Spiritual Authority
by Watchman Nee
Excerpt from Chapter 1
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For
there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist
are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists
the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on
themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do
you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you
will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for
good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in
vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who
practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of
wrath but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay
taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very
thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due,
customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. (Rom.
13:1-7)
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of
His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He
had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high. (Heb. 1:3)
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For
you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the
congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. (Is.
14:12-14)
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil
one. (Matt. 6:13)
And the high priest arose and said to Him, Do You answer
nothing? What is it these men testify against You? But Jesus kept
silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, I put You under
oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!
Jesus said to him, It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you,
hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the
Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. (Matt. 26:62-64)
God’s Throne Established on Authority
The acts of God issue from His throne, and His throne is established on
His authority. All things are created through God’s authority and all
physical laws of the universe are maintained by His authority. Hence the
Bible expresses is as "upholding all things by the word of his
power," which means upholding all things by the word of the power of
His authority. For God’s authority represents God Himself whereas His
power stands only for His act. Sin against power is more easily forgiven
than sin against authority, because the latter is a sin against God
Himself. God alone is authority in all things; all the authorities of the
earth are instituted by God. Authority is a tremendous thing in the
universe—nothing overshadows it. It is therefore imperative for us who
desire to serve God to know the authority of God.
The Origin of Satan
The archangel turned into Satan when he overreached God’s authority,
competed with God, and thus became an adversary of God. Rebellion was the
cause of Satan’s fall.
Both Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:13-17 speak of the rise and fall of
Satan. The first passage, though, lays stress on how Satan violated God’s
authority while the second passage emphasized his trespassing against God’s
holiness. To offend God’s authority is a rebellion far more serious than
that of offending God’s holiness. Since it is a matter of conduct,
sinning is more easily forgiven than rebellion, the latter being a matter
of principle. Satan’s intent of setting his throne above the throne of
God was the thing which violated God’s authority; it was the principle
of self-exaltation. The act of sinning was not the cause of Satan’s
fall; that act was but the product of his rebellion against authority. It
was rebellion which God condemned.
In serving God we must not violate authorities, because to do so is a
principle of Satan. How can we preach Christ according to Satan’s
principle? Yet it is possible in our work to stand with Christ in doctrine
while at the same time stand with Satan in principle. How very wicked for
us to assume that we are doing the work of the Lord. Please take note that
Satan is not afraid of our preaching the word of Christ, yet how very much
he is in fear of our being subject to the authority of Christ. Never
should we who serve God serve according to the principle of Satan.
Whenever the principle according to Christ is operation, that of Satan
fades away. Satan is still a usurper today; he will be cast down at the
time of the end of the book of Revelation. If we would truly serve God we
must be completely purified from the principle of Satan.
In the prayer which our Lord teaches His church, the word "And
bring us not into temptation" points to Satan’s work, whereas the
word "but deliver us from the evil one" refers directly to Satan
himself. Immediately after these words the Lord makes a most significant
declaration: "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever. Amen." (Matt. 6:13 margin) All kingdom, authority, and
glory belong to God and to God alone. What sets us totally free from Satan
is the seeing of this most precious truth—that the kingdom is God’s.
Since the whole universe is under the dominion of God, we have to
subject ourselves to His authority. Let no one steal God’s glory.
Satan showed all the kingdoms of the earth to the Lord, but the Lord
answered that the kingdom of the heavens is God’s. We must see who it is
who has the authority. We preach the gospel in order to bring men into God’s
authority, but how can we establish God’s authority on earth if we
ourselves have not met authority? How can we possibly deal with Satan?
Authority, the Controversy of the Universe
The controversy of the universe is centered on who shall have the
authority, and our conflict with Satan is the direct result of our
attributing authority to God. To maintain God’s authority we must be
subject to it with all our hearts. It is absolutely necessary for us to
meet God’s authority and to possess a basic knowledge of what it is.
Before he knew authority Paul tried to wipe out the church; after he
had met the Lord on the Damascus road he saw that it was hard for the feet
(human power) to kick against the goads (God’s authority). He
immediately fell to the ground and acknowledged Jesus as Lord. After that,
he was able to submit the directions given him by Ananias in the city of
Damascus, for Paul had met God’s authority. At the moment he was saved
he knew God’s authority as well as God’s salvation.
How could Paul, being a clever and capable person, listen to the words
of Ananias—an unknown little brother mentioned only once in the Bible—if
he had not met the authority of God? Had he not encountered authority on
the road to Damascus he could never have been subject to that obscure
little brother in the city. This shows us that whoever has met authority
deals purely with authority and not with man. Let us not see the man but
only the authority vested in him. We do not obey man but God’s authority
in that man. Otherwise, how can we ever learn what authority is? We are on
the wrong road if we meet man first before we obey authority. The opposite
is the right way. Then we will not mind who the man is.
God has purposed to manifest His authority to the world through the
church. God’s authority can be seen in the coordination of the various
members of the body of Christ.
God uses His utmost power to maintain His authority; therefore His
authority is the hardest thing to come up against. We who are so
self-righteous and yet so blind need once in our life to encounter God’s
authority so that we may be broken unto submission and so begin to learn
obedience to the authority of God. Before a man can subject himself to God’s
delegated authority he must first meet God’s inherent authority.
Obedience to God’s Will—the Greatest Demand of the
Bible
The greatest of God’s demands on man is not for him to bear the
cross, to serve, make offerings, or deny himself. The greatest demand is
for him to obey…
