50 Crucial Questions - Question 36

What is the meaning of authority when you talk about it
in relation to the home and the church?
This question is crucial because the New Testament shows that the basic relationships of life fit together in terms of authority and compliance. For example, the relationship between parents and children works on the basis of the right of the parents to require obedience (Eph. 6:1-2). The civil government has authority to make laws that regulate the behavior of citizens (Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13-17). Most social institutions have structures that give to some members the right to direct the actions of others. The military and the business sector come most readily to mind (Matt. 8:9; 1 Pet. 2:18-20).
The church, while made up of a priesthood of believers, is governed in the New Testament by servant-leaders whom the people are called to follow (1 Thess. 5:12; Heb. 13:7, 17; 1 Tim. 3:5; 5:17). In marriage the wife is called to submit to the sacrificial headship of her husband (Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18-19; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). Finally, the source of all this authority is God’s
authority, which is absolute.
What becomes clear as soon as we try to give a definition to this authority is that its form changes from one relationship to another. We would define authority in general as the right (Matt. 8:9) and power (Mark 1:27; 1 Cor. 7:37) and responsibility (2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10) to give direction to another. This applies perfectly to God in all his relationships. But it applies in very
different ways to various human relationships.
For example, with regard to the power to direct others, the state is invested with the sword (Rom. 13:4); parents are given the rod (Prov. 13:24); businesses can terminate an employee (Luke 16:2); and elders can, with the church, excommunicate (Matt. 18:17; 1 Cor. 5:1-8). Similarly, the extent of the right to direct others varies with each relationship. For example, parents have the right to be directly involved in the minutest details of their young children’s lives, teaching them to hold their forks
correctly and sit up straight. But the government and the church would not have such extensive rights.
For Christians, right and power recede and responsibility predominates. As Jesus said to his disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Matt. 20:25-26). Authority becomes a burden to bear, not a
right to assert. It is a sacred duty to discharge for the good of others. Excommunicating a church member is a painful last resort. A spanked child is enfolded in affection. Employers show mercy. But none of this abolishes authority structures; it rather transforms them as loving responsibility seeks to outrun rights and power.
The transformation of authority is most thorough in marriage. This is why we prefer to speak of authority in terms of leadership and headship. The Bible gives husbands no warrant to use physical power to bring wives into submission. When Ephesians 5:25-27 shows Christ bringing his bride toward holiness, it shows him suffering for her, not making her suffer for
him. The husband’s authority is a God-given burden to be carried in humility, not a natural right to flaunt with pride.
At least three things hinder a husband from using his authority (leadership!) to justify force: (1) the unique intimacy and union implied in the phrase “one flesh”-“no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it” (Eph. 5:29-31); (2) the special honor commanded in 1 Peter 3:7 for a husband to treat his wife as a joint heir of the grace of life; and (3) the aim to cultivate shared maturity in Christ, not childish dependence.
Thus, authority in general is the right, power, and responsibility to direct others. But the form and balance of these elements will vary in the different relationships of life according to the teachings of Scripture.

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