[Nell]

From chapter 2 of a A Woman of Chayil:


The Bible gives us a glimpse of what happened in the universe before God created man. It also gives us clues to the reason for Satan’s covert warfare against mankind. Long, long, long before man was created, Lucifer, the supreme archangel, rebelled and tried to usurp God’s throne (Ezek. 28). After this, he became known as the devil or Satan. He is also referred to as the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), the prince of devils (Matt. 9:34, 12:24; Mark 3:22), and the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).

In the following verse, the Bible alludes to a background problem on earth at the time God created mankind:

Then God blessed them, 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.” (Gen. 1:28, NKJV).

The word, “subdue,” in this verse tells us that something on the earth was not right. One can deduce from what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden that Satan was at the root of the un-subdued situation on earth. His sneaky entrance into the Garden of Eden and his subtle trickery show us that he was on earth in rebellion against God’s authority, and he was carrying out his own agenda.

Authority and Freedom

The Bible tells us that God, who is love, possesses all authority and power. He reigns over and is in control of all things, in all time and in all places. He also possesses all knowledge and wisdom. At the end of time, He will judge every human being, and His judgment will stand.

No one can take God’s power or authority from Him. They are His to share with others as He sees fit according to His wisdom. Satan’s initial conflict with God was over authority—who would possess it and who would be in control. Satan wasn’t satisfied with what God had given him, so he grasped for more, wanting to be like God. In essence, he wanted to possess all God’s authority and power so he could do whatever he wanted. Satan’s title, “ruler of this world,” indicates two things: (1) at some point before Lucifer fell, God gave him a measure of authority and power, and (2) his realm of authority included the earth. We know that Satan retained this authority over the world after his fall because Jesus referred to him as the “prince of this world.” This title is used in the account of the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness. At that time, Satan offered to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus would fall down and worship him. Jesus sent him packing with a few choice words of truth; but, what is noteworthy in that scene is that Jesus did not challenge his right to make the offer or his ability to deliver on it. Jesus’ silence concerning this appears to be an acknowledgement that the devil was rightfully in possession of the kingdoms of this world and that they were his to offer.

It is not easy to talk about authority because we have a built-in lexicon with respect to this word that is different from God’s. It is critical for us to recognize that the meanings we naturally give to the word “authority” and to other similar words such as “head,” “rule,” and “lord” do not match God’s meaning. Because of our faulty and inaccurate understanding of what true authority really is, and of how it works, we misunderstand certain Bible passages and misapply them. If we wish to understand such passages correctly, we need to change our definition and understanding of authority so that our built-in lexicon matches God’s.

In this writing, I will call our natural understanding of authority—that which matches the devil’s practice and use of authority—“counterfeit authority.” Until we ask the Lord to renew our minds to properly understand what He means by authority, we will not be able to understand the meaning God intends in Scriptures which use authority words such as “head,” “rule,” “lord,” “dominion,” “kingdom,” “submission,” and “obedience.” Instead, we will think wrongly about such Scriptures, and we will have wrong behavior as a result (Matt. 20:25, Mark 10:42, Luke 22:25).

The difference between true authority and counterfeit authority is determined by how it is used, or more precisely, by who is using it. When God uses His authority, because He is love, He exercises it in love. He loves the party on the receiving end of His authority, and He wisely uses His authority for their highest good. His use of authority is governed by His righteousness. He never does anything that is wrong. Whatever He does results in righteousness and peace.

When Satan uses authority (that which God gave him), he exercises it without love because he has no love. He does not love the party on the receiving end; and, what he does, he does for himself with his own benefit in view. He does not care for what is right, and he does what is wrong. Whatever He does produces unrighteousness and takes away peace. This is a condition produced by rebellion from God. Satan’s counterfeit authority is fundamentally self-serving. It is a top-down hierarchical authority that dominates all who are below the topmost party in the hierarchy. Satan uses beings, both spiritual and human, in this kind of hierarchical system to carry out his evil purposes (Eph. 4:14). He is the party who is actually at the top of every hierarchy, but he chooses to stay hidden in the background as much as possible and work by trickery and deceit. His intent is to violate and take away people’s freedom. Through his agents, he exercises either some form of overt, coercive, forceful control or some form of subtle, manipulative control. Counterfeit authority is always for the benefit of the party at the top in his war against God—the prince of this world. It will always have evidence of unrighteousness.

Among Christians, Satan has mastered the art of using word trickery to disguise counterfeit authority to the degree that it can be at work right under believers’ noses in the name of God, bearing the label of the authority of God, and they cannot see it for what it really is. Satan, who wants to be God, has been able, time and again, to trick God’s people into serving him and his agenda. He has been successful in causing believers to think that top-down, ruling, controlling, and freedom-robbing authority is God’s authority and that believers need to submit to their leaders’ directions without question. Examples abound in Christian history of Satan having worked in this way to get Christians to do his anti-God bidding. Well-known examples would be the Inquisition and the Crusades. Any Christian leadership which exercises authoritative control over God’s people and does not respect their freedom and right to make their own decisions before God falls into this category. Such deceitful working is why the Bible tells us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and his ministers as ministers of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:13–15). Counterfeit authority is recognizable by its fruit, which may take time to manifest. It will ultimately bear the unrighteous characteristics of the one behind it—Satan. He:

• Operates from a basis of hatred, because he has no love
• Seeks to suppress, oppress, kill, and destroy whatever threatens or opposes him
• Has no regard for the needs or rights of others
• Takes no responsibility for the well-being of others
• Removes peace and brings turmoil and distress to all who are on the receiving end of his control
• Uses lies, trickery, subtlety, and deceit to get what he wants
• Is darkness, works in darkness, and spreads darkness
• Hates God and the Word of God and is in total rebellion against Him and His Word
• Lords it over everyone, including the demons and fallen angels under him in the unseen realm
• Has power over his subjects because of their sins

The strongest characteristic of counterfeit authority is that it imposes itself and doesn’t respect a person’s right to choose.

God’s authority, on the other hand, is bottom-up, supportive authority. His everlasting arms are underneath, taking responsibility, powerfully protecting and accomplishing what is best for all those whom He loves (Deut. 33:27). True authority is rooted in humility and self-sacrifice (Phil. 2:5–11). It allows entreaty and questioning and asks for, not demands, willing cooperation. In Genesis 18:22–23, Abraham questioned God, entreated Him, and even changed His mind. God’s way of exercising His authority is to instruct people and give them freedom to choose to obey Him. If they choose otherwise, He seeks to persuade them by giving them consequences. He waits patiently with great longsuffering after imposing consequences, giving them space to change their way of thinking and submit to Him willingly. God’s authority reveals the character of God, who:

• Loves, because He is love
• Is not coercive or abusive
• Operates in the realm of freedom and respects the rights and freedom of others
• Is truthful and does not lie
• Is righteous and just
• Is love and light and reveals love and brings light with all His actions
• Always does what is best for others, even at great cost to Himself
• Disciplines by measured, purposeful consequences, and chastisement when necessary, to persuade people to do what is in their best interest
• Is willing to suffer wrong graciously for a very long time to give those He loves the opportunity to make right decisions, that is, to repent, turn, and yield to Him
• Brings life, light, joy, peace, and rest to those who choose to submit to Him
• Supplies whatever is needed to help those who choose to follow Him be able to do so

The strongest characteristic of God’s authority is that it allows others to have freedom to choose within the boundaries He has set for them. He warns them not to violate those boundaries; and, if they do, He gives them consequences designed to help them change their minds and their behavior. In order for freedom to work, boundaries are necessary because there are multiple parties involved. God defines where one party’s freedom stops and where another’s starts. He gives the various parties the right to make their own choices—to have authority over their own choices—within the sphere which He has allotted to them.

In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam what he could not do and also told him the consequence that would come if he disobeyed. Adam and Eve had the freedom to choose to believe God or not. When they believed the lie of Satan instead and acted on it, they received the consequence that God had pronounced. God eventually sent His sinless Son to suffer death in mankind’s place.

When Jesus came, He, too, had the freedom to make His own choice about doing His Father’s will. He said, “I have the authority to lay my life down and to take it up again” (John 10:18). This means that He had authority to say “No” to dying on the cross. Whether He went to the cross or not was entirely His decision. He exercised His authority to choose to submit to His Father’s will, which was to lay down His life for us. This exercise of authority by Christ reveals God’s love for us and gives us the clearest and most powerful view of who God is and what true authority looks like. This is why people bow their knees to Jesus as Lord when they see the sacrifice that He made on the cross for them. Jesus Christ, God Himself, bleeding on the cross for our sins, is authority in action for our ultimate benefit. God Himself paid the price necessary to free us from the consequence of our sin and then gave us another choice: Believe the Son and what He has done to save you. That is the gospel. It is the result of God’s exercise of true authority. He has paid the price to give mankind a second chance, but ... each person must choose to take it!

The concept of God’s authority and man’s freedom is not something that fallen man easily grasps or apprehends. It is easier to understand Satan’s counterfeit authority, because that is the kind of authority human beings have experienced and seen exercised on the earth time and again as men rule over other men by coercion or manipulation.

A fundamental truth is that God respects and values all He creates. He also values having a true and loving relationship with His created beings—one like the relationship that exists with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is no possibility for Him to have such a relationship with His created beings if they are not free to choose to be, or not to be, in relationship with Him. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in a perfect, harmonious, and freedom-based relationship. If God did not give his created beings the freedom to choose whether or not they want to participate in that relationship, He would be violating His own character. He knows that it is best for those whom He has created to choose Him, and He is confident that when they see Him as He really is, they will.

So, in this explanation about true and counterfeit authority, we can see what God’s character is like and what Satan’s character is like. Never forget the difference between God’s way and Satan’s way: God lets man choose; Satan’s imposes. The difference between the two is the difference between breath and death. The wonder of wonders is that God has opened a door for us into eternal life. We can choose to enter through it and be saved. His exercise of authority on our behalf has opened the way for us to get back all that we lost—simply by choosing to believe what He has done for us.

Used with Jane's permission. Emphasis added by me.

Nell