Meditation – What is Divine Authority?
by Isaac Overton
Q: What is divine authority?
A: Divine authority is God’s right as Maker to determine all that is and ought to be, and the almighty exercise of his will to accomplish the same.
Authority. What comes to your mind when you think of that word? Oppression? Power? Desire? Perhaps an inner recoiling of the soul? Maybe you think of God. Maybe you think of some key figure who had a powerful influence in your life, for good or ill. Maybe you think of rules. Maybe you think of government. I think it’s not an idea that we give a lot of focused attention to, but when you start thinking about it, it’s a very interesting word. “Authority” – it has a connection to the idea of an “author.” Now that is interesting. Whatever you might think about at the mention of the word “authority”, probably most or all of you did not think about someone authoring a book. Further back along the line of etymology this word finds its Latin roots in the idea of an “originator.” It also connects with the word “authentic” – the plot thickens! Neither “author” nor “authentic” are ideas that we typically connect with “authority.” So just what is authority?
As I have been studying and considering this, I believe that there are three main concepts under the umbrella of the idea of “divine authority.” The first I think does connect to that deeper origin of authority in the concept of “authorship” or the idea of an originator. The idea of this first main concept is that of a right or an entitlement arising from ownership. Without a right or entitlement, authority is not, well, right! If someone dominates others by the sheer force of their power, but they have no right to do so, they are more properly a usurper or a tyrant than a ruler.
Let’s illustrate this. Say that you own a car. We all understand that, if you own a car, you are entitled to drive it. Your neighbour can’t just hop the fence, jump in, and drive away. As the owner of the car, you have the authority to do that, as it were. God, as the Creator, is entitled to do whatever he will with – not just a car – but the entirety of creation itself. The logic of Psalm 24:1-2 is perfectly clear on this point: “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” So too in the New Testament we find such explicit statements as Col 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” These ideas could be multiplied without end from all manner of passages in scripture. God made all things, and therefore he is entitled to do as he will with all things. Paul explicitly uses the Greek term for authority in this sense of having a right or an entitlement in 1 Cor 9:5. This is the first piece of the puzzle in understanding authority.
The second idea under the umbrella of authority is that of a will or volition. Entitlement alone is generally passive, authority must be moved and shaped by will or volition to have direction and form. In Matthew 10:1 Jesus gives authority to his disciples: “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.” We see here that the authority was given for a purpose, namely: to heal every disease and affliction. Jesus had a design in giving authority to his disciples. Behind every act of authority, there is a force of will directing and designing the exercise of that authority. The idea of having authority without the driving force of some sentient will behind it robs the concept of meaning.
The third and final idea that we find under the umbrella of authority is that of power. If one has a right to a thing, and a will to move upon it, without power there can be no exercise of that authority. Thus the centurion in Matt 8:1 recounts to Jesus: “For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”” God has the power to compel obedience to his will (Mt 8:1; Mk 1:22), and that will is irresistible (Lk 9:1; 10:19). In John 10:18 Jesus said: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” Christ’s divine authority innately included the power to take up his life again – having laid it down. There is an essential element of power in the exercise of divine authority.
To understand the nature of divine authority, then, all three of these elements must be present: right of ownership, will to direct that right, and power to accomplish the will. Entitlement without a directing will or power is mere potential. A will do accomplish something without power or entitlement is mere wishful thinking. Power without entitlement is tyranny, not authority. All three elements must come together for us to have a right understanding of divine authority. Essentially, God’s authority is the almighty and rightful exercise of his omnipotent power as it is governed by his omniscient, infallible wisdom. Thus his authority is unlimited. “With God, all things are possible” (Mt 19:26). What is divine authority? Divine authority is God’s right as Maker to determine all that is and ought to be, and the almighty exercise of his will to accomplish the same.
The implication of this for our lives is that, like Jonah, we must discover that we cannot resist the authority of God– nor should we want to! He does all things well (Mk7:37). And yet how often do we do just the opposite? Every single act of sin is an act of defiance against the authority of God. Now God, of course, has the power to instantaneously crush us for our attempt to usurp his right and authority, but instead he is patient and affords us the opportunity to turn from our sin and come back to him. How good is the God we adore! Tender, merciful, and full of compassion – not desiring that sinners should continue in their way and perish. Where do you stand when it comes to God’s authority? Do you live life as though your will is king? Do you act as though your decisions and power will determine what you do? Such thinking is nothing but autonomous rebellion. Because God’s authority is what it is, our lives ought tobe100%in submission to his will. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” When you do fail to submit, do not continue in it, but rather recognise that all rightful authority belongs to God, and return to him with fear and trembling. For his is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.
SDG.