Submit to God’s Authority through His Delegated Authorities to be Supplied and Function

According to the Bible and God’s ordination, only God is the direct authority to man, and all other authorities are indirect authorities, delegated authorities; when we meet God’s authority, we can submit to the delegated authorities, and we all need to be restricted by God and be led by His delegated authority.

Lord Jesus, unveil us to see God’s authority. May we realise that only God is the direct authority to man, and He has appointed certain delegated authorities. We submit ourselves to You, Lord, and we take You as our authority. Grant us to meet God’s authority so that we can submit to the delegated authorities whom You appoint over us. Oh Lord, we praise You for Your appointment and ordination! Amen!

We all can testify that, both based on what the Bible tells us and on our experience, we have met God’s authority. It is a mercy from the Lord for us to see that God is the supreme authority, and we all are under His authority.

And the ones that He has appointed to bear authority today or be in positions of authority, at least for a certain period of time, they represent God’s authority.

Whether we agree with them or not, whether we like them or not, and whether we think we’re better than them or not, we need to learn to submit to God’s authority and also to the deputy authority He has put over us.

When we touch God’s authority, we touch God Himself. In the aspect of life, God went through a process and was consummated to be our life for our enjoyment; we can now take Christ as our life, we can exercise our spirit, and we can live Christ, even live because of Him.

This is so enjoyable, so real, and so practical! In the aspect of authority,

God is the supreme authority, and all authority – whether spiritual, positional, and governmental – derives from God. In our relationship with God, especially in the aspect of authority, nothing is more important than touching authority.

When we touch God’s authority and are smitten by God’s authority, we will realise that God is the unique authority, and He has appointed certain ones to be the representatives of His authority.

If we enjoy Christ as life, if we read the Bible and partake of the riches of Christ, we will also keep the proper order, and we will submit to God’s authority, for the life of God in us is a life of submission.

Submit to God’s Authority by Submitting to His Delegated Authorities to Receive the Supply and Know our Position

Only God is the direct authority to man; all the other authorities are indirect authorities, which have been appointed by God (see Dan. 4:32, 34-37).

God has appointed certain delegated authorities, deputy authorities. In both the Old and the New Testament, we see that we need to submit to God’s authority, and we do this many times by submitting to His delegated authorities.

God’s authority is expressed through various people, both in society and in the church life. As members in the Body of Christ, we need to realise that God has placed certain members in authority for a period of time, and we need to submit to the deputy authorities of God.

In Hebrews 13:17 we are told that we should obey the ones leading us and submit to them, for they watch over our souls as those who will render an account.

If we want to receive the spiritual supply, grow in life, and know and function in our position in the Body, we need to submit to God’s authority by submitting to His deputy authorities.

God has given certain members a gift, which is their ministry, and the ones who have the ministry have the authority.

God’s appointed ministry is His authority; we should not reject this but rather, submit to indirect authorities, God’s deputy authorities so that we may receive spiritual supply.

If we read the Gospels, we see that even the Lord Jesus had to submit to authority on earth. Actually, there’s authority everywhere, and God has delegated authorities wherever we are. If we are at home, in our family life, God has placed the parents as the authority.

Even between the husband and the wife, God’s ordination is that the husband is the authority.

In the Body of Christ, God has given the elders to represent God’s authority; they are God’s deputy authorities. If we submit to the elders, we receive the supply.

If we want to have the oneness of the Body of Christ, we must first receive and enjoy the life from the Head, and then we need to be under the authority of the Head.

If we don’t have the life of Christ, the divine life, we are not part of the Body of Christ. Similarly, if we do not submit to Christ as the Head and the deputy authorities He has set, we do not receive the supply but rather, we break the order in the Body.

Only when we meet God’s authority can we submit to the delegated authorities whom God appoints (Matt. 28:18; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:5).

There are delegated authorities everywhere, and when we are in different settings, we are under different authorities as ordained by God. At work, God has placed certain persons in authority, and we need to submit to them.

In society, God has also placed certain authorities. Even on the street, God has placed certain deputy authorities and we need to submit to them.

May we learn to contact the Lord, receive His life, and also allow the life of the Head to flow in us and rule in us so that the Body can become one. God wants us to submit not only to Him but also to all His deputy authorities.

In His sovereignty and according to His arrangement, God has certain delegated authorities, and we submit to God when we submit to them (Rom. 13:1-7; 2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10; Heb. 13:17).

If we say we submit to God but we have a problem with His delegated authorities, we don’t actually submit to God. Those who don’t submit to God’s indirect authority cannot submit to God’s direct authority.

But if we submit to God’s authority and we also submit, by HIs life of submission in us, to His deputy authorities, we will know what our position in the Body is, we will be supplied, we will stand in our proper position, and we will function in a proper way.

Lord Jesus, grant us to realise that only God is the direct authority to man, and all other authorities are indirect authorities! Amen, Lord, we look to You and we submit to God. We take Your life of submission so that we may submit to God’s authority and also submit to God’s deputy authorities. May we see who is the authority over us in the family life, at work, in society, on the road, and in the church life, and may we submit to God by submitting to the deputy authorities ordained by God! Amen, Lord, thank You for placing us in the Body of Christ as members under Christ as the Head. We take You as our Head. We receive the life coming from You and we allow Your life to flow in us and out of us. Amen, Lord, we submit to Your authority as the Head, and we also submit to Your deputy authorities, the saints through whom You flow as authority. May we keep the oneness of the Body by receiving the life from the Head and submitting to His authority!

We must Meet Authority, be Restricted by the Lord, and be Led by His Delegated Authority

If we read the account of Paul’s conversion in Acts we realise that, when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus, Paul touched both the Head of the Body and the authority of the Head. He asked, Who are You, Lord? (Acts 22:10)

Paul realised that, even though he thought he was persecuting some followers of a heretic called Jesus, he was actually persecuting God, and when he touched them, he touched God and His authority. Wow!

So he put himself under the Lord’s own authority, and the Lord then placed him under His appointed deputy authority.

The Lord didn’t tell him what to do to be saved; He asked him to go into the city and it will be told to him what he must do (9:6). Wow!

Paul not only saw the Head of the Body in the heavens being one with the members of the Body on the earth; he also touched God’s authority.

From that time onward, Paul was placed under a deputy authority.

We believers in Christ were not saved directly by the Head without the help of the Body; there was a member of the Body who preached the gospel to us, and we are in the Body under the Lord’s authority and under His deputy authority.

God wants us to submit to indirect authority – delegated authorities – so that we may receive the spiritual supply. We all must meet authority, be restricted by God, and be led by His delegated authority (see Isa. 37:16; Phil. 2:12; Heb. 13:17).

There may be a time when God’s authority flows through us, for He is entrusting us with a certain portion of the ministry; however, most times we are under a deputy authority, and we need to be led by the Lord’s delegated authority.

It is easy for us to say that we’re under God’s authority, but it is not so easy to submit to the delegated authority He has appointed over us.

The more we grow in the human life and the more we advance in the Christian life, may we receive God’s mercy so that we may meet authority, allow God to restrict us, and be led by God’s delegated authority.

When we do this, we will be at peace with everything and everyone, we will receive the supply, we will know our position, and we will function in our measure.

For example, when we submit to the policeman on the street, to the government in the country we live in, to the teachers at school, to our parents at home, and to the elders in the church life, we are richly supplied, we grow properly, and we can function in our measure, for we know our position.

But if we say that we submit only to God and His authority but do not submit to the delegated authorities, we will not grow properly, we will break the proper order, we will be rebellious, we will cause a lot of problems, and we will not know our function and our measure. Oh Lord!

Some saints may think that they submit to God, but they can’t submit to the elders, for they have been in the church life before the elders were even saved.

They may think they are a little bit more mature than the leading brothers, for they were saved for a longer time than them, and they may consider themselves as being more spiritual than the leading ones. Oh Lord!

Some may even compare their education level and their status in the world with that of the elders, so they think they don’t have to submit to the elders, for they consider themselves more capable than the elders.

All such thoughts are subtle forms of rebellion against God.

You may be right in your own mind and way of thinking, but God has ordained things a certain way; we all need to meet authority, be restricted by God, and be led by His delegated authority.

One thing that puzzles many who read the Bible is that, whether in the Old or in the New Testament, the seeking ones of God never rebelled against the system of leadership or regime during their time.

David did not rebel, for he clearly saw that Saul was God’s chosen one, and even though Saul was evil and was even persecuting David, he still respected him until his death.

Similarly with all the prophets, they never sought to overthrow governments or change people in power, since they knew so much about God’s plan.

And when the Lord Jesus came, He never led an insurrection against the Romans, even though His followers thought He would.

Similarly, Paul submitted himself to God’s delegated authority, and even though he knew he was right and he stood on his rights as a Roman citizen, he still accepted God’s delegated authority and submitted to it.

May we be those who do the same today in the church life, in society, and wherever we are, so that, by submitting to God’s delegated authorities, we may function in a proper way, receive the supply, and build up the church.

Lord Jesus, save us from our rebellion. Keep us under Your authority. We open to You, Lord, and we allow You to enlighten us concerning the matter of submission to God’s authority. May we realise that God wants us to submit to His authority by submitting to indirect authority – God’s delegated authority. Oh Lord, may we see who is the authority over us at home, in society, at work, and in the church life. May we meet authority, be restricted by God, and be led by God’s delegated authority. Oh Lord, save us from thinking we are something we are not. Save us from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. May we submit to God’s authority and to God’s delegated authorities so that we may receive the supply, grow in life, know our position, and function in our measure! Amen, Lord, have mercy on us! Expose and remove any rebellion in our being. Keep us under the Head and under the authorities You have set over us today! Gain what You are after in us, dear Lord!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” pp. 120-122, 165, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The All-inclusive Christ as Revealed in Matthew (2025 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 6, Christ as the One Who Has All Authority in Heaven and on Earth – day 2.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Today we must learn to submit to His throne, / How to have a strict life and His government own; / His authority then we’ll be able to share, / O’er the nations to rule with God’s Son as the heir. / With a life strict to self we must righteousness hold, / Kind to others in peace, and with God joyful, bold; / In the Kingdom’s reality e’er to remain, / For its manifestation prepared thus to reign. (Hymns #947 stanzas 3-4)
  – 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 stanza 1)
  – By Thy life and by its flowing / I can grow and be transformed, / With the saints coordinated, / Builded up, to Thee conformed; / Keep the order in the Body, / There to function in Thy will, / Ever serving, helping others, / All Thy purpose to fulfill. / In my knowledge and experience / I would not exalted be, / But submitting and accepting / Let the Body balance me; / Holding fast the Head, and growing / With His increase, in His way, / By the joints and bands supplying, / Knit together day by day. (Hymns #840 stanzas 2-3)