The Question of Authority
[H]e raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
(Eph.1:20-21)
To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations — that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father.
(Rev.2:26-27)
Authority is an ambiguous thing in today’s society. We’ve been exposed to so many abuses of authority that it becomes almost impossible to think of someone holding such a position and not abusing it to some extent. Our cultural cynicism simply expects it, is almost resigned to it, and just hopes that it doesn’t hurt too many other people. Unfortunately, it invariably does. Whether in politics, policing, business, sport, media … even the Church, it’s easy to suspect that everyone is abusing their authority to some extent – it’s just they haven’t been caught yet!
Added into the mix our fear of loss of autonomy, bad experiences of arbitrary authority, bullying, manipulation, disappointment and disillusionment, and our aversion to, even resentment of, the very idea of authority comes into focus. If we accept someone’s authority over us, it tends to be something we decide to grant, rather than it being assumed by others. We expect people to earn a position of authority before they tell us what to do. And where we have to accept it, we do so only in specific areas, such as in a line-management situation at work.
By contrast, there tends to be certain arenas in which we assume no-one has the right to tell us what to do. We might surrender that right – temporarily – in certain situations, such as a national emergency (think of recent ‘lockdowns’). But those sorts of extremes aside, we value our autonomy, and assume that we have the freedom to shape our ‘personal’ lives more or less as we wish – with the proviso that we don’t hurt other people.
I guess the question in all of this is: where does Jesus fit? The most basic Christian confession is ‘Jesus is Lord’. For a variety of deep theological reasons, Jesus must be Lord before even He can be Saviour. But the language of Lordship is intrinsically language of authority. ‘Why do you call me Lord! Lord! But do not do what I say?’ (Lk.6:46). Becoming a Christian is precisely a question of who has the right to tell me how to live. His claim extends to who I am, how I live and what I believe. As a Christian I am emphatically not free in such matters – however shocking such a statement may sound to our ears. In terms of character, belief, lifestyle, Jesus claims, and accepts, the position and right of LORD and Master (e.g. Lk.9:33; Lk.12:36; John 13:13 etc.). As we read through and study the Bible, we might be surprise at how far such a claim penetrates our life and being. We expect Jesus to speak to ‘spiritual’ issues, but not content with that He extends His sceptre throughout all of life. The shape and dynamics of marriage, being a parent or a child, and employee or an employer, how we use our money, structure our time, what we do (and don’t do) sexually, how we speak, our emotional life, attitudes, motives, alcohol, … pretty much everything. What we don’t often realise is that we are called to a way of life (Eph.4:24).
But the question comes closer to home when we think of how the authority of Jesus is exercised. If we think in these terms at all, then in our individualistic age we likely assume (wrongly as it happens) that my experience of Jesus’ authority will be direct and unmediated. ‘God told me…’.
In fact, the structures through which Jesus exercises His authority are built into our createdness, and our place within creation. This does not make us less human, or less valued than those who are invested with authority over us – any more than Jesus is less God than the Father because the Father has authority over Him (Matt.8:5-13; Jn.14:10; I Cor.15:24; Rev.2:27 etc.). Those structures run through family, through society, and through Church. The fact in each of these spheres authority has been abused is not a justification to disregard either authority or the structures through which it comes to us. The proper response to the abuse of authority is not to disregard authority altogether, but to ensure that it is exercised within Biblical parameters, following the example of Christ and in the power of the Spirit.
Questions
When – if ever - should Christians disobey the authority of Government?
Have a read at Rom.13:1-7 & I Pet.2:11-17 if you’re not sure where to start…
What should a parent’s authority look like in the life of their family? Can you back your thinking up from the Bible? Do you think there is a ‘Biblical’ way to parent?
Have you ever been on the receiving end of abusive authority? What did you do? Does Jesus’ teaching to ‘turn the other cheek’ mean we are trapped in such situations?
Read Eph.4:11-16
How can you tell whether a Church leader is operating out of their own authority (Jer.5:31), or merely human authority (I Cor.9:8), or by virtue of having been ‘given’ authority by Jesus? How would that affect how you relate to them?
How does recognising an apostle, prophets, evangelist, or pastor-teacher’s authority help you to grow as a Christian? How can we recognise authority without our Church becoming a cult? Are the leadership of a Church beyond criticism or challenge?
What do you think the leadership of a Church have authority to do? …and what not to do?
Some helpful passages here might be Tit.2:15; I Thess.4:1-2; II Cor.10:8… does the kind of authority an Apostle has translate into other offices within Church leadership?
How do you think the Church should respond to someone who doesn’t recognise authority within the life of the Body of Christ?
How does knowing that Jesus is exercising His authority through the leadership team at MIE change how you pray for them… and relate to them? How do you think leaders should be appointed at MIE?
Memory Passage:
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
John 17:1-3
For further reflection:
I suspect we feel rather nervous working our way through a Bible Study like this one: anxiety around the prospect of abuse… we might have theological questions about issues such as ‘priesthood of all believers’… fear of losing control… uncertainty about what this would mean in the future… vulnerable… unsure about what it all might mean… We start with realising that Jesus’ authority – received from His Father, and passed on to the Church – aims to lovingly restore us to the Father and to His own image (Eph.4:24). When we retain the right to respectfully disagree, politely decline, or otherwise disregard Jesus’ authority, we are injuring ourselves and hindering His purposes for us. Likely we don’t think of ourselves as being deliberately rebellious. It’s more that, coming from the culture we do, we have (unknowingly?) disregarded the means of Jesus’ gracious authority, and in doing so have rendered them ineffective in shaping our discipleship.
In real terms it comes down to what we expect from our vicar, our PCC our ministry team, elders, homegroup leaders, youth leaders, children’s group leaders etc. Our sense of what a pastor does is unlikely to include ‘encourage and rebuke with all authority’ (Titus 2:15). It might be worth reflecting on this a bit, and continuing to explore what the Bible teaches about it.
One day of course, Jesus authority will be gloriously and unambiguously demonstrated and enforced (Phil.2:9-11). Christian discipleship is a life lived in active anticipation of that great manifestation. We are growing in our recognition of that authority to shape our life here and now, that it might shape our destiny then. That is going to affect our relationship with those through whom Jesus is leading the Church here and now.