LESSON 2.A
“For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, not in Israel.”(Matthew 8:9-10)
1. God’s children should not only learn to recognize authorize, they should likewise be looking for those to whom they ought to be obedient. The Centurion who spoke to Jesus truly was a man who knew authority. Today, even as God upholds the whole universe with His authority so He joins His children together through His authority.
2. If anyone of His children is independent and self-reliant not subject to God’s delegated authority then that one can never accomplish the work of God on earth. Each and every child of God must look for some authority to obey so that they may be well coordinated with others.
3. We are not to choose whom to obey, but to learn to be subject to all governing authorities. There is no one who is fit to be God’s delegated authority unless he himself first knows how to be under authority. And, no one can know how to exercise authority until his own rebellion has been dealt with.
4. Beyond a personal knowledge of authority and a life lived under authority God’s delegated authority needs to fulfill the following three requirements:
A. He must know that all authority come from God.
(1) Every person who is called to be a delegated authority should remember,“ . . . there is no delegated authority except from God; and those exist are set up by God.” (Romans 13:1) 14
We ourselves have not the slightest authority in the home, church, and the world. All we can do is execute God’s authority, nor can we create authority for ourselves.
(2) For one to be in authority does not depend on his having ideas and thoughts; rather does it hinge on knowing the will of God. The measure of one’s knowledge of God’s will is the measure of his delegated authority. God establishes a person to be His delegated authority entirely on the basis of the knowledge of God’s will.
(3) What we do must come from what we have learned before God and what we say must issue from that which we have experienced of Him. For this reason we must learn to rise high and touch deeply in spiritual things.
B. He must deny himself.
(1) Until one knows the will of God he should keep his mouth shut. He should not exercise authority carelessly. Unless we are completely broken by the Lord we are not qualified to be God’s delegated authority. God calls us to represent His authority not to substitute His authority.
(2) God is sovereign in His personality and position. His will is His. He never consults with man nor does He allow anyone to be His counselor. Consequently one who represent authority must not be a subjective person.
(3) Their cleverness, opinion, and thoughts all must be broken. Those who are naturally talkative, opinionated, and self-conceited automatically disqualify themselves.
(4) We are not to express our own views not to itch to interfere with others’ affairs. A subjective person has never learned discipline nor have they been seriously dealt with.
C. He must constantly keep in fellowship with God.
(1) Those who are God’s delegated authority need to maintain close fellowship (communion) with God. There must be not only communication but also communion.
(2) Anyone who offers opinion freely and speaks in the name of God carelessly is far away from God and does not know Him.
(3) Communion is another principal requirement for one in authority. The nearer one is God the clearer he sees his own faults. He has no confidence in his flesh, he begins to be afraid
lest he “err” cause problems within the body. Those who speak casually expose themselves as being far from God.
(4) The fear of God cannot be put on outwardly only those who always wait on the Lord possess this virtue. We must learn to fear God and refrain from doing anything carelessly.
(5) We must live in His presence, commune with Him continuously, and seek to know His mind. Unless I have spoken with God, I have nothing to say to man.
(6) Whenever we wander or stray from God the character of our authority changes.
