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Join Wayne Burger each week as he explores various topics and scriptures and challenges listeners to meditate on God's Word more deeply.
When Jesus was dealing with the Pharisees, he put forth a choice for them. Basically, he was talking about the baptism of John, and he said, the baptism of John was it from God or was it from man? In other words, he was asking, which authority? Was John operating out of the authority from God, or was John operating out of the authority of man? As we stop and think about it, those are the only two choices of authority today. We are either going to trust man, or we're going to trust God. Our authority for what we do and how we live is going to be based on God and his word, or it's going to be based on man and their traditions.
As we look at this idea, I want us to think about God's chain of authority. You know, a chain will link together, several links, and you can transfer power from one moving vehicle through a chain to a vehicle that doesn't move. That power is transferred through the links of the chain.
And we're going to look at God's authority that way. God is in heaven. He has all authority.
How does he get that authority down here to earth? And the Scriptures really explain that really well. Let's think about this idea. First off, God has all authority by right of creation.
He created all things. He created us. Therefore, he has authority over us.
The principle is given in Jeremiah 18 about the potter. The potter who makes a vessel, he can destroy that vessel and use that vessel. And so it is with God.
He is the creator of all things. Therefore, all authority rests with him. Now, the Father gave that authority to the Son when the Son came to this earth.
In other words, now then, God in heaven had authority, but he gave that authority to his Son in a number of ways. And finally, Jesus said in Matthew 28, 18 through 20, all authority has been given unto me in heaven and in earth. We looked at it earlier in another lesson you may have heard in Hebrews 1, 1, and 2 that God has spoken to us today through his Son, that authority for that.
But there are a couple of interesting passages that tell us a little more about this. Jesus said in John 8 and verse 28 that I don't speak anything of my own. I speak by the authority that God has given me.
Notice what he said in John 8, 28. So Jesus said, when you lift up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he. And I do nothing of my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me.
Isn't it interesting that Christ was God in the flesh? But he said, while I'm on this earth, he said, I don't speak anything on my own initiative. I speak only what God authorizes me to speak. How did God transfer that authority to the Son by the word he gave the Son? And so he gave the word to the Son, so now then Christ, while he's on earth, has the authority of God because God has given him that authority through the Word.
He says the same thing in John 12 in verses 49 and 50. Let's notice that reading. For I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a command as to what to say and what to speak.
I know that his commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me. Again, notice what Jesus said.
I don't speak anything on my own authority. Yet he was God in the flesh, but he depended upon God's word to guide him. And so God's authority, his chain of authority went from the Father in heaven to Christ on earth.
And so, but then what did Christ do with that authority? Christ passed that authority on to his apostles and prophets. When Jesus was about ready to die, as is recorded in John 17, he had a prayer to the Father. And notice a statement that he made in John 17, verse 8. For the words which you have given me, I have given to them.
You see, God the Father gave Christ his word. What did Jesus say to the Father? He had done. The words you have given me, I have given them.
So now then, where is God's authority? It's in the apostles and also in the prophets, as the apostles laid hands on men to make them be able to receive the word of God. Jesus gave them that authority through that word. That's the reason he told Peter and to the other apostles.
But in Matthew 16, 18, Jesus spoke specifically about that authority that Peter as an apostle would have. He said in verse 18, well, I'll begin in verse 16. And Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bound on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you shall lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
And notice this, what he's saying. And of course, there's a lot of confusion about this passage. Well, many people believe that Jesus said, Peter, I'm going to build this church on you, the rock.
No, the rock that Jesus was talking about was the rock of that confession. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. In fact, Peter does mean rock, but it means a little bitty rock.
Whereas the rock, the different Greek word that Jesus used means bedrock, went down and hit solid rock. But notice what Peter, as an apostle, and in Matthew 18, 15 through 18, he gives the same authority to the other apostles. And notice what that authority can do.
You see, he says, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. You see, Peter didn't get to make up the rules. The apostles didn't write out of their own opinion.
But what was already in heaven, God revealed to the apostles, and they wrote it down. So now then, where is the authority of God? It's gone from the Father in heaven to Christ, the Son on earth, who is now given that authority to the apostles and prophets. Now, to make sure that the apostles and prophets did not make any mistakes, God gave them the Holy Spirit to guide them.
And Jesus said that when He left, He was going to give them the Holy Spirit to guide them. They would remember everything that He had taught them. And in John 16, 7 through 13, He told them what all they were going to accomplish.
Notice the reading of that. It's a great promise about where the apostles would be led with truth. He said they would be led into all truth.
Let's read John 16, and I'm going to begin in verse 7. Jesus is talking to the apostles. This is on the night before He is betrayed. And He said, But I tell you the truth.
It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.
And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, concerning sin because they do not believe in Me, concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me, and concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Now, notice verse 13, But when He the Spirit of truth becomes, He will guide you into all truth.
For He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will disclose to you what is to come. What are we looking at? God's authority. Where did it come from? God the Father had it by right of creation.
He gave it to the Son, God on the earth, and Jesus didn't do anything on earth of His own initiative, but by what the Father told Him to say. What did Jesus do? He gave it to the apostles and prophets, and they were then to have that power and authority. And He made sure that they would not mishandle it, or abuse it, or leave anything out.
So He gave them the Holy Spirit to enable them to remember everything that Jesus had said to them while He was on earth with them. And then at the same time, He said, I also am going to give you the Holy Spirit that is going to guide you into all truth. Notice that idea that when He the Spirit of truth comes, He'll guide you into all truth.
When the apostles died, all spiritual truth had been revealed. There has not been any new spiritual truth given since that time. Everything was given.
And that's the reason we have the Word of God as that complete and final revelation of God that has the will of God. And then what did the apostles do with that? Well, they wrote it down. They were guided by inspiration.
And as they wrote, they now have this power and authority from God in written form. And that's the reason 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17 says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished, and do all good work.
When the last apostle laid down his pen, divine revelation was finished. And as they wrote these letters and sent them to the various churches, the authority of God was now in the hands of men in a book form. So God's chain of authority.
How do we know we have authority today from God? Because God had all authority. He gave it to the Son. And while He spoke on earth, He spoke from the Father's authority.
And then before He left, He promised the apostles that He was going to give them and had given them the word that the Father had given them. So now then the apostles were able to bind and loose. They were able to record God's authority.
And so as the apostles went forth, as they began to write these letters, when they wrote it down, they were guided by the Holy Spirit, which Jesus said, I'm going to give you the Spirit to help you remember everything that I said. And so when they wrote, they didn't write by their own power or their own initiative, but they wrote by the power of God. The idea of inspiration is a great message.
We can be thankful to God that this book came by inspiration. And we're going to have a special lesson on inspiration. I encourage you to listen to that podcast.
They will talk about and explain what biblical inspiration is. But that's not the final step in God's chain of authority. That final step is the fact that the books of the New Testament that the apostles and prophets wrote were circulated.
In other words, they would write a letter to a church or an individual. That church or individual would make a copy of it and send it on to the next congregation. And in that way, it was not long until all the churches in all the world had all the books of the New Testament.
You see, the councils did not give us the Bible. The councils only verified that what we had had come from God and was authoritative. And so God's chain of authority, we can have confidence that the book we have that we call the Bible is the Word of God, that it is authoritative, that it contains the Word of God, the Word of Christ, that it contains the message of salvation, that there's nothing left out of it and nothing mistake found in it, and that that Word of truth would endure forever.
We can be thankful that God had the plan to give us an authoritative source, that we do not have to depend upon man's traditions. We do not have to depend upon the vote of man and the majority rule, but rather we have the direct Word of God in book form that can guide our lives individually, guide our churches into what they should do and how we should be saved and live as His people. God's chain of authority gave us this great book.
Thanks for joining us this week and spending time in God's Word. Special thanks to Mac Graham, John Kachelman, and Lightway Media for recording, producing, and making this podcast possible. If you're ever in the Littleton, New Hampshire area, we'd love to have you join us for worship and Bible study on Sunday afternoons at 4 at the Senior Center.
You're always welcome. For more information about this podcast, visit LightwayMedia.com slash meditating on the Word and find the link there to email me to subscribe to my free weekly newsletter with more information you can use in your personal Bible study. Be sure to like, subscribe, and follow us on your favorite podcast app so that you never miss an episode.
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