In beginning our discussion of this all important theme, the first thing which we need to establish is that God is the source of all authority. He holds the ultimate power. He is the one who is sitting on the throne of the universe and it is He who has complete control over all things. Consequently, we can deduce that any other authority which exists in the universe has been set up by Him or at least is permitted to exist by Him. Without His consent, it would not be possible for any other authority to survive. Therefore, no matter where we find authority in this world today (either good or bad), we know that it is something which derives its legitimacy from God. This is exactly what the scriptures teach. Human governments, police forces, judges etc. are institutions which are set up by God to restrain the forces of evil in this world (Rm 13:1-7).
 
 

    The kind of authority which governments and other earthly rulers have is called "delegated authority." As we have seen, God is the possessor of ultimate authority, but He has chosen to "delegate" or "give" this authority to other individuals who are supposed to act as His representatives. Once God gives this authority, it then belongs to the person to whom it was given. Although they are responsible to God for their use of this authority, it is theirs to exercise as they see fit. In essence, they become the authority. Delegated authorities may use their power well or they may misuse it. They may be good rulers who choose what is in the best interests of God and those over whom they rule, or they may be evil and use their authority to benefit themselves and harm others. Regardless of how they use it, those who hold positions of power are God's delegated authorities.

    But delegated authority is not the only kind of authority revealed in the Bible. There is another brand of authority shown to us which, although it also originates with God, is quite different from the delegated variety. For the sake of clarity, I believe this kind of authority can be referred to as "transmitted" authority. This authority does not belong to the person who is exercising it. It is not something which is "given" to him to use according to his own inclinations. Instead, transmitted authority is exercised simply by transmitting the authority of God. The persons involved here are only vessels, instruments through which the Divine authority flows. They do not have their "own" authority, but simply are responding to the directions of the Most High. When He speaks to them for others, they speak. When He directs them to take some action, then they move. But they never take this authority upon themselves. No matter how often they are used by God to transmit His authority, they never become this authority.

    Moses was an illustration of someone who exercised this "transmitted" authority. He was not leading the Children of Israel according to his own ideas or directions. He was not expressing himself. As you read the Old Testament account of how he led the Israelites out of bondage, it is quite clear that he was simply moving and speaking according to Supernatural instructions. Every step, every law and ordinance, every detail of the tabernacle; everything was done according to heavenly guidance. He was not exercising some positional authority which God had bestowed upon him. He was not formulating his own plans and making his own decisions. Instead, he was simply allowing God to use him to transmit His authority through him to the people. When Moses' authority was challenged by Korah and his crowd, he summed up his position in this way: "By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will" (Num 16:28).

    Our Lord Jesus Christ was the supreme example of such transmitted, spiritual authority. He did not come to do His own will, but instead submitted Himself to the will of the Father (Jn 6:38). He did not do His own works or even speak His own words but simply offered Himself as a channel through which the authority of the Father could flow (Jn 14:10). When Jesus cast out demons, He revealed the authority of the Father. When He cursed the fig tree, it was the Father's voice which was heard (Matt 21:19). When He rebuked the wind and the waves it was the Father's authority which was demonstrated (Lk 8:24). Every aspect of His living was a manifestation of the invisible God. Even though He was qualified to do so, He never exercised His own authority but instead allowed His Father to flow through Him.

    So we see that there are two distinct varieties of authority present in the world today. One is an earthly, human kind; a delegated authority; which is exercised by man, responded to by man and recognized by those who live on this earth. This authority is inevitably accompanied by superficial props which aid the fallen race in identifying these authorities. Positions, titles, uniforms, and many other such externalities all serve to point out those who have delegated authority. This kind of authority is always seeking recognition by other men, in fact it needs this recognition to function. It is a natural, worldly authority which was designed by God to appeal to the fallen nature of man. It is something which God has instituted, which operates according to the fashion of this world to govern the people of the world.
 
 

    The other kind of authority is a spiritual one. It is the transmitted variety. It is through this authority that God intends to govern His people. With this type of authority, the person involved is simply a channel through which the leadership of God flows. He does not need any titles or garments to reinforce what he says. He is not trying to impress others so that they will obey him. His position is one of being submitted to God. Consequently the word of God flows through him to others. In this way, the true authority of Jesus is revealed in His church.

 
The first type of authority was ordained by God to govern the world; the second, spiritual, type to rule His people, the church.

    There certainly is a need for authority in the church. No doubt God uses men to be both leaders and examples to the others and draw them into a relationship with Christ. But what sort of authority should this be? Is it an authority which is derived from a "position" in the assembly? Does it come from an appointment to be an elder, minister, deacon or some similar thing? Does a title or an "office" qualify a man to lead God's people? Is this responsibility conferred on someone by other men who also possess some entitlement, education or position? Does it come by some kind of vote of confidence by the majority? Or is this honor taken upon oneself by virtue of being the strongest personality in the group? Certainly not! All these are just earthly ways which can only serve to hinder God's purposes and bring others into bondage.

    As we have seen, genuine spiritual authority emanates from God Himself. Those who exercise such authority are prepared vessels who transmit God's thoughts and desires to His people. It is this sort of authority which we should be exercising in the church today. We desperately need men who will speak when God speaks to them, who will lead according to His direction and who will manifest His revelation. The great necessity of the hour is not for those who have been schooled, elected or appointed to positions of authority but for those who are intimate with God and through whom He can freely transmit His will.

    Genuine spiritual authority does not come with an appointment to a position or "office." In fact, the word "office" used in I Timothy 3:1,10,13 in the King James Version represents no word in the original Greek language but is the invention of the translators. Although certain men in the New Testament acquired labels such as "elder," "deacon" or "apostle" their authority did not come from holding some "position." Exactly the reverse is true. These designations came as a result of the inner spiritual work which God had done within them. They were a means of describing their special functions in the body. In some unique area God had prepared these men to be conduits of His authority. These names were used to identify these areas of service, not to qualify them for it.

    Yes, the Bible does say that the Apostles "ordained" elders in every church (Acts 14:23). But what does this term really mean? W. E. Vine in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words has this to say: "Not a formal ecclesiastical ordination is in view, but the appointment, for the recognition of the churches, of those who had already been raised up and qualified by the Holy Spirit, and had given evidence of this in their life and service." You see, the Apostles were not arbitrarily selecting men who met certain qualifications, or who perhaps were most willing to go along with their program or possibly had a lot of money or influence in the community. Instead, they with spiritual eyes were pointing out for the benefit of those who could not see so clearly, those whom God had already sovereignly selected and prepared to use as His vessels.

    Untold damage has been done to God's people through the misunderstanding of this principle. All too often, men are appointed to a "position" by other men with the thought that some kind of authority is needed in the church. Tremendous injury and loss has been experienced by God's people through this kind of practice. When we establish earthly, delegated authority in God's church, we thereby offer a substitution for the true. When we elect or appoint men according to human reasoning or perception, we establish a variety of authority which is foreign to God's plan and which will only be a hindrance to His perfect will.

    The reason for this is that no matter how "scriptural" it may be, positional authority can never produce spiritual results. Nothing which originates on the earthly level can achieve God's designs. The Bible is quite clear: "The flesh profits nothing" (Jn 6:63). Human authority can never transmit the power necessary to transform human lives. It cannot reach inside a person and touch their heart. At best all delegated authority can produce is some kind of earthly arrangement which approximates the work of the Spirit. This not only accomplishes nothing of eternal value but it robs believers of the opportunity to experience Christ's reality.

    Please don't under estimate the gravity of this. Human efforts, backed by natural authority, may be able to accomplished many notable things in the religious world. "Revival" campaigns, membership drives, fund raising and building projects all can be carried out by strong human leadership. But let us remember that the appearance of religious "success" is not the measure of our spiritual accomplishments. No matter how grandiose or impressive our works appear, if they have been constructed with the wrong substances; earthly natural materials, instead of supernatural; they are nothing but wood hay and stubble in God's eyes and they will be destroyed on judgment day.
 
 

  For some strange reason God's people are often not satisfied with God's way. Many have a different longing within their breasts. They desire a human, tangible authority. They yearn for someone they can see and hear and feel. They feel much more comfortable with something natural. Whether they realize it or not, what they are really looking for is a kind of king just like the Children of Israel did so many years ago. Being dissatisfied with his spiritual authority, they came to Samuel and insisted that he set up for them an earthly ruler (I Sam 8:5-20).

    Perhaps we can identify some reasons for this puzzling desire. First of all, having such a king would relieve them of their personal responsibility to seek God for themselves. Now their "leader" could do this for them. Next, he could bear all the responsibility, take care of all the problems, decide upon the directions they should take and fight their battles. All they would have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

    When Samuel heard this request he became very angry. He knew something about what God's intentions were and he understood that God was using him to transmit Divine direction to His people. He was grieved that the nation whom God had chosen as His own would go the wrong way. However, the Lord reminded him that they were not rejecting him but were in fact rejecting Himself. They were not turning away from a man but were refusing God's kingship in their lives (I Sam 8:7,8).

    It is evidence of God's great love for men and His abundant grace that He did not forsake the Israelites even though they were abandoning Him. He let them have their own way, but first He explained that this request would only be bad for them. Earthly, human authority would harm them in three ways:
1). It would take away their sons and daughters,
2). demand a share of their possessions and
3). bring them into a bondage from which God would not deliver them (I Sam 8:9-18). He allowed them to have their way because He perceived that their hearts had already turned away from Him. But it is quite clear that this was not His will.
 
 

FOOTNOTE:
Regarding Spiritual Authority By David Dyer:
I was contacted by Don McIntyre regarding this article, who did the editing for David Dyer. Don's website later vanished without a trace. We eventually dug up the article and posted it here.  Later, we found out that his last known ministry address was: Dave & Mina Dyer  "A GRAIN OF WHEAT' MINISTRIES"  P. O. Box 644 Leominster, Main 01453-0644  USA

Dave has been involved in home church meetings for over twenty years.As is obvious from the introduction, it is interesting to note that these were 'renewal'  folks in Canadian homechurches who were enthusiastic about this article and who put it up. It is obvious that they thought this article was similar to the common messages within the renewal about changes needed in the Church, and there were many renewal prophecies of this type. However, scriptural errors and nondiscernment do not lead to change in any constructive way. Too many of the new self-proclaimed leaders of the 'renewal'-toward-revival,  proclaim that there will be revival with 'reformation', and yet they have reverted to old error- ridden Shepherding and Restoration teachings of 20 years ago among other things, even while calling themselves 'new'. Please see our 'Third Wave' page for some history and information regarding these Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism issues and developments.