Biblical Authority - Control vs. Submission

This post may be a prime example of burying the lead, since the Biblical perspective on authority is very different from the Western perspective.

Bottom line up front: The Bible focuses on encouraging those under authority to submit, and is mostly (though not totally) silent on the exercise of legitimate authority.

We tend to think of authority as being synonymous with "the law" ... where the government defines in a legal code (a) what you can do, (b) what you can't do, (c) what rights you have, (d) what the penalties are for transgression of that code, and (e) the various enforcement processes and authorities.

This view of authority focuses on control, and is found also in non-governmental groups (non-profit and for-profit corporations, neighborhood organizations, PTA, etc.). It is often seen in churches and families, even those that identify themselves as being Biblically grounded.

One passage that captures the Biblical perspective well is Isaiah 61:11 ("For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations."). This verse completes a chapter that prophesies the coming of the Messiah (cf. Luke 4:18-19) and has the same kind of "slaves to righteousness, free from sin" theme seen in Romans 5-8. A naive reader of either passage would probably not even think about authority, but both are filled with the view that God focuses on calling people to repentance and providing them with the means to live righteously, not on control-centric interventions.

Although there are passages which direct those in authority to exercise it, they are relatively rare. This seems to reflect God's exercise of His authority...although judgment is certain and He will punish those who defy Him, until that time, He calls everyone to repentance and acceptance of the Son's perfect sacrifice, and encourages and cajoles them to live in humble obedience to God's authority (including those to whom authority has been delegated). The Son displays the same attitude in what He speaks through the Spirit (i.e., the entire NT (John 16:12-15)) and reveals to us in the Gospels, in Acts, in the various Letters, and in Revelation. This is especially clear in John's gospel.

In the same way when we exercise authority He has delegated to us, we should focus on speaking the truth in love, encouraging those who have stumbled to "go and sin no more" by living under grace (again, Romans 5-8), and never forgetting that we are acting as humble servants under God's authority to carry out His will. While there's a place for confronting those who clearly are rejecting God (there are numerous examples throughout the NT), the focus even there is on creation/restoration of a right relationship with God.

And, as we submit to those in authority, we do so as unto to God since all legitimate authority comes from Him.

I suspect our desire to be an autonomous god is one reason we focus on control; laziness is probably another...it's easier to say "do it! now!" than to help someone change their heart and head.

This is probably a bit too long, but I'm always surprised at folks who see God as an impersonal control freak who zaps people He doesn't like. This is completely contradicted by the entire Biblical record of God's statements, commands, and actions. Perhaps this misimpression is due to (a) a natural hostility toward God and His authority, or (b) past experiences with "religious" people who did not reflect God's attitude in the exercise of authority.

As Christians we must both exercise authority and submit to authority in accordance with our roles in the world, in the church, and in our families. Let's follow Christ's example both in how we submit and how we exercise.

God's Authority From a Biblical Perspective

The Bible reveals a God who is both amazingly holy and just, and amazingly personal and loving.

This is true from Genesis through Revelation, and provides the unchanging framework into which Christ steps. In Christ we see both God's justice (only the pure sacrifice of God in the flesh can satisfy God's wrath against us since we all rebel and serve other gods) and God's love (Christ's willingness to take a bodily form, live with us, and accept the penalty that God had levied against us).

In chronological order, several threads of authority emerge as God delegates (implicitly and explicitly) authority to various individuals and roles:

• First, all authority structures seem to have a strong relational aspect. This seems to reflect the fact that the Father, Son, and Spirit are (a) of the same essence and are equal in value, (b) have a personal relationship among each other, (c) have a distinctive authority structure (see, for example, John's gospel), and (d) are unchanging (pure being; no becoming).
• The first human relation we see is the family. God creates Adam, gives him a purpose (stewardship & subduing of the Earth), provides him with a helper to carry out that purpose, and a means to carry out that purpose (reproduction, etc. that involves and requires both male and female). The Bible defines clear roles within the family, with some aspects universal and unchanging and some aspects cultural.
  
• The second human relation that seems to emerge is government. These range from informal arrangements (e.g., tribes related by blood) to formal arrangements (e.g., kingdoms with civil and military functions). The Bible has much to say about these structures in the OT (e.g., prophets condemn nations that at unjust), but very little to say in the NT.
  
• A special relation arises when God makes a covenant with Abram, which leads eventually to a nation being formed when Israel leaves Egypt. This nation was destroyed in AD 70, and has not been re-established since (at least in the Biblical sense as directed by God in Leviticus, etc.). God has a lot to say about this in the OT, but not much in the NT.
• Finally, a special relation arises when God makes a new covenant with those who follow Christ, and a new nation (spiritual, not physical) arises with a highly decentralized structure.
• There are many other social forms with authority structures (e.g., voluntary organizations, ancient slavery and its modern counterpart the corporation, etc.), but, with the exception of ancient slavery, there's not much said in the Bible about them.
  

Since humans are fallen, it seems that little about what authority is legitimate can be found in general revelation, beyond a basic understanding that authority should be just. Much of a Biblical worldview of authority will be derived from special revelation.

And, a short word on epistemology.

Some of what we know about relational structures seems to be in general revelation. This includes heterosexual marriage (in monogamous and polygynous forms; polyandry seems to be very rare) and government that ensures justice. Since all humans are fallen, abuse & transgression of these relational norms is pervasive.

The rest of what we know is from special revelation (the Bible). I'm not going to try to address why the canon in valid and reliable; that's a different topic and there's a lot of solid evidence that this view is far more reasonable that various alternatives that assert it's either invalid or unreliable. And, I'm not going to try to address (again) why we are all capable of understanding God's Word. I do feel an obligation to mention two items:

• Christ testifies that the OT is God's Word. If you accept Christ's authority, it seems clear you must accept the OT.
• Christ states plainly in John 16 that he has much more to say to his disciples, but that he will say it to them via the Holy Spirit after he's gone. So, it seems that every letter of the NT should be in red (if you're a red-letter kind of person). Attempts to ground parts of the NT in some authority other than Christ seem to assert that either (a) Jesus lied in John 16, or (b) John 16 is not trustworthy. Either approach would seem to remove all authority from the entire NT.
  

God's Authority

If "all heresies arise from bad theology" (Sproul), then a discussion of authority should probably start with God.

Our understanding of authority is ultimately grounded in an understanding of where we came from, why we're here, and where we're going. For Christians, the fact that God created humans in His image to bring glory to Him and to ultimately be in relationship with him provides the transcendent justification for His authority. However, His love for us, seen both in general revelation ("common grace") and in the special revelation of His Son's birth, sacrifice, and resurrection, provides the basis for our willing submission to that authority.

Other understandings of the metaphysical tend toward one of two extremes: a "god" that is almost totally transcendent or one that is almost totally immanent. Islam is an example of the former: no immanent Son, no indwelling Spirit, and a revelation that is the literal words of Allah (meaning that we must learn Arabic to truly grasp its meaning). Not surprisingly, authority structures in the family and society are equally rigid. And, I suppose that secular/humanist frameworks tend to the same extreme (i.e., a totally transcendent god is the same as no god at all); the 20th century would seem to provide strong evidence of this tendency.

At the other end of the spectrum, are most non-Western religions and Western religions prior to the time of Christ (except, of course, Judaism; and excluding much of Buddhism which tends, at least in theory, toward atheism). The metaphysical (e.g., a pantheon of gods and/or spirits) seems to be largely anthropocentric. I'm not sure there's much that can be said generally about authority structures across these cultures....though I do wonder whether these belief systems can, over the next century or so, resist the corrosive effects of a pragmatic modernism/postmodernism.

Regardless, our theology (understanding of who God is) will provide much of the foundation upon which we build our understanding of authority, its purpose, and its legitimacy.