Week 3 | Spiritual Authority Ch.6,7,8 | Dan

Ch.6

            I thought it was interesting that the connection between suffering and obedience came up again. I don’t usually associate those two words together. But we learn that Jesus, through suffering, learned obedience. Often, we resort to complaining and acting out when we go through hardships, but we must strive to follow Jesus’ example and obey our father’s will. When we obey, God’s authority is rightly established in our lives, and His kingdom is manifested here. Believing is not enough; Obedience must follow. Faith is obedience. Purification comes through obedience. If believing/faith allowed you to accept Christ and be saved, obedience allows God’s authority/will to be maintained in your life. It is also important to note that we have to obey as a church, as well as individually, because God’s authority/will is exercised through the church and thereby expanded into the world. I love this line - “How can God’s kingdom prevail if we always reason and argue among ourselves?”

Ch.7

            I like the point about how even when we don’t feel God’s presence, we can still know him through his authority. His commands and his displays of power remind us that he is king.

            I think most of us can easily accept the fact that “there is no authority except from God.” It’s much harder to accept that to disobey earthly authority is the same as disobeying God’s authority, especially living in a culture that values logical reasoning and individualism. However, I think we need to start being more fearful of the consequences of rebellion, rather than being preoccupied with asserting our own ideas. Jesus never took part in any sort of rebellion, nor was he some kind of lone renegade. Let’s stop making such a big deal about submitting to our leaders. It’s not that hard. God trusted people enough to delegate authority to them, so why can’t we trust them?

            Nee lays out some very practical ways we can obey authority, and they’re very simple and to the point. “Taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.” These things are common sense. It’s not too much to ask. A godly person who lives in the spirit would already be doing these things. Those who exhibit pride and disrespect have no fruit to show in their lives. Peace and humility are what we should seek in our church. “Only a fool takes pleasure in the failure of delegated authority.”

Ch.8

            I love the analogy of the body parts moving instantaneously and gracefully as soon as an idea is conceived in the brain and the impulses travel through the nerves. This is a great picture of the relationship between God and his bride, the church. There is also a distinction between a command and the will that’s behind the command; Movement is both conscious and automatic. It’s this type of communication and coordination that we should aim for as we carry out God’s will.

            Members of the body must also be in harmony with other members. Since the members of the body only move according to the head’s commands, to judge a member is to judge the head. Further, different body parts don’t have the ability to tell each other what to do. Only the head has that authority. But the feet must trust what information the eyes are processing in order to maneuver a path. If the feet rejected what the eyes are saying, then they are also rejecting the head. We must accept the functions of other members because they can do things that we can’t. It is impossible for an individual member to be a whole body by itself. The authority and functions of different members is a reflection of the riches of Christ. We should embrace and own that blessing. Therefore, authority doesn’t put us down or take away from us; Instead, it supplements our areas of weakness.