Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Authority, Positions of
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Genesis 1:27
In this one verse appears several important, foundational points that relate to marriage. The first is that God created both men and women in His own image. Before God, a man and a woman are equal, meaning that both have the same potential: to be transformed into the image of God and inherit His Kingdom. Marriage, then, is a union of equals before God. However, Scripture clearly shows that God placed husbands in the position of authority—he is, as has been said, first among equals. Yet, though they are equal in potential, they may or may not be equal in many areas of mental and physical abilities, and they are certainly not the same in emotional makeup or strength. It is evident that men and women have different natural inclinations, skills, and abilities—all the while not making one better than the other. Being fashioned after God's own body and mind implies that both have human equivalents of God's abilities, desires, goals, preferences, etc. While creating Adam and Eve, God took many of His qualities and distributed them between male and female humans. Clearly, humanity's God-like qualities are not as excellent as His, since there is a great gulf between what God is and what humanity is, but we have human-level counterparts of what God Himself possesses. We are made after the God-kind. That fact makes the relationships that we undertake with others quite important. Genesis 1:27 make it apparent that we are no longer dealing with just physical associations. In His first mention of mankind in the Bible, God begins by putting man's existence on a spiritual plane by letting us know He made us in His image. Our relationships, then, also have a God-plane quality to them, suggesting that we need to take them very seriously. Why? Because the goal of every human being, whether he or she realizes it or not, is to be just like God. Male and female, created in God's image, are on the same track to the same place. So, the relationship between a man and his wife assumes a very spiritual and imperative quality.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Marriage—A God-Plane Relationship (Part One)
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Matthew 23:2-4
The person who sat in Moses' seat had a measure of authority, and Jesus said it was to be respected. Apparently, the majority of those seats were occupied by Pharisees and scribes. However, Jesus took great exception as to how they used their authority. They said, and they did not. It is clear they used their authority to abuse, to elevate themselves and put others down, and to burden the people in ways Jesus did not agree with.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty-Five)
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John 14:2
God has ways of causing us to yield so that He can mold and shape us into what He desires. Because of this, we will be ready for our "place" when the Kingdom comes. God not only has power, but He also always has alternatives to ensure that His will is done without taking our free moral agency from us. He has another option we may not want to consider: If we will not cooperate by using our free moral agency for right purposes, He can always replace us with somebody better. We are, after all, the weak of the world. We have every reason to be encouraged, however. He will use every means at His disposal to prepare and save those called into His purpose on schedule with the return of Jesus Christ.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sovereignty of God: Part Four
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1 Corinthians 12:27-29
Paul does not just list various positions of responsibility (and thus authority); he puts them in a definite order. What Paul is describing here is a hierarchy of spiritual gifts. Sadly, the word "hierarchy" has come to be despised by some because of the baggage that comes with it rather than what the term truly means. What is often affixed with the label of "hierarchy" is actually authoritarianism, which is a grave error on the opposite extreme. An-archy means "without a leader." Hier-archy has the same root—archos—meaning "leader," but the prefix hier- means "sacred" or "set apart." Hierarchy, then, literally means a "set-apart leader." It can mean a "holy leader" or "a leader of sacred rites." In its highest sense, our hierarch is our High Priest, Jesus Christ. A second, and more common, meaning of hierarchy is "any system of persons or things ranked one above another." When Paul says that God has appointed "first apostles, second prophets, third teachers," etc., he is ranking these positions. The ranking is not based on worth or potential but on gifting, authority, and responsibility. God has not given everybody in the Body the same gifts. The Parable of the Talents shows that even though everyone has the same potential, God gives us differing levels of spiritual gifts—and "to whom much is given, from him much will be required" (Luke 12:48). This directly contrasts with Gnostic thought, which holds that everybody is completely equal since everybody ostensibly has a divine, immortal soul. While it is true that believers are equal in some ways, this passage in I Corinthians 12 shows God has gifted some in the Body differently than others. He has given responsibility (and thus authority) to some that He has not given to others. God has made us different in this, though Paul also teaches that these differences should not be a cause for boasting because they are God-given rather than inherent (I Corinthians 4:7). Just a few verses prior to his ranked list in I Corinthians 12:28, Paul warns against one part of the Body saying it has no need of another part of the Body: "But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you'; nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you'" (verses 20-21). If we are going to discern the Body properly (I Corinthians 11:29), we cannot discriminate against parts of it that we feel we do not need. Following this principle, we do not get to decide that we have no need for someone to whom God has given greater authority and/or responsibility. Those who claim that "God hates hierarchy" often work from a personal rather than a literal definition. Adding in the instruction in I Corinthians 12, God is clearly very much in favor of hierarchy. For example, and along the same lines, Paul mentions another hierarchy of authority in the previous chapter, writing, "The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (I Corinthians 11:3). What God does hate is sin, wickedness, and oppression, and sometimes, men, acting carnally, have misused the God-given structure of authority, both in the church and in marriage. What follows this chapter concerning the workings of the Body of Christ is I Corinthians 13—the "more excellent way" (I Corinthians 12:31)—that should be everyone's governing principle, regardless of what spiritual gifting he or she may have received. However, many stop their reading with the listing in I Corinthians 12, never continuing on to the "love chapter" to complete the instruction. There will always be those who desire to be "in charge," to rule by their own authority rather than God's. Those without true knowledge of God lord authority over others rather than using it to serve as Christ did (Matthew 20:25-28; Mark 10:42-45). The problem is the carnality of those involved, not the order and authority that God has established. Therefore, modifying the order might ameliorate the symptoms of authoritarianism, but only complete conversion will actually heal the spiritual disease.
David C. Grabbe
Anarchy in God's Church? (Part Two)
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Revelation 3:12
No matter what a person's name means, it identifies him. Our new names will identify us with a person ("God"), a place ("New Jerusalem"), and very likely a function or responsibility in God's government ("My new name"). Obadiah 1:17, 21 gives us an insight of what our function may be: But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. . . . Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
John W. Ritenbaugh
God's Promises Are Sure!
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Revelation 3:12
When God resurrects us into His Kingdom, He will give us names to designate our existence, nature, and responsibility in the Kingdom. We are assured of carrying God's own name if we overcome sin. What a tremendous reward to bear His name for all eternity!
Martin G. Collins
The Third Commandment
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