The Father's Generous Authority

So it's been a while since I posted on this thing, and that's simply because I haven't felt like it. That's the beauty of this blog. It's more for me than it is for anyone else, and I am not at all trying to gain a following, so I can feel the liberty to neglect it for a while. But I will throw this up here, it's a paper I wrote for a theology class I recently took. ...


Any parent understands that children do not always submit to authority, that there is something in them that wants to buck the natural authoritarian structure of the parent-child relationship. Police officers assuredly are reminded constantly that their position of delegating the government's authority over the general populace brings with it a palpable disapproval from those they are called to protect and serve. Generally, civilians are not too fond of the government that polices them. This pattern continues down the line; employees often resent their bosses, athletes frequently regale against their coaches, and dogs sometimes even bite their owners. We who view the world through biblical lenses should be none too surprised; our first parents in the Garden started this trend when they disobediently ate of the forbidden fruit, in the act voicing their desire to crawl out from underneath the inherent authority of their God. From this initial rebellion spring all others, and unsurprisingly our sinful tendency is to eradicate all authority and for each of us to be our own self-determined and self-serving gods. Unfortunately evangelicalism has not been free from this trend, and seemingly now more than ever there is a push to do away with even biblical expressions of authority and submission. Maybe most notable is the effort to eliminate authority and submission within the marriage union of man and wife. Of course a key factor in this outcome is the curse of the fall itself, that woman's desire would be to rule over her husband (Gen. 3:16). Surely, this is also partly due to the male gender's overall sinful abuse of his inherent authority in the context of gender relationships. It is for this reason that we look to God Himself as our example in authority and submission. Specifically, in this discussion we will look to the Father's authority over the Son, and how the practice of this authority is not only anything but detrimental to the Son, but it is through this very authority and the Son's submission to the Father that Christ is made the center of worship, praise and honor to the glory of the Father. After this we will expand on how the lesson of the Father's beneficial, just, and Christ-exalting rule might be applied to earthly expressions of authority, namely in the church and home.

The Authority of the Father

Our first priority is to establish that the Father does indeed exercise authority over the Son. It is perhaps no clearer in any book of Scripture than it is in the Gospel of John that the Son submits to the Father's authority. Even a cursory reading of the book brings this truth to mind, but only one verse need be highlighted to clearly see that Jesus marches to the orders of the Father. After Jesus' discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well, the disciples plead with him to eat, seeing that he needs food. Jesus takes the opportunity to teach a lesson; the lesson that spiritual needs and realities supersede those of the physical realm. In John 4:34 Jesus states "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." Several important truths may be gleaned from this quotation.

First, we see that Jesus was sent by the Father, to whom the pronouns clearly refer. For Jesus to be sent by the Father clearly denotes an authority structure present in the relationship in the Father and the Son. There is a sender doing the sending and one who is being sent; there is an agent from whom the command to send originates and an agent obediently carrying out the command. It is important to note that the Son does not see His incarnation as in independent act, but rather as an act that had an origination outside of Himself, namely with the Father. The Son did not independently choose to come, but rather was sent by- on behalf of or at the request of- the Father. It is also interesting to note that this decision by the Father to send the Son must have been made before the actual incarnation itself, which implies that there is an authority and submission relationship between the Father and the Son outside of the incarnation, i.e. it implies the Son's eternal submission to the Father's authority. This is implication becomes more forceful when Eph. 1:3-6 is taken into account, which states that those in Christ were chosen ''before the foundation of the world'', meaning that this plan of the Father's that was carried out by the Son to come into the world and save sinners was formulated before the created order came into existence. The sending of the Son was planned eternally, which would seem to imply that the Father eternally exercises authority over the Son, though to belabor this point would lie outside of our scope. Suffice it to say that the Father exercises authority over the Son in the incarnation.

Second, the Son not only was obedient to the Father in being sent into the world, but we learn from John 4:34 that it was the very subsistence of the Son to do the will of the Father. By Jesus' own admission he lives to carry out the desire and decree of the Father. Of course this means that Jesus has a will that is wholly his own, and that the Father has His own will as well. This does not imply discord between the two, for we clearly see that Jesus does all that the Father commands, this only means that each has a will independent of the other, though they are always in accord as it is always Jesus' greatest desire to do his Father's will. This is evidenced not only by Jesus' sinless life but also by his own perfect admission in John 5:30; "I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me." So each person of the Godhead has a will perfectly in accord with one another, and this opens the door for the possibility that one person of the Trinity may follow a command of another, which is exactly what we see in the life of the God-Man Jesus. For him, it is more important than food or drink that he do what the Father tells him to do, says what he is told to say, and walks where he is told to walk. Verses such as John 8:28, 10:19, and 12:49 all clearly state that Jesus willingly and necessarily lives all of his life under the authority of the Father.

Third, in John 4:34 Jesus states that it is his food to do the will of the Father and to accomplish his work. There are only two logical understandings of this phrase. One possibility is that everything Jesus did, so did the Father and by logical extension so did the Holy Spirit. This however is Modalism, a heresy rejected at the Council of Nicea that states the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are simply three different expressions of the same God, denying any ontological distinction between the three members of the Trinity. It follows then that for Jesus to accomplish the Father's work means that the Father has ownership of the work in that it originated from Him. All that Christ did in his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension was done at the request of the Father, and because it was by the Father's plan and decree that all these things take place it can rightly be said that Jesus accomplished his Father's work. All that Jesus faithfully accomplished and experienced, his joys and his great suffering, was ordained by the Architect who exercised perfect authority over the Son.

Of course this is only an examination of one verse in John, and already it is clear that Jesus lived in submission to the will of the Father. A brief survey of other key texts such as 1 Cor. 11:3, 15:28, John 6:38, 14:28, Phil. 2:5-8, or Heb. 1:1-3 and the evidence overwhelmingly states that the Son lived in submission to the Father at the very least in the incarnation, and there is very good reason to believe that the Father eternally exercises authority over the Son. There is perhaps no moment more indicative of this relationship than Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane ''not my will, but yours, be done'' (Lk. 22:42). And from Isaiah 53:10 we know that it was the desire of the LORD to crush him; so it was in perfect obedience to the Father's good and holy will that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world.

Authority of the Father to the Benefit of the Son

Surely the Father's authority over the Son, because of the atoning work of Christ, is invaluably beneficial to us as fallen humans. But maybe even more shocking to our commonly anti-authoritarian sensibilities is that the Father's authority brings much benefit to the perfectly submissive Son. Though he went through inestimable pain and suffering in his life and death, in his resurrection and ascension Jesus the God-Man has been exalted to a lofty state and become the center of worship, adoration, and honor for the New Covenant people of God. Throughout the Old Testament only shades of the multiple persons of the Godhead are seen; primarily God is revealed as one and there is relatively little (though substantial) evidence of the Trinity. However, the New Testament focus is clearly on Jesus, the incarnate Word, the second person of the Trinity, and it is upon his teaching and work that the Christian faith is based. The focus of the covenant people of YHWH largely moves from God the Father to the Son who glorifies the Father. Paul himself takes it as a matter of first importance, in all of God's revelation, that Christ died for sins (1 Cor. 15:3). It is Christ who is the cornerstone of the church (Eph. 2:20), and he is the one placed as head over all things (Eph. 1:22). Because of his submission to God's plan of incarnation, death, and resurrection, the Son is permanently exalted and glorified as the Savior of the world.

There are numerous passages in the New Testament that speak of the exaltation of Christ, (such as Phil. 2:9-11, Rev. 19:16, Col. 1:15-20, or Heb. 1) and one of the most dramatic is Revelation 5. This passage is also important in that it is indicative of an eternal state of affairs regarding the lifting up of Christ. In John's vision, God is seated on a throne in heaven with four living creatures and twenty-four elders around the throne, all falling down before God and worshiping Him. John then sees that a scroll is in the hand of Him seated on the throne, and no one (in fallen man or sinless heavenly being) is found worthy to open the scroll, save for one. Revelation 5:5 says that the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, is worthy to open the scroll because he has conquered. The question that may be asked is ''How and what did Jesus, the Lion of Judah, conquer that would make him so worthy?'' Verse 6 gives us our answer in which John looks to view this conquering Lion, and sees the Lamb who was slain. In Jesus' obedience to the authority of the Father he was crucified by sinful man, and in his resurrection conquered sin and death. The Christ's worthiness is expressed in his submission to the Father to the point of death, and because of this submission he is then lifted as conqueror. The rest of Revelation 5 is a scene of worship, as John then sees the Lamb take the scroll from God on the throne, after which amazingly the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders all fall before the Lamb and worship the Lamb the same way in which they honored the Father. Singing a new song, the beings heap on the Lamb all of the praises that were given to God on the throne, and do so because the Lamb was slain. "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" (Rev. 5:13). The Father does not use His authority over the Son to demean, but to ensure that the Son is lifted up to His own lofty and exalted state. Shockingly it is at the name of Jesus that every knee in all of creation will bow (Phil. 2:10).

Practical Considerations

So Scripture portrays that the exercise of proper and just authority benefits and is gain for the one who submits to that authority. Biblical authority serves and lifts up its subjects. This of course is not only seen in the relationship between Father and Son, but also in the leadership of Jesus with his disciples and over the church at large (Eph. 5:23). John 13 gives us the incredible picture of the Messiah washing his disciples feet. While fully acknowledging that he is their Lord (v.13), he uses that as a platform not to oppress but rather to show that the nature of true authority and leadership is service, leaving them with the charge that they are in the same way to serve one another. Because of this any person in authority and leadership is obligated to ask how it is they may serve or benefit those under their care.

For the elder or ministry leader, the opportunities for abuse of authority are endless. We have all seen tragic examples of men who have used their position of influence to garner more praise, honor, and power for themselves. This should not be so. If we who are in authority are to follow the example of the Father, then the same opportunities that others use to oppress we must use to lift up. We do not petition our congregations to serve in Christian ministry so that we might increase our numbers, grow our funds, enlarge our building, or broaden our power and influence. Rather, we plead with our members to serve the LORD that they too may have a hand in Kingdom work, that they may know the joy of seeing firsthand Christ bring redemption into this fallen world, and that they too may one day meet their God and hear Him say 'well done, good and faithful servant.' And we rejoice and encourage and give praise and honor when we see those under our authority responding to the Lord's call on their lives in faithful service and obedience. Also, when we preach and teach we do not do so to belittle and demean, to remind our pew-sitters of how small and insignificant they are in light of our own glorious stature. Rather, we seek to bring them face to face with the only worthy and righteous One, to bring them face to face with the living God who is deserving of all glory, honor, and praise. We preach and teach in order to, by God's grace, lift up our hearers into the very presence of God through His word. In all that we do as servant leaders, we seek first to please God and glorify Him, and then we pour out ourselves for the betterment of those in our care. This is the nature of biblical authority, and it is surely gain to submit to such authority.

This pattern of course extends into the home, where men are clearly called to play a leadership role (Eph. 5:23, 1 Pet. 3:1). As was stated earlier, this idea is not popular today, partially because of the curses of the fall, and partially because of the numerous and harmful instances of men abusing their power. It is reasonable to postulate that if husbands by and large exercised the kind of leadership that God exercises over the Son, then our culture might not have such a distinct aversion to the concept of male headship. Not that husbands send their wives out to suffer and die; there is only one Savior of the world. But husbands should do all they can to ensure that their wives are at least as recognized as they are, and to be safe should probably insist on passing off all esteem to their better half. The Godly husband should see to it that children honor, respect, and submit to the authority of the wife. We do not cling tightly to authority, seeking to undermine the leadership of the wife in the home in an effort to keep the power for ourselves. More important than the recognition of humans is the praise of the Father. As the authority and leader in the home, men are called to present the wives to God just as Christ will present the church to himself as his spotless bride (Eph. 5:27). In his relationship with his wife, the chief priority of man is not to rule over her callously but rather in all things to ensure her sanctification and benefit. He must encourage her, challenge her, rejoice in her, praise her, pray over her, and rebuke her when necessary, all so that through the washing of the Word she may grow in Christ and be presented to God in splendor. And in all this, it is benefit to the wife that she submit to the authority of her godly husband. The husband is called to exercise this authority by dying to himself in this process, making sure that in his mind her needs supersede his own, and in humility considering the other more significant than self (Phil. 2:3). We lead in the home by loving the wife.

Our fallen world has a twisted perception (and expression) of authority that equates to callous, self-serving, harsh, and crushing rule. God's Word and His own functions flip this notion on its head completely, teaching us throughout that true and just authority seeks the benefit and exaltation of those under its care, seeking to bring all in line with the greatest good- the glory of God. Just as God is the head of Christ, and Christ is the head of man, and man is the head of woman (1 Cor. 11:3), so God has exalted Christ and seated him at His right hand, and so Christ has saved the church that she may be presented as a spotless bride, and so must man seek to exercise his authority over his wife in a loving and sacrificial manner. This paradigm of just leadership extends to all expressions of authority. Whether it be in the contexts of husbands and wives, parents and children, or masters and slaves, may we all seek to exercise authority like our Father, seeking the good of the other and the glory of God.