In this universe God is the supreme authority; He has all the authority, and we need to know authority, submit to God’s authority, and also submit to God’s delegated authority.
In our deeper study of the book of Numbers this week we come to the matter of Authority, Rebellion, the Vindication of Delegated Authority, and a Proper Representative of God.
When we look at the book of Numbers one of the most striking things that we realise is that, in God’s formation of His army to fight for His interest on earth and journey with God, there is a lot of rebellion.
It’s almost chapter after chapter there’s rebellion after rebellion; the common people rebelled, the priests rebelled, the leaders rebelled, Miriam (Moses’ sister) and Aaron rebelled, and everyone rebelled against God and His authority, including Moses himself.
In touching this matter of authority, rebellion, the vindication of delegated authority, and a proper representative of God, we touch the core problem in this universe, which is the rebellion of Satan.
Satan and his followers rebelled against God, and the entire human race is also in rebellion against the unique and absolute authority of God.
Because of Satan’s rebellion and man’s fall, the entire universe is a state of rebellion against the authority of God; however, we as the people of God come under God’s authority and choose to be under His rule, so that He may obtain what He is after, and He may carry out His purpose.
Satan will continue to rebel and will continue to incite rebellion until he is finally cast into the lake of fire.
May we open to the Lord regarding this matter of authority, and may the Lord have mercy on us that we would not only know and enjoy Christ as our life and person, but also touch God’s authority, know God’s authority, obey God, and be under the delegated authority that He has placed above us.
May we exercise our spirit and be calm, clear in our mind, and may we allow the Lord to touch our being and enlighten us to supply us and deal with us, even as He wishes, so that He may expose rebellion in us and bring us under His authority in every part of our being.
God is the supreme Authority; He has All Authority, and All Authority derives from God
God is the supreme authority; God has all the authority (see Rom. 9:21-22), and to know God is to know authority. If we have not met authority, we have not really met God.
We may have a relationship with the Lord Jesus, we love Him, we enjoy Him, and we appreciate having a heavenly Father, but in order to know God, we need to realise that He has all authority.
God’s authority represents God Himself; God’s power only represents God’s works (Acts 17:24). We may know God’s works and we may realise that He can do mighty things, but to really know God is to know authority, for God’s authority represents God Himself.
The Greek word for authority means issuing out from His being; ousia is “being” and ex / ec is “out from”. Authority is out of God’s being, for God Himself is the supreme authority.
No angel, no human being, has such authority; authority flows out from God’s own being. This is why no one who has been enlightened would dare to think that he or she has any authority, for authority is God Himself.
All authority – spiritual authority, positional authority, and governmental authority – derives from God Himself (see 2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10; John 19:10-11; Gen. 9:6).
All deputy authority that is on earth is ordered by God; if we trace any authority upward, we will eventually come to God, for He is above all authorities and all authorities are under Him. Once we touch God’s authority, we touch God Himself.
We don’t know how God’s authority works, but we know that God accomplishes everything through His authority.
For example, the centurion whose servant was sick knew that there was authority above him to which he should submit, and there were some under him that would submit to him; he also recognized that the Lord is the supreme authority, so he only needed the Lord to say a word, and the situation was sorted out.
When the Lord Jesus saw this, He said that he had found no greater faith than this; faith is related to believing in God’s authority and knowing God’s authority.
We need to realise that all authority is in God’s hand; we need to know God’s authority and realise that God is the supreme authority, and all authority derives from God.
Meeting God’s authority is the same as meeting God.
Today God appoints authorities everywhere in the universe, and even though we may not like those placed over us or we may not agree with them, we need to submit to authority, for in submitting to the delegated authority God has placed over us, we submit to God’s authority.
For example, the president of the United States of America in his / her office has authority; however, the rebellion displayed in the Senate and the House displays a total disregard not just for the present president but for God, because He is the source.
May we bring this matter to the Lord and tell Him,
Lord, may we know God and His authority. May we realise that God is the supreme authority and that He has all authority. Save us from being in rebellion against God’s authority and against God’s deputy authority. Oh Lord, may we touch God’s authority and realise that God Himself is represented by His authority. Grant us to have such a great faith that we would know God’s authority, realising that all authority derives from God. Make us real Christians, real men who take the lead to submit to God’s authority.
We must Touch God’s Authority, be Restricted by God, and be Led by His deputy Authority
We may think we know authority until we really touch God’s authority. We may think we know the power of electricity until we really touch electricity, the electrical current, and then we will be aware of its authority.
All believers in Christ need to touch God’s authority; touching authority is as real as the matter of touching salvation, and it is a deeper lesson in our Christian life.
Only when we touch God’s authority can we work the work of God and can we be entrusted by God with His work. Only when we touch authority can we see God’s authority and submit to it, be restricted by God’s authority, and begin to be used by God.
We will realise that there are two principles in the universe – God’s authority and Satan’s rebellion; even though a rebellious person can preach the gospel, Satan will laugh at him, for the principle of Satan is right there in his doing a work for God.
Once we touch God’s authority, we will never be careless about it. In Numbers we see that the rebellious ones spoke against Moses for not leading them into the land flowing with milk and honey and for not giving them the inheritance of fields and vineyards.
If you were to look at the outward situation, these rebellious ones were right – they didn’t arrive in the good land yet.
The principle of rebellion includes something that is right and good, but it also has the element of rebelling against God.
Only those who submit to authority can enter Canaan by faith; the way of the spirit can never be taken by those who argue and reason. But if we follow the Lord’s leading in His word, in the ministry, and in His Body, submitting to the deputy authority that He has placed over us, we will enter into the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ as the good land.
The way of rebellion leads to death – just as the earth opened and swallowed up those who rebelled.
Those who don’t submit to authority seem to have a clear vision, clear eyes, but they only see the desolation in the wilderness.
When we submit to God’s authority and obey the vision He has given us, we may be seemingly blind, probing forward by faith, and ignoring the present desolation, but this will usher us into the enjoyment of Christ.
When we touch God’s authority, we will really know authority, we will submit to God, and our rebellion is exposed; we will be restricted by God, we will be led by His deputy authority, and we will enter into the enjoyment of Christ as the all-inclusive One.
But if we only see men who exercise authority without realising that God is the supreme authority, we have not yet met God nor have we touched His authority.
The matter of authority is not an outward teaching but rather, an inward revelation. When we are touched and dealt with by God as we meet His authority, we will realise that we cannot oppose Him or resist Him, for offending God’s authority is the same as offending God Himself.
In our relationship with God, nothing is more important than touching authority (Acts 9:5; Matt. 11:25).
When Saul of Tarsus met the Lord, he met authority; he then asked, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord told him to go into the city, and there he will be told what to do; the Lord sent a representative of His authority to Saul of Tarsus to tell him what to do…and this is how his journey began.
Whenever we act and judge according to doctrine or according to what we see with our physical eyes, we take the way of reason; but when we submit to authority, we will enter the good land by faith.
God, we want to know You and touch Your authority so that we may know that God is the supreme authority, and all deputy authority has been ordained by Him. Shine on us and expose our rebellious nature. Save us from trying to rationalise or live according to right or wrong. May we be filled with faith, believing in God and knowing His authority so that we may enter into the good land, not looking at our current situation but believing in God. We want to take the way of the spirit, obeying God and His leading, and taking the leading of God’s deputy authority to enjoy the fulness of the Spirit.
This article can also be read in the Romanian language / Citiți acest articol în limba română vizitând următorul link, Să ne dăm seama că Dumnezeu este autoritatea supremă și să atingem autoritatea lui Dumnezeu.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 47, ”Authority and Submission,” chs. 1-3, 6-8, 12-15, 17-18, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Numbers (2), week 8, Authority, Rebellion, the Vindication of Delegated Authority, and a Proper Representative of God.
- Hymns on this topic:
# God’s Kingdom on the earth is now / His sovereign government within; / ’Tis Christ Himself in us to live / As Lord and King to rule and reign. (Hymns #942)
# God’s kingdom is God’s reigning, / His glory to maintain; / It is His sovereign ruling, / His order to sustain. / He exercises fully / His own authority / Within His kingdom ever / And to eternity. (Hymns #941)
# Have Thine own way, Lord, / Have Thine own way; / Thou art the Potter, / I am the clay. / Mould me and make me / After Thy will, / While I am waiting, / Yielded and still. (Hymns #449)
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