Warning: Read this, but remember that with the exposition of truth comes divine accountability. I sincerely believe that to read this and then ignore, reject, or neglect it will be eternally dangerous. Yet this is a message that must heard. Let's pray for a paradigm shift. That blindness will be removed from countless thousands of sincere leaders in the body of Christ perpetuating ancient and unbiblical systems and structures of authority out of an ignorance of the truth. Praise God for this "REFORMATION" happening in the church.
At the beginning of our discussion of this all important theme, the first thing that we need to establish is that God is the source of all authority. He holds the ultimate power. He is the one who is sitting on the throne of the universe and it is He who has complete control over all things. Consequently, we can deduce that any other authority that exists in the universe has been set up by Him or at least is permitted to exist by Him. Without His consent, it would not be possible for any other authority to survive. Therefore, no matter where we find authority in this world today (either good or bad), we know that it is something that derives its legitimacy from God. This is exactly what the scriptures teach. Human governments, police forces, judges etc. are institutions that are set up by God to restrain the forces of evil in this world (Rom 13:1-7).
Delegated Authority
The kind of authority that governments and other earthly rulers have is called "delegated authority." As we have seen, God is the possessor of ultimate authority, but He has chosen to "delegate" or "give" this authority to other individuals who are supposed to act as His representatives. Once God gives this authority, it then belongs to the person to whom it was given. Although they are responsible to God for their use of this authority, it is theirs to exercise as they see fit. In essence, they become the authority. Delegated authorities may use their power well or they may misuse it. They may be good rulers who choose what is in the best interests of God and those over whom they rule, or they may be evil and use their authority to benefit themselves and harm others. Regardless of how they use it, those who hold positions of power are God's delegated authorities.
But delegated authority is not the only kind of authority revealed in the Bible. There is another brand of authority shown to us that, although it also originates with God, is quite different from the delegated variety. For the sake of clarity, I believe this kind of authority can be referred to as "transmitted" authority. This authority does not belong to the person who is exercising it. It is not something that is "given" to him to use according to his own inclinations. Instead, transmitted authority is exercised simply by transmitting the authority of God. The persons involved here are only vessels, instruments through that the Divine authority flows. They do not have their "own" authority, but simply are responding to the directions of the Most High. When He speaks to them for others, they speak. When He directs them to take some action, then they move. But they never take this authority upon themselves. No matter how often they are used by God to transmit His authority, they never become this authority.
Moses was an illustration of someone who exercised this "transmitted" authority. He was not leading the Children of Israel according to his own ideas or directions. He was not expressing himself. As you read the Old Testament account of how he led the Israelites out of bondage, it is quite clear that he was simply moving and speaking according to Supernatural instructions. Every step, every law and ordinance, every detail of the tabernacle; everything was done according to heavenly guidance. He was not exercising some positional authority that God had bestowed upon him. He was not formulating his own plans and making his own decisions. Instead, he was simply allowing God to use him to transmit His authority through him to the people. When Moses' authority was challenged by Korah and his crowd, he summed up his position in this way: "By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will" (Num 16:28).
Our Lord Jesus Christ was the supreme example of such transmitted, spiritual authority. He did not come to do His own will, but instead submitted Himself to the will of the Father (Jn 6:38). He did not do His own works or even speak His own words but simply offered Himself as a channel through that the authority of the Father could flow (Jn 14:10). When Jesus cast out demons, He revealed the authority of the Father. When He cursed the fig tree, it was the Father's voice that was heard (Matt 21:19). When He rebuked the wind and the waves it was the Father's authority that was demonstrated (Lk 8:24). Every aspect of His living was a manifestation of the invisible God. Even though He was qualified to do so, He never exercised His own authority but instead allowed His Father to flow through Him.
So we see that there are two distinct varieties of authority present in the world today. One is an earthly, human kind; a delegated authority; that is exercised by man, responded to by man and recognized by those who live on this earth. This authority is inevitably accompanied by superficial props that aid the fallen race in identifying these authorities. Positions, titles, uniforms, and many other such externalities all serve to point out those who have delegated authority. This kind of authority is always seeking recognition by other men, in fact it needs this recognition to function. It is a natural, worldly authority that was designed by God to appeal to the fallen nature of man. It is something that God has instituted, that operates according to the fashion of this world to govern the people of the world.
Spiritual Authority
The other kind of authority is a spiritual one. It is the transmitted variety. It is through this authority that God intends to govern His people. With this type of authority, the person involved is simply a channel through that the leadership of God flows. He does not need any titles or garments to reinforce what he says. He is not trying to impress others so that they will obey him. His position is one of being submitted to God. Consequently the word of God flows through him to others. In this way, the true authority of Jesus is revealed in His church.
The first type of authority was ordained by God to govern the world; the second, spiritual, type to rule His people, the church.
This is a very important distinction. Each authority is valid but each has its proper sphere. Unfortunately, believers today often get these two types of authority confused. Some are not even aware that such a distinction exists. Consequently, they often try to use the earthly kind of authority to build the church. They try, by using earthly methods and means, to bring Divine order to the body of Christ. However, it simply will not work.
Authority in the Church
There certainly is a need for authority in the church. No doubt God uses men to be both leaders and examples to the others and draw them into a relationship with Christ. But what sort of authority should this be? Is it an authority that is derived from a "position" in the assembly? Does it come from an appointment to be an elder, minister, deacon or some similar thing? Does a title or an "office" qualify a man to lead God's people? Is this responsibility conferred on someone by other men who also possess some entitlement, education or position? Does it come by some kind of vote of confidence by the majority? Or is this honour taken upon oneself by virtue of being the strongest personality in the group? Certainly not! All these are just earthly ways that can only serve to hinder God's purposes and bring others into bondage.
As we have seen, genuine spiritual authority emanates from God Himself. Those who exercise such authority are prepared vessels who transmit God's thoughts and desires to His people. It is this sort of authority that we should be exercising in the church today. We desperately need men who will speak when God speaks to them, who will lead according to His direction and who will manifest His revelation. The great necessity of the hour is not for those who have been schooled, elected or appointed to positions of authority but for those who are intimate with God and through whom He can freely transmit His will.
Genuine spiritual authority does not come with an appointment to a position or "office." In fact, the word "office" used in I Timothy 3:1,10,13 in the King James Version is not even in in the original Greek language but is the invention of the translators. Although certain men in the New Testament acquired labels such as "elder," "deacon" or "apostle" their authority did not come from holding some "position." Exactly the reverse is true. These designations came as a result of the inner spiritual work that God had done within them.
They were a means of describing their special functions in the body. In some unique area God had prepared these men to be conduits of His authority. These names were used to identify these areas of service, not to qualify them for it. Yes, the Bible does say that the Apostles "ordained" elders in every church (Acts 14:23). But what does this term really mean? W. E. Vine in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words has this to say: "Not a formal ecclesiastical ordination is in view, but the appointment, for the recognition of the churches, of those who had already been raised up and qualified by the Holy Spirit, and had given evidence of this in their life and service." You see, the Apostles were not arbitrarily selecting men who met certain qualifications, or who perhaps were most willing to go along with their program or possibly had a lot of money or influence in the community. Instead, they with spiritual eyes were pointing out for the benefit of those who could not see so clearly, those whom God had already sovereignly selected and prepared to use as His vessels.
Untold damage has been done to God's people through the misunderstanding of this principle. All too often, men are appointed to a position by other men in the belief that some kind of authority is needed in the church. Tremendous injury and loss has been experienced by God's people through this practice. When we establish earthly, delegated authority in God's church, we thereby offer a substitution for the true. When we elect or appoint men according to human reasoning or perception, we establish a variety of authority that is foreign to God's plan and that will only be a hindrance to His perfect will.
The reason for this is that no matter how "scriptural" it may appear to be, positional authority can never produce spiritual results. Nothing that originates on the earthly level can achieve God's designs. The Bible is quite clear: "The flesh profits nothing" (Jn 6:63). Human authority can never transmit the power necessary to transform human lives. It cannot reach inside a person and touch their heart. At best all delegated authority can produce is some kind of earthly arrangement that approximates the work of the Spirit. This not only accomplishes nothing of eternal value but it robs believers of the opportunity to experience Christ's reality. Please don't under estimate the gravity of this. Human efforts, backed by natural authority, may be able to accomplish many notable things in the religious world. "Revival" campaigns, membership drives, fund raising and building projects all can be carried out by strong human leadership. But let us remember that the appearance of religious "success" is not the measure of our spiritual accomplishments. No matter how grandiose or impressive our works appear, if they have been constructed with the wrong substances; earthly natural materials, instead of supernatural; they are nothing but wood, hay and stubble in God's eyes and they will be destroyed on judgment day.
About The Author
David Dyer is a missionary to Brazil where the Spirit of God has been gathering in a great harvest on the very ground where Romanism has for centuries been exercising illegitimate spiritual authority. These articles by David Dyer to be among the most helpful and refreshing teachings on biblical authority available today and they are most timely in view of the current worldwide great awakening in that God is gloriously restoring all things to His church, including an understanding of biblical authority.
For too long the church has held to the Gentile system of authority that she inherited from Romanism. But all this is changing, as the Lord raises up a beautiful wineskin to contain the new wine. Sadly, the old order will resist, despise and even persecute the new order, in the name of sound doctrine, but there is no stopping this restoration movement of the Lord. He is asserting HIS lordship and HIS authority in HIS church, and if necessary He will dethrone men and establish HIMSELF as Prophet, High Priest, King and Chief Shepherd (= Senior Pastor, a title He has reserved for HIMSELF, but men have stolen). With thanksgiving we see that He is doing this gently at present, as evidenced by the voluntary submission and repentance of those who have been awakened to the fact that they have usurped HIS authority, but that will ultimately change. The LORD JESUS CHRIST will ultimately be the one and ONLY head of HIS church. Human control will not be tolerated.
Many have said that this is the single greatest issue in this renewal (such as Mike Bickle, Bob Birch and Moishen Demian, John Arnott, Randy Clark, etc.). David Dyer is not an isolated voice, there are literally thousands of leaders coming to this understanding of truth and abandoning erroneous teachings on authority. I have several books dealing with this area of truth. But, David has expressed it as good as anyone else.