Genesis chapter 1
Today we are walking in: Ten Primary Purposes of Authority
Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.
The Torah Testifies.............................
*****
The prophets proclaim...............
Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.
The writings bear witness.............
2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword
Ten Primary Purposes of Authority
The Original Plan for Authority in Creation and Life
Purpose has to do with original intent, and we have seen that authority is an inherent part of the design of humanity by its Source, the Creator Yah of the universe. To summarize our exploration of the meaning of true authority, and to serve as a prelude to part two of this series, in which we will examine how you can apply these truths to your personal authority, let us look at ten primary reasons why authority was established as an essential principle for our lives.
Purpose #1: Order
Authority produces and maintains order—in families, in society, in the world—because it establishes a reference for all relationships in life. When functioning according to authority, everyone knows where he is supposed to be and what he is meant to do based on the authority he has been given.
This authority must be founded on the Absolute Authority, the Creator, or else it will fall apart. Absolute in this sense doesn’t mean controlling, abusive, or oppressive. Instead, it reflects these definitions:
1. “Independent of arbitrary standards of measurement.” Yah’s authority is stable; it doesn’t change on a whim so that we are left confused or off balance. He isn’t fickle or capricious. As our Ultimate Authority, Yah is our standard-setter. The word ruler was derived from rule, which comes from a Latin word meaning “to keep straight, direct.” True authority gives you a reference, a direction in which to go.
2. “Fundamental, ultimate.” There is nothing beyond or above Yah’s principles and standards. Anything else is inferior.
3. “Perfectly embodying the nature of a thing.” Yah’s authority is inseparable from who He is—it is part of His nature. Human beings were made for relationships and for cooperative endeavors, and Yah’s authority provides the necessary order in which they can successfully occur.
Purpose #2: Maximum Productivity
Because authority produces order, it creates an environment for maximum productivity. Previously, we looked at the analogy of the manufacturer’s manual. If we follow the manufacturer’s instructions for caring for a product, it will function at its highest capacity. If we violate the authorized instructions, we will impair the product’s potential so that it cannot be maximized. Following inherent authority guarantees the successful functioning of the product.
In a similar way, human beings are most successful when they live according to the principle of authority. When each person comes from the reference point that everyone has personal authority—a special part to play in the whole—and each person values others’ authority and contributions, then conflict, contention, friction, and confusion do not arise and drain productivity. Everyone works together for the greatest result. One definition of productive is “having the quality or power of producing especially in abundance.” The “quality” would refer to the authority, and the “power” would refer to the ability we have each been given by the Creator to carry it out. If we violate the principle of authority, we automatically hinder our potential and effectiveness.
Purpose #3: Protection
Authority is designed to protect its products, not to restrict them. The Creator’s authority establishes the boundaries, limitations, and references that protect us from misuse, abuse, and self-destruction. When our first human parents abandoned their authority, they self-destructed, and we still experience the effects of that decision every day.
A manufacturer’s manual has a list of dos and don’ts to protect the product, as well as those who relate to and deal with the product. Therefore, if we obey the instructions of our Manufacturer, if we stay in our authority, then we protect not only ourselves but also others with whom we are in relationship and with whom we deal in various realms of life.
Yahusha Himself couldn’t be without a covering of authority from Yah the Father. We must continually remind ourselves that we need to be covered by authority so that we can also protect others and keep them safe.
Purpose #4: Preservation
Preservation is related to protection. If a manufacturer promises that his product has a lifetime guarantee if you follow certain procedures, then, if you follow them, the product should last. If you violate them, however, the product is compromised, and the guarantee is canceled.
The Creator has given promises to us, but we need to follow the corresponding conditions to be able to benefit from them. Yah’s authority preserves the quality of our lives if we follow the instructions in His Manual, the Scriptures, for how we are to conduct ourselves. In addition, being true to the personal authority He has placed within us will safeguard His specific purposes for us. We also have Yah’s Spirit living inside us, so we have the authority and the ability, including the perseverance, to carry out His purposes.
Purpose #5: Representation through Validation and Defense
Anyone who delegates part of his authority to others is responsible for representing them. We often think in terms of ambassadors representing their countries and products representing their manufacturers, but the reverse is also true. We see this reality functioning in two practical ways—through validation and defense.
Validation
First, if you are operating under the authority of another person, that person’s authority certifies the decisions and actions you take on his behalf. Yahusha continually stated that His actions were endorsed by a heavenly authority. He said, “The very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me” (John 5:36), and “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does” (John 10:37). Yahusha had peace even in regard to death because of His validated authority:
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.(John 10:17–18)
If you are sent somewhere under genuine authority, you can have peace because the authority is responsible for you.
In another scriptural example, the archangel Michael did not use his own authority to fight against HaSatan but used his words very carefully, saying, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 1:9). Michael was acting on Yah’s behalf but had to rebuke HaSatan under the authority of Yah’s name, not his own name, for that authority to be put into effect by Yah.
Finally, the Roman centurion I mentioned earlier trusted in and appealed completely to the authority of Yah when he asked Yahusha to heal his servant. He knew that Yahusha’ ministry was validated by the Father and that there would be no doubt that his servant would be healed. (See Matthew 8:5–13.)
Defense
The second point about being represented by one’s authority concerns representation by defense. If a product is defective or fails to fulfill its purpose, then the maker has to step in and solve the problem. Only the authority, or source, of the product can defend that product. Again, when certain models of Toyota cars had significant technical problems, the company’s previously excellent name in the automobile industry was on the line, so the president of the company, the grandson of the founder, came to testify before the U.S. Congress to assure the government that the company was addressing the problem. Toyota did not send a junior manager of the company to make this assurance. The president was representing not only the company but also the product; he was speaking on its behalf. In a similar way, we saw that the redemptive work of the Creator required Him to send His own Son to earth to reclaim His image in mankind.
The authority therefore represents the product. This means that if you are not under any authority and you take action and fail, there is no one to speak for you or to protect you. But if you fail while you are under authority, your authority can help rescue you. For example, if you are on trial after being accused of a crime, it is generally recommended that you hire a lawyer to defend you rather than to try to defend yourself. If you are found “defective,” you need a respected authority to represent you. Many defense attorneys tell their clients not to say anything at all because it could be used against them. When you are found wanting, the authority over you is your defense.
When human beings, the “product” of the Divine Manufacturer, failed by abandoning their authority, the Manufacturer didn’t discard them but came personally on their behalf to represent and defend them. Heaven didn’t send an angel; instead, Yah the Son, whose image was on the product, came to redeem and restore humanity.
When Yahusha was attacked by religious leaders who said that His testimony was not valid, He let the Father be His defense, saying,
“Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Yahusha replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” (John 8:14–19)
Yahusha was Yah in the flesh and therefore had Ultimate Authority within Himself, so He could testify on His own behalf. Even so, He directed the religious leaders to the corroborating witness of the Father, who had sent Him. Yahusha always defended His words and actions by the authority of the Father. He told those who accused Him that they didn’t know the true Authority, or they would have known that His testimony was valid. “If Yah were your Father, you would love me, for I came from Yah and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me” (John 8:42).
Once more, the key to Yahusha’ success was that He was under authority and had both the authorization and the power to carry out the purpose for which He came to earth. As the Father’s representative, He said and did only what the Father said and did.
When you carry out your personal authority and are following the Manufacturer’s Manual, the One who sent you is your defense. Yah’s Spirit within you affirms the Father’s will in your life: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears” (John 16:13).
Yahusha said, “My Father is with me” (John 16:32), and He told His disciples, “Surely I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). A manufacturer always backs the product wherever it is sent. When you are submitted to the Ultimate Authority, you are never alone. You don’t have to defend yourself. There is Someone there to defend and help you.
Purpose #6: Safety
As long as you are operating under the authority of the Ultimate Authority, you are safe. Whoever attacks you attacks the Ultimate Authority, who, through Hamachiach, is also your Father. The Lord calls His people “the apple of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8). The phrase apple of one’s eye means “one that is highly cherished.”
Authority therefore becomes your sense of security. Yahusha used strong words for those who would hurt anyone who belongs to the Father: “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). That’s not very safe!
It is much better to be under authority. Yahusha always knew He was safe because He was not operating on His own. This did not mean He was immune to trouble and hardship, but when you are under the Ultimate Authority, you are protected so that you can complete the purpose of your personal authority. People plotted to kill Yahusha on many occasions, but they could not touch Him until it was time for Him to be sacrificed on our behalf. “They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way” (Luke 4:29–30).
When you are operating under the Father’s authority, you have access to His help, counsel, correction, instruction, discipline, and many other benefits that you wouldn’t otherwise have. You receive foresight and hindsight—the safety of a broad vision for your life. You also have a “hiding place” (Psalm 32:7) in Him, a place of refuge and reference. This knowledge gives you a sense of boldness. You can have confidence because you’re not on your own but have Someone protecting you.
Purpose #7: Promotion
When you operate under the Ultimate Authority, you realize that promotion does not come from other people but from Yah, even when you are working for and with others. Your authority and promotion are based on what you were uniquely created by Yah to do in concert with others. He will use other people to place you in situations in which you can carry out your unique purpose, but you are authorized by Him alone to fulfill that purpose.
Yielding to those whom Yah has given authority in your life while pursuing your own authority leads to advancement in responsibility. Joshua was honored by Yah and promoted because of his devotion to Yah and because of the way he was submitted to Moses’ leadership. Of all the Israelites, he ended up getting the job as their next leader. We know Joshua because of his association with Moses, the same way we know about the prophet Elisha because of his association with his mentor, Elijah. Operating under authority not only preserves you but also gives you a legacy. Authority can give you a powerful life when you submit to it.
Purpose #8: Freedom
Another purpose of authority is to provide a framework and environment for total freedom. Contrary to what some people think, authority does not restrict freedom but rather ensures it. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
True freedom always exists within the context of legitimate boundaries. This is because freedom without authority, without laws and principles, turns into anarchy. One of the reasons the American Revolution was successful is that many of its leaders, such as George Washington, had “earned” authority from the citizens through their lives and accomplishments, and because many of the existing, underlying governmental structures were left essentially intact. When the royal governors left the former colonies, the American governors took their places.
Purpose #9: Identity
Authority is the source of authenticity, and authenticity is the source of identity. Therefore, you can never know your identity without referencing your authority. Why does every manufacturer place its name on its products? For example, why does the lid of every laptop have the names of the computer’s manufacturer on it so that the name can be read easily when the lid is open? It is for the purpose of reminding us continuously that the laptop’s identity is connected to its source, or its authority. Any definition of that product must be in reference to its manufacturer.
Likewise, you cannot know who you are—your identity—apart from Yah, your Source. The purpose of authority is to put you in touch with your real self as He created you. Again, everyone may have an opinion about a product, but only the manufacturer knows its purpose—the what and the why of it.
Purpose #10: Reality
Because authority is the source of authenticity and true identity, it is also the source of reality. You must therefore...
1. Know your authority.
2. Be true to that authority.
When you are under the Ultimate Authority and are operating in your personal authority, people can know who you really are. They can identify your gifts and abilities. This is one of the ways through which Yah works to fulfill your purpose in your domain. If you are not operating in your gifts, you cannot be identified and noted by other people in that way.
In addition, if you try to imitate or to “be” someone else, you have no genuine authority and will not succeed because you are not being true to the reality of who you are. You will never fulfill your true purpose.
Calling Authentic People
The world sorely lacks authentic people. Since authenticity is a key component of authority, this explains why we are in such a crisis of authority today. Some people may be actively running away from who they really are, but many others are not aware that they are living counterfeit lives. They just don’t know what is within them and how to fulfill their personal authority.
In part two of this series, we will look at ways to discover and implement personal authority. What you are about to read is going to stir in you some hidden dreams that Yah always wanted you to fulfill. You will learn how to release them in your life and in the lives of others.
The Divine destiny connection, the chain that links us together.
Friday, March 31, 2023
Thursday, March 30, 2023
A VITAL PRINCIPAL OF AUTHORITY
Genesis chapter 1
Today we are walking in: A Vital Principle of Authority
Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.
The Torah Testifies.............................
*****
The prophets proclaim...............
Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.
The writings bear witness.............
2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword
A Vital Principle of Authority
Everything Submits to Something Else in order to Function, Grow, and Prosper
In this teaching, we will explore a major principle of authority that will make a significant difference in your life. It’s a principle that we touched on in teaching one: Everything depends on and must submit to something else in order to function, grow, prosper, and succeed.
This principle was established in the very essence of the created world. Nothing that the Creator made can exist without submission to some authority because authority, by nature, involves dependence and interdependence. The first manifestation of authority is that everything depends on the Creator to exist because everything came from Him. Colossians 1:16–17 states,
By him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
All things exist and are still held together by the Creator’s power. Not only was the universe—seen and unseen—produced by Him, but it also depends on Him for its continued existence. Everything in creation must refer to the Creator for its life and success. Everything in creation was designed to function by the principle of authority.
A seed must “submit” to being planted in the soil if it is to grow; in this sense, the soil is the authority of the seed. Fish must “submit” to living in water in order to survive, so the fishes’ authority is the water; if they didn’t submit to it, they would die. The planets of our solar system submit to the gravitational pull of the sun as their authority; if they didn’t, the solar system would no longer be intact, and the planets would spiral out of control in space.
Everyone and everything must submit to someone or something in order to function and be successful. It is impossible to outgrow authority. We may transfer our accountability to different kinds of authority, such as when a child grows up and moves out from under his parents’ authority, starts his own family, and interacts with others in the world, but we never grow out of the need for authority itself. This is true for all of creation and in all human experiences.
Anyone who refuses to be governed by genuine authority is illegitimate and malfunctioning in the world. For example, a criminal is one who refuses to submit to society and violates the authority of others’ lives or properties. He crosses others’ boundaries or realms of authority. If he is caught and punished, jail becomes forced authority over him. He is made to submit to society through a severe restriction of his activities. If a child refuses to acknowledge the authority of his parents in teaching him positive and constructive ways to live his life, then he will suffer the consequences of some kind of self-destruction to mind, body, or soul.
You are living with dangerous illegitimacy if you are not submitted to any authority so that other people cannot trust you or safely submit to you when needed. We should submit only to those who are submitted themselves.
The Greatest Example of the Vital Principle of Authority
I believe that the greatest example of someone who understood and lived out the principle, the power, and the purpose of authority is Yahusha Hamachiach, and that there is much to gain in one’s understanding of authority from looking at how He lived His life.
The key to the success, effectiveness, efficiency, power, and perfection of His life on earth was His complete understanding of, and adherence to, authority. We see Yahusha’ submission to authority throughout His life on earth. Let us look at several key examples.
Yahusha Submitted to His Own Established Laws
First, His willingness to come to earth as a man, even though He was Yah (see John 1:1–4, 14), was an extraordinary act of submission! In theologian Paul of Tarsus’s writings, we read, “But when the time had fully come, Yah sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4–5).
Yah’s first step in correcting humanity’s problem of authority was His own submission to authority. What did He submit to? The very laws pertaining to the authority He had established for the physical creation and for the spiritual life of His people:
He voluntarily came into this world physically, as a baby, through the womb of a woman, as all other people do.
He was born “under law,” so that, even though He Himself had instituted the law for the Israelites, He was subject to its regulations and requirements. Since Yah had established all authority, He knew the indispensability of submitting to authority, including the protection it provides for a person’s spirit, soul, and body.
Yahusha Submitted to Baptism “to Fulfill All Righteousness”
Second, I want to focus particularly on the accounts of His baptism in relation to His submission to authority because this submission was the inauguration of His ministry. If we desire to be all we were born to be, we need to understand what Yahusha knew about authority and how He responded to it, as well as the remarkable results that came from it.
Then Yahusha came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Yahusha replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Yahusha was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of Yah descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Then Yahusha was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 3:13–4:1)
This incident is loaded with meaning.
Do you know how far the site of Yahusha’ baptism in the Jordan River is from the region of Galilee? It is approximately seventy or eighty miles. That would be more than a week’s walk over a terrain of rocks and hills. Yahusha didn’t come for a casual visit. He came looking for John.
We have seen that many people’s experiences with authority have been negative, and that they are therefore wary of it. Yet submitting to true authority is something desirable and essential for our lives, and one of the ways we know this is that Yahusha went looking for what we tend to avoid. He sought out what we run from. He requested what we are suspicious of. He confidently sought John the Baptist to allow Him to submit to his authority.
“But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ Yahusha replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper [“fitting” nkjv] for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness’” (Matthew 3:14–15). “All righteousness” means “all right standing, or positioning.” Yahusha was saying that this was necessary for Him to be in proper relationship to the Ultimate Authority, Yah the Father.
Authority Needs Authority to Release Its Power
John had previously distinguished his authority from the authority of Yahusha. Before Yahusha came to be baptized by him, John had told the people, “After me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry” (Matthew 3:11, emphasis added). John knew well the powerful authority of Yahusha. He had also said, “I baptize you with water for repentance....He will baptize you with the Ruach HaQadesh and with fire” (verse 11).
What kind of baptism did Yahusha come for? Water baptism. And it was John who was authorized to baptize with water. Yahusha couldn’t baptize Himself because He was not the water-baptizer. As great as He was, He had to submit to the authority that had been established by Yah the Father for this time in His life on earth.
The Old Testament prophecy in Malachi 3:1 reveals what authority Yahusha was submitting to when He was baptized by John:
“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire.(Malachi 3:1)
Two “messengers” are mentioned in this passage. The first messenger would prepare the way for the Lord, and this refers to John the Baptist. The second messenger is the messenger of the covenant, and this refers to Yahusha.
John’s authority was in his assignment—to prepare the way for the Lord. He declared, “The reason I came baptizing with water was that he [the greater Messenger] might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:31).
The account in the book of Matthew says that when Yahusha answered John in terms of authority—“Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness”—“then John consented” (Matthew 3:15).
The secret to life is to constantly submit to Yah and His authority, even though you don’t always understand what He is doing. John told Yahusha, in effect, “I cannot baptize You. You should baptize me.” He didn’t fully understand his authority at first, which is the case with many people today. Your authority is found in what Yah has prepared for you to do. If anyone needs what Yah has gifted you to provide for them, then there are no substitutes; they have to come to you. Some people might not like that fact, but Yah has sent them to you. We may sometimes feel uncomfortable with our own authority, as John was, but we need to obey Yah in it to fulfill the purposes only He fully knows.
Since John was operating under the authority of Yah, he understood when Yahusha appealed to authority, and he then agreed to baptize Him.
The result of Yahusha’ submission to the established authority is striking:
As soon as Yahusha was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of Yah descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
A voice from heaven spoke. When? “As soon as” Yahusha submitted to authority. “As soon as” means immediately.
We should consider whether our ability to hear from Yah regarding His purposes for our lives is directly related to our response to His authority. If you are not receiving guidance from Yah, perhaps it is because you keep violating some authority He has established in your life.
What pleased Yah the Father so much that He spoke audibly? He witnessed Yahusha, Yah the Son, submitting to a human in obedience! He confirmed that this obedience was pleasing. Of course, Yahusha didn’t submit to a human being alone but to the authority from Yah that had been given to that human being. We see Yahusha’ submission to other earthly authorities in various instances in His life, as well, as He was led by Yah the Father, for the sake of order, peace, and purpose. A few examples are:
Submission to His parents’ authority. (See Luke 2:40–52.)
Submission to the requirement of the temple tax and to taxation by the Roman emperor Caesar. (See Matthew 17:24–27.)
Submission to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. (See John 19:10–11.)
Submission to Authority Leads to True Greatness
The vital thing to understand is that Yahusha could not begin or accomplish His work until John “released” Him. The fact that many of us haven’t understood or had good experiences with authority, prompting our avoidance of it, may be causing us to miss out on the full release of our own authority. We may not have had the opportunity to exercise our authority to its full potential because it is authority that releases our authority. We submit first to the authority of our Creator and then to the authority He has given other human beings in various realms and aspects of life. In a later teaching, I describe how you can respond to “authority” that is not in line with Yah’s purposes and still receive His blessing and benefit from it.
There is ample evidence that no one understood authority more than the Authority of Life Himself, who established authority on the earth. Yahusha had the power to change the world, but that power depended first on His submission to John. John held the authority in his hand to release Yahusha. If Yahusha Himself needed to submit to Yah the Father and to John as an earthly authority, why do we often think we don’t need to submit to anyone?
No one had a greater impact on the world than Yahusha, yet He didn’t seek a “ministry” or followers for Himself independently. He knew and lived in the authority He had been given and which had been confirmed in various ways at His birth. (See, for example, Luke 2:25–32.) At age twelve, He was discussing deep questions about Yah and the Scriptures with the teachers in the temple. (See Luke 2:42–47.) When He felt Yah prompting Him to be baptized by John, He left the region where He had grown up and went to the Jordan River. He didn’t come to check John out. He didn’t come to see if John was the kind of preacher He liked. He didn’t come to see if John had the kind of ministry He would want to “hook up” with. Yahusha, Yah the Son, the Creator of the world, came looking for an authority He knew He was to submit to.
Likewise, no matter how “great” you were born to be, someone has to release you.
Moreover, greatness does not come from gifts and talents alone. It comes from being where you’re supposed to be in terms of personal authority and operating in your unique domain. John had said, “After me will come one who is more powerful than I” (Matthew 3:11). Yahusha came along, the One whom John had said was more powerful, and Yahusha said to him, in effect, “I need to submit to you now as the authority in this situation. In this circumstance, you are ‘greater’ in that you are to administer the authority that Yah has given you to administer.”
Acting on your authority from Yah brings you greatness. Yet the authority that brings greatness is often not what we think it is. It means serving others. At a later time, Yahusha told His disciples,
Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26–28)
Becoming and doing what you are meant to be and do makes you great. It doesn’t matter what other people may say about you, there’s something they have to come to you for because you have been given that authority.
Remember that authority is independent of titles. Some people have titles, but they don’t have any real authority. Authority goes beyond titles; it is what Yah has placed inside you. When Yahusha told John, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), He was saying, in effect, “John, let’s not get into titles. Let’s just follow proper authority.”
Submission to Authority Brings Spiritual Power and Protection
What would have happened if Yahusha had not been willing to submit to John’s authority in baptism, if John had refused to baptize Yahusha because Yahusha was greater than he, or if Yahusha had baptized John in water instead? The heavens would not have opened, the Ruach HaQadesh would not have come down in the form of a dove, Yah’s voice would not have confirmed who Yahusha was before the people, and Yahusha wouldn’t have been able to begin His ministry.
Right after Yah spoke from heaven, the Scripture says, “Then Yahusha was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). After Yahusha’ authority was confirmed by Yah, He was immediately tempted by the devil to forsake that authority and to take up a false authority. Don’t be surprised if you, too, are tempted to give up legitimate authority to take what seems the easy way out in living your life.
Note how the devil’s temptations were directly related to authority:
The temptation to turn stones into bread can be seen as an attack on Yah as the Source and Sustainer of life. Yahusha’ response was, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of Yah’” (Matthew 4:4).
The temptation to recklessly throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple and have Yah save Him can be seen as an enticement to go beyond the parameters of authority that Yah had given. Yahusha’ response was, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your Yah to the test’” (verse 7).
The temptation to bow down and worship the devil in exchange for “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (verse 8) can be seen as a ploy to cause Yahusha to reject the established and righteous authority of the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of Yah, in favor of the counterfeit, transitory, and decayed authority of earth. This was an especially powerful temptation because the message Yahusha came to bring was that the kingdom of heaven had come to earth—through Him. (See, for example, verse 17.) Yahusha’ response was, “Away from me, HaSatan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your Yah, and serve him only’” (verse 10).
In response to each of these temptations, Yahusha cited the Word of Yah, the “Manual” for how human beings are to live. That Manual is the authoritative Word of the Creator.
If Yahusha had refused to be baptized by John before going into the desert to be tempted, then He wouldn’t have been able to overcome these temptations as He did. HaSatan would have won. Why? Yahusha would have been operating in a manner that was out of order in relation to authority. He would have been acting in disobedience, or in violation of Yah’s ways and purposes. He would have broken His relationship with Yah the Father, forsaken His Word, and damaged the credibility of Yah. Spiritual strength and the ability to withstand the devil come from obedience to Yah’s ways and from remaining in His established authority.
How many people go out to “fight against the devil” but haven’t done what they were supposed to do before they left? Without proper authority from heaven, they will fail. One time, seven sons of a man named Sceva, a chief priest, were trying to drive out demons in the name of Yahusha, but because they lacked the authority of being in right standing and relationship with Yah, they utterly failed:
One day the evil spirit answered them, “Yahusha I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. (Acts 19:15–16)
Having the right words isn’t enough. You need the authority behind them.
Finally, if Yahusha hadn’t been baptized by John, it would have interfered with history, and we would today be “without hope and without Yah in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). It would have prevented the restoration of humanity to a relationship with Yah and to a recovery of its authority.
Yahusha’ Very Nature Displays His Authority and Submission
There is a passage in Philippians 2 that is startling in its revelation of both Yahusha’ own authority and His humbleness in submitting to authority:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Hamachiach Yahusha: who, being in very nature Yah, did not consider equality with Yah something to be grasped [held on to, maintained], but made himself nothing [“of no reputation” kjv], taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!(Philippians 2:5–8)
“He humbled himself” is a key phrase. Having all authority as Yah, Yahusha humbled Himself!
Authority doesn’t work if someone has to humble you. True authority does not humble people but waits for people to humble themselves. Yahusha did exactly what we are expected to do. He humbled Himself. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).
The passage from Philippians continues,
Therefore Yah exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yahusha every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Yahusha Hamachiach is Lord, to the glory of Yah the Father. (Philippians 2:9–11)
“Therefore Yah exalted him to the highest place.” Yahusha humbled Himself; therefore, Yah did something. He didn’t just exalt Him, but He “exalted Him to the highest place.” The Scriptures say that promotion in life does not come from men. “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But Yah is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:6–7 kjv). This means that advancement, progress, and development in your life do not come from man’s doing but from Yah’s.
Yahusha knew authority in a way that we need to understand and live by so that we not only can experience Yah’s “therefore” but also know that we have authority from Yah ourselves. What do we learn from Yahusha’ humble nature?
We learn that even though we know who we are and what our authority is, we choose not to hold on to our rights so that we can accomplish the greater purpose of fulfilling Yah’s will in our lives and lifting others up. Yahusha could have said, “I’m Yah. I’m not going to become a human being.” Yet His own confidence and contentment in the knowledge of who He was enabled Him to “[make] himself nothing, [take] the very nature of a servant, [and be] made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:7). As a human being and the Savior of the world, He endured verbal abuse, the emotional pain of betrayal, all human temptations, and excruciating physical suffering, especially through His death on a crucifixion stake. His choice to humble Himself was not an easy one, but He had no doubts about it.
I have discovered that people who don’t know who they are cannot submit to authority. When you know who you are, then you understand that no one can degrade or devalue you. Submission is possible and becomes easier when you are in touch with your own worth. When you know you are of great value to Yah, other people’s opinions and treatment of you do not influence you, even though they may hurt deeply.
Yahusha knew that...
He was called.
He had anointing.
He had power.
He could work miracles.
He had revelation knowledge.
However, He also knew that His authority came from Yah the Father, and He lived to serve Yah and to fulfill His purpose on earth. “‘My food,’ said Yahusha, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’” (John 4:34).
Points for Promotion
“He humbled himself....Therefore Yah exalted him to the highest place” (Philippians 2:8–9). If you want to live in the authority of your personal domain, if you want Yah to promote you, if you want to be successful in life and fulfill the Father’s will, you must understand these points, which are derived from the principle of authority:
1. When you know who you are in your Yah-given authority, the first thing you look for is the authority that Yah has placed in your life to benefit and protect you and to release your authority. This is the last thing that most people do. Instead, they look for reputation, fame, and power over others; they seek to build organizations, gains followers, and so forth.
The Creator gives all people inherent authority, in various realms and for specific reasons, and we are to respond to other people in recognition of their authority, respecting Yah’s order. John the Baptist was Yah’s established authority to prepare people for the coming of the kingdom of Yah on earth. Yahusha recognized and accepted John as the authority sent from Yah, through His understanding of the prophetic Scriptures and John’s testimony.
2. Without authority, there can be no (other) authority. Yahusha went to John before He began His ministry and submitted to his authority. Yahusha told John, in effect, “John, the order is you, then Me. It doesn’t matter who I am; it’s the way we work together that counts.” There was a mutual submission of One to the other according to Yah’s authority that enabled them both to fulfill their individual purposes.
3. “Authority” without true authority is no authority. Yahusha’ submission to Yah’s authority through John released Him to begin His own ministry. Yet, if He hadn’t submitted, He would have had no authority for functioning in His ministry.
4. Understanding authority is the key to life and effective living. Yah’s Ruach HaQadesh dwelled in Yahusha and also came upon Him at His baptism to enable Him to fulfill His calling. This would not have happened without Yahusha’ willingness to submit.
5. Authority is the thread that holds the fabric of life together. As I wrote earlier, most of the problems we are facing—whether personal, corporate, community, or national—come from the fact that we don’t understand or live according to authority that reflects the Creator’s nature and purpose. Our lives are like beautiful designs that Yah is making on fabric that He has woven. The fabric itself is made up of threads of authority, and if we violate His authority, then the plan that He has for our lives will not unfold in His great design but instead will begin to unravel.
Representatives of Ultimate Authority
Authority is such a vital principle because we are not authorized to function if we are not under authority. To return to the manufacturer’s analogy, many companies who produce products guarantee them, but only through the proper authority—the manual and the warranty. In such cases, even though a product leaves the company’s warehouse, it never leaves the company’s authority. Again, not only are consumers to consult the manual to know how to use the product properly, but they are also to go only to an authorized dealer in case of any needed repairs.
Having an authorized dealer implies that the dealer is submitted to the company that delegated its authority, so that the product is still under the jurisdiction of its originator. We have “authorized dealers” in various realms of life. For instance, the CEO of an organization is like an authorized dealer because he must ultimately answer to the board of directors, to the stockholders, or to the customers.
In another example, a secretary of state represents the president of a country but also oversees ambassadors to the nations with which that country has diplomatic relations. If the system works as it was set up to do, the ambassadors function under delegated authority; they represent the president, even though they are not always in direct contact with him. They are not allowed the leeway to set their own policies with the nations; they are always to be submitted to the authority of the secretary of state, who is to be submitted to the president. They are never to speak for themselves but only for the president, so they make official statements such as, “My government’s position is....”
Likewise, if we are under Yah’s authority, it is not our place to set a policy that is different from His or to speak according to our own agendas. In the same way that distance does not cancel the authority that the political ambassadors are under, our being on earth and Yah’s being in heaven does not cancel His authority in our lives, especially since He gives us His very Spirit to dwell within us when we are restored to Him. On the contrary, it is our role to carry out His authority on the earth.
Colonel Larry Donnithorne, in his book The West Point Way of Leadership, told how individuals become effective leaders in their own lives through a system of discipline. He wrote, “Every leader is a follower. No one commands an organization without restraints. For every leader, no matter how ‘supreme,’ there is always a higher authority who must be answered [whom he’s responsible to].”1
In fact, everybody who wants to be successful must answer to somebody else. The success of a prime minister or CEO or ambassador depends largely on how well he has learned in the past to submit to authority, to learn from others, and to serve others. In the same way, your success in your authority will depend on your own ability to submit to genuine authority, to learn, and to serve. It’s only when we learn submission that we can become true leaders.
Finally, as we pursue our personal authority, we must keep in mind that (1) our Ultimate Authority is Yah; we are to submit to Him and His purposes for us; (2) we are to “submit” to, or live according to, our inherent domains— the authority, dreams, and gifts Yah has given us—and not try to be someone we aren’t or to succeed with improper motivations; (3) we are to submit to others’ Yah-given authority in mutual relationship and community.
Today we are walking in: A Vital Principle of Authority
Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.
The Torah Testifies.............................
*****
The prophets proclaim...............
Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.
The writings bear witness.............
2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword
A Vital Principle of Authority
Everything Submits to Something Else in order to Function, Grow, and Prosper
In this teaching, we will explore a major principle of authority that will make a significant difference in your life. It’s a principle that we touched on in teaching one: Everything depends on and must submit to something else in order to function, grow, prosper, and succeed.
This principle was established in the very essence of the created world. Nothing that the Creator made can exist without submission to some authority because authority, by nature, involves dependence and interdependence. The first manifestation of authority is that everything depends on the Creator to exist because everything came from Him. Colossians 1:16–17 states,
By him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
All things exist and are still held together by the Creator’s power. Not only was the universe—seen and unseen—produced by Him, but it also depends on Him for its continued existence. Everything in creation must refer to the Creator for its life and success. Everything in creation was designed to function by the principle of authority.
A seed must “submit” to being planted in the soil if it is to grow; in this sense, the soil is the authority of the seed. Fish must “submit” to living in water in order to survive, so the fishes’ authority is the water; if they didn’t submit to it, they would die. The planets of our solar system submit to the gravitational pull of the sun as their authority; if they didn’t, the solar system would no longer be intact, and the planets would spiral out of control in space.
Everyone and everything must submit to someone or something in order to function and be successful. It is impossible to outgrow authority. We may transfer our accountability to different kinds of authority, such as when a child grows up and moves out from under his parents’ authority, starts his own family, and interacts with others in the world, but we never grow out of the need for authority itself. This is true for all of creation and in all human experiences.
Anyone who refuses to be governed by genuine authority is illegitimate and malfunctioning in the world. For example, a criminal is one who refuses to submit to society and violates the authority of others’ lives or properties. He crosses others’ boundaries or realms of authority. If he is caught and punished, jail becomes forced authority over him. He is made to submit to society through a severe restriction of his activities. If a child refuses to acknowledge the authority of his parents in teaching him positive and constructive ways to live his life, then he will suffer the consequences of some kind of self-destruction to mind, body, or soul.
You are living with dangerous illegitimacy if you are not submitted to any authority so that other people cannot trust you or safely submit to you when needed. We should submit only to those who are submitted themselves.
The Greatest Example of the Vital Principle of Authority
I believe that the greatest example of someone who understood and lived out the principle, the power, and the purpose of authority is Yahusha Hamachiach, and that there is much to gain in one’s understanding of authority from looking at how He lived His life.
The key to the success, effectiveness, efficiency, power, and perfection of His life on earth was His complete understanding of, and adherence to, authority. We see Yahusha’ submission to authority throughout His life on earth. Let us look at several key examples.
Yahusha Submitted to His Own Established Laws
First, His willingness to come to earth as a man, even though He was Yah (see John 1:1–4, 14), was an extraordinary act of submission! In theologian Paul of Tarsus’s writings, we read, “But when the time had fully come, Yah sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4–5).
Yah’s first step in correcting humanity’s problem of authority was His own submission to authority. What did He submit to? The very laws pertaining to the authority He had established for the physical creation and for the spiritual life of His people:
He voluntarily came into this world physically, as a baby, through the womb of a woman, as all other people do.
He was born “under law,” so that, even though He Himself had instituted the law for the Israelites, He was subject to its regulations and requirements. Since Yah had established all authority, He knew the indispensability of submitting to authority, including the protection it provides for a person’s spirit, soul, and body.
Yahusha Submitted to Baptism “to Fulfill All Righteousness”
Second, I want to focus particularly on the accounts of His baptism in relation to His submission to authority because this submission was the inauguration of His ministry. If we desire to be all we were born to be, we need to understand what Yahusha knew about authority and how He responded to it, as well as the remarkable results that came from it.
Then Yahusha came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Yahusha replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Yahusha was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of Yah descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Then Yahusha was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 3:13–4:1)
This incident is loaded with meaning.
Do you know how far the site of Yahusha’ baptism in the Jordan River is from the region of Galilee? It is approximately seventy or eighty miles. That would be more than a week’s walk over a terrain of rocks and hills. Yahusha didn’t come for a casual visit. He came looking for John.
We have seen that many people’s experiences with authority have been negative, and that they are therefore wary of it. Yet submitting to true authority is something desirable and essential for our lives, and one of the ways we know this is that Yahusha went looking for what we tend to avoid. He sought out what we run from. He requested what we are suspicious of. He confidently sought John the Baptist to allow Him to submit to his authority.
“But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ Yahusha replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper [“fitting” nkjv] for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness’” (Matthew 3:14–15). “All righteousness” means “all right standing, or positioning.” Yahusha was saying that this was necessary for Him to be in proper relationship to the Ultimate Authority, Yah the Father.
Authority Needs Authority to Release Its Power
John had previously distinguished his authority from the authority of Yahusha. Before Yahusha came to be baptized by him, John had told the people, “After me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry” (Matthew 3:11, emphasis added). John knew well the powerful authority of Yahusha. He had also said, “I baptize you with water for repentance....He will baptize you with the Ruach HaQadesh and with fire” (verse 11).
What kind of baptism did Yahusha come for? Water baptism. And it was John who was authorized to baptize with water. Yahusha couldn’t baptize Himself because He was not the water-baptizer. As great as He was, He had to submit to the authority that had been established by Yah the Father for this time in His life on earth.
The Old Testament prophecy in Malachi 3:1 reveals what authority Yahusha was submitting to when He was baptized by John:
“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire.(Malachi 3:1)
Two “messengers” are mentioned in this passage. The first messenger would prepare the way for the Lord, and this refers to John the Baptist. The second messenger is the messenger of the covenant, and this refers to Yahusha.
John’s authority was in his assignment—to prepare the way for the Lord. He declared, “The reason I came baptizing with water was that he [the greater Messenger] might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:31).
The account in the book of Matthew says that when Yahusha answered John in terms of authority—“Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness”—“then John consented” (Matthew 3:15).
The secret to life is to constantly submit to Yah and His authority, even though you don’t always understand what He is doing. John told Yahusha, in effect, “I cannot baptize You. You should baptize me.” He didn’t fully understand his authority at first, which is the case with many people today. Your authority is found in what Yah has prepared for you to do. If anyone needs what Yah has gifted you to provide for them, then there are no substitutes; they have to come to you. Some people might not like that fact, but Yah has sent them to you. We may sometimes feel uncomfortable with our own authority, as John was, but we need to obey Yah in it to fulfill the purposes only He fully knows.
Since John was operating under the authority of Yah, he understood when Yahusha appealed to authority, and he then agreed to baptize Him.
The result of Yahusha’ submission to the established authority is striking:
As soon as Yahusha was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of Yah descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
A voice from heaven spoke. When? “As soon as” Yahusha submitted to authority. “As soon as” means immediately.
We should consider whether our ability to hear from Yah regarding His purposes for our lives is directly related to our response to His authority. If you are not receiving guidance from Yah, perhaps it is because you keep violating some authority He has established in your life.
What pleased Yah the Father so much that He spoke audibly? He witnessed Yahusha, Yah the Son, submitting to a human in obedience! He confirmed that this obedience was pleasing. Of course, Yahusha didn’t submit to a human being alone but to the authority from Yah that had been given to that human being. We see Yahusha’ submission to other earthly authorities in various instances in His life, as well, as He was led by Yah the Father, for the sake of order, peace, and purpose. A few examples are:
Submission to His parents’ authority. (See Luke 2:40–52.)
Submission to the requirement of the temple tax and to taxation by the Roman emperor Caesar. (See Matthew 17:24–27.)
Submission to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. (See John 19:10–11.)
Submission to Authority Leads to True Greatness
The vital thing to understand is that Yahusha could not begin or accomplish His work until John “released” Him. The fact that many of us haven’t understood or had good experiences with authority, prompting our avoidance of it, may be causing us to miss out on the full release of our own authority. We may not have had the opportunity to exercise our authority to its full potential because it is authority that releases our authority. We submit first to the authority of our Creator and then to the authority He has given other human beings in various realms and aspects of life. In a later teaching, I describe how you can respond to “authority” that is not in line with Yah’s purposes and still receive His blessing and benefit from it.
There is ample evidence that no one understood authority more than the Authority of Life Himself, who established authority on the earth. Yahusha had the power to change the world, but that power depended first on His submission to John. John held the authority in his hand to release Yahusha. If Yahusha Himself needed to submit to Yah the Father and to John as an earthly authority, why do we often think we don’t need to submit to anyone?
No one had a greater impact on the world than Yahusha, yet He didn’t seek a “ministry” or followers for Himself independently. He knew and lived in the authority He had been given and which had been confirmed in various ways at His birth. (See, for example, Luke 2:25–32.) At age twelve, He was discussing deep questions about Yah and the Scriptures with the teachers in the temple. (See Luke 2:42–47.) When He felt Yah prompting Him to be baptized by John, He left the region where He had grown up and went to the Jordan River. He didn’t come to check John out. He didn’t come to see if John was the kind of preacher He liked. He didn’t come to see if John had the kind of ministry He would want to “hook up” with. Yahusha, Yah the Son, the Creator of the world, came looking for an authority He knew He was to submit to.
Likewise, no matter how “great” you were born to be, someone has to release you.
Moreover, greatness does not come from gifts and talents alone. It comes from being where you’re supposed to be in terms of personal authority and operating in your unique domain. John had said, “After me will come one who is more powerful than I” (Matthew 3:11). Yahusha came along, the One whom John had said was more powerful, and Yahusha said to him, in effect, “I need to submit to you now as the authority in this situation. In this circumstance, you are ‘greater’ in that you are to administer the authority that Yah has given you to administer.”
Acting on your authority from Yah brings you greatness. Yet the authority that brings greatness is often not what we think it is. It means serving others. At a later time, Yahusha told His disciples,
Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26–28)
Becoming and doing what you are meant to be and do makes you great. It doesn’t matter what other people may say about you, there’s something they have to come to you for because you have been given that authority.
Remember that authority is independent of titles. Some people have titles, but they don’t have any real authority. Authority goes beyond titles; it is what Yah has placed inside you. When Yahusha told John, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), He was saying, in effect, “John, let’s not get into titles. Let’s just follow proper authority.”
Submission to Authority Brings Spiritual Power and Protection
What would have happened if Yahusha had not been willing to submit to John’s authority in baptism, if John had refused to baptize Yahusha because Yahusha was greater than he, or if Yahusha had baptized John in water instead? The heavens would not have opened, the Ruach HaQadesh would not have come down in the form of a dove, Yah’s voice would not have confirmed who Yahusha was before the people, and Yahusha wouldn’t have been able to begin His ministry.
Right after Yah spoke from heaven, the Scripture says, “Then Yahusha was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). After Yahusha’ authority was confirmed by Yah, He was immediately tempted by the devil to forsake that authority and to take up a false authority. Don’t be surprised if you, too, are tempted to give up legitimate authority to take what seems the easy way out in living your life.
Note how the devil’s temptations were directly related to authority:
The temptation to turn stones into bread can be seen as an attack on Yah as the Source and Sustainer of life. Yahusha’ response was, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of Yah’” (Matthew 4:4).
The temptation to recklessly throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple and have Yah save Him can be seen as an enticement to go beyond the parameters of authority that Yah had given. Yahusha’ response was, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your Yah to the test’” (verse 7).
The temptation to bow down and worship the devil in exchange for “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (verse 8) can be seen as a ploy to cause Yahusha to reject the established and righteous authority of the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of Yah, in favor of the counterfeit, transitory, and decayed authority of earth. This was an especially powerful temptation because the message Yahusha came to bring was that the kingdom of heaven had come to earth—through Him. (See, for example, verse 17.) Yahusha’ response was, “Away from me, HaSatan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your Yah, and serve him only’” (verse 10).
In response to each of these temptations, Yahusha cited the Word of Yah, the “Manual” for how human beings are to live. That Manual is the authoritative Word of the Creator.
If Yahusha had refused to be baptized by John before going into the desert to be tempted, then He wouldn’t have been able to overcome these temptations as He did. HaSatan would have won. Why? Yahusha would have been operating in a manner that was out of order in relation to authority. He would have been acting in disobedience, or in violation of Yah’s ways and purposes. He would have broken His relationship with Yah the Father, forsaken His Word, and damaged the credibility of Yah. Spiritual strength and the ability to withstand the devil come from obedience to Yah’s ways and from remaining in His established authority.
How many people go out to “fight against the devil” but haven’t done what they were supposed to do before they left? Without proper authority from heaven, they will fail. One time, seven sons of a man named Sceva, a chief priest, were trying to drive out demons in the name of Yahusha, but because they lacked the authority of being in right standing and relationship with Yah, they utterly failed:
One day the evil spirit answered them, “Yahusha I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. (Acts 19:15–16)
Having the right words isn’t enough. You need the authority behind them.
Finally, if Yahusha hadn’t been baptized by John, it would have interfered with history, and we would today be “without hope and without Yah in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). It would have prevented the restoration of humanity to a relationship with Yah and to a recovery of its authority.
Yahusha’ Very Nature Displays His Authority and Submission
There is a passage in Philippians 2 that is startling in its revelation of both Yahusha’ own authority and His humbleness in submitting to authority:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Hamachiach Yahusha: who, being in very nature Yah, did not consider equality with Yah something to be grasped [held on to, maintained], but made himself nothing [“of no reputation” kjv], taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!(Philippians 2:5–8)
“He humbled himself” is a key phrase. Having all authority as Yah, Yahusha humbled Himself!
Authority doesn’t work if someone has to humble you. True authority does not humble people but waits for people to humble themselves. Yahusha did exactly what we are expected to do. He humbled Himself. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).
The passage from Philippians continues,
Therefore Yah exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yahusha every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Yahusha Hamachiach is Lord, to the glory of Yah the Father. (Philippians 2:9–11)
“Therefore Yah exalted him to the highest place.” Yahusha humbled Himself; therefore, Yah did something. He didn’t just exalt Him, but He “exalted Him to the highest place.” The Scriptures say that promotion in life does not come from men. “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But Yah is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:6–7 kjv). This means that advancement, progress, and development in your life do not come from man’s doing but from Yah’s.
Yahusha knew authority in a way that we need to understand and live by so that we not only can experience Yah’s “therefore” but also know that we have authority from Yah ourselves. What do we learn from Yahusha’ humble nature?
We learn that even though we know who we are and what our authority is, we choose not to hold on to our rights so that we can accomplish the greater purpose of fulfilling Yah’s will in our lives and lifting others up. Yahusha could have said, “I’m Yah. I’m not going to become a human being.” Yet His own confidence and contentment in the knowledge of who He was enabled Him to “[make] himself nothing, [take] the very nature of a servant, [and be] made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:7). As a human being and the Savior of the world, He endured verbal abuse, the emotional pain of betrayal, all human temptations, and excruciating physical suffering, especially through His death on a crucifixion stake. His choice to humble Himself was not an easy one, but He had no doubts about it.
I have discovered that people who don’t know who they are cannot submit to authority. When you know who you are, then you understand that no one can degrade or devalue you. Submission is possible and becomes easier when you are in touch with your own worth. When you know you are of great value to Yah, other people’s opinions and treatment of you do not influence you, even though they may hurt deeply.
Yahusha knew that...
He was called.
He had anointing.
He had power.
He could work miracles.
He had revelation knowledge.
However, He also knew that His authority came from Yah the Father, and He lived to serve Yah and to fulfill His purpose on earth. “‘My food,’ said Yahusha, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’” (John 4:34).
Points for Promotion
“He humbled himself....Therefore Yah exalted him to the highest place” (Philippians 2:8–9). If you want to live in the authority of your personal domain, if you want Yah to promote you, if you want to be successful in life and fulfill the Father’s will, you must understand these points, which are derived from the principle of authority:
1. When you know who you are in your Yah-given authority, the first thing you look for is the authority that Yah has placed in your life to benefit and protect you and to release your authority. This is the last thing that most people do. Instead, they look for reputation, fame, and power over others; they seek to build organizations, gains followers, and so forth.
The Creator gives all people inherent authority, in various realms and for specific reasons, and we are to respond to other people in recognition of their authority, respecting Yah’s order. John the Baptist was Yah’s established authority to prepare people for the coming of the kingdom of Yah on earth. Yahusha recognized and accepted John as the authority sent from Yah, through His understanding of the prophetic Scriptures and John’s testimony.
2. Without authority, there can be no (other) authority. Yahusha went to John before He began His ministry and submitted to his authority. Yahusha told John, in effect, “John, the order is you, then Me. It doesn’t matter who I am; it’s the way we work together that counts.” There was a mutual submission of One to the other according to Yah’s authority that enabled them both to fulfill their individual purposes.
3. “Authority” without true authority is no authority. Yahusha’ submission to Yah’s authority through John released Him to begin His own ministry. Yet, if He hadn’t submitted, He would have had no authority for functioning in His ministry.
4. Understanding authority is the key to life and effective living. Yah’s Ruach HaQadesh dwelled in Yahusha and also came upon Him at His baptism to enable Him to fulfill His calling. This would not have happened without Yahusha’ willingness to submit.
5. Authority is the thread that holds the fabric of life together. As I wrote earlier, most of the problems we are facing—whether personal, corporate, community, or national—come from the fact that we don’t understand or live according to authority that reflects the Creator’s nature and purpose. Our lives are like beautiful designs that Yah is making on fabric that He has woven. The fabric itself is made up of threads of authority, and if we violate His authority, then the plan that He has for our lives will not unfold in His great design but instead will begin to unravel.
Representatives of Ultimate Authority
Authority is such a vital principle because we are not authorized to function if we are not under authority. To return to the manufacturer’s analogy, many companies who produce products guarantee them, but only through the proper authority—the manual and the warranty. In such cases, even though a product leaves the company’s warehouse, it never leaves the company’s authority. Again, not only are consumers to consult the manual to know how to use the product properly, but they are also to go only to an authorized dealer in case of any needed repairs.
Having an authorized dealer implies that the dealer is submitted to the company that delegated its authority, so that the product is still under the jurisdiction of its originator. We have “authorized dealers” in various realms of life. For instance, the CEO of an organization is like an authorized dealer because he must ultimately answer to the board of directors, to the stockholders, or to the customers.
In another example, a secretary of state represents the president of a country but also oversees ambassadors to the nations with which that country has diplomatic relations. If the system works as it was set up to do, the ambassadors function under delegated authority; they represent the president, even though they are not always in direct contact with him. They are not allowed the leeway to set their own policies with the nations; they are always to be submitted to the authority of the secretary of state, who is to be submitted to the president. They are never to speak for themselves but only for the president, so they make official statements such as, “My government’s position is....”
Likewise, if we are under Yah’s authority, it is not our place to set a policy that is different from His or to speak according to our own agendas. In the same way that distance does not cancel the authority that the political ambassadors are under, our being on earth and Yah’s being in heaven does not cancel His authority in our lives, especially since He gives us His very Spirit to dwell within us when we are restored to Him. On the contrary, it is our role to carry out His authority on the earth.
Colonel Larry Donnithorne, in his book The West Point Way of Leadership, told how individuals become effective leaders in their own lives through a system of discipline. He wrote, “Every leader is a follower. No one commands an organization without restraints. For every leader, no matter how ‘supreme,’ there is always a higher authority who must be answered [whom he’s responsible to].”1
In fact, everybody who wants to be successful must answer to somebody else. The success of a prime minister or CEO or ambassador depends largely on how well he has learned in the past to submit to authority, to learn from others, and to serve others. In the same way, your success in your authority will depend on your own ability to submit to genuine authority, to learn, and to serve. It’s only when we learn submission that we can become true leaders.
Finally, as we pursue our personal authority, we must keep in mind that (1) our Ultimate Authority is Yah; we are to submit to Him and His purposes for us; (2) we are to “submit” to, or live according to, our inherent domains— the authority, dreams, and gifts Yah has given us—and not try to be someone we aren’t or to succeed with improper motivations; (3) we are to submit to others’ Yah-given authority in mutual relationship and community.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
THE BETRAYAL AND RESTORATION OF AUTHORITY
Genesis chapter 1
Today we are walking in: The Betrayal and Restoration of Authority
Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.
The Torah Testifies.............................
*****
The prophets proclaim...............
Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.
The writings bear witness.............
2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword
The Betrayal and Restoration of Authority
An Imitation Life Is Costlier than the Designer’s Life
Our authority is found in what the Creator planned and designed for us to do, but most of us are not living according to our personal authority. To recapture our true authority, we need to discover how humanity’s confusion about authority began and why it persists. We have to start again at the beginning.
Yah said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So Yah created man in his own image, in the image of Yah he created him; male and female he created them.(Genesis 1:26–27)
When human beings were made in the image and likeness of the Creator, they were designed to be like Him, act like Him, and function like Him. Just as He rules, humans were to rule the earth—under His ultimate authority, His established principles for the earth. This authority did not belong to human beings; it was entrusted to them by the Creator. A shared authority was delegated to them.
You can never “take” true authority. It is always delegated and therefore can only be received with gratitude and acted upon. You can seize power, but authority has to be given to you. Moreover, if you transfer some of the authority that you have received to someone else, then he, too, can only receive it. He can’t take your authority from you.
The Betrayal of Authority
We noted in the last teaching that true authority corresponds to the principles and laws the Creator has established concerning humanity. If we fail to follow these principles and laws, we will find ourselves outside of the protection of His authority, and therefore we will be at risk. Whatever is not authorized by the Creator can’t be guaranteed to function as designed.
Unfortunately, the first human beings went outside of the parameters of the authority that the Creator Yah had given to them and did exactly what He had told them not to do. Why? Because they desired power more than authority.
Yah has an enemy, Satan (meaning “accuser” or “adversary”), also called the devil, who tempted them to do this. Satan is a created angelic being who rebelled against Yah’s authority himself. His goal is to cause human beings to lose their true selves by forfeiting the precious life and authority that Yah has given to them. He tempted the first human beings by asking them, in effect, “Wouldn’t you like to be like Yah?” Yet Adam and Eve were already like Yah; they were created in His image and reflected His nature. They had His delegated authority. But Satan wanted them to doubt who they inherently were and to become something else, something unnatural. And this is exactly how he has been tempting human beings ever since.
This is how the initial temptation transpired:
The Most High Yah took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Most High Yah commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”... Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Most High Yah had made. He said to the woman, “Did Yah really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but Yah did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For Yah knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Yah, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.(Genesis 2:15–17; 3:1–6)
Again, true authority is always a trust that we are given. It isn’t ours; we don’t own it. Any attempt to misuse or discard it is a betrayal of that trust. Whenever a person is given authority, he must always be aware that it is not his personal property. It is not for sale; it is never be to be gambled, sold, or used for personal gain. This is the behavior we examined in teaching 2 among those who wield false authority—the one who “rules” through overpowering force, the one with the “boss Ruach,” the dictator, and so forth. Instead, entrusted authority must always be used for the purpose for which it was given. And because it is never owned by the one who receives it, it can always be recalled if necessary.
Instead of regarding the trust they had been given, Adam and Eve handed over their authority—and the authority of the whole human race—to an illegitimate ruler. Their action was the equivalent of treason because they betrayed their trust and broke their allegiance to their Creator and Sovereign.
The fundamental source of all of mankind’s deficiencies and problems, therefore, was the original violation of the Creator’s ultimate authority—it was a betrayal of devotion and trust toward the Creator by His creation. This violation is what the Scriptures call “sin.” Everything that is wrong in the world today is a consequence of the abandonment of authority.
Three Fundamental Results of the Betrayal
Have you ever bought an imitation brand of a product that you thought you’d like? Sometimes, we think we are saving money when we do this. Yet, often, we get what we pay for. The knockoff product wears out, breaks down, or fades much more quickly or doesn’t function as effectively because it is made of cheaper materials. Then, we have to buy another one to replace it. Going for the imitation can end up being costlier than buying the brand-name or designer version in the first place.
Adam and Eve were taken in by imitation authority—a cheap version of authority—when they played into the hands of the imitation-authority salesman, Satan. The results were disastrous and far costlier than being true to the life the Master Designer had given them:
The Forfeit of Authority. When human beings abandoned Yah’s authority, they forfeited their shared authority of the earth; they gave it over to Yah’s enemy, and that is why Satan is called “the Yah of this age [“world” kjv]” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Through Adam and Eve’s disobedience, Satan seized power on the earth and could now wreak havoc on it. From that point on, humanity has had to live under a false and usurped authority that is bent on its complete ruin.
The Shock of the Unauthentic. Under false authority, life is hard, complicated, disappointing, and burdensome. “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you” (Genesis 3:17–18). There is a high cost to living in a shadow of the original authority humanity once had. Yet, human beings brought all these things on themselves as the natural result of choosing to live outside of their true authority. An unnatural action led to an unnatural existence.
Ultimate Self-destruction. Anyone who forfeits true authority will ultimately self-destruct because he is no longer under the protection and safeguard of that authority. This is why Adam and Eve—and all subsequent human beings—had to die. It was the very thing that Yah had warned them of: “And the Most High Yah commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:16–17). It is what the false authority said would not happen: “’You will not surely die,’ the serpent said” (Genesis 3:4). And it is exactly what did happen: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19).
Consequences of Lost Authority
The above three fundamental results of the betrayal led to these additional consequences:
Humanity Lost Its True Home
An additional outcome of the relinquishment of authority was that humanity lost its true home. The author of the book of Jude gave us insight into this sobering consequence. He wrote about how Yah gave authority to certain messengers, who subsequently discarded it. Let us look at Jude 1:6 using several translations so that we get the full impact of his insight:
And the messengers who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.(niv, emphasis added)
And messengers who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. (nasb, emphasis added)
And the messengers which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (kjv, emphasis added)
Yah had given positions of authority to these messengers—authority for various assignments—but the messengers left these assignments when they rebelled against His ultimate authority as Creator. From this verse in Jude, we can conclude that the messengers’ authority was not just something they had; it was integral to who they were—to their very nature and existence. It gave them their place in Yah’s reign. When they forfeited their authority, therefore, their existence was fundamentally changed.
Note in the above Scriptures that the words position, domain, and estate are linked with the words home, abode, and habitation. When the messengers abandoned their authority, it was the equivalent of a person abandoning his home and family. Once again, it was a betrayal of trust—and the loss was incalculable.
Jude went on to talk about “Yahless men” who act in the same way as these messengers did and who “reject authority” (Jude 1:4, 8). When Adam and Eve disobeyed Yah’s word, humanity fell from its place of authority, and life on earth was fundamentally altered. Consequently, human beings lost their place in life.
Our true “home” as human beings is the place where we were created to live out our personal authority. Your domain of authority is not a literal building but a place of being, a position. It is where you belong and where you will find all you need to experience fulfillment, refreshment, and renewal. When you discover your inherent authority, you find your true place. You feel at home, you feel comfortable functioning from that position. Why? Again, because true authority is natural. The messengers who rebelled and left their true home chose darkness over the light of Yah. Likewise, when you don’t know who you are, where you’re supposed to be, and what your authority is, then you are ignorant or “in the dark.” You stumble along in life rather than walk purposefully in it.
These messengers voluntarily left their positions of authority. Demons are therefore messengers who are out of position. They are still messengers, but they are out of order and separated from their former authority. A human who is out of order is still human, of course, but is out of his domain or realm of authority; his life isn’t what it was meant to be.
Similar to the messengers who abandoned their authority, people who are not exercising their authority and using their inherent gifts are often emotionally and mentally “tormented.” They can tend to be irritable, start fights with others, and suffer from anxiety because they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and it’s unsettling, disheartening, and frustrating to them. They’re not “demons,” but the word demonic seems to define their experience. And because they are out of order, they also have the tendency to torment those around them.
The difference between the messengers who abandoned their authority and human beings, as we will see, is that human beings don’t have to remain in darkness. They can be restored to their former authority.
The Perpetuation of False Authority on the Earth
Without genuine, absolute authority, there is only false, transitory authority—an “authority” based on circumstances, mere speculation, opinion, tradition, whim, and so forth, even in religious matters. This has been a characteristic of the world since the betrayal.
As part of His restoration plan, the Creator gave to humanity the Scriptures to guide them back to Him and to their original authority. Again, the Scriptures are the “user’s manual” for humanity. They are reliable, in contrast to the fickleness of human beings. This is why Yahusha taught the people to listen to the teachers of the law when they quoted the “manual,” or the law, but not to act in the ways they did, because the teachers’ lives didn’t reflect what they taught. He said,
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.(Matthew 23:2–4)
These religious leaders were not living according to the principles and standards established by the Creator, even though they knew what these principles and standards were. At another time, Yahusha said directly to the religious leaders, “You have let go of the commands of Yah and are holding on to the traditions of men” (Mark 7:8). Again, we see human beings giving more credence to opinion and tradition than to the truth from their Creator.
Yahusha also warned His disciples about another aspect of false authority—a method of ruling over people that was practiced by those who were outside of Israel, who were generally referred to as “the Gentiles,” a word that means “the nations.”
Yahusha called [His disciples] together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles Most High it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42–45)
The term “Most High it over” in this passage has the connotation of “control” or “subjugate,” and the phrase “exercise authority” denotes “wielding full privilege over.” As Yahusha moved His disciples toward restored relationships with Yah and renewed authority, He showed them that the nature of true authority is not about having total control by “Most Highing” it over others but about using the gifts you have been given to serve others.
As we can see, the whole human race was thrown off course because our first human parents, Adam and Eve, abandoned their authority. Because of their rebellion against the Creator, the nature of humanity was altered so that all human beings who were born from them were also corrupt and prone to seeking their own false authority—collectively and individually.
The conflict and abuse we see in our world today on a wide scale is what happens when authority is misconceived and misused. And, again, this is what has led many people to misunderstand and fear authority in general.
The good news is that the Creator had no plans to leave humanity in this state. He provided a way of reconciliation and restoration.
Humanity Is Unauthorized to Change Itself
Let’s consider how the Creator went about this reconciliation and restoration through the analogy of an authorized dealer versus an unauthorized dealer, which is similar to the designer versus imitation concept.
Few people are more dangerous than an unauthorized dealer. Many of us have had the experience of taking a piece of equipment, an appliance, or a car to someone who didn’t know what he was doing. He claimed he could fix it, but we found out afterward that he was “experimenting” with our valuable possession. Why? He was unauthorized to deal with that specific device. He didn’t have either the authority as one connected with the company that made it or the innate ability to fix it.
The Unauthorized Merely Experiment
The unauthorized must experiment because they don’t have access to the original plans. They can have only a trial-and-error approach to repair. This is why, when they take apart your equipment, they can’t always put it back together again—or back the same way. Therefore, whenever you take a malfunctioning piece of equipment to someone who is not authorized, you walk away just hoping that everything will be fine. And if you’ve had a bad experience with a similar situation, your confidence level in the unauthorized can be even lower. Where there is no sense of authority, there is no confidence. In fact, an absence of authority produces confusion and even chaos.
The effects of the unauthorized can be seen in a variety of realms of life. For example, have you ever been in a restaurant that is so well run that you never have to ask for refills on your water or coffee, your food comes in a timely manner, and the atmosphere is peaceful? The opposite experience is being in a restaurant where the serving staff seemed agitated and confused, your order isn’t taken correctly, other patrons are fidgeting around the hostess stand because they have been waiting for a long time to be seated, and the atmosphere is generally uneasy. That is the difference between an environment governed by authority—an authorized environment—and an environment where authority is absent—an unauthorized one.
The value something holds for you often determines whether you will pay the cost to have an authorized dealer fix it. The dealer always seems to be more expensive, but it can also often be more secure. Why? The dealer is not experimenting. He has been authorized by the company to work on the product, and he has access to the company’s knowledge and experience in relation to it.
The authorized can provide maximum performance, or function, while the unauthorized may only misuse and abuse valuable things. After sending something to be repaired and getting it back, have you ever said, “It was better before I sent it to be fixed”? It was bad, but it wasn’t as bad as it is now. What you had sent was at least working somewhat until an unauthorized person began to deal with it.
The Authorized Dealer
To repair human authority, we need to return to the Authorized Dealer, not to any substitute. Think about your life as being a product of The Creator, Incorporated. He is our Manufacturer.
If you’ve purchased products that have come with warranties, you may have noticed that manufacturers are very particular about authorization and the need to follow the instructions carefully. Someone gave me an audio device as a gift, and it came with a user’s manual. On the back of the manual was a card that read “Limited Warranty/Guarantee.” Most warranty and guarantee certificates are worded in a similar way. For example, a “Limited Warranty” often covers ninety days for labor and two years for parts. Within the first three months of your owning the product, if anything goes wrong, the manufacturer will fix it free of charge—at no cost for labor. For two years, if anything goes wrong, the manufacturer will replace any faulty or broken parts, but you have to pay for the labor. It doesn’t sound like a bad deal, but you have to look at the fine print, which includes the word “Conditions.” Every manufacturer has conditions: if you do this, we will guarantee or do that. If you keep this, we will perform that.
The Manufacturer’s Condition
What is the condition of The Creator, Incorporated? The Manufacturer will replace defective parts at no charge to the original owner. He guarantees free replacement; it is what the Scriptures call grace. There is a grace period for the restoration of our relationship with the Creator and of our original authority, and we are now still within that grace period. If we reconnect with the Creator during this grace period, then the warranty is eternal and unlimited. A manufacturer’s conditions usually say that parts used for replacement are warranted for the remainder of the original, limited warranty period. Therefore, as long as this product exists, parts will exist for it. With The Creator, Incorporated, no matter how old you are, no matter how many mistakes you have made, He still has a warehouse full of “parts” waiting to replace your defective ones anytime you come to Him.
A manufacturer will provide labor for the repair or replacement of defective parts without charge. Similarly, only our Authorized Dealer can do the work of restoration. We have to place our faith in Him alone to do the work that needs to be done.
Let’s look at the even finer print that is usually included in a manufacturer’s manual. The free labor and parts are subject to the following conditions: the owner must provide verification of the date of purchase when requesting limited warranty service. There has to be a point, sometime, when you bought the item or received it as a gift, so that you own it. The company doesn’t want to fix a product that you stole.
Likewise, we can’t just ask the Creator to reestablish authority in us when we have no intention of being restored to Him and following His Manual (the Scriptures) for our lives. The Creator will say, “There has to be a relationship between us.” There has to be a point in your life when you make a specific decision to accept the grace offered to you so that you belong to the Creator once more.
Salvation is a personal thing, just as inherent authority is personal. That means that what we are (which has been given as a trust) belongs to Him, and what we will be is also His.
Another condition of a manufacturer, which I alluded to earlier, is that all repairs must be performed by an authorized dealer or facility connected to the company. The user’s manual provides information on the locations of authorized service agents and how to reach them. The Creator, Incorporated, functions in a similar way. If you want restoration and repair for your life, you must go to His Authorized Dealer. No experimentation with the product is allowed.
The Manufacturer’s Manual is very clear about who the Authorized Dealer is because there is only one: Yahusha the Hamachiach, the Son of the Owner of the company. He is the only way, the only truth, the only life. No one can be restored except by Him. (See John 14:6.) If anyone tries to be restored by any other means, he is the equivalent of a robber who climbs through windows or breaks into houses to gain access to what is inside. (See John 10:10.) You can attempt to come to the Manufacturer by another way, but you will have no verification, no certificate of authorization. Yahusha said, “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 16:23). Many people are not receiving what the Creator desires for them because they are coming in unauthorized ways.
If you live according to the conditions of the warranty, you can expect to receive the benefits of the guarantees, or the promises. People continually try to change the Creator’s warranty. Some people assert that “all roads lead to the same place” when it comes to connecting with Yah. Yet that is never the case with any other destination. For example, if you wanted to go to the airport, would you drive down every road within one hundred miles of it in order to get there? There has to be a route that will lead where you want to go. That route is the Authorized Dealer, Yahusha Hamachiach.
Usually, a manufacturer’s conditions further state, “No person, agent, distributor, dealer, facility, or company is authorized to change, modify, or amend the terms of this warranty.” Similarly, when Yah has spoken, the warranty is closed. We are not to add to, subtract from, or alter what He has established because that would be unauthorized and unauthentic. Unauthorized ways of thinking and living will prevent us from fulfilling our original authority.
The Scriptures are very clear that we need a new nature in order to be restored to the Creator and to our true authority. Yahusha said,
I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of Yah unless he is born of water and the Ruach. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Ruach gives birth to Ruach. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.” (John 3:5–7)
For Yah so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For Yah did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.(verses 16–17)
“Born again” is a term that has been thrown around casually so that its meaning has been lost. But it originated with Yahusha Hamachiach, and it means that you have received a new nature, through Him as the Authorized Dealer, that allows you access to the Creator and His full plan for your life.
There is usually a final statement in a manufacturer’s warranty that says, “If you violate any of these specific conditions, this warranty is cancelled.” Again, can it be any clearer than that? We need to operate under the principles and laws of the Creator to reap all the benefits He offers to us.
You may have been trying to receive Yah’s help for your life without realizing that you’re not under warranty. You know you’re not living right, but you’re asking Him to fix you up. The warranty is activated when we tell Yah we want to live according to His principles instead of the way we have been living. The Creator, Incorporated, is always available, and you can come under His warranty at any time by receiving the gift offered through the Authorized Dealer.
The Gift of the Authorized Dealer
Yahusha is the Authorized Dealer, and He says He will repair our defective authority by giving us a new life according to the nature of the Creator Himself. In this way, He restores what Adam and Eve lost through their abandonment of authority and disobedience of the Creator’s principles. Yahusha said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
The way this restoration occurred was in accordance with the principles of authority: The Ultimate Authority is responsible for His product, and only He can save it.
Why does He want to save you? “To all who received him [Yahusha Hamachiach], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of Yah” (John 1:12). The Greek word translated “right” in this verse is the same word that is sometimes translated as “authority” or “power.” In other words, the authority of the Creator provides you with the authority to be His child, to have a relationship with Him in which you not only can call Him “Creator” but also “Father.”
Why is Yahusha the Authorized Dealer who can make this happen? Why is it that those who receive Him obtain this right or authority or power to become children of Yah?
He is the Authorized Dealer because He is also the Manufacturer. In John 10:30, Yahusha said, “I and the Father are one.” Yahusha’ disciple John also recorded:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Yah, and the Word was Yah. He was with Yah in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1–4, 14)
Yahusha is the Manufacturer who came to earth to rescue His broken products. The only way they could be forgiven and restored from their abandonment and rebellion was by someone paying the price on their behalf. Just as the grandson of the founder of Toyota represented both the company and the product before Congress, Yahusha Hamachiach, as the Son of Yah—the Word made flesh—was the only One who could represent both the Creator and His created beings in order to fix the breach between the two and bring about full reconciliation and restoration. The redemptive work of the Creator required the sending of His own Son to earth to secure the reputation of His image in humanity.
Restored to Your True Place
When Yahusha Hamachiach died on the crucifixion stake, He paid the price for our fallen human nature, which we inherited from our first human parents. He also paid the price for all the times when we ourselves have acted contrary to the nature and principles of our Creator. Treason is punishable by death, and Yahusha Hamachiach took that punishment for us, enabling our restoration.
But His action provides only the warranty. You have to accept the gift of being a brand-new “product” in order to come under the warranty. You have to respond to it by making a personal decision to come under the Manufacturer’s offered warranty in order to receive the necessary forgiveness and restoration.
The book of Hebrews states:
Although he [Yahusha Hamachiach] was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.(Hebrews 5:8–9)
“Perfect” in this sense indicates complete maturity, complete submission. The word for “source” refers to an original cause. We obey Yah because He is the source or cause of our eternal salvation, and it is He who enables us to live according to our original authority, as well.
Let us fix our eyes on Yahusha, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the crucifixion stake, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of Yah.(Hebrews 12:2)
The word translated “author” here also has the meaning of “founder” or “leader.” Yahusha Hamachiach was the only One who fulfilled complete obedience to the Creator’s principles and laws. He therefore leads us into and is the model for our complete obedience to them, as well, so that we can live according to our authority.1
Someone might ask, “Why would Yah send His Son to be a sacrifice for us? Why would Yah experience punishment for us? Why would Yah raise Yahusha from the dead and establish Him as King of Kings?” He did all of this to redeem us, because the authority we are carrying inside us is so awesome that He considered it worth His death. Do you really understand that the earth needs you? It needs your purpose and your gift. It needs your authority.
Drawn to His Goodness
There are people who want to be restored to the Creator Yah but are frightened of Him. They believe that to “fear” the Most High means to be afraid of Him. But to fear in regard to Yah means to respect Him, to have an awareness of all the power He has on your behalf. He can do great things for you through His power.
If you have developed a fear of authority in relation to Yah over the years, this fear may have hindered you from receiving the restoration He offers you. In my own life, it took me a long time to understand and accept the truth that Yah isn’t mad at sinners. Paul of Tarsus, the great first-century theologian, wrote, “But Yah demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Hamachiach died for us” (Romans 5:8). Yah is not angry at you for what you did that was wrong. He is hurt by it. Why? Because He knows that it hinders you from doing what is right. He knows that if He doesn’t help you, you will hurt yourself.
Yah’s goodness should therefore bring us to Him. He is not a tyrant or a dictator—He is a Savior! He is not a monster and a destroyer—He is a redeemer and a restorer. Remember that “Yah did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). Understanding the truth about Yah’s love and provision to restore us will eliminate our fear of Him and His
authority.
Yahusha’ Personal Authority
Yahusha functioned by His personal authority, and He is our model of true authority as we are restored to our Creator and begin to live in our delegated authority. Let us look at some of the ways in which He demonstrated these things.
1. Yahusha understood His authority. He said, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man” (John 5:26–27). Most of the confrontations Yahusha experienced with the religious leaders of His day were about authority. These leaders were agitated at Him, asking, in effect, “Who authorized You to do and say these things?” Authority seemed to be their major concern about Him, but He knew His own authorization. Yahusha was only in His early thirties during His ministry on earth, and most of the Pharisees were older than He, but they didn’t have true authority. Yahusha was singled out because He spoke with authority, and the scribes and the Pharisees spoke as those without authority. (See, for example, Matthew 7:28–29.) They only talked about the Scriptures (as well as other teachings), but Yahusha was the Word. He spoke as the Source, not in references to the Source.
2. Yahusha’ confidence was a result of His authority.
[Yahusha said,] “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life— only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
(John 10:17–21)
When you truly understand your authority, it will give you the confidence to follow it.
3. Yahusha equated understanding and operating under authority with having faith, as we see from this account of the centurion who asked Yahusha to heal his servant:
[The centurion said,] “Say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Yahusha heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the
servant well.(Luke 7:7–10)
4. Yahusha was authorized to give life.
[Yahusha prayed to the Father,] For you granted [Your Son] authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true Yah, and Yahusha Hamachiach, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.(John 17:2–4)
[Yahusha said to the people,] Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him Yah the Father has placed his seal of approval....All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.(John 6:27, 37–40)
5. Yahusha was authorized to forgive sins.
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.... (Mark 2:10)
Then Yahusha said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Yahusha said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”(Luke 7:48–50)
6. Yahusha is authorized to make us children of Yah.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of Yah, to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of Yah! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)
7. Yahusha is authorized to restore authority.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. (John 5:21–23)
All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Ruach will take from what is mine and make it known
to you. (John 16:15)
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to [Yahusha]. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Ruach of the Most High is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Most High’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. (Luke 4:17–22)
8. Yahusha gives us authority. One of the last words Yahusha used on earth in speaking to His disciples was “authority”:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ruach, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.(Matthew 28:18–20)
It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Ruach comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.(Acts 1:7–8)
Often, the greatest obstacle to people living according to their authority is a lack of understanding that they have real authorization to carry it out. This prevents them from believing and undertaking what they were created to do, and so they settle for something much less than what they could be and do. They allow outside forces and influences rather than their internal authority to determine how they live their lives. This is why they don’t contribute their gifts to their generation. As a result, they and their generation lose out.
In the previous teaching, I described how an author has the copyright to his work and how he has the right to share the copyright claim with someone or to provide for an inheritance of it. When Yahusha died on our behalf, giving us the authority and power to become children of Yah, we received the full inheritance of rights that He obtained. “Hamachiach is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). Authority is the principle of rights.
Authority is the Author’s permission for you to be what He designed you to be. You not only have permission but also the commission and the power to fulfill your purpose. With this knowledge and understanding of authority, you can experience Yah’s plan for your life and not just dream about it.
The Privilege of Authority
The messengers from the book of Jude we discussed earlier were not restored to the place they abandoned, but Yah has made provision for human beings to be restored to theirs. What will you do with the authority that has been provided for you? You have a choice to accept it or to discard it.
I know many individuals, and you probably do, too, who have tremendous gifts, talents, and dreams, and who had great promise for their lives, but who destroyed their futures by violating genuine authority in some way.
The prisons are filled with potentially great leaders who are confined for life because they violated the authority of society, which has established laws for order and peace. The drug houses are filled with talented people who will never fulfill their potential because they are violating the authority of their bodies by abusing them with harmful, illegal substances.
Many people currently have great ideas, dreams, and plans for their lives, but they are on a collision course with destruction because they are—or are contemplating—violating the privilege of authority the Creator has given them by seeking their own authority for selfish purposes.
Why do people end up ruining their lives in this way? They have left (or have never known) the place of authority where they truly belong—just like their original human parents did.
The commentary from Jude tells us that living in our Yah-given authority is like being home or coming home, like settling into our own habitation. We have not only the privilege of receiving authority from Yah but also the responsibility of remaining in it after we receive it. This honors our Creator and preserves order and peace in our own lives and in the lives of people around us.
I encourage you to pray this prayer to the Creator: “Most High, show me my authority. I come to You on the basis of the sacrifice of the Authorized Dealer, Yahusha Hamachiach. I receive His gift of restoration and come under His offered warranty in order to receive forgiveness, restoration, and eternal life. I don’t want to waste another day out of position. I want to be in order. I want to know the authority You have for me so that I can be in the right place in life. So that I can maximize myself and be a support to those around me. So that I can fulfill Your pleasure and be what You created me to be. Help me, Most High, not to leave my position. In the name of the Authorized Dealer, ALL PRAISES TO THE MOST HIGH YAH .”
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
THE SOURCE OF AUTHORITY
Genesis chapter 1
Today we are walking in: The Source Of Authority
Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.
The Torah Testifies.............................
*****
The prophets proclaim...............
Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.
The writings bear witness.............
2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword
The Source of Authority
The Essential Relationship between Author and Authorized
In the last teaching, we looked at some poor and destructive substitutes for authority. To recognize and understand true authority, we need to explore the source, or origin, of human authority and the inherent purposes of that authority.
The Author
The “Copyright Owner” of the Earth
The English word authority comes from a Latin word, auctor. Auctor means “promoter, originator, or author.” What is an author? A simple dictionary definition is “one that originates or creates: source.” An author is the originator or creator of something. In many countries, the copyright of authors of literary or musical works and the patents of inventors are highly valued and protected by law.
Let me say here that every human being has the right to believe what he wishes to believe, and I respect and would defend his right to do so. In our modern age of so-called enlightenment, many have opted to believe that they are by-products of an evolutionary process and are children of apes. However, it is my firm conviction and belief that human beings have an Author—the Creator of the world—who is the source of our very lives, in addition to our authority. Our Creator, or Yah, is the originator of the world and everything in it. We call Yah “Yah” because He is the natural author of all creation. The word Yah refers to “the supreme or ultimate reality: as the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe.” Though many people have tried to infringe on or deny His “copyright” on them, it still remains His and always will. This principle of the Creator’s authority is fundamental and essential to understanding the nature and power of your personal authority.
The Right of the Source
Yah, the self-sufficient One, is the Author, the Originating Cause, the Creator of all things seen and unseen. He is the absolute rightful Sovereign over all He has created. It is Yah “for whom and through whom everything exists” (Hebrews 2:10).
The Creator gave everything existence, and He has the power of life itself —the ability to give life and to take it away. From our perspective as human beings, there’s no greater authority than that! Many people are literally looking for a fountain of youth, and, figuratively, they are looking for eternal life. Yet only Yah can give eternal life. Yahusha of Nazareth said, “The Father has life in himself” (John 5:26).
In the first book written by Moses, the great leader and lawgiver, it says, “In the beginning Yah created [authored] the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). David, the musician-king of Israel, wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). Everything that exists on the earth—plants, animals, birds, reptiles, oceans, land, human beings—as well as everything in the vast universe—is owned by Yah. Nobody has a right to counterfeit what He has “written” in the foundations of the world or to usurp what He has made.
Our Authority Comes from Our Source’s Authority
An author or creator is always the source of the authority of his work, whether it is a book, an appliance, a car, a house, or an aircraft. For example, Dr. Myles Monroe is the author of a number of books, and he could teach all of his books without looking at the published volumes or his original notes for them because he’s the source of them. People may use his books to teach others, but as the author, he can speak conclusively about what is in them and his purpose for writing them. Everything an author or inventor produces is created because there is something he desires to communicate or to make that initiates its production. It is created for a reason.
The source of a product therefore has the legitimate right to state the framework of the authority he puts into his product and the way the product functions best. This framework is what we call the principles or laws governing it and through which it operates. For a product produced by a company, the framework for that product’s authority would be its user’s manual. In this way, not only is the company or creator itself the authority, but its documentation of the principles and laws governing the product become the authority, as well. The product manual is not produced by a wholesaler, retailer, or consumer but by the one from whom the product originated. Their opinions and preferences for the working of a product may be interesting, but they are not the authority; they are not authorized by the maker and can’t be guaranteed.
The Ultimate Authority and Source of all human authority is therefore the Creator, as well as the principles and laws He has established concerning humanity, which are recorded in the Scriptures. Anything that doesn’t correspond to them or reflect their essence and spirit is not true authority. Opinions that don’t correspond to the Creator’s original design cannot be guaranteed. What people theorize about humanity and creation is not the question. The question is, What did the Manufacturer say about it?
If we want to live in the reality that comes from following the principles governing true authority, we must get in touch with the Source and find out His parameters for our lives. This is how we protect and preserve ourselves as human beings.
A principle is an established law or fundamental rule under which something functions due to its nature and design. The principles we need to apply to our lives are inherent in creation, timeless, and permanent. They were established by the Creator to secure and protect the functions and fulfillment of His creation. Principles are called by various terms in the Scriptures, such as “commandments,” “precepts,” “statutes,” and “the ways of Yah.”
Authority is a principle in itself, but it also functions according to specific precepts that we must understand in order to appreciate and benefit from it.
Shared Authority
Under the copyright laws of the United States, even though an author is the owner of his work and has full authority in relation to it, he also has the power to share the rights of that work with someone else or to transfer those rights entirely, so that the other person becomes a “copyright claimant” in relation to the work. This occurs through a written document by which the author grants permission for the transfer of full or joint ownership of the rights. Rights can also be legally transferred by will or inheritance; if the author dies, the rights are bestowed on a designated relative or friend.
Similarly, the Creator, as the Author of our world, and having ownership of it, delegated some of His authority by entrusting it to human beings. He shared authority in relation to His “copyright” of the earth so that we could exercise that authority both in and over the earth. It was He who designed us with the ability to carry out our individual and collective authorities in the world.
Authority Is Built into Our Very Existence
In what manner did the Creator grant us this shared ownership of the world? He did not give us authority as a form of transaction between business associates. He shared it with us in the way a father would share what is his with his children. We were made to share in the Creator’s inherent authority by being made in His own image, by being made as His “offspring.” In this way, authority has been built into our very existence as human beings:
Then Yah said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So Yah created man in his own image, in the image of Yah he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26–27)
To show human beings the authority He had placed within them and to instruct them in it, “Yah blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground’” (Genesis 1:28).
We were made—literally—for authority. Human beings have been given both a general authority over the earth and a personal authority that is specific to each one of us.
The Creator operates in the universe in conjunction with His authority. We were made to receive authority from Him and, in turn, to operate according to this authority and the principles He has established for the earth.
Our authority is manifested in a number of ways and in various realms of human interaction and endeavor as we are fruitful with our lives, as we fill the earth, and as we rule over it. Our understanding of the Creator’s authority and purpose, and our response to them, are demonstrated by the extent to which we fulfill our authority.
Authority Is Built into All of Creation
It is not only human beings who function through authority but also all of creation. In nature, we can clearly see some of the ways in which the Creator has established authority to be a principle in the earth. For example, when He designed the world, He created it to function under two distinct periods, day and night. Interestingly, Moses described their purposes in terms of authority:
And Yah said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. Yah made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. Yah set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And Yah saw that it was good.(Genesis 1:14–18)
Our life on earth is governed by days of approximately twenty-four hours in length, and by seasons, both which were established at humanity’s origin. We obviously don’t have the ability to change the reality of days and seasons. We have to respect the “authority” of the sun and the moon—the two lights that “oversee” our world. Generally, things slow down at night, not only because people are tired and have a biological need for sleep, but also because night is a less conducive time to work. The world also takes on a different atmosphere after dark. It is quieter and a time for reflection and rest rather than production. Of course, we can work with artificial lights, but no one can keep up round-the-clock activity indefinitely. In addition, fewer people are available to interact with at night because they, also, are governed by the parameters of this daily cycle. So, we are governed by the nature of days.
Seasons also have “authority” over our lives, as well, affecting when and how we do things. Even in locations like the Bahamas where it is warm year- round, seasons govern the times during which we engage in certain activities. For example, although many tourists visit during the fall and winter seasons and swim in the ocean, most Bahamians think they’re a little crazy to do so. They won’t go swimming until it’s good and hot—at least 90 degrees! In regions where the seasons go from one temperature extreme to the other, people alter their behavior to fit the changing weather conditions. We all have certain habits and behaviors and patterns of life according to the seasons, and, in that sense, they exercise authority over our lives.
In another example of authority in nature, Yah created animals and plants in various genuses and species—He made them “according to their kinds” (Genesis 1:11–12; 21, 24–25). Each species is unique and was created to fulfill Yah’s purpose under its own authority of existence.
We Must Consult the Author
If we really want to know the purposes for which Yah created the heavens and the earth, therefore, we have no choice but to consult Him as the Author. The sciences can provide us with some answers regarding how things function and what they consist of, but they can research only what has already been made. When a scientist discovers an aspect of life that has been functioning since creation, we sometimes seem to give him almost as much credit as if he had created it! We may award him a Nobel Prize or other award. While we can value scientists and their findings, we need to think of them with proper perspective. Again, science can simply discover what the Author had already put into creation.
Moreover, discovering something is one thing. Understanding why it was created is something else. I believe that most people haven’t really been “discovered” yet in terms of knowing why and how they were created. Few people understand who they really are because they are not in touch with the Creator. Only an author truly knows his work and why he wrote it. Only an inventor really knows his invention and why he created it.
It is one thing to know that Yah created you in His image and likeness, but there is something beyond the act of creation itself, and that is why He created you and what authority He has given you to accomplish your purpose on earth.
As the Ultimate Authority, the Creator is the Source of the authority within you, within me, and within everyone else in the world. We need to recognize and exercise the authority He has placed inside us and carry out what He has authorized us to be and do.
Purpose Determines Design
In the Physical World
To begin to recognize and exercise the authority within us, let’s explore one of the foundational principles of authority that we noted in teaching one: Everyone and everything is designed to fulfill its purpose. We can also word it in this way: The purpose for which a product is designed determines the design of the product itself. Everything (at least, everything that is well made) is designed so that it will fulfill the purpose for which it was created.
This foundational principle is built into all of creation. Everything was made because there is something that the Creator wanted on earth that required its existence.
For example, in the physical world that He created, Yah needed something that would prevent people and objects on earth from drifting off into space, and so He established gravity, with its associated laws.
Yah knew He would need something to produce light rays that would cause photosynthesis in plants, and so He built this capacity into the sun.
Yah’s purpose was to perpetuate life on earth, and so He provided for the sustenance and perpetuation of life in a number of ways.
Although many flowers are beautiful to look at, and although appreciating beauty is valuable in itself, there is more to flowers than their beauty. Certain insects are genetically designed to respond to certain colors of flowers, and those colors are connected to what the insects need to feed on for survival. When the insects feed from the blossoms, they pick up pollen from the plants and then transfer that pollen to other plants. This causes the plants to create blossoms and fruit, which produce new plants so that life can be carried on through subsequent generations. Yah was therefore not only thinking about the beauty of the plants but also of the new plants that would come later as a result of them. He has created everything for a purpose, and He has given everything its own authority to carry out that purpose.
Yah created the human body with various purposes in mind, and so He designed it to function according to certain processes. For example, He knew the body would need a method of taking in oxygen while breathing out carbon dioxide, so He first designed plants with the capacity to take in carbon dioxide while emitting oxygen. Then, He created the human body to produce carbon dioxide, which the plants need, so the plants could produce oxygen, which the body needs. He also designed human lungs to act as an exchange mechanism for this process. He made everything because there was something that would require its existence.
Every aspect of the human body was designed with a specific assignment so that it could function in a healthy way. The entire world was created to function in such a manner that everything had what it needed to sustain life. And the Creator has been keeping the world going ever since.
For by [Yah] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.(Colossians 1:16–17, emphasis added)
In the “World” of Human Relationships and Vocation
Yah planned not only the interactions and interrelationships of the physical world according to His purposes, but also human relationships and human vocation according to His purposes. By vocation, I do not mean just people’s “jobs.” I am referring to the concept of vocation as “the special function of an individual or group” or “a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action.” There is something that Yah desires to accomplish that made your existence necessary and valuable. If you’re ever tempted to feel that you’re not important, remember that your purpose is what caused you to be born. Yah has an assignment in mind that made you essential.
I believe that every single person on the planet—now approaching seven billion of us, young and old—was created because there was something Yah wanted done that required that person’s existence. Your birth is evidence that Yah wanted to accomplish something that He had to create you to do.
Everyone was created to have dominion over an area or a specific “territory” of life that only he can “govern.” When you find the area or territory that you’re supposed to oversee, you will find the secret to your fulfillment in life and to your particular contribution to the human race. This territorial assignment is your authority.
A Greek word for “authority” in the Scriptures is exousia, and one meaning of this word is “delegated influence.”
Therefore, your authority determines your influence in the world.
This means that whatever you were created to do is your territory, or area of authority. Your unique gifts and qualities are the special tools that allow you to function in your authority.
The Source Supports and Is Responsible for Its Product
Authority Is from the Author and for the Author
Authority is therefore an inherent purpose of human beings. Moreover, along with authority, we have been given the ability to fulfill the intent of our Author, or Source. Thus, authority is both from the Author and for the Author. Authority is fulfilled successfully when the Author is pleased. When you manifest your authority, that is your measure of success.
The Creator supports His delegated authority. He is responsible for making sure that the authority He gave you is successful. One who has true authority will never abandon those to whom he delegates authority. He will enable them to fulfill it. “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me” (Psalm 138:8).
A Matter of Reputation
One of the reasons the Creator supports the authority He has given us is that His reputation is on the line. For example, in the commercial world, the products you buy are supported by the manufacturers because their names are on them, and they want to protect their reputations in the minds of consumers. A company wants its products to succeed and to sell well. Its name and its image are synonymous in the customers’ minds, and therefore, if a product is faulty, the company’s name can be tarnished—sometimes to the point of causing the business to fail.
When the Toyota company had technical problems with its popular energy-conserving car, the Prius, as well as other models, their previously excellent name in the automobile business was weakened. In addressing the situation and trying to regain consumers’ trust, one of the things they did was to run television advertisements saying that they were working hard to correct the problems. To further protect the brand name of Toyota, the company sent the president of the company, who is the grandson of the founder, to meet with the Congress of the United States to discuss the issues directly and to explain the steps the company was taking to resolve the problems and to manage quality control. All of this was done to protect the name of the company and to regain its authority in the marketplace.
When the international banking industry took a tailspin through, among other things, poor lending practices, causing banks to fail and prompting governments to offer grants and loans to help banks weather the crisis, some banks displayed signs on their buildings stating that they were “Bail-out Free.” They wanted their customers to know that they had not engaged in risky banking policies, were in sound financial shape, and had not needed to accept governmental funds. The signs were one attempt to protect their names in the minds of their customers.
Similarly, whenever there are issues with the quality of certain foods or with an outbreak of food poisoning, some grocery stores and restaurants post signs that indicate that their products were not affected by whatever was causing the problem. They want people to know they still have quality goods for sale, so that their own reputations won’t be affected by the problems of other companies.
These examples are a reflection of the fact that a responsible source or manufacturer of a product desires to guarantee the quality of the product so that it is safe and functions according to design.
The Creator backs up the authority He has given us as we operate according to the principles He has established for humanity. He tells us, “I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled” (Jeremiah 1:12), and “The Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake” (1 Samuel 12:22 kjv).
The Authority Dilemma
As it was established by the Creator, authority is inherently good. It allows us to fulfill our collective and individual purposes as human beings. Yet, historically, we have seen how authority has been abused by those who were supposed to be its custodians, as well as by those who usurped authority for their own purposes and selfish goals. Again, false authority has hurt some people so badly that they reject the very concept of authority.
In our contemporary world, because of our negative experiences with “authority figures,” we face the issue of needing to be friendly with authority to get along in life but never quite trusting it. We don’t want to accept any vestiges of absolute authority. Nevertheless, we find ourselves in a dilemma: as human beings, we were created to operate under legitimate authority and its principles, and our lives can’t function properly without them; yet, at the same time, we’re afraid of authority.
Recapturing the Original Purpose for Authority
In the face of this dilemma, how do we recover genuine authority in our lives? The Creator says, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Therefore, let us move forward to discover how to recapture the true nature of authority for ourselves and our world.
IN the beginning Elohiym created את the heavens and את the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Ruach Elohiym moved upon the face of the waters. And Elohiym said, Let there be light: and there was light. And Elohiym saw the light, that it was good: and Elohiym divided the light from the darkness. And Elohiym called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And Elohiym said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And Elohiym made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse: and it was so. And Elohiym called the expanse Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And Elohiym said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And Elohiym called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. And Elohiym said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for appointed feasts, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And Elohiym made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And Elohiym set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And Elohiym said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open expanse of heaven. And Elohiym created great dragons, and את every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and את every winged fowl after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And Elohiym said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And Elohiym made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and את everything that creeps upon the earth after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So Elohiym created man in his own image, in the image of Elohiym created he him; male and female created he them. And Elohiym blessed them, and Elohiym said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. And Elohiym said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and את every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given את every green herb for food: and it was so. And Elohiym saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 1:1-31 את CEPHER
Today we are walking in: The Source Of Authority
Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.
The Torah Testifies.............................
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The prophets proclaim...............
Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.
The writings bear witness.............
2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword
The Source of Authority
The Essential Relationship between Author and Authorized
In the last teaching, we looked at some poor and destructive substitutes for authority. To recognize and understand true authority, we need to explore the source, or origin, of human authority and the inherent purposes of that authority.
The Author
The “Copyright Owner” of the Earth
The English word authority comes from a Latin word, auctor. Auctor means “promoter, originator, or author.” What is an author? A simple dictionary definition is “one that originates or creates: source.” An author is the originator or creator of something. In many countries, the copyright of authors of literary or musical works and the patents of inventors are highly valued and protected by law.
Let me say here that every human being has the right to believe what he wishes to believe, and I respect and would defend his right to do so. In our modern age of so-called enlightenment, many have opted to believe that they are by-products of an evolutionary process and are children of apes. However, it is my firm conviction and belief that human beings have an Author—the Creator of the world—who is the source of our very lives, in addition to our authority. Our Creator, or Yah, is the originator of the world and everything in it. We call Yah “Yah” because He is the natural author of all creation. The word Yah refers to “the supreme or ultimate reality: as the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe.” Though many people have tried to infringe on or deny His “copyright” on them, it still remains His and always will. This principle of the Creator’s authority is fundamental and essential to understanding the nature and power of your personal authority.
The Right of the Source
Yah, the self-sufficient One, is the Author, the Originating Cause, the Creator of all things seen and unseen. He is the absolute rightful Sovereign over all He has created. It is Yah “for whom and through whom everything exists” (Hebrews 2:10).
The Creator gave everything existence, and He has the power of life itself —the ability to give life and to take it away. From our perspective as human beings, there’s no greater authority than that! Many people are literally looking for a fountain of youth, and, figuratively, they are looking for eternal life. Yet only Yah can give eternal life. Yahusha of Nazareth said, “The Father has life in himself” (John 5:26).
In the first book written by Moses, the great leader and lawgiver, it says, “In the beginning Yah created [authored] the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). David, the musician-king of Israel, wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). Everything that exists on the earth—plants, animals, birds, reptiles, oceans, land, human beings—as well as everything in the vast universe—is owned by Yah. Nobody has a right to counterfeit what He has “written” in the foundations of the world or to usurp what He has made.
Our Authority Comes from Our Source’s Authority
An author or creator is always the source of the authority of his work, whether it is a book, an appliance, a car, a house, or an aircraft. For example, Dr. Myles Monroe is the author of a number of books, and he could teach all of his books without looking at the published volumes or his original notes for them because he’s the source of them. People may use his books to teach others, but as the author, he can speak conclusively about what is in them and his purpose for writing them. Everything an author or inventor produces is created because there is something he desires to communicate or to make that initiates its production. It is created for a reason.
The source of a product therefore has the legitimate right to state the framework of the authority he puts into his product and the way the product functions best. This framework is what we call the principles or laws governing it and through which it operates. For a product produced by a company, the framework for that product’s authority would be its user’s manual. In this way, not only is the company or creator itself the authority, but its documentation of the principles and laws governing the product become the authority, as well. The product manual is not produced by a wholesaler, retailer, or consumer but by the one from whom the product originated. Their opinions and preferences for the working of a product may be interesting, but they are not the authority; they are not authorized by the maker and can’t be guaranteed.
The Ultimate Authority and Source of all human authority is therefore the Creator, as well as the principles and laws He has established concerning humanity, which are recorded in the Scriptures. Anything that doesn’t correspond to them or reflect their essence and spirit is not true authority. Opinions that don’t correspond to the Creator’s original design cannot be guaranteed. What people theorize about humanity and creation is not the question. The question is, What did the Manufacturer say about it?
If we want to live in the reality that comes from following the principles governing true authority, we must get in touch with the Source and find out His parameters for our lives. This is how we protect and preserve ourselves as human beings.
A principle is an established law or fundamental rule under which something functions due to its nature and design. The principles we need to apply to our lives are inherent in creation, timeless, and permanent. They were established by the Creator to secure and protect the functions and fulfillment of His creation. Principles are called by various terms in the Scriptures, such as “commandments,” “precepts,” “statutes,” and “the ways of Yah.”
Authority is a principle in itself, but it also functions according to specific precepts that we must understand in order to appreciate and benefit from it.
Shared Authority
Under the copyright laws of the United States, even though an author is the owner of his work and has full authority in relation to it, he also has the power to share the rights of that work with someone else or to transfer those rights entirely, so that the other person becomes a “copyright claimant” in relation to the work. This occurs through a written document by which the author grants permission for the transfer of full or joint ownership of the rights. Rights can also be legally transferred by will or inheritance; if the author dies, the rights are bestowed on a designated relative or friend.
Similarly, the Creator, as the Author of our world, and having ownership of it, delegated some of His authority by entrusting it to human beings. He shared authority in relation to His “copyright” of the earth so that we could exercise that authority both in and over the earth. It was He who designed us with the ability to carry out our individual and collective authorities in the world.
Authority Is Built into Our Very Existence
In what manner did the Creator grant us this shared ownership of the world? He did not give us authority as a form of transaction between business associates. He shared it with us in the way a father would share what is his with his children. We were made to share in the Creator’s inherent authority by being made in His own image, by being made as His “offspring.” In this way, authority has been built into our very existence as human beings:
Then Yah said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So Yah created man in his own image, in the image of Yah he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26–27)
To show human beings the authority He had placed within them and to instruct them in it, “Yah blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground’” (Genesis 1:28).
We were made—literally—for authority. Human beings have been given both a general authority over the earth and a personal authority that is specific to each one of us.
The Creator operates in the universe in conjunction with His authority. We were made to receive authority from Him and, in turn, to operate according to this authority and the principles He has established for the earth.
Our authority is manifested in a number of ways and in various realms of human interaction and endeavor as we are fruitful with our lives, as we fill the earth, and as we rule over it. Our understanding of the Creator’s authority and purpose, and our response to them, are demonstrated by the extent to which we fulfill our authority.
Authority Is Built into All of Creation
It is not only human beings who function through authority but also all of creation. In nature, we can clearly see some of the ways in which the Creator has established authority to be a principle in the earth. For example, when He designed the world, He created it to function under two distinct periods, day and night. Interestingly, Moses described their purposes in terms of authority:
And Yah said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. Yah made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. Yah set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And Yah saw that it was good.(Genesis 1:14–18)
Our life on earth is governed by days of approximately twenty-four hours in length, and by seasons, both which were established at humanity’s origin. We obviously don’t have the ability to change the reality of days and seasons. We have to respect the “authority” of the sun and the moon—the two lights that “oversee” our world. Generally, things slow down at night, not only because people are tired and have a biological need for sleep, but also because night is a less conducive time to work. The world also takes on a different atmosphere after dark. It is quieter and a time for reflection and rest rather than production. Of course, we can work with artificial lights, but no one can keep up round-the-clock activity indefinitely. In addition, fewer people are available to interact with at night because they, also, are governed by the parameters of this daily cycle. So, we are governed by the nature of days.
Seasons also have “authority” over our lives, as well, affecting when and how we do things. Even in locations like the Bahamas where it is warm year- round, seasons govern the times during which we engage in certain activities. For example, although many tourists visit during the fall and winter seasons and swim in the ocean, most Bahamians think they’re a little crazy to do so. They won’t go swimming until it’s good and hot—at least 90 degrees! In regions where the seasons go from one temperature extreme to the other, people alter their behavior to fit the changing weather conditions. We all have certain habits and behaviors and patterns of life according to the seasons, and, in that sense, they exercise authority over our lives.
In another example of authority in nature, Yah created animals and plants in various genuses and species—He made them “according to their kinds” (Genesis 1:11–12; 21, 24–25). Each species is unique and was created to fulfill Yah’s purpose under its own authority of existence.
We Must Consult the Author
If we really want to know the purposes for which Yah created the heavens and the earth, therefore, we have no choice but to consult Him as the Author. The sciences can provide us with some answers regarding how things function and what they consist of, but they can research only what has already been made. When a scientist discovers an aspect of life that has been functioning since creation, we sometimes seem to give him almost as much credit as if he had created it! We may award him a Nobel Prize or other award. While we can value scientists and their findings, we need to think of them with proper perspective. Again, science can simply discover what the Author had already put into creation.
Moreover, discovering something is one thing. Understanding why it was created is something else. I believe that most people haven’t really been “discovered” yet in terms of knowing why and how they were created. Few people understand who they really are because they are not in touch with the Creator. Only an author truly knows his work and why he wrote it. Only an inventor really knows his invention and why he created it.
It is one thing to know that Yah created you in His image and likeness, but there is something beyond the act of creation itself, and that is why He created you and what authority He has given you to accomplish your purpose on earth.
As the Ultimate Authority, the Creator is the Source of the authority within you, within me, and within everyone else in the world. We need to recognize and exercise the authority He has placed inside us and carry out what He has authorized us to be and do.
Purpose Determines Design
In the Physical World
To begin to recognize and exercise the authority within us, let’s explore one of the foundational principles of authority that we noted in teaching one: Everyone and everything is designed to fulfill its purpose. We can also word it in this way: The purpose for which a product is designed determines the design of the product itself. Everything (at least, everything that is well made) is designed so that it will fulfill the purpose for which it was created.
This foundational principle is built into all of creation. Everything was made because there is something that the Creator wanted on earth that required its existence.
For example, in the physical world that He created, Yah needed something that would prevent people and objects on earth from drifting off into space, and so He established gravity, with its associated laws.
Yah knew He would need something to produce light rays that would cause photosynthesis in plants, and so He built this capacity into the sun.
Yah’s purpose was to perpetuate life on earth, and so He provided for the sustenance and perpetuation of life in a number of ways.
Although many flowers are beautiful to look at, and although appreciating beauty is valuable in itself, there is more to flowers than their beauty. Certain insects are genetically designed to respond to certain colors of flowers, and those colors are connected to what the insects need to feed on for survival. When the insects feed from the blossoms, they pick up pollen from the plants and then transfer that pollen to other plants. This causes the plants to create blossoms and fruit, which produce new plants so that life can be carried on through subsequent generations. Yah was therefore not only thinking about the beauty of the plants but also of the new plants that would come later as a result of them. He has created everything for a purpose, and He has given everything its own authority to carry out that purpose.
Yah created the human body with various purposes in mind, and so He designed it to function according to certain processes. For example, He knew the body would need a method of taking in oxygen while breathing out carbon dioxide, so He first designed plants with the capacity to take in carbon dioxide while emitting oxygen. Then, He created the human body to produce carbon dioxide, which the plants need, so the plants could produce oxygen, which the body needs. He also designed human lungs to act as an exchange mechanism for this process. He made everything because there was something that would require its existence.
Every aspect of the human body was designed with a specific assignment so that it could function in a healthy way. The entire world was created to function in such a manner that everything had what it needed to sustain life. And the Creator has been keeping the world going ever since.
For by [Yah] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.(Colossians 1:16–17, emphasis added)
In the “World” of Human Relationships and Vocation
Yah planned not only the interactions and interrelationships of the physical world according to His purposes, but also human relationships and human vocation according to His purposes. By vocation, I do not mean just people’s “jobs.” I am referring to the concept of vocation as “the special function of an individual or group” or “a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action.” There is something that Yah desires to accomplish that made your existence necessary and valuable. If you’re ever tempted to feel that you’re not important, remember that your purpose is what caused you to be born. Yah has an assignment in mind that made you essential.
I believe that every single person on the planet—now approaching seven billion of us, young and old—was created because there was something Yah wanted done that required that person’s existence. Your birth is evidence that Yah wanted to accomplish something that He had to create you to do.
Everyone was created to have dominion over an area or a specific “territory” of life that only he can “govern.” When you find the area or territory that you’re supposed to oversee, you will find the secret to your fulfillment in life and to your particular contribution to the human race. This territorial assignment is your authority.
A Greek word for “authority” in the Scriptures is exousia, and one meaning of this word is “delegated influence.”
Therefore, your authority determines your influence in the world.
This means that whatever you were created to do is your territory, or area of authority. Your unique gifts and qualities are the special tools that allow you to function in your authority.
The Source Supports and Is Responsible for Its Product
Authority Is from the Author and for the Author
Authority is therefore an inherent purpose of human beings. Moreover, along with authority, we have been given the ability to fulfill the intent of our Author, or Source. Thus, authority is both from the Author and for the Author. Authority is fulfilled successfully when the Author is pleased. When you manifest your authority, that is your measure of success.
The Creator supports His delegated authority. He is responsible for making sure that the authority He gave you is successful. One who has true authority will never abandon those to whom he delegates authority. He will enable them to fulfill it. “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me” (Psalm 138:8).
A Matter of Reputation
One of the reasons the Creator supports the authority He has given us is that His reputation is on the line. For example, in the commercial world, the products you buy are supported by the manufacturers because their names are on them, and they want to protect their reputations in the minds of consumers. A company wants its products to succeed and to sell well. Its name and its image are synonymous in the customers’ minds, and therefore, if a product is faulty, the company’s name can be tarnished—sometimes to the point of causing the business to fail.
When the Toyota company had technical problems with its popular energy-conserving car, the Prius, as well as other models, their previously excellent name in the automobile business was weakened. In addressing the situation and trying to regain consumers’ trust, one of the things they did was to run television advertisements saying that they were working hard to correct the problems. To further protect the brand name of Toyota, the company sent the president of the company, who is the grandson of the founder, to meet with the Congress of the United States to discuss the issues directly and to explain the steps the company was taking to resolve the problems and to manage quality control. All of this was done to protect the name of the company and to regain its authority in the marketplace.
When the international banking industry took a tailspin through, among other things, poor lending practices, causing banks to fail and prompting governments to offer grants and loans to help banks weather the crisis, some banks displayed signs on their buildings stating that they were “Bail-out Free.” They wanted their customers to know that they had not engaged in risky banking policies, were in sound financial shape, and had not needed to accept governmental funds. The signs were one attempt to protect their names in the minds of their customers.
Similarly, whenever there are issues with the quality of certain foods or with an outbreak of food poisoning, some grocery stores and restaurants post signs that indicate that their products were not affected by whatever was causing the problem. They want people to know they still have quality goods for sale, so that their own reputations won’t be affected by the problems of other companies.
These examples are a reflection of the fact that a responsible source or manufacturer of a product desires to guarantee the quality of the product so that it is safe and functions according to design.
The Creator backs up the authority He has given us as we operate according to the principles He has established for humanity. He tells us, “I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled” (Jeremiah 1:12), and “The Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake” (1 Samuel 12:22 kjv).
The Authority Dilemma
As it was established by the Creator, authority is inherently good. It allows us to fulfill our collective and individual purposes as human beings. Yet, historically, we have seen how authority has been abused by those who were supposed to be its custodians, as well as by those who usurped authority for their own purposes and selfish goals. Again, false authority has hurt some people so badly that they reject the very concept of authority.
In our contemporary world, because of our negative experiences with “authority figures,” we face the issue of needing to be friendly with authority to get along in life but never quite trusting it. We don’t want to accept any vestiges of absolute authority. Nevertheless, we find ourselves in a dilemma: as human beings, we were created to operate under legitimate authority and its principles, and our lives can’t function properly without them; yet, at the same time, we’re afraid of authority.
Recapturing the Original Purpose for Authority
In the face of this dilemma, how do we recover genuine authority in our lives? The Creator says, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Therefore, let us move forward to discover how to recapture the true nature of authority for ourselves and our world.
IN the beginning Elohiym created את the heavens and את the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Ruach Elohiym moved upon the face of the waters. And Elohiym said, Let there be light: and there was light. And Elohiym saw the light, that it was good: and Elohiym divided the light from the darkness. And Elohiym called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And Elohiym said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And Elohiym made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse: and it was so. And Elohiym called the expanse Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And Elohiym said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And Elohiym called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. And Elohiym said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for appointed feasts, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And Elohiym made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And Elohiym set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And Elohiym said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open expanse of heaven. And Elohiym created great dragons, and את every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and את every winged fowl after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And Elohiym said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And Elohiym made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and את everything that creeps upon the earth after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So Elohiym created man in his own image, in the image of Elohiym created he him; male and female created he them. And Elohiym blessed them, and Elohiym said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. And Elohiym said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and את every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given את every green herb for food: and it was so. And Elohiym saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 1:1-31 את CEPHER
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