Divine Authority

A little boy finally sat down after first resisting his parents’ command to do so. He said to his parents, “I’m sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside.

If we are honest with ourselves. We all can be like that little boy. Maybe we know of a child like that. No one likes to take orders or commands. We live in a day and time where authority isn’t honored.

Background of Galatians

Now our text is an epistle or letter to the church at Galatia. A church that Paul planted. Paul normally would introduce his letters by giving thanks but not this time.

This time Paul gets right into it. Some commentators say this shows that paul is frustrated or even angry with the church at Galatia.

-issues with legalism

Paul was dealing with issues of legalism in the church. Which is basically trying to win God over by what we do instead of trusting in what God has done through Jesus Christ on the cross.

In Paul’s time, Jews and many Jewish Christians believed that by faithful adherence to the law they could win God’s approval. By strict and rigid adherence to the law, they could earn a righteous standing with God.

We can do this today too. In churches you will have the worship wars with contemporary music or traditional. pews or padded seats or what translation of the bible we should use, whether the sanctuary is too hot or too cold. It’s amazing how we can find things to complain about instead of focusing on Christ.

I remember one time a pastor was gifted over 100 padded chairs for his sanctuary. His church currently had pews with no padding that were old as the building itself. The board was split on making the change so the pastor decided not to make the change. Then he was gifted with pew cushions. He installed them thinking this was a great compromise even though there were still some who didn’t like the idea especially a patriarch of the church who grew up there. She came in on a Sunday evening service and with a blatant disregard for the pastors authority she ripped half of a cushion and folded in half and sat on the wooden part of the pew.

This woman seems like she has never met authority. She didn’t want Gods will. She wanted her will. You see God is the ultimate authority but he has delegated some to represent him. We cant by pass his delegated authority. She even said to him...”Are you sure God called you to this church”? All because she disagreed with what he was doing.

Gods Authority

-Spoke the world into existence

We know of God’s authority because he speaks things into existence. At creation he said let there be light and there was light. If you think about the word “authority,” it comes from the word “author.” We know from Genesis 1 that God is the Author of the entire universe

-He speaks as one who has authority(Jesus)

They were amazed when Jesus spoke because he didn’t speak according to tradition. He spoke with power and authority. He was Christ incarnate. He was the word made flesh. He was the lamb of God slain for our sin. He held the word of life that was manifested before them. When he spoke storms stilled. Demons obeyed and all of hell trembled

The Apostolic authority

Doubting Paul’s call

Even the Apostle Paul struggled with this.

Now an apostle literally means “One sent”. It means more than a messenger though. It’s an appointed representative with an official status who is provided with the credentials of his office. Apostles oversee not just one church but many of them.

I’d like to think our district superintendents as Apostles as they oversee many churches also.

verse one says...”

Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)”

Now the word Paul means “small” or little”. Now when I think of Paul i think of someone strong with massive faith but the small and little they are talking about is in his physical stature. Tradition says Paul was a “man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body.

We know that his enemies in 2 Cor. 10:10 made fun of his physical appearance claiming his letters were weighty and bold but he wasn’t that much to look at.

All that didn’t matter to Paul though. He knew that He was called by God and not man. He relies on the authority of God and not man

PAULS CONVERSION STORY

Paul was called on The Damascus Road. The story is told in Acts, chapter 9. Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians when a light from heaven flashed around him. Paul was thrown to the ground and temporarily blinded, and Christ spoke to him directly.

When Paul told the story at his trial (Acts 26), he said it was then that God called him to go to the Gentiles to spread the gospel.

A bright light from heaven?

The voice of Jesus?

Knocked to the ground?

Blinded?

It took a lot to get Paul’s attention! Which makes sense. After all, he believed the Christians were a dangerous group that ought to be stamped out as quickly as possible. People like this seldom recognize a call gradually!

Paul did something that so many pious Christians don’t do and that’s recognize Gods authority.

The Pastoral authority

The Church is called “The Flock of God” where Jesus is the head of the church and the chief shepherd. Jesus Christ is the authority over it. God’s blueprint for building His church includes calling those to the office of pastor with certain responsibilities

Oversee the Church(1 Timothy 3:1)The general oversight of the ministry and operation of the church is the responsibility of the pastor

Rule or Govern the Church(1 Timothy 5:17) The word translated “rule” literally means “to stand before.” The idea is to lead or to attend to, with an emphasis on being a diligent caretaker. This would include the responsibility to exercise church discipline and reprove those who err from the faith.

Feed the church (1 Peter 5:3). Literally, the word pastor means “shepherd.” The pastor has a duty to “feed the flock” with God’s Word and to lead them in the proper way.

Guard the doctrine of the church (Titus 1:9). The teaching of the apostles was to be committed to the “faithful” who would teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2). Preserving the integrity of the gospel is one of the pastor’s highest callings.

The Believers authority

Now before the fall of satan from heaven, Lucifer had power and authority. He was actually known as an angel of light. His big mistake was his pride. He said in Isaiah 14:13-14 in what are called his “5 I will statements

I will ascend into heaven.

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.

I will sit on the mount of the assembly

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds

I will make myself like the Most High

He was not satisfied with authority delegated by God; he wanted to assert his own authority above God’s. As a result, he was cast down. When he was, he did not lose his power, but he did lose his authority.

Then when God delegated authority for dominion over the creation to Adam, along with free moral choice, Satan saw an opportunity to take back the authority he had lost. God would not have given it back to him, but Adam now could and Adam did when he gave into temptation in the garden.

in the New Testament, written after Jesus' death and resurrection, the Bible refers to Satan in terms that are surprisingly authoritative. Jesus himself calls Satan the 'ruler of this world' in John 16:11.

According to Ephesians 2:2, people who fail to trust in and follow Jesus walk 'according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.' In 1 Corinthians 4:4, the Bible refers to Satan as 'the god of this age.'

James 4:7 says “Resist the devil and he will FLEE from you! Focus on the word FLEE. Usually we think that we need to flee from Satan not the other way around. We as Christians need to be more aware of the authority we have in Christ!

I think about Jesus and how he cast out demons and they entered into pigs and then scattered off a cliff to their demise.

God has not left us alone. He has given us the Holy Spirit.

The same power that raised up Jesus from the dead lives in us. By that power, the resurrection power of God brought in Christ by the Spirit, we have been delivered from the “power of darkness, and have translated us into the kingdom of light”

The authority of the believer is directly derived from the Son of God:

who He is;

what He has done;

where He is now; and...

who I am because of Who He is!

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