BiC's Christian Blog

Problems:   

• Believing man's idea of authority is equal to God's ordained and delegated authority   
• Seeing God's ordained and delegated authority as an equality in Christ issue rather than a positon in Christ   
• Rebelling against God's ordained and delegated authority

Results:

• We become "uncovered" in God's protection and can easily get creamed by the enemy   
• The body of Christ is weakened as a force for impacting one another and the world   
• We lack of power, fruit, and miracles   
• We dishonor God and Christ and His ways to work in our lives and in the body of Christ

God's design and, in fact, His command for order and the functioning of the Church through delegated authority is critical for the flow of the Holy Spirit through us. While God, through Jesus Christ, has given us great freedom, the freedom to usurp His divine order for authority in the body of Christ is not one of them. To do so is rebellious, and rebellion is a very destructive sin.

What is God's delegated order and authority?

Think of the Trinity - God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. God the Faher is Jesus' authority, and the Holy Spirit defers to Jesus Christ, yet they do not see one another as "better than" or "less than" and they each defer to one another in love. They simply have distinct and divine roles and they each carry them out in complete humility and submission. They each one take their divine purpose and roles seriously and they never rebel. If you recall, Lucifer rebelled against God because he wanted to be equal to God. You also recall the consequences of Lucifer's rebellion. He is now called Satan and thrown out of heaven.

What are examples of God's divine order and delegated authority?

• Husbands and wives   
• Parents and children   
• Denominations and pastors   
• Pastors and lay people   
• Elders and lay people
• Government and citizens
• Employers and employees
  

These are only a few. Everywhere we go as Christians we are always in a place of submission and sometimes we're in authority. There is no authority without submission. All of us are always called to submit to someone, be it a person or the Church or ultimately Christ our Lord. God's divine order is for our protection. When we leave it we're out of bounds and we leave ourselves open to attack. Where ever we are, we need to seek and discern our authority and submit. This is where our power and our protection is and how Christ, through the Holy Spirit is fruitful through us. We are servants first. If God has you in a place of authority, do not take it lightly - you are accountable to Him!

Unfortunately, we have made submission to mean "less than" and authority to mean "better than" rather than simply a working out of God's divine order to have His will accomplished. We need to repent of believing these lies because they are destructive in the Church, in families, and in other relationships. Believing these lies leads to jeoulousy, envy, and strife. Satan is the deceiver and he has led us to believe our identities are in our roles and positions and not in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not to say we can't have healthy discussions and disagreements! But God's order defines who makes a decision and who submits. The truth is we are all equal in Christ, and all of our roles and positions are equally important in the working out of God's plans.

While many Christians pursue obedience in their daily lives, the area of submission and authority is sorely lacking. Some of this is due to poor teaching or no teaching at all, but frankly, much of it is simply rebellion. We don't like to submit. We even go so far as to create ways to make God's divine order "fit" into our kinder, gentler, and more "progressive" generation, concluding that God's ways are out of date. Of course we wouldn't say it this way!

The consequences of rebelling against God's order are far reaching and painful and we are experiencing the consequences in our churches and our relationships. God will let us have our way, but He will not change His ways. We are in a spiritual battle. We have an enemy and he knows when and where to attack our vulnerabilities. Love one another. Stay in order. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. We are all equal in Christ, so let us embrace our God-ordained roles and positions so Jesus can have His way in us!

BiC