Purpose And Power Of Authority (12 page)

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place.” Jesus humbled Himself; therefore, God did something. He didn’t just exalt Him, but He “exalted Him to the highest place.” The Scriptures say that promotion in life does not come from men. “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:6–7 kjv). This means that advancement, progress, and development in your life do not come from man’s doing but from God’s.

Jesus knew authority in a way that we need to understand and live by so that we not only can experience God’s “therefore” but also know that we have authority from God ourselves. What do we learn from Jesus’ humble nature?

We learn that even though we know who we are and what our authority is, we choose not to hold on to our rights so that we can accomplish the greater purpose of fulfilling God’s will in our lives and lifting others up. Jesus could have said, “I’m God. I’m not going to become a human being.” Yet His own confidence and contentment in the knowledge of who He was enabled Him to “[make] himself nothing, [take] the very nature of a servant, [and be] made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:7). As a human being and the Savior of the world, He endured verbal abuse, the emotional pain of betrayal, all human temptations, and excruciating physical suffering, especially through His death on a cross. His choice to humble Himself was not an easy one, but He had no doubts about it.

I have discovered that people who don’t know who they are cannot submit to authority. When you know who you are, then you understand that no one can degrade or devalue you. Submission is possible and becomes easier when you are in touch with your own worth. When you know you are of great value to God, other people’s opinions and treatment of you do not influence you, even though they may
hurt deeply.

Jesus knew that…

• He was called.
  

• He had anointing.
  

• He had power.
  

• He could work miracles.
  

• He had revelation knowledge.
  

However, He also knew that His authority came from God the Father, and He lived to serve God and to fulfill His purpose on earth. “‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’” (John 4:34).

“He humbled himself.…Therefore God exalted him to the highest place” (Philippians 2:8–9). If you want to live in the authority of your personal domain, if you want God to promote you, if you want to be successful in life and fulfill the Father’s will, you must understand these points, which are derived from the principle
of authority:

1. When you know who you are in your God-given authority, the first thing you look for is the authority that God has placed in your life to benefit and protect you and to release your authority. This is the last thing that most people do. Instead, they look for reputation, fame, and power over others; they seek to build organizations, gains followers, and so forth.
The Creator gives all people inherent authority, in various realms and for specific reasons, and we are to respond to other people in recognition of their authority, respecting God’s order. John the Baptist was God’s established authority to prepare people for the coming of the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus recognized and accepted John as the authority sent from God, through His understanding of the prophetic Scriptures and John’s testimony.

2. Without authority, there can be no (other) authority. Jesus went to John before He began His ministry and submitted to his authority. Jesus told John, in effect, “John, the order is you, then Me. It doesn’t matter who I am; it’s the way we work together that counts.” There was a mutual submission of One to the other according to God’s authority that enabled them both to fulfill their individual purposes.

3. “Authority” without true authority is no authority. Jesus’ submission to God’s authority through John released Him to begin His own ministry. Yet, if He hadn’t submitted, He would have had no authority for functioning in His ministry.

4. Understanding authority is the key to life and effective living. God’s Holy Spirit dwelled in Jesus and also came upon Him at His baptism to enable Him to fulfill His calling. This would not have happened without Jesus’ willingness to submit.

5. Authority is the thread that holds the fabric of life together. As I wrote earlier, most of the problems we are facing—whether personal, corporate, community, or national—come from the fact that we don’t understand or live according to authority that reflects the Creator’s nature and purpose. Our lives are like beautiful designs that God is making on fabric that He has woven. The fabric itself is made up of threads of authority, and if we violate His authority, then the plan that He has for our lives will not unfold in His great design but instead will begin to unravel.

Authority is such a vital principle because we are not authorized to function if we are not under authority. To return to the manufacturer’s analogy, many companies who produce products guarantee them, but only through the proper authority—the manual and the warranty. In such cases, even though a product leaves the company’s warehouse, it never leaves the company’s authority. Again, not only are consumers to consult the manual to know how to use the product properly, but they are also to go only to an authorized dealer in case of any needed repairs.

Having an authorized dealer implies that the dealer is submitted to the company that delegated its authority, so that the product is still under the jurisdiction of its originator. We have “authorized dealers” in various realms of life. For instance, the CEO of an organization is like an authorized dealer because he must ultimately answer to the board of directors, to the stockholders, or to the customers.

In another example, a secretary of state represents the president of a country but also oversees ambassadors to the nations with which that country has diplomatic relations. If the system works as it was set up to do, the ambassadors function under delegated authority; they represent the president, even though they are not always in direct contact with him. They are not allowed the leeway to set their own policies with the nations; they are always to be submitted to the authority of the secretary of state, who is to be submitted to the president. They are never to speak for themselves but only for the president, so they make official statements such as, “My government’s position is….”

Likewise, if we are under God’s authority, it is not our place to set a policy that is different from His or to speak according to our own agendas. In the same way that distance does not cancel the authority that the political ambassadors are under, our being on earth and God’s being in heaven does not cancel His authority in our lives, especially since He gives us His very Spirit to dwell within us when we are restored to Him. On the contrary, it is our role to carry out His authority on the earth.

Colonel Larry Donnithorne, in his book The West Point Way of Leadership, told how individuals become effective leaders in their own lives through a system of discipline. He wrote, “Every leader is a follower. No one commands an organization without restraints. For every leader, no matter how ‘supreme,’ there is always a higher authority who must be answered [whom he’s responsible to].”1

In fact, everybody who wants to be successful must answer to somebody else. The success of a prime minister or CEO or ambassador depends largely on how well he has learned in the past to submit to authority, to learn from others, and to serve others. In the same way, your success in your authority will depend on your own ability to submit to genuine authority, to learn, and to serve. It’s only when we learn submission that we can become true leaders.

Finally, as we pursue our personal authority, we must keep in mind that (1) our Ultimate Authority is God; we are to submit to Him and His purposes for us; (2) we are to “submit” to, or live according to, our inherent domains—the authority, dreams, and gifts God has given us—and not try to be someone we aren’t or to succeed with improper motivations; (3) we are to submit to others’ God-given authority in mutual relationship and community.

Chapter Six

Purpose has to do with original intent, and we have seen that authority is an inherent part of the design of humanity by its Source, the Creator God of the universe. To summarize our exploration of the meaning of true authority, and to serve as a prelude to part two of this book, in which we will examine how you can apply these truths to your personal authority, let us look at ten primary reasons why authority was established as an essential principle for our lives.

Authority produces and maintains order—in families, in society, in the world—because it establishes a reference for all relationships in life. When functioning according to authority, everyone knows where he is supposed to be and what he is meant to do based on the authority he has been given.

This authority must be founded on the Absolute Authority, the Creator, or else it will fall apart. Absolute in this sense doesn’t mean controlling, abusive, or oppressive. Instead, it reflects these definitions:

1. “Independent of arbitrary standards of measurement.” God’s authority is stable; it doesn’t change on a whim so that we are left confused or off balance. He isn’t fickle or capricious. As our Ultimate Authority, God is our standard-setter. The word ruler was derived from rule, which comes from a Latin word meaning “to keep straight, direct.” True authority gives you a reference, a direction in which to go.

2. “Fundamental, ultimate.” There is nothing beyond or above God’s principles and standards. Anything else is inferior.

3. “Perfectly embodying the nature of a thing.” God’s authority is inseparable from who He is—it is part of His nature.

Human beings were made for relationships and for cooperative endeavors, and God’s authority provides the necessary order in which they can successfully occur.

Because authority produces order, it creates an environment for maximum productivity. Previously, we looked at the analogy of the manufacturer’s manual. If we follow the manufacturer’s instructions for caring for a product, it will function at its highest capacity. If we violate the authorized instructions, we will impair the product’s potential so that it cannot be maximized. Following inherent authority guarantees the successful functioning of the product.

In a similar way, human beings are most successful when they live according to the principle of authority. When each person comes from the reference point that everyone has personal authority—a special part to play in the whole—and each person values others’ authority and contributions, then conflict, contention, friction, and confusion do not arise and drain productivity. Everyone works together for the greatest result. One definition of productive is “having the quality or power of producing especially in abundance.” The “quality” would refer to the authority, and the “power” would refer to the ability we have each been given by the Creator to carry it out. If we violate the principle of authority, we automatically hinder our potential and effectiveness.

Authority is designed to protect its products, not to restrict them. The Creator’s authority establishes the boundaries, limitations, and references that protect us from misuse, abuse, and self-destruction. When our first human parents abandoned their authority, they self-destructed, and we still experience the effects of that decision every day.

A manufacturer’s manual has a list of dos and don’ts to protect the product, as well as those who relate to and deal with the product. Therefore, if we obey the instructions of our Manufacturer, if we stay in our authority, then we protect not only ourselves but also others with whom we are in relationship and with whom we deal in various realms of life.

Jesus Himself couldn’t be without a covering of authority from God the Father. We must continually remind ourselves that we need to be covered by authority so that we can also protect others and keep them safe.

Preservation is related to protection. If a manufacturer promises that his product has a lifetime guarantee if you follow certain procedures, then, if you follow them, the product should last. If you violate them, however, the product is compromised, and the guarantee is canceled.

The Creator has given promises to us, but we need to follow the corresponding conditions to be able to benefit from them. God’s authority preserves the quality of our lives if we follow the instructions in His Manual, the Scriptures, for how we are to conduct ourselves. In addition, being true to the personal authority He has placed within us will safeguard His specific purposes for us. We also have God’s Spirit living inside us, so we have the authority and the ability, including the perseverance, to carry out His purposes.

Anyone who delegates part of his authority to others is responsible for representing them. We often think in terms of ambassadors representing their countries and products representing their manufacturers, but the reverse is also true. We see this reality functioning in two practical ways—through validation and defense.

Validation

First, if you are operating under the authority of another person, that person’s authority certifies the decisions and actions you take on his behalf. Jesus continually stated that His actions were endorsed by a heavenly authority. He said, “The very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me” (John 5:36), and “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does” (John 10:37). Jesus had peace even in regard to death because of His validated authority: