There aren’t too many issues that supersede the issue of authority in the lives of people. Most likely, the reason that authority is a huge deal is because on some level, for most people, authority conflicts with autonomy, the right to self-rule. Some of the most hotly contested issues of today have authority at the center. Issues such as abortion, gun rights, and LGTBQ issues not only are “hot button” issues, but they have been the impetus for some horrific acts of violence.
Thinking through this issue from a biblical lens, one does not need to read too far into Genesis to find the issue of authority rise to the surface. The Bible records Adam and Eve stretching their autonomous wings and eating of the forbidden fruit. Just a chapter later, and Cain kills his brother Abel because his autonomy is confronted by God’s authority. And then, just two chapters later, the issue of man exerting his autonomy is so great that God exercises His authority by sending a flood to wipe out all of humanity except for eight people. To say the least, authority is a huge deal with massive ramifications.
"To say the least, authority is a huge deal with massive ramifications."
The issue of authority does not become any easier after someone responds to the Gospel by repenting of their sin and becoming a member of the local body of believers, i.e., the church. If anything, they bring issues related to authority into the church with them. Those issues could stem from how they were raised (parental authority), what kind of spouse they currently have or had at one time (spousal authority), the kind of society or culture in which they were raised (societal authority), interactions with the judicial system (governmental authority), and they could even bring in issues from past church experience (church authority). Issues flowing from just one of those five categories could be enough to discourage trust in all forms of authority. However, if someone comes into the church and has multiple forms of authority issues which have intersected over the course of a lifetime, responding to authority just might seem downright impossible.
So how might a church leader respond to someone who grew up in a home where dad physically abused mom and the kids (spousal and parental authority), was constantly in trouble with the police (governmental authority), and lived with societal pressure to do whatever was necessary to survive (societal authority), i.e., “just don’t get caught”? When ideas of authority have been abused and/or ignored for a lifetime, what is a church leader to do when he says, “You must do such and such because God’s Word says so”? What is to keep the new Christian from responding to the church leader in the way that he or she has responded to every other form of authority in his or her life? Those are great questions that demand solid answers which are not dependent upon any one of the five authoritative categories listed above; rather, the answers need to be dependent upon God who is outside of those five categories and has authority over those five categories. The answers to those questions are found in the only document that God has given to us that reveal not only His authority, but also His motivation, His goal, and the outcomes of His authority all of which are vastly different than any of the motivations, goals, and outcomes stemming from human authority.
What makes the difference?
If a church leader is going to have confidence in the authority of God’s Word and if a congregant is going to respond with joy, there must be significant differences between the authority of God’s Word and all other forms of authority. At the top of the list of differences is the origin of the authority. With the Bible, God is the origin of the authority. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that all Scripture is breathed out by God. Literally, the Words of God were breathed out by Him as He used men, carried along by the Holy Spirit, to reveal His will (2 Peter 1:21). As God carried men along, He revealed His words which are prefect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous (Psalm 19:7-11). Attributing these characteristics to God’s authoritative Word creates a significant difference, when one realizes that the One who breathed out the very words of the Bible is loving, merciful, gracious, just, all knowing, all powerful, ever present, incapable of lying, misleading, or exaggerating the truth. Since the Author is perfect in every way, the authority is perfect in every way.
Not only are the very words of God immensely different, but the motive behind the words of God is vastly different from the motive behind human words. There are myriad motives found in the Bible, but the primary motive found throughout Scripture is that God be worshipped, and others be loved (Matthew 22:37-39). This is not the case with the five forms of authority previously highlighted. In each of those cases, those with the power demand both worship and love from those over whom they have control. Husbands demand the attention and affection of their wives, mothers demand glory and the obedience of their children, churches demand obedience in action and attitude to extra-biblical mandates, and on and on it goes. The Bible’s authority, which flows from God Himself, is motivated by the Glory of God and the love of God’s creation.
The goal of God’s Word adds to the power of its authority. As revealed in Romans 8:28-29, God’s goal is that His creation, fallen through the act of one man and one woman (Genesis 3:1-7), would be reconciled to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:18) and become more and more like His Son Jesus, the very reason for our existence (1 Corinthians 10:31). God’s Word containing narratives, indicatives, prophecies, poetry and so much more, all combine into one authoritative Word aimed at saving mankind from sin and the wrath of God to image God Himself. And this goal has remained the same from Genesis 3 until our present day. This goal is overwhelmingly different from any human authoritative goal which will always contain measures aimed at forcing compliance through manipulation, intimidation, or in some cases destruction. In situations where human authority is overseen and governed by God’s authority, forced compliance is replaced with biblical order driven by the love of God and the love of others.
Finally, a major distinction between the authority of the Bible and all other forms of authority is found in the outcomes. According to Psalm 19:7-11, God’s authoritative word revives the soul, makes the simple wise, rejoices the heart, and enlightens spiritual eyes. Rounding out those wonderful outcomes, 2 Timothy 3:17 states that God’s authoritative Word allows His children to be complete, equipped for every good work. No other forms of authority promise those types of outcomes; outcomes that bless and equip the individual for every good work.
Applying these distinctions to the role of the church leader means that the church leader can have confidence as he proclaims the authoritative Word of God fully convinced that he is acting as nothing more than a conduit through which God calls men and women to repent, worship, and love. Applying these distinctions to the child of God means joyful obedience to God’s authoritative Word is possible because the authoritative call is coming from the One who creates and orchestrates everything that has come into existence for His own good pleasure as well as the good of His creation. A church leader can call a husband to joyfully serve his wife without hesitation knowing that his service is an act of worship to God and beneficial for his wife. A church leader can highly encourage a mom to zealously love her child being fully convinced that her Christlike love for her child brings God glory and communicates unconditional love to her child. A church leader can emphatically charge a college student to pray for and even submit to local government mandates knowing that the prayers and submissive acts reflect Jesus and benefit the community in which he lives. These applications, and millions more just like them, never change in origin, motive, goals, and outcomes because the Authority behind the Words is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Church leader, stand and proclaim the authoritative Word of God both corporately and individually, not because you are a good communicator or have an authoritative commanding voice. Rather, stand and proclaim the authoritative Word of God out of Worship of the Creator and love for His creation trusting that the authority behind what you are saying has the power to divide soul and spirit, joint and marrow and distinguish between thoughts and motives (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God is all you have, the Word of God is all you need, and the Word of God is what will outlast what you and I do for the short time that we reside on the earth (1 Peter 1:24-25).
