Foundations - Divine Authority — Stephen Kaung

You know, we are on the 52 Lessons that our dear brother Watchman, he prepared for the Church. He realized how needed that we have a good foundation of the Word of God. And that's the reason for the 52 Lessons.

God's Authority Over Creation and the Angels

And this morning, our lesson is spiritual authority. Spiritual authority. We know that in this universe, God is the authority. He is the creator of everything. And because of this, He is the authority over all.

I think this is self-evident. We do not need to labor over it. But we know that from the Word of God, God, by His authority, has set up the universe. At that time, the highest of His creation were angels.

There was no man yet. But He loved to delegate His authority. So among the angels, He had one called Lucifer, the bright and morning star. He delegated lots of authority to that angel. That angel was the guarding angel of God's throne.

And he was to lead the angels to worship God. He was given great gifts. But unfortunately, this angel called Lucifer, shining bright star, because of his many traffics, because of his beauty, because of his power, he began to look into himself.

Brothers and sisters, it is always bad to look into yourself. Because what can you see in yourself? Nothing but bad. If you see that you are good, it is even worse. So this archangel, instead of serving God, leading the angels in serving God, he began to look into himself.

He was such a beautiful angel. He was so gifted. He occupied such high position. He ought to be satisfied and be thankful to God for all that had been given to him. But instead of that, this archangel began to think of himself as great.

He was not satisfied with just an angel. The Bible tells us he wanted to be equal with God. And because of this, he was driven out of heaven. And most likely the earth at that time was under his control.

The Creation of Man in God's Image

So we find that in human, in earthly history, this earth once entered into dark age. It was surrounded with water. We do not know how long that continued on. But we do know from Genesis 1 and 2 that one day the spirit of God began to brood over the face of the deep.

God was going to restore the earth to be habitable. Because God had a plan. I think we have said again and again, for God to destroy Satan is very easy. He say a word, all you breathe a breath, and Satan will be finished.

But that didn't give God glory. Just like a grown up person beating a little child. There was no glory in it. So in God's wisdom, he restored the earth to be habitable in order to create man. So on the sixth day, he created man.

Now brothers and sisters, man was created in a very special way. God had never created anything like it. Not even the angels. Because God created man according to his own image and after his own likeness.

Brothers and sisters, what a privilege man is. You are created according to God's own image and after his own likeness. Now image refers to the inward quality. In other words, we have the possibility of being united with God.

If we obey and cooperate. So brothers and sisters, we human beings are God's special creation. But remember one thing, we are not created for ourselves. We are created for God. Because God had a definite purpose in creating man.

And that purpose is that through man, he wants Satan to be defeated. And lower than the angels. And yet overcome the angel by obedience to God. And that is God's plan for man. But as we read the Bible, we all know God put man in the garden of Eden.

The Garden of Eden and Humanity's Purpose

The garden of Eden is the garden of pleasure. God planted all kinds of trees in the garden. Good for food. That is for the need of man's body. But at the same time, God put in the midst of the garden the tree of life.

It's symbolic of the life of God. If you eat the fruit of that tree, you will have God's life in you. And that is the very purpose of God. And by the tree of life, there is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Don't be mistaken. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not a bad tree. In the garden of Eden, all the trees are good. As a matter of fact, it is a bad tree. But not the best one. The best one is the tree of life.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, if you eat the fruit of it, you will have knowledge. You know what is good. And you know what is evil. But the problem is, if you have the life of God in you, this discernment of good and evil is helpful.

But if you do not have God's life in you, just as human life, this fallen life, you will not be able to do what you know is good, and not to do what is evil. And if that is the case, the result is death.

So I think it is very clear in the scripture, what is God's purpose for man. Man is not created for himself or herself. Man is created for God's purpose. So do you realize that you are not your own? You are here for a reason.

And that is a tremendous reason. You are here to defeat the enemy in your lives. And in so doing, you glorify God. I think it is very clear from the Bible, from the very beginning of human life, this is what God intended us to do.

So God put man in the Garden of Eden. It is a beautiful garden. It has all kinds of fruit trees. He can eat every fruit of the tree. In other words, even the tree of life, the only thing he couldn't eat is the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

In other words, God put man on trial to see whether he obeyed God or not. Do not think that God made man and put him in the garden doing nothing but enjoying himself. That is not the life that God created man for.

He is put in the garden with a mission. He is there not only to improve the garden, but he is there to be the wall of the garden. Because the garden has no wall. Man was to be the wall of the garden because God knew that Satan was lurking outside, trying to get in.

The Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve

And this was what was in the beginning with man. We do not know how long Adam and Eve lived in the garden together. But somehow, the Bible tells us, Eve drifted away from Adam. We find out Eve was alone.

Now where is Adam? We don't know. Eve looked at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He admired that tree. As he was looking at that tree, he was tempted. Satan had slipped in, take the form of a snake, and began to speak to her.

Then God said, You cannot eat any tree. What an ugly thought that is. Now of course Eve said, No. We can eat every tree, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And we cannot touch it. In other words, from her words you can see she was not very happy about it, because she wanted to have everything she wanted.

And Satan used this opportunity to entice her and said, If you eat it, you will be wise as God. You do not need God anymore. You will be on your own. What a glorious life that will be. And Eve was tempted.

She ate and she gave it to her husband. Now brothers and sisters, we must remember, Eve was deceived to eat the forbidden tree. But Adam ate the forbidden fruit willfully. In other words, he knew the consequence.

And yet because he loved his wife so much, he didn't want to miss his wife. So he chose his wife rather than God. And Adam too ate the forbidden tree. And we all know the result. Because of that, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden.

But before that, God slayed an animal and clothed them with the skin of the animal. And brothers and sisters, this is what happened to man. Man had lost his place before God. But God didn't give up. You know, God works in a marvelous way.

Wonders to perform beyond our imagination. God allowed this to happen. And it happened in history. How long? We do not know. Thousands of years. But God had a plan. His plan is still with man. He hasn't changed that.

He built, created man in the first place with that reason. He did not give up that reason. He still wants man to be used of him to defeat his enemy. So we find thousands of years passed. And one day, God's own beloved Son volunteered to be a man.

Christ's Humiliation and the Restoration of God's Purpose

So in Philippians chapter 2, we find our Lord Jesus, He was equal with God. And that is not something to be grasped at. You know, the enemy tries to grasp to be equal with God. But with our Lord Jesus, He is God's only begotten Son.

Equal with God. Nothing to be grasped at. And yet, for our sake, He was willing to give up all His positions and rights to be a man. Now, brothers and sisters, just think of that. For God to be a man, how much He must have given up.

But our Lord Jesus gave all up. He came to this earth as a baby. He grew up in this wretched world. He suffered tremendously. He was rejected. And eventually, He was crucified. And all this He did for us.

So, brothers and sisters, God is the authority of the universe. And man, according to God's idea, is to represent God. God loves to delegate His authority. But what we receive is delegated authority. We have no authority of our own.

Do not think we can do anything we want. That idea is not God's idea. It's the enemy's idea. We are under authority. Under the authority of God. And because we are under His authority, we are qualified to represent His authority.

So, dear brothers and sisters, this is our story. Thank God. By believing in the Lord Jesus, we have our sins forgiven. We are given a new life. Christ is the life in our spirit. And we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell in our spirit.

His purpose is to see that the life of Christ will grow up into maturity. This is His mission. So, we find here delegated authority. Brothers and sisters, we need to remember we do not have authority of our own.

What authority we have is being delegated to us by God. And because of that, we are responsible to God to exercise the authority that God has given us. So, Brother Nee said, when you come to the church, what are you looking for?

Obedience to Delegated Authority in the Church

You are looking for people to be under you that you can exercise authority over them. Or you come to the church to look for people to whom you should give obedience. I think that makes a great difference.

The question you should ask is, who are the ones that are before me that I should give my obedience? This is the right attitude when we come to the church. God's delegated authority is something that we should recognize and learn to obey.

So, brothers and sisters, you come to the meeting, what are you looking for? Are you looking for people to be under you? Are you looking to whom you should give your obedience? That will make a great difference.

Now, it is true that in the Bible, and I find it in the church, first apostles, in chapter 12, verse 28, God has set certain in the assembly. First, apostles. Secondly, prophets. Thirdly, teachers. Then, miraculous powers.

Then, gifts of healings, helps, governments, kinds of tongues. The Bible gives eight kinds of gifts in its regular order. In the church, God has the apostles, those whom he has sent to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, such as the twelve apostles that we know of.

They are the highest rank in the church. And after that, you have the prophets. They prophesied. Prophesying in the New Testament is not only predict the future, but proclaim the mind of God. And you have the teachers, those who will teach according to the word of God.

And after the teachers, you have miraculous powers, and so on. So in the church, there is a divine order. But remember, this is not arbitrary. This is not something you take upon yourself. This is something that God has provided.

You remember in 3 John, there was a person who became so dominant in the church. He ruled the church with authority. He drove out those who did not do what he forbid them to do. And the apostle John said, he will come and deal with the situation.

So brothers and sisters, here we find in the church, there are these different delegated authority. But so far as delegated authority is concerned, we need to be careful. Because it is very easy for you to be delegated authority and you begin to think you are the authority.

That's a great temptation. So whatever authority God has given you, remember, it is God's. You are exercising for the sake of God. You are not exercising on your own. Now brothers and sisters, this is what we find in the Word of God.

So thank God, in the church there is order. But it is a divine order. It is not a man-made order. And the way that we keep the order is not mechanical. It is something that you really see, the spiritual principle behind it.

And because you see it, you do accordingly. That God's purpose may be fulfilled. So, when God's people really learn to represent Christ on earth, what will be the result? The result is, all that the enemy has done will be defeated.

Inward Spiritual Warfare and Growth to Maturity

How? Not externally, but inwardly. In other words, God will fight against his enemy with you and me. But how? Not outwardly, but inwardly. That is to say, when the spirit lusts against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit, that is where the fight is.

You are not seeking to fight outside. You are seeking to do the fighting within yourselves. What an enemy has done in our lives, in our mind, in our emotion, even in our will, by the spirit of God, you discerned it, and you are willing to deal with it.

So, brothers and sisters, that is the reason why, after we are saved, we are not being raptured right away. That was my hope when I was saved. It was quite difficult for me to get saved because I knew too much.

But after I was saved, I hoped that I would be raptured right away. That would save me from all the troubles. But, brothers and sisters, God does not want Heaven to be filled with babies. He wants Heaven to be filled with grown-ups.

So, He leaves us behind and gives us the opportunity to really do some dealings, to reject that which is from self, that is from the enemy, and to receive only that which is from God by the spirit. And in so doing, the enemy is defeated.

So, may these words help us that we may together press on with humble spirit, not being proud of ourselves. But being humble enough to look for people to whom we should give our hope. That's the way of the Church.

Prayer for God's Life to Prevail

Let us pray. Dear Lord, we do want to thank Thee because Thou has not only forgiven us and has given us life, but, Lord, it is Thy will that Thy life shall prevail, overcoming all that the enemy has done in our lives, that Thy purpose may be fulfilled in each and every one of us here.

We commit Thy word back to Thee and say, Lord, may Thy spirit continue to open Thy word to us that we may be able to fulfill all that Thou has ordained for us. And it is all for Thy glory. We ask in Thy precious name.

Amen.