Hi everyone, Greetings to all Steemians@steemchurch community, today I bring to you God's word which I titled understanding biblical authority.

Have you ever wondered what authority is?  What it means?  What is its source? What are its implications for us as Christians? 

In this session we are going to examine ‘Authority’ from a Biblical view.

"Authority" is translated as exousia in the Greek language which means rightful, actual, and unimpeded power to act, or to possess, control, use, dispose of, something or somebody.
The word signifies power that is in some sense lawful, the stress being on the rightfulness of power really held or possessed. Sometimes used in a general secular sense to describe self -control.

(Acts 5:4) KJV:Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

Jesus is saying that he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. His power is greater than the power of the enemy. When there is a head-on conflict between the power of the enemy and the power of God, the power of the enemy will lose every time.Jesus Christ that's been given to us and the significance of living in that power and authority. Jesus made the promise to give us this power and authority in Matthew 16:18when he said to Peter:

"KJV:And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it".

Jesus was going to build his church. The church was going to advance. The gates of Hell could not withstand it.

SOURCES OF AUTHORITY


It is important to remember that all of these only serve as secondary forms of authority. Not one of them is complete or adequate in itself and so should not be relied upon as a conclusive or absolute of final source of authority. They have their uses and their limitations.

1.The Creeds (why and when were they formulated?)

2.The Historic Confessions (e.g. Westminster Confession)

3.Consensus as to what one should believe (how safe is this?)

4.Subjective experience (how can this substantiate doctrines?)

5.Reason or Rationalization as a means of acceptance

I want to make five (5) statements about biblical authority, based upon Titus 2:15 and a few other texts. My purpose is to help you understand this important concept so that you will submit all of your life to God, who is the ultimate authority, and reap the blessings that come from a life of submission to Him.

1. All authority on the human plane is delegated authority.

All authority on earth comes from the Sovereign of the universe. Note Romans 13:1-2 : “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.” Paul goes on to talk about government authorities, but his statement shows that all authority comes from God.

2. All authority is vested in a plurality of men on the local church level.

We examined this when we studied Titus 1:5 , so I will only mention it in passing here. Whenever the New Testament refers to the elders of a particular local church, it always uses the plural. A plurality of elders over a single local church is God’s way of protecting the church against the abuses of authority that may easily happen if a single man runs the church. The elders must submit to the Lord and be accountable to one another and to the church.

3. All authority is designed for our blessing and protection.

When authority is abused, it hurts those under authority. In such cases, God ultimately will judge the abuser. But when it is exercised properly, authority blesses and protects those under it.

4. Authority does imply responsibility and accountability.

To be in authority in any sphere means that someday you must give an account to God, who entrusted that position to you. If you use your authority to abuse those under you for your own advantage, you’re going to be in big trouble someday. If you use it to seek to accomplish the Master’s will by blessing and protecting those under your charge, you will be rewarded ( Luke 12:42-48; 20:9-16 ).

5. Authority concerns character primarily and position secondarily.

character is the primary thing in authority, because godly character commands respect and a man with respect has authority. But, there is also a secondary aspect of authority, namely, the authority of position or office. Hopefully, the man who fills the office graces the position with godly character. But even if he falls short, we need to maintain a certain respect for the office.

In conclusion, Authority must be understood by every Christian since it is the entire basis of our relationship with Christ.  the Bible becomes the source of authoritative instruction for our Christian Life (2 Tim. 3:16).

Since submission to authority is basic to Christian Life, it is important that we understand that all authority is a God-given institution, and all types of authority are related. The Lordship of Christ is the highest source of authority that we must answer to (Matt. 28:18).

When we take our time to study the Bible seriously with the help of the holy spirit  and ask God to speak to our hearts through its inspired teachings, we begin to acknowledge  that God  indeed speak to men with Divine authority through the.

A big thanks to everyone who took out time to read my post, and also thanks to  the leader of platform @sirknight,  and to the apostles,  God bless you all