TEN PRIMARY PURPOSES OF AUTHORITY

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.............................

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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






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.