A Man Under Authority

Understanding Authority "I, also, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me" these words were spoken by the centurion whose faith Jesus commended as we see in Matthew 8:5-13. Why, from the few spoken words that came from the centurion, did Jesus marvel at his faith? It was because the centurion was a man who truly understood authority and he recognized the resident authority in Jesus Christ - with unwavering faith he knew that Jesus had absolute authority. To be one who is under authority or to be one who has been given authority we must first understand what authority is and where it stems from.

The Crowds are Amazed

In Matthew 7:28-29 we find the crowds amazed at the teaching of Jesus. They can see that he taught as one with authority, not as the teachers of the law taught. These teachers were ones whom themselves were well taught and versed in the scriptures - the teachers of the law were ones who taught from the traditions, experiences and expressions of man. However when Jesus taught he spoke from a place of wisdom, of knowledge and of insight which the other teachers had none of. While the text was the same - the spirit by which the teaching came was entirely different.

The Authority Jesus Possessed

So, then, what is this authority which Jesus conveyed when he taught? The authority which Jesus possessed was one of power - within this power the strength exhibited through His teachings surpassed that of the scholars and teachers of the day. Where the teachers of the law could only pass along words from one man to another, Jesus passed on the limitless resources of knowledge which he acquired through the revelation of the Holy Spirit of His Father. The words and teachings of the law were steeped in the traditions of man; where once the teaching had been given to a man through a visitation or an experience with the Holy Spirit of God over the years it had become a desert wasteland of words.

Fresh Manna Has a Short Shelf Life

The Israelites knew from having wandered for 40 years in the desert that fresh manna has a very short shelf life. What you gathered on the one day was rot for the next unless it was consumed on the day for which it was received. The only time it was possible for manna to be held over and consumed on the following day was the Sabbath. This is the day which the Lord in His wisdom and His grace set aside as holy. A day where one could sit amongst friends and family resting and reflecting on the goodness and provision of the Lord. It was not a day where the people gathered the days provision and one individual spoke of all of the goodness of God. No! It was a day where each person, who had received the provision of God throughout the previous 6 days, could reflect upon His goodness and care. In Exodus 16 we see specific instructions that each and every Israelite was to be provided with one omer (that is about 2 litres) of manna and as long as what was gathered was measured as an omer each person had EXACTLY what he needed for that day, not too much nor too little. Think about that for a moment, how is it possible that the omer given for a child would not be too much or the omer provided for a grown man would not be too little?   Heavenly provision knows no bounds - it meets the exact needs of each and every family member - bringing sustenance to the body, soul and mind.  Some, while gathering, took more than the allotment for the day thinking it would not meet their needs and they would be left wanting or needing more, or, perhaps thinking if they took enough the one day they would not need to gather more the next.  However, when they would go to consume the extra on the following day they would find it rotten and full of maggots thereby making it of no use.  In the same way as day old manna contained the stench of rot and decay, so too, is teaching which is leftover from another day.  We are to be continually consuming the fresh bread of life.

The Bread of Life

It is not enough to live on the bread consumed on days of old nor is it intended that we should live solely on what God intended for someone else - for in that, it becomes mere words UNLESS the Spirit of God causes the teaching to become a part of His Spirit in you. It is not a matter of acquiring more knowledge. Rather it is a matter of acquiring His Spirit.  In fact, this is what the teachers of the law were lacking, His Spirit. Jesus had the same scriptures to follow as did the rest of the Jews.  The difference was His teaching did not stem from the heart or the understanding of man rather it came from the Spirit of God resident in Him. This is where His authority came from and the people recognized the difference.  The teaching of the teachers based and rooted on tradition vs. the teaching of Jesus Christ based and rooted in the Spirit of God.  The one with the power of man that can kill the flesh, the other with the power of God that brings life to the spirit and that can raise the dead.  Now that's authority! Jesus spoke as one who was acquainted with the ways and the will of God.  He spoke freely of the things the Spirit of God revealed.  His teaching rocked the conventional boats of religious mindsets.  The teachers of the law were powerless to refute His teaching in the face of the authority in which it was given.  All the teachers had to stand on were the written laws and traditions which were the foundations of their beliefs.  Jesus, too, had the written laws and traditions however he also had the Spirit of Counsel about Him and, in that, he brought about the fulfillment of the written word. While the teachers of the law were distressed and angered that they were incapable of refuting Jesus' teaching, the people were being fed by the Bread of Life.

Our Father Who Is in Heaven . . .

Jesus came forward not only in word he came also in deed, giving evidence of His authority.  Jesus had authority because he too was a man under authority, even while being the incarnate Son of God, he was still under the authority of God and His Spirit!  God in Him and He in God!  From this place there is no limit on what one man can do.  Because Jesus was under this authority, he had authority,  and from that place came the insight, the signs, the miracles and the power of God made manifest (evident) to the world - bringing Glory to God.  In all that Jesus did he revealed the Father - the Son, being in very nature God,  glorified the Father.  Wherever he went Jesus created controversy through His teaching.  Wherever he went signs and miracles followed.  Wherever he went Jesus walked in God's given authority.  Wherever he went Jesus glorified His Father.  Wherever he went Jesus brought the kingdom of God to earth.  Unfortunately the vast majority of today's church walks in the powerlessness of man's teaching.  We have a form of godliness and yet we deny it's power.  To put it another way we have the words, we have the teaching, we have our experiences but we do not have the authority to activate it.  What we have is the gospel of man to man rather than God to man.  However, God's promise still stands that He will "rain down bread from heaven".  He also told us that HE is the bread of life and that whoever eats of Him would NEVER go hungry again.  Yet we walk about starved, hungering for that which we do not have in our lives while chewing on the crumbs of the past.  How many of us go daily to gather our daily bread from the bounty of God's provision?  If we want to be strengthened spiritually God's provision is there - direct to us - but we have to be willing to go after it, we have to be willing to bring it into our homes and our lives, we have to be willing to consume it each day.  Allow the bread of God's presence, Jesus Christ, to strengthen you, to illuminate His life to you.  Part of the purpose of God's provision of manna was he wanted to see if the Israelites would follow his instructions.  If God's promise to "rain down bread from heaven" is true (and it is!), then God wants to see if we can follow his instructions.  So, when you have received your daily bread, what are you going to do with it?  Are you going to respond to it daily or are you going to leave it sit there until tomorrow, or the next day or the day after that, where it will turn to rot?  Consume today what the Lord is giving you.  Jesus, who himself, is the Bread of Life, always responded to what the Father was giving Him.  He never left for tomorrow what he could do today and he never looked back into the previous day's provision.  He always trusted and knew that God had a new bounty for each day.  It is not enough for us to simply pray and ask God to, "give us this day our daily bread".  If we are going to pray this way we must be ready to gather in, to prepare and to consume the daily provision of this heavenly bread.  We must, ourselves, take action towards each day's supply.  Through our response in doing this we come under the authority of our Heavenly Father.  We acknowledge and proclaim the sovereignty of God - His very name - His reputation - His renown - is holy, pure and set apart - we begin to see Him as different than ourselves.  "Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed is your name". In doing this we acknowledge the kingdom of God is different than man's, different than our own way of thinking and doing things.  We acknowledge and submit to His authority over us just as His authority is over the angels in heaven.  "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth just as it is in heaven" We seek to draw from His strength, from His storehouse thereby recognizing our strength is not enough to carry us through the day.  "Give us this day our daily bread" Seeing our weakness in the light of the strength and provision of God we submit each area where we have been disobedient, where we have drawn from our own resources, where we have failed in our relationship with God.  We thereby seek to be released from our offences in the sight of God.  This is then a total recognition and submission to the sovereignty of God.  It is at this point, fully submitted to His authority ourselves, that we can then forgive or release the offences of others towards us.  Here we have the authority to release others from that area in our own lives where they have failed in their relationship with us.  By doing this, we both submit ourselves to God and in the act of releasing others, we place them under and into the authority of God.  For we are then recognizing that it is against God and God alone that we have all sinned.  So all at once we are both under authoirty and have authority as we release control over each aspect to God.  "And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors." Having fully acknowledged and submitted to God's authority we are now at a place where we can ask God to cover us in each aspect of our day - that as we are strengthened and submitted by His authority we can then seek to walk in His grace, His power and His strength through every situation that presents itself before us that day.  By doing this we have our faith and our hope made sure so that we do not stumble and fall into sin when adversity opposes us.  Rather, we gain strength and authority from the position of submission to God.  "And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil." The ultimate recognition of being under authority, and of having authority, is the knowledge that the authority by which we overcome is not ours but that all authority stems from and flows back to God.  God can then have complete reign and dominion in us - working His power through us.  We are under complete authority even as Jesus was, just as the centurion recognized.  In submitting to His authority we are proclaiming that God reigns in us, that He has the unswerving, unquestionable dominion in our life.  We thereby ascribe from this place that every thought, every action, every word flows from the Spirit of God - that all truth is His, all goodness is His.    "For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever."

Standing Under Authority

To have authority you must first be standing under authority and that is not the authority of man, it is the authority of God and God alone.  Within the family of God we are to submit to one another in reverence to God. There may be others in positions of authority over you, however, we must remember that true authority only comes when one is fully submitted to an authority greater than themselves - God.  So be it!  "Amen" In HIS Name - Deborah Ritz   Copyright January 25, 2005  Deborah Ritz-Footstool Ministries (Canada).  All rights reserved. Please note these writings are here for your personal reflection and study.  They are under copyright to the writer, all rights reserved.  While you are welcome to read, reflect on and enjoy them they may not be used for business or promotional purposes nor reproduced in whole, or in part without the express written permission of the writer.  For more information contact deborah@footstoolministries.org