A Further Look at Authority 2: Delegated Authority — Stephen Kaung

Submission to God's Ordained Authorities

Would you please turn to the book of Romans? Romans chapter 13. We'll read the first five verses. Romans chapter 13, verse 1. Let every soul be subject to the authorities that are above him, for there is no authority except from God.

And those that exist are set up by God, so that he that sets himself in opposition to the authority resists the ordinance of God. And they who does resist shall bring sentence of guilt on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to a good work, but to an evil one.

Does thou desire then not to be afraid of the authority? Practice what is good, and thou shalt have praise from it, for it is God's minister to thee for good. But if thou practices evil, fear, for it bears not the sword in vain, for it is God's minister and avenger for wrath to him that does evil.

Wherefore it is necessary to be subject, not only on account of wrath, but also on account of conscience. The gospel according to Matthew. Matthew chapter 8, verse 9. Matthew chapter 8, verse 9. For I also am a man under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say to this one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my bondman, do this, and he does it.

The gospel according to John. John chapter 5, verse 19. Jesus therefore answered and said to them, verily, verily, I say unto you, the son can do nothing of himself, save whatever he sees the father doing.

For whatever things he does, these things also the son does in like manner. Verse 20. For the father loves the son, and shows him all things which he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these that he may wonder.

Verse 26. For even as the father has life in himself, so he has given to the son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is son of man. Verse 30.

I cannot do anything of myself, as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my will, but the will of him that has sent me. And the same gospel, chapter 8. John chapter 8, verse 28 and verse 29.

Jesus therefore said to them, when ye shall have lifted up the son of man, then ye shall know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the father has taught me, I speak these things. And he that has sent me is with me.

He has not left me alone, because I do always the things that are pleasing to him. And finally, Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5. Just one verse. Verse 21. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 21. Submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.

Lord, we have just remembered thee at thy table. Our hearts are constrained by thy love. Knowing that thou who has died for us, we all die. And now we live for thee who died and lived for us. Lord, we are thine, we are not ours.

We regret that how often we hinder thee instead of serving thee. Lord, forgive us for our ignorance. Forgive us for our stubbornness. We do not know authority. We do not know obedience. Lord, these things are foreign to us.

We do pray that thou will open our eyes, open our understanding, open our heart, that we may see what authority really is. Lord, teach us the lesson of obedience and show us how to be in authority as well as under authority.

That thy work may be done and thy will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. We just commit this time into thy hands, confessing that we know nothing. We ask that thou will open thy word, shine thy light upon us, and deliver us, lead us into thy truth, that thou may truly have us for thyself.

We ask in thy precious name. Amen. Mentioned yesterday morning that there is a fundamental truth that we must always remember. And that truth is, there is no authority except from God. Or to put it in another way, in this universe, in the creation, God is the only and one authority.

Whatever is not God, is not of God, is a counterfeit. Only that which is God himself, only that which is given by God, that authority is true. We share together on the very nature of authority. How different God's authority or the true authority is different from the authority that we usually understand and accept.

Because authority is God's right. It is something that comes out of himself. Therefore, it carries with him in his authority, his very character in it. God's authority is spiritual, is not positional.

God's authority is life, is not something that you assume. God's authority is giving, not getting. God's authority is serving in his nature, not to be served. And God's authority is love. These are the nature of authority.

Authority as God's Instrument for Building Up

The purpose of authority is not for overthrowing. Even though this is our impression, it is because we are a rebelling people. God's authority is primary for building up. It is through God's authority that there can be any building.

Whether it is individual, the building up of our spiritual life, it takes God's authority to do that. If you reject God's authority in your life, you will find that you will never be building. You will remain a babe, if you are saved, a babe in Christ.

And it is the authority of God that builds up the church. Otherwise, the church would never be built. How precious is authority. It is something not to be rejected, but it is something that we should look forward to and to welcome.

Our response to authority is to obey. And we mentioned at the very last that there are certain signs that show who really know what authority is. And I'm sorry to say, I have to make a confession. My memory failed me yesterday.

In the last point, I substituted something other than what Brother Nee said. So I ask your forgiveness for me. And what Brother Nee said, the last sign of people who know authority is, he is sensitive to every.

Now, this morning, lawlessness. This morning, we would like to continue on with a further look into delegated authority. Now, brothers and sisters, we say God is authority. I don't believe that anyone here will challenge this statement.

Probably, we think that it is easy for us to obey God as authority. In other words, we have no problem with God as authority. Now, if you have any problem with that, you are very serious trouble. But I think we have no trouble by accepting that God is the authority.

No trouble in at least mentally accepting that we should obey God's direct authority. Because after all, he is God. And we are his created beings. But even though we do accept it mentally, but when you come to our actual living, we find how often we challenge God's authority.

Peter's Resistance to Christ's Authority

For instance, the apostle Peter, you find that in his life, more than once, he challenged God's authority. You know on that night of the betrayal of our Lord Jesus, the Lord knew that he came from the Father.

He knew that he was going back to his Father. He knew that he was their Lord and their Master. But he loved them. And he loved them to the uttermost. And on that night, he washed his disciples' feet. To show his love.

He is the authority. And that authority is expressed in love, in loving service, in humble. But when he came to Peter, you remember, he said, Lord, what are you doing here? You should never do that. I will not allow you to do that.

Now, who is Lord? The Lord Jesus or Peter? Did he really learn the lesson that evening? Hardly. Because even after our Lord died and resurrected and ascended, and the Holy Spirit came, and you know Peter was greatly used by God.

And then one day while he was on that rooftop in Jaffa, he was a little bit hungry because it was noontime. And people were cooking food there. So while he was at the rooftop praying, probably he was still thinking of eating.

But anyway, you find that God used that opportunity to give him a vision. A vision of a great white sheep coming down from heaven. And he came down right to his front. And he looked into it, and all these unclean animals there.

And the voice said, rise, kill, and eat. Now, how strong was Peter's tradition. Tradition has very strong hold on a person. Even though Peter was hungry, but tradition was so strong. He said, Lord, not so.

This cannot be done. Because I have never eaten anything unclean. And the voice said, what God has cleansed, let no man say it is unclean. And it happened three times. And Peter didn't do it until the white sheep went up.

Now brothers and sisters, do we laugh at Peter? Let us laugh at ourselves. How often we say, Lord, Lord, not so. So brothers and sisters, even though mentally we do accept the direct authority of God, we think there's no problem with that.

But we still have problems. And how we need to see him as God. That he has absolute authority over us. And to his authority there shall be no questioning, no argument, but instant, absolute submission.

And absolute. Now this morning we would like to share on this matter of delegated authority. And that's all the problems are here. God is authority. He uses his authority to create all things. He uses his authority to maintain all things.

He uses his authority to govern all things. That the whole universe will be in harmony and in order. Now if God should keep his authority all to himself, how simple it will be. But unfortunately, and thank God for that unfortunately, that it is his good pleasure to delegate authority.

Delegated Authority in Creation and the Angelic Rebellion

Do not ask me why. But it is his good pleasure. God is God. That is his right. And if he wants to delegate authority, that's what he can do. No one can question him. But it seems that this is God's pleasure.

Now maybe there is a reason behind it. Of course today we seem to catch a little bit of what the reason is. But still you'll find it is beyond our understanding. Why God should delegate authority. And not keep every authority just to himself.

And everything is direct authority and nothing else. How simple it will be. There will not be all these problems. But it pleases God to delegate. Even in the first world he delegated his authority to angelic beings.

And you remember in the scripture it tells us there are angels and archangels. There are seraphims and cherubims. And there are principalities and authorities. In other words, you'll find that after he created the universe, he delegated his authority to angelic beings.

Some with greater authority, some with less authority. And all these delegated authorities are God's servants. Angels are God's servants. In other words, they serve God under God's authority. Under God's authority and with the authority that God has given to them, they govern this universe for the glory of God.

Everything was beautiful. Everything expressed the glory of God. Everything served the purpose of God. All these angelic beings, they were under God's authority when they exercised the authorities given.

We say again, authorities are not something assumed. Authority is something given. And these angelic beings were given authorities. And as long as they exercised the authorities given by God, under God, everything worked.

But as our brother already mentioned, unfortunately in that prehistorical time, one archangel, beautiful, talented, highly positioned, God gave that archangel great authorities, dominion. But somehow an evil thought entered into him.

In other words, he began to be conscious of himself. In the beginning, nothing, no one was conscious of himself. The only consciousness in this universe is God. All these angelic beings, they were not conscious of themselves.

They were not conscious of their positions. They were not conscious of their gifts. They were only conscious of the God whom they serve. Everything received from God and everything returned. The beginning of rebellion is self.

One archangel began to be conscious of himself. He began to be conscious of his beauty, conscious of his power, conscious of his position, conscious of his skills, conscious of the authorities given to him.

And when he began to be conscious of himself, he wanted to use all the authorities and powers and gifts and beauty that God has given to him to serve God. Instead, he wanted to use all these to serve and to do that.

A rebellious spirit. Instead of being under the authority of God, he wanted to set up his own authority. Instead of serving God's kingdom, he wanted to establish his own kingdom, his own dominion. And for this reason, he was cast out of the garden of Eden.

He turned himself into Satan, the adversary. Evidently, our solar system at that time was under his control. Oh, how he had affected not only the earth that was under his control, but he affected even other angels.

He was able to instill that poison, rebellious spirit, into one-third of the angelic host and to lead them into rebellion. And he was able to turn this earth that God has created into ruin. Now, brothers and sisters, it is true.

All these things happened because when God's authority was challenged, God was not allowed it. God's discipline came and God's judgment came. That is true. But in another sense, brothers and sisters, that was the result of that rebellious spirit.

Wherever there is a rebellious spirit, it brings in darkness, it brings in ruin, it brings in emptiness that is purposeless. You find that because this Lucifer became self-conscious and he wanted to make himself equal with God, an authority in himself.

Instead of under the authority and functioning with authority, God has given him. Brothers and sisters, here you find he was cast out and his dominion turned into ruin. But God did not give up. He did not give up the idea of delegated authority.

Humanity, the Image of God, and the Fall

Now, if it were you or me, after such thing happened, you would say, well, it is better not to delegate authority. I will just hold it all by myself. But no, God is different. Satan seemed to set up his own kingdom, the kingdom of darkness.

Even though Satan rebelled against God's authority and he was under God's judgment, and yet we know one thing, he was still under God's judgment. He tried to pull himself out of God's authority and set up his own.

But he was still under God's authority. He could not do anything he wanted to do. You know, even when he tried to tempt us, he has to get some permission. He is still under God's authority. So no matter how you want to get out of God's authority, you just cannot get out.

Because he is the authority of the universe. There is no way out. You only bring judgment upon yourself, trouble upon yourself. But thank God he did not give up the idea of delegating authority. There must be a reason behind it, a very glorious reason.

So we do not know how long, but we knew from the word of God, the Spirit of God brooded upon the face, like a hand brooded over, and used his warmth, used his love to repair this ruin. And on the sixth day, God did a most marvelous thing.

It was something that he had never done even in the first. He decided to create man in his own image after. Now God has never done that. He created his angelic beings, beautiful, glorious. But he did not create them in his own image.

But now he decided, even after that catastrophe that happened to him, he did not go backward. He took a step forward. He created man. Man lower than the angels, and yet created in his own image. In other words, you find when he created man, he gave man the capacity to receive him into him.

He knew that the only safe way to save God, delegated authority, is his own. So you find he created man with the capacity to receive his own life. And then he gave dominion to man, over the fowls of the air, over the animals of the field, and over the fishes of the sea.

And God put the tree of life in the middle of the garden. Our brother has already mentioned that. In other words, God was saying, I still delegated my authority, but remember, the secret to be my delegated authority is to receive my life.

That's the safeguard. Now again, man sinned. Instead of receiving the life of God into them, so that when they exercise the authority God has given them, they will be under God's life. And that's safe.

But instead of that, you find they ate the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, they developed their self-consciousness. They wanted to make themselves God. And brothers and sisters, when that happened, curse came upon this earth.

The ground will grow thistles and thorns. You know what thorns are? Thorns are aborted fruits. God's purpose is to bear fruit. But here you find instead of fruit, it's aborted. It didn't arrive at its end.

It becomes thorns. That's the curse. Whenever God's authority is rejected, there will be curse. And the greatest curse is, you never arrive at God's end. Now we will say, now surely, God had done twice.

And surely that will teach him a lesson. But God didn't learn that lesson. And thank God for that. God still didn't give up. You know, his desire of delegating authority is still there. He never changes.

Government, Family, and Church as Delegated Authorities

Now in the scripture that we read in the beginning, Romans chapter 13, it says, there is no authority except from God. And that which exists are set up by God. Now God still sets up authorities on this earth.

We find that in the nations there are kings, rulers, government. You read the book of Daniel, and in Daniel chapter 2, verse 11 and 21, it says, God, it is God who changes times and seasons, who deposes kings and set up kings.

And in that song of Mary, in Luke chapter 1, you'll find Mary said, you are the one who put down the rulers from their throne and lift up the lowly. So in other words, you'll find that God still delegates authority.

In this world, he sets up kings, rulers, and these are God's ministers. They are set up by God to serve God's purpose. They are to serve God for good, not for evil. And that's the reason why, if you do not want to be afraid of authorities, do good.

Not only in the government, in the nations, he set up authorities, but you'll find that in our homes, he set up authorities. Our parents, father, mother, they are authorities set up by God in our homes.

And even in the church, you'll find that God sets up authority, delegated authority, in elders, those whom God has chosen to represent his authorities in the church. So here you'll find God still delegates authority.

He loves to do that. Now what is delegated authority? Or when authority of God is delegated, what does it mean? It means that those who are delegated authority are to represent. It is a tremendous responsibility.

So far as God is concerned, brothers and sisters, for him to delegate authority is a great risk. So far as we are concerned, to be delegated authority is a great, serious responsibility. We are to represent God.

And you know, the sin of misrepresentation is a very serious sin. Moses, a God with all faithfulness, but towards the end, his spirit was provoked, and he said something. He did something he should never do.

He stroked the rock and said, I give you what. He misrepresented. He misused God's authority. He misrepresented God. Because the children of Israel will say, well, so this is what God is like. And for this reason, he was not allowed into the program.

Brothers and sisters, if we know what delegated authority is, we will not desire to be so delegated. Anyone who desires to be God's delegated authority is disqualified to be God's delegated authority.

Remember this. There are two things we would like to consider before the Lord this morning on this matter of delegated authority. One is those who are being delegated that authority. In other words, those who are in authority for God.

And then the second thing is those who are under, under God's delegated. When God delegates authority to a person, we have already said he is to represent in whatever he does. Whenever that authority is being exercised, it has to express God.

It is not to express himself, but to express God. And whenever he does not express God, and expresses himself, it is a misrepresentation. And this is a serious thing in the sight of God. There is one man who shows us what delegated authority really is.

Jesus Christ as the Perfect Delegated Authority

And that man, of course, is our Lord Jesus. He being God, he is the very principle of direct authority. He is God. But when our Lord Jesus emptied himself and became a man, you find when he was on earth, he is the perfect specimen of what delegated authority is.

You know, when he came to this earth, he has no position whatsoever on this earth. Even though he is the son of David, and yet he was not born in Jerusalem. He was not born in a palace. He was born in Bethlehem, a tiny city in a manger.

He had no position. He had never been to school, to a rabbinical school. No status. Status whatsoever. You look at our Lord Jesus, you find that there is nothing outwardly that gave him, but yet our Lord Jesus, while he was on earth, he was a man of authority.

We are all familiar with the Sermon on the Mount. And when our Lord Jesus delivered that Sermon on the Mount, when he finished it, all those who heard him said, he is different from our scribes, because he teaches with authority.

Now, even today, when we read Matthew 5, 6 and 7, we come to the same conclusion. We hear something. We hear words coming from a man with authority, full of authority. Yes, with a word. Centurion, he understood authority, and when his servant was sick, he asked that the Lord will come and heal.

But he said, Lord, I am not worthy. I am not worthy for you to come to my humble house. You say a word, that's enough, because you are a man of authority. I know what authority is. I am under authority.

As a centurion, he was under the authority of Caesar. And when he was under Caesar's authority, he had authority over his hundred men. When he said, you go, you go, you come, you come, you do this, you do this, it cannot be challenged.

That's authority. Brothers and sisters, our Lord is a man of authority. He say a word, and it is done. Now, remember, this authority is not his authority as God. As God, he say, let there be light, and light be.

But here you find, as man, he has delegated authority. He just say a word, and it's done. And the demon is cast out, and the sea is come. Authority over the sea, over what he was on earth. No position.

While he was exercising his authority, no position. It is love, it is giving, but there you find he is a man. And you know, how his authority was challenged. In the beginning of his ministry, he enters into the temple, he look around, and he saw all these things going on, noises.

And our Lord Jesus make a whip, drove out all these cattle, overturned the table of the money changers, and he say, you have made my father's house, a house of merchandise, a bazaar. You disgrace my father.

And the Jew said, show us a sign. What does it mean? It means that, on what authority you are doing this? Who are you? Show us a sign. And you know what the sign our Lord Kingdom give them? The Lord said, you destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up.

That's the sign. What is a sign of authority of our Lord Jesus while he was on earth? Giving his life. Lay down his life, and take it up again.

That's the sign.

And then you remember at the end of his ministry, it happened again. In Matthew, it is recorded. He, at his last entry into Jerusalem, after three and so years of laboring, he discovered that the temple was not getting better, but it's getting worse.

So again, you find he cleansed the temple. But after he did that, the Pharisees, the officials, they came and challenged. On what authority do you do this? Who gives you the authority? They know it takes authority to do these things.

But who gives you the authority? On whose authority are you doing that? And as our brother already mentioned, the Lord didn't answer their question, but questioned them. The baptism of John, is it from God or from man?

In other words, it is clear. It is evident. The Lord does not need to defend his authority. The Pharisees, officials of the temple, they had position. Now, in the beginning, it might be. It is because of their godliness.

You know, God chose high priests. And those priests were supposed to be set apart to serve God. And the Pharisees were supposed to study the word, the law, and to keep them. Maybe in the beginning, there was some sincerity.

There was some piety there. And because of this, they got into a position. But now, there was no authority there. It's a counterfeit authority. Based on position. Based on tradition. Not based on life.

So here you find these two authorities clash. Man-made authority. Positional. Clash with real authority. Spiritual. And you know that false authority only destroys. It never builds. And if it builds, it builds.

It shows you that our Lord, while He was on earth as a man, He had. And that authority is not God's authority in the first place. His authority is delegated authority. How do we know? You read the Gospel of John.

Because in the Gospel of John, our Lord Jesus said again and again, He said, I can do nothing of my own. I saw my Father doing it, so I do it. I cannot say anything on my own. I say it because I heard my Father say it.

It is He who is doing it within me. It is He who is speaking it within me. I always do the things that please the Father. And He is always with me. If I judge, God has given me the authority to judge.

I judge not on my own, but I judge according to Him. So, brothers and sisters, you find that throughout His life, when He emptied Himself to become a man, He left His authority as God behind. He came as a man.

Under. He put Himself completely under the authority of God, His Father. To such an extent that He would never do anything, or say anything, or go anywhere. Even His timing is in God's hand. You remember how His brother in the flesh said, Well, this is feast time.

Everybody go to Jerusalem. And if you want to show yourself, go to Jerusalem where the people are. Show them who you are. And our Lord said, Your time is always convenient, but my hour. In other words, you find that His whole life, He lived His whole life under God's authority.

Convenience to God's authority is so absolute and perfect. Therefore, God has given Him delegated authority. So His authority while He was on earth was not God's authority in the beginning. Direct authority is delegated.

It is because He put Himself under God's authority. Therefore, He was given authority. And brothers and sisters, how He used that authority. He never used His authority for Himself. He always used that authority.

He never used His authority to deliver Himself from the cross. He can do that. When He was mocked and said, Come down from the cross and we'll believe you. He can very well do that. Exercise His authority to remain.

Brothers and sisters, that is delegated. Now, how about us? If God should delegate His authority to us, isn't that a big? If God should honor us to delegate His authority. Remember, it is a tremendous risk.

Who will God delegate His authority? To what degree He will delegate His authority? The principle is according to the degree of His life. According to the degree of His life in each one of us. Because authority is in life.

In God's life. And brothers and sisters, thank God. Our forefather Adam, he lost authority. He lost dominion. God has given him. But today, God again gives authority to those who are His. In whom He has put His own life.

And brothers and sisters, with that life comes delegated. So, every one of us have been delegated authority. Now, do you know that? Know that every child of God has a measure of delegated authority. It is a tremendous responsibility.

He wants you to use that delegated authority to serve God's purpose. To represent God and to do His work. And I believe this is the reason why He wants to delegate authority. You know, God loves us so much.

He wants to honor us so much. That He wants us to have a part in His great, the work of building that holy city. The new Jerusalem. The bride of His beloved son. You need authority. He wants you and me to have a part in it.

Therefore, He is willing to risk with you and me. Whatever life God has given you, there is that measure of authority there. And the Lord said, When you are doing that, you find that God's work is done.

There will be building. But remember one thing. In order to do that, we need to deny. Our Lord Jesus, who is a perfect man, He has to deny Himself every time. In the smallest thing as well as the biggest thing.

Then how much more we, who have this sinful nature in us, how much more we need the working of the cross in our lives. If we do not deny ourselves, there is always that danger. That we will misuse the authority God has given us.

We will use the authority God has given us to misrepresent Him. We will use it for our own purpose. We will use it to build our own kingdom. But remember, it is the kingdom of darkness that we are building.

Never for a moment think that because you are given authority, therefore you become authority. No matter how much authority God has given you on the basis of His life in you, whenever you are out of touch with God's life, you are not living in the Spirit of God.

You have no authority whatsoever. You are no authority. You know our trouble today is, authority blinds us. Authority deceives us, thinking that now we are authority. So, we can say anything we like, we can do anything we want, we can tell people what to do, and they must do it.

Otherwise, we punish them. Dear brothers and sisters, this is not authority. Abuse. We are never, whatever little authority we may have, it is... So, to put it very simply, what is delegated authority?

Delegated authority is Christ. God's life in you, that is delegated authority. And that's the measure of authority you have. And whether you are prophesying according to the proportion of faith, whether you are serving according to the measure God has given to you.

Do not be out of bounds. Do not be careless, thinking that now you are authority. So, Brother Neely told us, there are three requirements to be delegated authority. Number one, always remember that God is the authority, and nobody else.

Number two, always deny yourself, because you are to represent God's authority, not to substitute. And number three, always in communion, because when you are out of touch with God, you lose it, you lose.

So, what authority you still claim you have is a counterfeit, all right? We have to move to the second one. I have eight more minutes. Now we come to this matter of under authority. Now, brothers and sisters, you know it is equally difficult to be in authority and to be under authority.

Mutual Submission Under Delegated Authority

Now, do not think to be in authority is easy. It's very difficult. Probably it's more difficult than to be under authority. Now, there's no problem to be under authority of God direct. Our problem is under delegated authority.

That's our problem. Because we will say, now, who are you? You are not God. Why should I submit to you? Well, it is because we do not understand what authority is. You know, brothers and sisters, if you understand what authority is, there's no problem.

Because whether it is direct or delegated, it is God. You are submitting to the authorities that God has set above you. You are not submitting to men or women. You are submitting to God. If only you can see this, where's the problem?

Your problem is with God, it's not with men. So, if you have that problem, better go to God and deal with that. Now, do not try to deal with men, because you won't be able to solve it. You have to go to God to solve that problem, as a matter of fact.

I love that verse, submitting yourself to one another in the fear of Christ. Oh, I love that verse. You know, Paul was going to tell us the relationship between husband and wife, the relationship between parents and children, the relationship between masters and slaves.

In other words, he was going to tell us that in this world, there is an order there. In this world, there is those who will be put in authority, and there will be those who will be under authority. Now, that's the way God has arranged this world, either nationally, or in a home, or in the church.

Now, before he mentioned that, he laid down a principle. And he says, submitting yourself one to another in the fear. Brothers and sisters, first thought should not be, whom will I have authority over?

Our first thought should be, whom should I submit to? You'll find submission should be our attitude. We should seek for submission, not seek for authority. Submit to one another in the fear of Christ.