Greetings,
As
the author of the book Wounded by
Leadership I believe that I am uniquely qualified to speak to the issues of
authority and right submission. No one wants to submit to injurious leadership
and authority. Moreover, it is not easy to submit to new leadership after
painful past experiences. Right submission to leadership is a difficult thing
because it appears to leave us in a compromised situation, where we are
subjected to the consequences of other's inadequacies. For some, the sheer
volume of their bad experiences has led to the question, "What is the
point? Why should I bother submitting to leadership when it feels so much
easier to grow in Christ alone?"
I
have been down this same road—several times. From one situation to the next I have felt like
spiritual leadership and authority figures have oppressed me, slowed me down,
gotten in my way, and limited the work that God wanted to do through me. I have
felt unacknowledged, unappreciated, and I have repeatedly felt like a threat.
Why should you or I bother with submission if this is what it seems to yield?
Furthermore, what does this have to do with spiritual warfare?
Right
submission has quite a bit to do with spiritual warfare. One of the basic
things that we learn about the spirit realm is that everything operates
according to authority. It follows that there is no authority apart from being
under authority. There are also various levels of authority.
As
members of God's universal church we are grafted into His kingdom which is a
spiritual government. As we "grow up spiritually" we are entrusted with
greater and ever increasing authority in His name. Ever increasing spiritual
authority does not come just because we want it. It comes the hard way. It
comes as we walk in obedience to all that Jesus commands of us. This means that
while we must always be sure to submit to Jesus first and foremost, we must prove our ability to submit to Him by submitting to those that
He places over us. If we cannot submit to spiritual shepherds in the
natural, what makes us think we can truly submit to all that Jesus is asking of
us (since He is known to ask far more than any man)?
Jesus
modeled submission to human authorities when He was baptized by John the
Baptist. Jesus did not begin His own ministry until he had gotten baptized
under the ministry of "one who was not worthy to loose the shoes of His
feet" (Acts 13:25). The Bible is clear that Jesus did this to fulfill
"all righteousness." Righteousness means right standing with God. In
order for Jesus' ministry to have right standing with God, He had to first
submit to human spiritual authority. However, the model that Jesus provides for
us doesn't stop at this act.
One
of the greatest lessons in faith comes from a man who wasn't even Jewish. He
was a Roman centurion. When Jesus was on His way to Capernaum, the centurion
approached Jesus and begged Him to heal His son. This kind of activity was a
daily thing for Jesus. At this request, Jesus simply responded by saying that
He would go to the child. Imagine how excited you would be if Jesus offered to
personally come and heal your sick and suffering child! However, the centurion
made history with his response.
"But
the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come
under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured. For I
also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to
one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do
this, and he does it. When Jesus heard him, He marveled and said to those who
followed Him [who adhered steadfastly to Him, conforming to His example in
living and, if need be, in dying also], I tell you truly, I have not found so
much faith as this with anyone, even in Israel." (Matthew 8:8-10 AMP)
The
centurion told Jesus that He shouldn't come to his house "because he
wasn't worthy". He probably said this because he understood Jewish
tradition—that
it was not considered lawful for Jews to be entertained by "unclean"
gentiles (Acts 10:28). Although Jesus offered, the centurion provided an
alternative option. He asked Jesus to simply speak the word so that his child
would be healed. Then he provided his logic on the issue. He explained that he too
was a man under authority. Therefore the things that he commanded were also
performed.
The
centurion's explanation can seem slightly awkward at first. What do soldiers
and slaves have to do with Jesus healing the sick? The answer is that both
involve principles of authority. One aspect of authority means that what we
command must come to pass. In order to have authority, we must also be under
authority. In order for soldiers to obey the centurion, the centurion had to be submitted to his
government and ranking officers. Since the centurion was under authority, the
soldiers under him obeyed his commands. If he were to defect from the Roman
government, he would lose all authority to make commands.
Likewise,
in order for Jesus to perform miracles, raise the dead and heal the sick, He
had to be submitted to His Father in heaven. The centurion recognized this. His
logic was that since Jesus was under authority (just like him), he could have
confidence that the sickness would obey the words of Jesus.
Based
on this understanding, Jesus was shocked! He was moved to say that he had not
seen such great faith in all of Israel. Why would He relate this to faith? The
spiritual principles relating to authority were just as real to the centurion
as the natural principles relating to authority. This revealed that the
centurion not only was able to understand spiritual principles, it also meant
that he truly believed that Jesus was the Son of God. If he hadn't, he would
not have said that Jesus was a man under authority.
The
concluding point is this. Jesus is God, yet he was still under authority during
His earthly ministry. If He had to be under authority in order to have
authority, how much more is this true of us? Even when we feel like our
authority figures are doing us more harm than good, God is growing us and
promoting us as we remain faithful. If we refuse to submit to human authority,
God will never trust us with ever increasing spiritual authority. This is why
right submission is important. If you are not submitted, it is my prayer that
this will motivate you to get submitted. If you are reading this and have
realized that right submission in your situation is impossible, it is time to
pray for God to show you where to go so that right submission is made possible.
God wants to trust you with increasing spiritual authority. The question is,
will you respond in obedience?
