Authority Issues

Authority is not a very popular word or concept in today’s society.  The authority of law enforcement is openly mocked and challenged.  Authority of civic leaders is derided—and to be fair they bring it upon themselves.  The idea of authority within marriage relationships causes mouths to drop open, aghast at such a suggestion.  Authority within the local church—an area in which I am keenly interested—is confused and confounded. 

I was having lunch with some ministry colleagues recently and we were conversing on the issue of authority in the church.  One of the participants made a comment that got me thinking.  He said, for one to exercise authority they must be under authority. 

As I pondered that statement I was drawn to think on Genesis 3.  In the beginning God created the world and everything in it.  As His crowning act, God created human beings—a man and a woman.  Prior to the creation of the woman, God conferred authority upon the man (“work and keep” of Genesis 2:15 is the origin of the “subdue and have dominion over” in 1:28).  After the creation of the woman, while she shares in the rulership over the created order, she herself is under the authority of the man (refer to 1 Corinthians 11:8-10; 1 Timothy 2:12-14).

When the man ate of the fruit, he ceded his authority and thus the conflict between men and women began.  Man, by virtue of his order in creation, was still intended to exercise authority, but in his act of rebellion he sought to cast off the authority of God over him and thus his right to rule was diminished.  He lost control of his authority over the creation (Genesis 3:17-19) and his ordained authority over woman was now warped and would become a point of strife and contention (Genesis 3:16b- the phrase is perhaps better understood as, ‘you will desire to supplant your husband, and he shall dominate you.’)

Another example from Genesis comes from the account of Nimrod.  Nimrod was a grandson of Noah by Ham and the founder of the city of Babel—yes that same Babel in which the tower was built.  The name ‘Nimrod’ is thought to mean ‘rebellion’ and the story of the tower is a story of rebellion.  After the flood, God commanded Noah and his descendents to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1), but humanity decided to congregate in cities.  This was at the movement of those who came to be leaders, Nimrod in particular.  He is described in Genesis 10 as “a mighty one” and “a mighty hunter”.  However, this does not paint Nimrod in accurate detail.  The Hebrew word ‘gibor’ in 10:8 certainly means mighty, but take the account in detail and the other nuances of the word emerge: ‘one who behaves arrogantly’, ‘a tyrant’.  Genesis 10:9 does not therefore picture a skilled huntsman, but one who dominates over his fellow men.  This is confirmed for me in 10:10 in which he founds a kingdom—the first time the concept of ‘kingdom’ enters the Scripture.  The world was God’s realm, but now a rebel sets up his own competing domain.  I am convinced that the tower episode in Genesis 11:1-9 fits chronologically between 10:10 and 10:11.  In 10:10 we read of “the beginning of his kingdom” in Shinar—the very place the tower was built (see 11:2).  In 10:11 “he went forth”.  What would drive mighty Nimrod out of Shinar?  God stepped in.  The rebel king decided, against the express command of God, not to go out into the world, but to consolidate.  Under Nimrod’s rebellious leadership the people said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4 ESV)  Notice the clear rebellion- “lest we be dispersed…”  So God relieved Nimrod of his authority. Because Nimrod no longer recognized authority over him, he was disqualified from exercising authority—at least to the degree that he had been up to that point.  With his people confused and beginning to scatter, he also was forced to leave.

[As a side note, I find it absolutely fascinating that this rebel was responsible for founding the two empires which would later seek to dominate and destroy God’s people—the city of Babel (founded in Genesis 10:10) would be the center of the Babylonian Empire and Nineveh (founded in Genesis 10:11) would be the capital of the Assyrian Empire.]

To exercise authority, one must be under authority.  What it comes down to is this: only under the authority of Christ can the situation be put right.  

In the home, only as a husband is submitting himself to the authority of Jesus can he claim the right to exercise that correct authority given to him by God.  This is the correct understanding of Ephesians 5. 

 In the Church, as leaders place themselves under Christ’s authority and under the authority of fellow leaders in cooperative ministry, they may confidently lay hold of the Biblical right to shepherd the flock in the Way of Christ and the Apostles (more on this in a later post on ‘modern apostleship’).

If governments would submit themselves to the God who is truly King over all the earth (Psalm 22:28; Romans 13:1) they would be endued with His grace and would rule justly, being recognized as good (Proverbs 29:2).

Our authority issues stem from living under the curse.  While Christians endure in this sin sick world, we are not bound to it.  Christ has set us free to live under His perfect authority and to once again walk in the role that God purposed for humanity, and specifically for a humanity redeemed through Jesus; to regain the right to reveal God’s authority as we live under His righteous rule.