Local Church Discussions - View Single Post - A Woman of Chayil: Far Above Rubies by Jane Carole Anderson

Evangelical · 12-09-2016, 10:39 PM

Counterfeit authority makes sense to me - it is really Satan's twist on God's authority. God has the only authority and he has given man authority to rule (the governing authorities etc). Satan has no authority except that of God's which he twists, abuses and misuses.

I believe what Drake is alluding to is that there are at least two possible ways by which genuine authority is twisted by Satan to become counterfeit:

- to have genuine authority from God and not exercise it in the right way.
- to have no authority from God and exercise it in the right (or wrong) way. This can be a very subtle kind of counterfeit.

We should differentiate between possessing authority and exercising authority. For example, a genuine master has authority over the servant, but the master may abuse the exercise of that authority. Eph 6:5-9 describes how to exercise authority:

Ephesians 6:5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
Ephesians 6:9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Suppose the Master did not follow Ephesians 6:9 - this does not mean that the Master does not have authority over the servant or that he is not the master. It means he is not exercising the authority in the proper way. This genuine authority then becomes counterfeit.

Alternatively, the master may only be pretending to be a master over the servant. This would be a counterfeit authority as well, even if the master is loving, kind and treats the servant well. It is mistaken to think that genuine authority is simply a matter of loving those under our authority and not Lording it over them. Counterfeit authority is not just genuine authority misused. Counterfeit authority could be exercise of authority that one does not have. We may think that if there is a ruler in the church who is loving, kind and does not abuse others that they are exercising genuine authority. But there is still the possibility that they are exercising their own authority without any direct authority from God. I have touched on this in my thread "Delegated Authority -what many Christians today do not understand".

12-09-2016, 10:39 PM	#1
Evangelical Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 3,965	Re: A Woman of Chayil: Far Above Rubies by Jane Carole Anderson Counterfeit authority makes sense to me - it is really Satan's twist on God's authority. God has the only authority and he has given man authority to rule (the governing authorities etc). Satan has no authority except that of God's which he twists, abuses and misuses. I believe what Drake is alluding to is that there are at least two possible ways by which genuine authority is twisted by Satan to become counterfeit: - to have genuine authority from God and not exercise it in the right way. - to have no authority from God and exercise it in the right (or wrong) way. This can be a very subtle kind of counterfeit. We should differentiate between possessing authority and exercising authority. For example, a genuine master has authority over the servant, but the master may abuse the exercise of that authority. Eph 6:5-9 describes how to exercise authority: Ephesians 6:5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, Ephesians 6:9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. Suppose the Master did not follow Ephesians 6:9 - this does not mean that the Master does not have authority over the servant or that he is not the master. It means he is not exercising the authority in the proper way. This genuine authority then becomes counterfeit. Alternatively, the master may only be pretending to be a master over the servant. This would be a counterfeit authority as well, even if the master is loving, kind and treats the servant well. It is mistaken to think that genuine authority is simply a matter of loving those under our authority and not Lording it over them. Counterfeit authority is not just genuine authority misused. Counterfeit authority could be exercise of authority that one does not have. We may think that if there is a ruler in the church who is loving, kind and does not abuse others that they are exercising genuine authority. But there is still the possibility that they are exercising their own authority without any direct authority from God. I have touched on this in my thread "Delegated Authority -what many Christians today do not understand".