FR ANDREW BEESTON WRITES:

AUTHORITY - The Divine Order

All through the Bible it is emphasised that ultimately all authority flows from God. 'The Lord sits enthroned as king for ever'. As the Creator of all that is, and the One who maintains it in being, God has rights of ownership and control over the whole universe. When the world is managed according to God's will, it prospers. When that will is disregarded or rejected, chaos and evil reign. The story of the Old Testament is the working out of those two principles. In the New Testament the same principles apply, but the focus of God's authority on earth shifts to his Son, Jesus. He spoke and acted in the name of God, with God's authority. People recognised that he taught 'with authority', unlike the scribes (the religious teachers of the day) who operated under the authority of the Torah, the divine instructions for Jewish worship and morality. He claimed authority to forgive sins, which was a prerogative of God himself. He assumed divine authority over evil spirits. After the resurrection, Matthew's Gospel concludes with this claim from the lips of the risen Christ: 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me'. It was 'given' by the only one who had the right to give it, God himself, and this authority was used by Jesus to send out his disciples to preach, teach and baptise under his authority. Indeed, he gave the apostles an even greater authority, that of 'binding' and 'losing' sins.

Authority conveys the right to do something. God has the 'right' to our obedience, and he has delegated that 'right' to his Son, Jesus. As we have seen, Jesus delegated authority to his apostles, and through them to those who were responsible for order in the Church. But all and everything was ultimately to be under the authority of God himself. We do not live in a disordered, chaotic universe, however much it may sometimes seem like that! It is a constant theme of the Bible that 'God reigns'. He sits on the throne of the universe and everything and everybody comes under his divine authority.

This is even true where the secular governments are concerned. Christians are not to be anarchists, but should be law-abiding citizens, paying their taxes and showing respect and honour to those in authority. But because their authority comes from God, they are answerable to him for the way that they use it, and if it is misused Christians have the right and duty to oppose them, because that would be an abuse of authority.

As we begin to submit to God's authority we experience his order and control in our lives - not the harsh regime of a tyrant but the gentle control of a wise and loving parent.