Syllabus; Lesson Two; Lesson Three; Lesson Four; Lesson Five; Lesson Six; Lesson Seven; Lesson Eight
By Sandy Ditoro
Introduction & Lesson One
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men.
They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, "Rabbi, Rabbi.'
But you, do not be called "Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:1-12)
The greatest among the saints will not be the one who exalts himself above others. The greatest ones will be those who submit to the will of God. The greatest ones are the servants in His kingdom. The greatest ones are humble. The greatest ones understand the chain of authority God has established and our relationship to it.
Do you want to be amongst His greatest ones? These lessons are designed to teach us about authority which was created by God and the respect He demands from us for all authority.
This will be a two part series. I hope you will be able to complete all 16 lessons. Each lesson lays the foundation for the next and the very last lesson, lesson sixteen, will address woman’s relationship to all authority. We will learn how women can be the greatest ones in His kingdom.
Authority
Lesson One
“Man’s relationship to authority” is something I have often pondered. When my generation stood on the threshold of becoming adults, most held an attitude toward authority that differed from all previous generations in our country. Their attitude was, “Denounce Authority!” “Rebel against all authority!” If there is a rule for or against anything, “Break It” “Challenge Authority!”
Because Police represented civil authority, they were called, “Pigs!”
The meaning of civil rights evolved into: “You can’t tell me what to do! I can do whatever I please!” Self rights became their god. They chose to overlook the rights and well-being of others. They used the abuses, mistakes and prejudices of previous generations as their excuse to rebel against all authority and to form their own selfish culture.
Dress codes at schools were challenged as unconstitutional.
Social etiquette rules went out the window. Long accepted societal practices were challenged with the attitude, “Who says I have to wear black to a funeral?” “Who says I have to wear a dress to school or to worship?” (There was a time when girls were not allowed to wear slacks to school and no lady would have even considered wearing slacks to worship) Women scoffed, “Why do men have to open doors for women?” Etc….
It seems that everything in society was scrutinized to find out how it could be changed or turned inside out.
Women were encouraged to rebel against the authority of their husbands and of men in general. Traditional titles were challenged because they exalted men over women. Therefore “Mrs.” And “Miss” were changed to “Ms.”.
Parents were encouraged not to discipline their children but to let them develop naturally. This pretty much guaranteed that children ruled the roost. Parents who accepted the new socially correct agenda basically tried not to exercise any authority over their children.
Instead of holding up the Word of God as truth and the source of all authority, many in the church adopted the spirit of rebellion and brought its influence into the church. The authority of elders was challenged. Everything taught by God in the NT and practiced by Christians was challenged by the “changers”.
What happens to society when there is no respect for authority?
Everything gets way out of control. Teachers have no authority to discipline and classrooms can become a war zone. The atmosphere for learning is all but destroyed. When parents do not discipline, their children may grow up to threaten, sue and even kill their own parents. Criminals with no respect for the law and feeling no threat of punishment grow bolder and bolder. When elders do not respect God’s law, sin runs rampant in a congregation. When members have no respect for the elders, they disregard any attempts of spiritual leadership and seek to get rid of those who try to lead in a godly direction.
Societies tend to swing to extremes. When the masses grow weary of the disorder created by lack of authority, a dramatic swing in the other direction occurs. Those who find themselves in a position of power may suddenly clamp down forcefully to gain control of the chaos. They may feel the need to overcompensate and they overreact. They become rigid and unmerciful. Husbands, bosses, parents, teachers, judges, those in charge of civil law etc… rule like tyrants and get away with it because society is collectively running from the bedlam created by too little authority.
When everything is brought back into control, everyone is happy to have order again, even at such a great price. It takes time to bring things back into control. The process may evolve over a generation and then a generation comes to age that has forgotten how awful was the chaos. All they know is that they are tired of unreasonable, rigid, all controlling authority. Guess what they do! Collectively, they rebel. Authority is thrown out the window and here we go again!
A student of history could learn from this that authority must exist in society to have orderliness. Those in positions of authority should rule with fairness and kindness and not take advantage of their position to behave like a dictator.
For there to be order in any society, there must be a chain of authority. God in His wisdom set up this chain of authority, with Himself at the top, above all other power. God teaches us about this chain is 1 Corinthians 11:3:
1.“But I want you to know that the ______ of every man is Christ, the _____ of woman is man and the _____ of Christ is God.”
I believe that God gave us authority in our human relationships so that we could learn respect for and how to relate to His authority. Perhaps in a nutshell, this is the essence of the human experience.
Consider how young we are when we receive our first lessons in authority.
If a small child reaches for a burner, a parent will snatch the hand away.
A parent will retrieve a toddler running for a busy highway. The child may kick and scream in protest, but the parent knows what is best for the child.
A good and loving parent uses his or her authority in a very positive way, as indicated in the examples given above. We must grasp the fact that God only uses His authority to do what is good and righteous. Just as a child may not understand why his hand got popped for reaching for a hot burner, we may not understand the Hand of God reaching into our lives and creating pain. By faith we must trust Him and view His authority as it operates through His love. He rules us for our own benefit.
In every human relationship there is an element of authority and we must learn the proper way to respond to it. God examines our affiliation with and our attitude toward human authority. If we rebel against legitimate authority, God considers it rebellion against His authority because God created all authority:
2. Let every soul be subject to the _________ authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are ________ by God (Romans 13:1).
How do you regard authority? What is your reaction to the mention of the word, authority? Does your back bristle just a little? Do you feel the defense mechanisms kick into gear or do you have a mental picture of yourself as clay in the Master’s Hand?
Please give the dictionary meaning for the following words:
3. Authority
4. Obey
5. Bondservant
6. Law
7. Submit
8. Will (desire)
9. Kingdom
10. Overseer
11. Lord
12. Master
13. King
14. Power
The next time you see any of the words above in a Bible verse, remember each one indicates the existence of authority.
Authority belongs to the one who has power (For clarity: I am using the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition meaning of “power” in this context which is: 1. Ability to act or produce an effect)
For example:
The Father used power in the beginning. He spoke and the world was created.
God gave man dominion (say-so, power, authority) over everything on earth.
15.
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our
likeness; let them have ________ over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the
air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that
creeps on the earth" (Genesis 1:26).
16. Biblical authority has the power to save: “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God to____________ ...” (Romans 1:16)
A mother has the power to drag a two year old out of the street after she has told him to stop playing there.
Elders have the power to make decisions concerning the spiritual welfare of their congregation.
God the Father is the source of all authority. He is above all other authority.
Some seem to have the false idea that since we are under the law of grace, God has relinquished His authority: He has given commands, but he has chosen not to use His power to punish the disobedient.
God desires that His will be accomplished through the power of love:
17. “If you _____ ___ , keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
18. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is ____________ in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk, just as He walked. (1 John 2:4-6)
19. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and ______ ______ ____________ . For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:2-3).
20. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not _______ but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
But if we do not respond in love to His love by being obedient, then He will use His power to destroy us:
21. “…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking ______________ on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the _________ of the Lord and the glory of His power.” (2 Thess. 1:7b-9)
Concluding Thoughts:
What is the Christian response to authority?
A Christian under authority must submit with respect and with a good attitude. A Christian’s actions and outlook should cause others within their sphere of influence to esteem those in authority.
A Christian who is in a position of authority should imitate God’s use of authority. Authority should never be abused. It should always be beneficial.
Let’s review:
22. What happens when there is no respect for authority in a society?
23. Authority must exist in a society to have _____________.
24. God rules for our own _____________.
25. Give one reason God gave us “authority” as a part of our human relationship.
26. Who is the source of all authority? (Give verse)
27. Who is above all authority?
28. What is the Christian response to authority?
Let
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Syllabus; Lesson Two; Lesson Three; Lesson Four; Lesson Five; Lesson Six; Lesson Seven; Lesson Eight