Identifying Spiritual Authority

[NeitherFirstnorLast]

Good evening Saints,

I have always enjoyed encounters with fellow believers wherever I find them, and one group with whom I've had some exchange on line is a group from the Brethren assemblies. I was on their site today, and saw that they had recently posted a question on Spiritual Authority.

In some recent exchanges on this forum, the issue of spiritual authority has been brought up, and I think these Brothers and Sisters have provided some keen insight into the questions they put forth; and I'd like to post some excerpts here from their Forum (www.simplegathering.com)

1) What is ‘authority’ in terms of our service to Christ / of our communities?
Authority is exercised against the spiritual enemies of the Lord and His flock in prayer – Eph. 6:12 & 18.

...there is a significant difference between "spiritual authority" among believers, and authority within a general community. Part of the difference relates to the kind of leadership that Christ demonstrated and indicated he wanted to see in the church - a leadership in which humble example (washing other people's dirty and weary feet) is central. This is not what is considered good leadership in many ordinary societies. Part of the difference also relates therefore to the role of power. The one thing that has done more damage to my spiritual life and growth has been being regularly caught in the cross-fire of power-struggles in local churches. This has totally destroyed my respect for those involved with the result that I refuse to accept their authority in spiritual or non-spiritual matters.


2) How does one acquire it?
God’s Grace is the basis (of authority) ... Our knowledge of our own weakness and inability, basically humility provides a conduit. “God resists the proud and exalts the humble”. What spiritual authority could anyone carry if being resisted by the Lord? Another quote comes to mind from the end of one of the Lord’s parables I believe – “Having done everything, say I am an unprofitable servant.”
Faith is essential to activate the authority Christ has invested in His people – Having a sense of our own inability – we must then move into faith in the ability of the Lord. A friend I traveled with saw some wonderful things happen in his ministry – he was a very simple man – one of his sayings was “It’s not your ability, it’s your availability;” the thing about my friend Jim was that he really did believe it and simply trusted the Lord to work through him. There was never a meeting with Jim without tangible blessing.

...By preaching the gospel to every creature, as He told us to.

3) How do we recognize it?
There is a Pastor in the church I sometimes attend. But he, in my mind and in relation to me, is not a pastor. I remember being in a church that had no Pastor. But there were several pastors and we as young people knew who they were, because we experienced their genuine care and concern for us. There were also teachers whom we recognized because even those who were not orators "spoke with authority." Their teaching hit home, had real resonance and impact.

So maybe authority is something you recognize but have difficulty defining, and especially defining "how to get it."

(You see it where you find Disciples are being made and baptized and added

4) How can a Christian worker, church or movement lose it?
The authority available to us is not for use in relation to one another – not for pushing the ‘sheep’ around as a egotistical superiors. The shepherd Ps. 23 carried a rod and a staff and David speaks of how the Lord uses such to comfort us. The staff was used to rescue silly wandering sheep – thank God he has one where would we be otherwise. The rod was used to beat off the wild beast.

....Definitely blatant hypocrisy will destroy a person's authority. But not being hypocritical will not guarantee authority, even if it may bring respect.

When a Christian gets into a position of authority over other Christians then they get involved, as Mona says, in power struggles instead of "washing the disciples feet" and "washing the feet of those who are not yet disciples," it is catastrophic to the church. I saw this in my formative years and I saw first-hand the damage it has done.

People got into authority in our meeting who did not have that intrinsic quality of spiritual authority and their lack of spirituality caused chaos in the assembly. They had business acumen, but not spiritual authority. Spiritual authority is hard to describe. Either a person has it or they do not. They can become an overseer without spiritual authority because they have been elevated to that position by like-minded non-spiritual people. It is devastating to the church but it happens.

...(It is lost) By becoming insular, and competitive and grasping for "position" rather than making disciples.

5) What fruit / results might we expect to see where spiritual authority is present?

Spiritual authority, to me, does not mean that you are BOSS and everybody must do what they are told. Spiritual authority comes from my close relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, then I can be an encouragement to others to "walk by His side in the way, What he says we will do, where He sends we will go, Never fear only trust and obey." Spiritual authority does not mean that I should get as many people to obey me as I can and then I become BOSS. It means that I am to do what our Lord Jesus tells me to do and "encourage" others to follow him and do what he is asking in their lives.

...If we LIVE under the All-Authority of the Risen Lord, we will make disciples.

...the most effective churches I’ve known seem to be ones that include variety in both the leadership and the church as a whole, but only when that variety is used in a constructive way to respect the views of others and learn from one another. There is always a danger of creating cliques of like-minded individuals with whom we feel more comfortable. We should obey those who are our spiritual leaders (Heb 13:17), but that should not be a blind obedience. We should always check things out to see if they are true as the Bereans did and we also need exercise spiritual discernment and wisdom for ourselves. Spiritual authority can be lost through, among others, sinful lifestyle and abusing one’s authority.

Saints, these are samples of some of the answers offered on their forum. Can we offer as much wisdom in our responses to these questions?


In Christ,

NeitherFirstnorLast