A HIGHER AUTHORITY
Designated power is authority. It is different from power itself. A policeman in uniform can stop a vehicle at a traffic intersection with the wave of hand because he has the authority to do so. He cannot physically stop a moving vehicle if he tries to, but the uniform and his position vests him with authority so that a driver will hit the brakes at his signal.
The world we live in is hierarchical and while all men are created equal in value, there is a hierarchy in position that comes into play when people relate to each other. That positional hierarchy vests limited authority on one person over another in an interpersonal relationship. The example of a boss and an employee or a parent and his dependent child are examples of that sort of authority.
A greater authority is exerted when a larger group of people assigns a higher position to a person compared to the general public. Political offices in matters of governance, law authorities in enforcement, doctors in a medical setting, and so on are examples where people recognize and submit to a more wider human authority.
These above however are still examples of human authority. A higher form is authority that is given by God to men. When Jesus authoritatively preached and healed in the temple courts, the chief priests and elders designated to teach in the temple questioned his authority.
“By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”(Matthew 21:23-26)
Jesus’ reply put them in a quandary. But their reasoning at least tells us that they understood the concept of human and divine authority and the distinction between the two. In today’s world, the concept of divine authority is all but forgotten. It would do well to remember that God has not just created the world to let it roll as it pleases, rather he has an agenda. Further, he entrusts men with his message and agenda and empowers them to accomplish it. That is divine authority- plain and simple.
Every person who has come to know Christ in a personal manner would do well to seek the will of God, and then embark on it knowing that the authority of God goes with him. This authority enables him to accomplish much more than he could ever dream of accomplishing or manage to do on his own. Matthew interjects this encounter immediately after Jesus’ statement,
“ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”(Matthew 21:21,22)
Perhaps there can be no better statement on divine authority than these words of Christ- when you know for sure the will of God, have unflinching faith, couple it with prayer and move forward, beyond the realm of possibility, mountains will move.
For lack of appreciating and exhibiting divine authority, the world is a poorer place.
