is the possessor of ultimate authority, but He has chosen to
"delegate" or "give" this authority to other individuals
who are supposed to act as His representatives.
It is
something which God has instituted, which operates according to the fashion of
this world to govern the people of the world.
Once
God gives this authority, it then belongs to the person to whom it was given.
Although
they are responsible to God for their use of this authority, it is theirs to
exercise as they see fit.
In
essence, they become the authority.
Delegated
authorities may use their power well or they may misuse it.
They
may be good rulers who choose what is in the best interests of God and those
over whom they rule, or they may be evil and use their authority to benefit
themselves and harm others.
Regardless
of how they use it, those who hold positions of power are God's delegated
authorities.
This
delegated authority is easy to identify.
Those
who have it are set apart in some fashion from the common man so that it can be
seen that they are in authority.
They
either sit in a special building like the White House, a palace, or a
governmental office building
or
they ride in a special vehicle such as a royal carriage, limousine, or police
car.
Positions,
titles, uniforms, and many other such externalities all serve to point out
those who have delegated authority.
There
is something that makes them noticeable in a crowd or sets them apart from the
people.
This
kind of authority is always seeking recognition by other men, in fact it needs
this recognition to function.
It is
a natural, worldly authority which was designed by God to appeal to the fallen
nature of man.
II. Transmitted or Transparent authority
There
is another brand of authority shown to us which, although it also originates
with God, is quite different from the delegated variety.
It is
true spiritual authority
For
the sake of clarity, this kind of authority can be referred to as
"transmitted" authority.
It is
through this authority that God intends to govern His people.
Should
be evident in the Church.
Transmitted
authority is exercised simply by transmitting the authority of God.
CHARACTERISTICS
God
finds a yielded vessel totally given over to His divine authority and reveals
His wishes for the people to him and he is an intercessor for them.
The person
involved is simply a channel through which the leadership of God flows.
He
does not need any titles or garments to reinforce what he says.
He is
not trying to impress others so that they will obey him.
His
position is one of being submitted to God.
Consequently
the word of God flows through him to others.
In
this way, the true authority of Jesus is revealed in His church.
This
authority does not belong to the person who is exercising it.
It is
not something which is "given" to him to use according to his own
inclinations.
They
do not have their "own" authority, but simply are responding to the
directions of the Most High.
When
He speaks to them for others, they speak. When He directs them to take some
action, then they move.
But
they never take this authority upon themselves.
No
matter how often they are used by God to transmit His authority, they never
become this authority.
Transparent
authority
Every
transmitted authority is transparent authority
Transparent
authority stands transparent so that true authority is always revealed.
EXAMPLES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
There
are many examples in the Old Testament of this kind of leaders
They
were primarily priests, prophets, and judges such as Moses, Samuel, Elijah, and
King David.
Moses
Moses
was a shining example of God's transparent authority.
God
said to Moses:
Exodus 7:1- “See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh"
When
Moses spoke through Aaron to Pharaoh it was God speaking.
He
was not leading the Children of Israel according to his own ideas or
directions.
He
was not expressing himself.
As
you read the Old Testament account of how he led the Israelites out of bondage,
it is quite clear that he was simply moving and speaking according to
Supernatural instructions.
Every
step, every law and ordinance, every detail of the tabernacle; everything was
done according to heavenly guidance.
He
was not exercising some positional authority or delegated authority which God
had bestowed upon him.
He
was not formulating his own plans and making his own decisions.
He
was simply allowing God to use him to transmit His authority through him to the
people.
He
always without his own opinion spoke exactly what God wanted to say to Pharaoh
and his people.
He
spoke the pure and clean, sanctified word of God.
When
Moses' authority was challenged by Korah and his crowd, he summed up his
position in this way:
Numbers 16:28 - "By this you shall know that the
Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own
will"
Thus
he sanctified God in the eyes of the people (except for that one fateful
occasion of striking the rock a second time, and that cost him his continued
position of leadership in the Promised Land. He only got to see it from a
distance for his failure was counted by God as rebellion.)
Samuel
Another
example of God's transparent authority was Samuel the prophet, priest, and
judge.
There
is no record that the Samuel ever blew it.
He
was God's pure conduit.(channel or pipe)
He
would inquire of God for the people and the people would hear from God through
him.
But
where the rub came in during Samuel's life was when the people decided that
being led by a man with transparent authority wasn't good enough for them. They
had a better idea. Enter King Saul.
1 Samuel 8:1-9:2, NKJV
1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old
that he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and
the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
3 But his sons did not walk in his ways;
they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered
together and came to Samuel at Ramah,
5 and said to him, "Look, you are
old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us
like all the nations."
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when
they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to the
LORD.
7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed
the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected
you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
8 "According to all the works which
they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this
day--with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods--so they are doing
to you also.
9 "Now therefore, heed their voice.
However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the
king who will reign over them."
10 So Samuel told all the words of the
LORD to the people who asked him for a king.
11 And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.
11 And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.
12 "He will appoint captains over his
thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and
reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his
chariots.
13 "He will take your daughters to be
perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
14 "And he will take the best of your
fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.
15 "He will take a tenth of your
grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.
16- "And he will take your male
servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and
put them to his work.
17- "He will take a tenth of your
sheep. And you will be his servants.
18 "And you will cry out in that day
because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not
hear you in that day."
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey
the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us,
20- that we also may be like all the
nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our
battles."
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the
people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.
22 So the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed
their voice, and make them a king." And Samuel said to the men of Israel,
"Every man go to his city."
1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name
was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of
Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.
2 And he had a choice and handsome son
whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the
children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the
people.”
NATURAL
MEN WANT A KING
For
some strange reason God's people are often not satisfied with God's way.
They
desire a human, tangible authority.
They
yearn for someone they can see and hear and feel.
They
feel much more comfortable with something natural.
All
through the Old Testament God made it plain He would rule over His people; they
were not to be like the other nations.
He
would be their judge, and He would go before them and fight their battles!
Being
dissatisfied with his spiritual authority, they came to Samuel and insisted
that he set up for them an earthly ruler (I Sam 8:5-20).
Wow!
What a poor trade, a human king in place of the God of the universe to lead and
fight for them!
Notice
that Samuel's sons were operating in delegated authority just as Eli's sons and
the people rejected them, 10. But instead of waiting for God to deal with them
and substitute another for them as He did with Eli's sons, they decided the
authority structure the heathen nations had was what they needed.
When
Samuel heard this request he became very angry.
He
knew something about what God's intentions were and he understood that God was
using him to transmit Divine direction to His people.
He
was grieved that the nation whom God had chosen as His own would go the wrong
way.
However,
the Lord reminded him that they were not rejecting him but were in fact
rejecting Himself.
They
were not turning away from a man but were refusing God's kingship in their
lives (I Sam 8:7,8).
Why?
Because Samuel was God's transparent authority, Saul was not.
To
reject Samuel was to reject God. To seek a king to rule over them was rebellion
against God.
They
now chose to have a delegated form of authority so they could be under a
rebellious form of government like the other nations.
Tall,
dark and handsome Saul proved what a mistake that was.
He
was after the form of Nimrod who ruled over the city of Babel where he made a name
for himself and drew others behind him to rebel against God.
It is
evidence of God's great love for men and His abundant grace that He did not
forsake the Israelites even though they were abandoning Him.
He
let them have their own way, but first He explained that this request would
only be bad for them.
Earthly,
human authority would harm them in three ways:
1). It would take away their sons and daughters,
2). demand a share of their possessions and
3). bring them into a bondage from which God would not
deliver them (I Sam 8:9-18).
He
allowed them to have their way because He perceived that their hearts had
already turned away from Him. But it is quite clear that this was not His will.
Whether
they realize it or not, TODAY what most of us are really looking for is a kind
of king just like the Children of Israel did so many years ago.
Perhaps
we can identify some reasons for this puzzling desire.
First
of all, having such a king would relieve them of their personal responsibility
to seek God for themselves.
Now
their "leader" could do this for them.
Next,
he could bear all the responsibility, take care of all the problems, decide
upon the directions they should take and fight their battles.
All
they would have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.
There were times when a king of Israel would demonstrate
God's transparent authority as King David often did, but it was rare.
Finally, about 600 BC., the last king of Israel was wiped
out and the nation was sold into captivity.
During all these years after Samuel, God still had His
transparent authority in many different prophets, but the people were getting
hard of hearing.
He finally had to restore transparent authority through
His Son Jesus Christ.
JESUS CHRIST - THE ULTIMATE TRANSPARENT AUTHORITY
Our
Lord Jesus Christ was the supreme example of such transmitted transparent
spiritual authority.
He
did not come to do His own will, but instead submitted Himself to the will of
the Father
John 6:38 – “For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”
He
did not do His own works or even speak His own words but simply offered Himself
as a channel through which the authority of the Father could flow
John 14:10 – “Believest thou not
that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you
I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”
When
Jesus cast out demons, He revealed the authority of the Father.
When
He cursed the fig tree, it was the Father's voice which was heard (Matt 21:19).
When
He rebuked the wind and the waves it was the Father's authority which was
demonstrated (Lk 8:24).
Every
aspect of His living was a manifestation of the invisible God.
He
never exercised His own authority but instead allowed His Father to flow
through Him.
While
walking among men, Jesus demonstrated the ultimate in transparent authority.
He
said to His disciples:
John 14:7-9
7- "If
you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know
Him and have seen Him."
8 - Philip
said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
9- Jesus
said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me,
Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father; so how can you say, `Show us the Father'?
Now that
is transparent authority
To see
Jesus was to see the Father. To hear Him was to hear the words of God.
There
was a striking difference between the authority demonstrated by Jesus and that
of the scribes and Pharisees.
Jesus – transparent authority
Scribes and Pharisees – delegated
authority
Matt. 7:29 - "And it came to
pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his
doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”
It
took a lowly Gentile soldier to figure out the difference between delegated
authority and transparent authority and Jesus marveled at his understanding.
The story reads as follows:
Matthew 8:5-13
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum,
a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,
6 saying, "Lord, my servant is
lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."
7 And Jesus said to him, "I
will come and heal him."
8 The centurion answered and said,
"Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak
a word, and my servant will be healed.
9 "For I also am a man under
authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, `Go,' and he goes;
and to another, `Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, `Do this,' and he does
it."
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled,
and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found
such great faith, not even in Israel!
11 "And I say to you that many
will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven.
12 "But the sons of the kingdom
will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth."
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion,
"Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."
And his servant was healed that same hour.
Jesus
lauded this man's confession for manifesting a greater faith than all the Jews
in Israel.
He
said the Gentiles would see Jesus' Godly authority, submit to it and sit down
in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Jews' place.
Yes,
he showed great faith by not demanding that Jesus come to his house - but there is more here.
He
said, "I am a man UNDER authority." He didn't say, I am a man OF
authority.
He
spoke of his transparency between the officer above him and his men and
acknowledged that is how it is with Jesus and His Father to us.
In
the church we are not to be under
mere men, but submit to God in all things just as Jesus did.
Those
who properly lead in the church are to guide us and come along side and never
to rule over us as the flock of God.
To be
submitted to God is to be transparent and manifest Him to a dying world.
To be
under men in the church is to be back under the delegated system that is seen
among the kings of the Gentiles.
Romans 6:13 – “…and do not go on
presenting the members of your body to sin as
instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive
from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness to God”
Jesus
was restoring God's transparent authority among men once again
and
this time it would be in the form of His Church.
He
told His disciples in Luke:
Luke 22:25,26
25 And He said to them, "The
kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise
authority over them are called `benefactors.'
26 "But not so among you; on
the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he
who governs as he who serves.”
Jesus
came to show us how to lead as God's true servants.
John 13:12-17
12 And so when He had washed their
feet, and taken His garments, and reclined at
the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?
13 “You call Me Teacher and Lord;
and you are right, for so I am.
14 “If I then, the Lord and the
Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 “For I gave you an example that
you also should do as I did to you.
16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a
slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
17 “If you know these things, you
are blessed if you do them.
Matthew
20:27, 28
27 and whoever wishes to be first
among you shall be your slave;
28 just as the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
HIS TRANSPARENT AUTHORITY WAS GIVEN TO THE CHURCH
Just
before Jesus ascended into heaven He spoke to the disciples and said,
Luke 24:49 - "Behold, I send
the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you
are endued with power from on high."
The
"promise of the Father" He was referring to was the Holy Spirit (Acts
1:5).
After
receiving Holy Spirit the apostles demonstrated this transparent form of
authority over and over.
In
Acts 2, they declared the gospel of the kingdom to men from many different
nations who were gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost.
These
non-believers all were able to hear these spirit filled believers in their own
language by a divine importation.
Because
they were simple Jews who didn't know foreign languages and the people knew it,
great fear came upon many and about 3,000 people repented and accepted Jesus in
one day.
In
Acts 3 apostles Peter and John were going to the temple to pray.
As
they were about to pass through the temple gate, a lame man asked them for a
donation and he got a little more than he bargained for.
Peter
told him, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give to thee:
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."
The
man was instantly healed and was excitedly jumping all over the place and made
quite a scene.
When
the people recognized what had happened they all came running to them.
Then
Peter spoke to the crowd and said,
Acts 3:12 – “And when Peter saw it,
he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why
look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made
this man to walk?”
Clearly
God had restored to the earth His transparent authority once again in common
men through faith in Jesus' name.
There
are many other examples in the New Testament of God's men demonstrating His
transparent authority.
One
of the more obvious ones is the account of Peter confronting Ananias and
Sapphira about there sin of deception.
Acts 5:1-5
1 “But a certain man named Ananias,
with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.
2 And he kept back part of the
proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid
it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why
has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the
price of the land for yourself?
4 "While it remained, was it
not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have
you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to
God."
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words,
fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard
these things.”
Wait
a minute! Weren't Ananias and his wife standing there lying to Peter?
Yes,
but because Peter was walking in transparent authority, they were also lying to
the Holy Spirit in him.
Well,
it seemed that all was on the mend once again in the restoration of God's
transparent authority over the earth
There
certainly is a need for authority in the church.
No
doubt God uses men to be both leaders and examples to the others and draw them
into a relationship with Christ.
But
what sort of authority should this be?
Is it
an authority which is derived from a "position" in the assembly?
Does
it come from an appointment to be an elder, minister, deacon or some similar
thing?
Does
a title or an "office" qualify a man to lead God's people?
Is this
responsibility conferred on someone by other men who also possess some entitlement,
education or position?
Does
it come by some kind of vote of confidence by the majority?
Or is
this honor taken upon oneself by virtue of being the strongest personality in
the group?
Certainly
not! All these are just earthly ways which can only serve to hinder God's
purposes and bring others into bondage.
Genuine
spiritual authority emanates from God Himself.
Those
who exercise such authority are prepared vessels that transmit God's thoughts
and desires to His people.
It is
this sort of authority which we should be exercising in the church today.
We
desperately need men who will speak when God speaks to them, who will lead
according to His direction and who will manifest His revelation.
The
great necessity of the hour is not for those who have been schooled, elected or
appointed to positions of authority but for those who are intimate with God and
through whom He can freely transmit His will.
Genuine
spiritual authority does not come with an appointment to a position or
"office."
In
fact, the word "office" used in I Timothy 3:1, 10, 13 in the King
James Version represents no word in the original Greek language but is the
invention of the translators.
I Timothy 3:1,10,13
1- “ This is a true saying, If a man
desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.”
10 –“And let these also first be proved;
then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.”
13-“ For they that have used the office of
a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the
faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Although
certain men in the New Testament acquired labels such as "elder,"
"deacon" or "apostle" their authority did not come from
holding some "position."
These
designations came as a result of the inner spiritual work which God had done
within them.
They
were a means of describing their special functions in the body.
In
some unique area God had prepared these men to be conduits of His authority.
These
names were used to identify these areas of service, not to qualify them for it.
Yes,
the Bible does say that the Apostles "ordained" elders in every
church
Acts
14:23- “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed
with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”
But
what does this term really mean?
W. E.
Vine in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words has this to say:
"Not a formal ecclesiastical
ordination is in view, but the appointment, for the recognition of the
churches, of those who had already been raised up and qualified by the Holy
Spirit, and had given evidence of this in their life and service."
You
see, the Apostles were not arbitrarily selecting men who met certain qualifications,
or who perhaps were most willing to go along with their program or possibly had
a lot of money or influence in the community.
Instead,
they with spiritual eyes were pointing out for the benefit of those who could
not see so clearly, those whom God had already sovereignly selected and
prepared to use as His vessels.
Untold
damage has been done to God's people through the misunderstanding of this
principle.
All
too often, men are appointed to a "position" by other men with the
thought that some kind of authority is needed in the church.
When
we establish earthly, delegated authority in God's church, we thereby offer a
substitution for the true.
When
we elect or appoint men according to human reasoning or perception, we
establish a variety of authority which is foreign to God's plan and which will
only be a hindrance to His perfect will.
The
reason for this is that no matter how "scriptural" it may be,
positional authority can never produce spiritual results.
Nothing
which originates on the earthly level can achieve God's designs.
The
Bible is quite clear:
John 6:63 - "The flesh profits
nothing"
Human
authority can never transmit the power necessary to transform human lives.
It
cannot reach inside a person and touch their heart.
At
best all delegated authority can produce is some kind of earthly arrangement
which approximates the work of the Spirit.
This
not only accomplishes nothing of eternal value but it robs believers of the
opportunity to experience Christ's reality.
Please
don't under estimate the gravity of this.
Human
efforts, backed by natural authority, may be able to accomplished many notable
things in the religious world.
"Revival"
campaigns, membership drives, fund raising and building projects all can be
carried out by strong human leadership.
But
let us remember that the appearance of religious "success" is not the
measure of our spiritual accomplishments.
No
matter how grandiose or impressive our works appear, if they have been
constructed with the wrong substances; earthly natural materials, instead of
supernatural; they are nothing but wood hay and stubble in God's eyes and they
will be destroyed on judgment day.
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