Delegated Authority 

Authority does not naturally exist. Delegated authority is an authority obtained from another that has authority. There are two types of authorities: physical authority, and spiritual authority.  A person might have physical authority but lacks spiritual authority. On the other hand, someone might have spiritual authority but lacks physical authority. Similarly, someone may have both physical and spiritual authority.  The Almighty God planted the concept of physical authority amongst human beings pointing to spiritual authority.  Take for an example, the Centurion had physical authority but lacked the spiritual authority to heal his servant that laid at home paralyzed and was suffering terribly.  For it is written:

“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. (Matthew 8:5-13).

Because the Centurion lacked spiritual authority to heal, he would go to Jesus who had spiritual authority to heal his servant.  The Centurion was an authority because he was under an authority. The Centurion himself made the following claim: ^“For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Matthew 8:9).  Humanity is put under the authority of God that we might learn, and practice obedience to authority.

Many people profess that they know how to obey the authority God, but they do not obey delegated authority. All authorities come from God. The book of the law states the following:

 “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1).

At this point close your eyes and meditate on the following questions:

• Which authorities are my subject to?
• What is my own definition of authority?
• Why must I subject to authorities?

The goal of this exercise to ignite an awareness on authority and to help trace the origin of authority. The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7). Then God blessed them-man and woman-and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).  This passage would create an artistic portrait of delegated authority. Initially we learnt that delegated authority is an authority obtained from another that has authority. God, an authority, would delegate authority to humanity to have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden. The Lord God instructed him “to work it and take care of it. The Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. (Genesis 2:15-17).  The Lord God placed all created things on earth under the authority-leadership-of the man Adam that he might have dominion over them. On the other hand, God placed Adam himself under His authority (Genesis 2:17), that Adam might learn, and practice obedience to authority. Adam would have to learn and practice obedience to authority-to become an efficient authority.

The concept of the order of creation would reveal that whoever is created first is to be the authority. Whoever is first saved is to be the authority.  Therefore, according to the principle of the order of God’s creation, God made Adam before He made the first woman Eve.  The Lord God would put Adam in authority and the woman under Adam’s authority. The man Adam will become an authority and the woman will be in subjection. For it is written:

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything” (Ephesians 5:22-24).

The Almighty God was creating the institution of the family. In this family institution, Adam would become head of the family-a domestic church. God would put the woman Eve under His authority and under Adam’s authority.  Under a twofold authority, the first woman Eve would have two authorities to obey. It would be a reversal of the Divine established order of creation that led to the fall of humanity.  From this point-the account of divine order of creation-a pattern, a mold, is established which would remain unchanged throughout the remainder of Scripture.

We must learn and practice to obey all authorities including the authority of our parents. What humanity is facing today is because we live outside the authority of God. It is only a person that is under authority who can become an authority. How can we claim to know authority-God is authority-when we keep on dishonoring our parents? The Word of God says the following:

“Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 5:16).

This is the only commandment with a promise. Subjecting yourself under the authority of your parents is a classical illustration of one subjecting under the authority of the one who delegated that authority-God. If someone says I am under the authority of God but challenges the authority of his or her parents, that person is a liar. For if you can’t subject yourself under that authority of someone you see, how can you subject yourself under the authority of an invisible God-a God you can’t see. Scripture reveals to us that the Word of God is a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). What this means is that obeying God’s ordinances comes with blessings of obedience and violating God’s ordinances comes with curses for disobedience. Therefore, honoring your parents-with all your hearts would come with blessings of obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1-14)-a long life-a fulfilling life, and a prosperous life. Dishonoring your parents would come with God’s curse for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).

• Do a self-evaluation while meditating on Deuteronomy 28:1-14.

Begin to write down some blessings of obedience you have or experiencing for honoring your parents.

• Do a self-evaluation while meditating on Deuteronomy 28:15-68.

Begin to write down some of the problems you have faced or are facing-curses of disobedience-you might be experiencing which might stem from dishonoring your parents.

• What have you learned from this spiritual exercise?
• Can you trace the root cause of many dysfunctional families?

Why would your own children-children that you have worked so hard for-disrespect you-dishonor you? Explore the spiritual realm of your hearts and do a self-examination-and you might find the root cause of these spiritual problems.

Others may assume environmental factors are the root causes of these problems.

• What is your opinion about environmental factors?
• What do you consider as environmental factors?
• Is your environment a physical factor?
• Do you belief that the spiritual realm supersedes the physical realm?

Therefore, a careful examination of the spiritual realm would reveal a great deal of mysteries-rooted in some of your family ills.  The culture, custom and lifestyle of the kingdom of God must be carried out to all the corners of the earth.

Reference

Nee, W. (1994). Spiritual Authority by Watchman Nee 1st (first) American Editi Edition (6/1/1972) (41129th ed.). Christian Fellowship Publishers.