The English words authority and author come from the same Latin root, auctor – an originator. Strange how far we’ve come from older ideas, where the concept of authority was connected with authoring, creating, and making. Today, authorities are guilty until proven innocent of being destroyers.
English etymology aside, Scripture, in its first chapter, makes the case for authority being creative. There the God who brought order from chaos delegates a similar sub-creational role to Adam and Eve, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen. 1:28) The Author calls on His image-bearers to author with Him. He authorizes them to exercise dominion over creation, subjugating it. Adam and Eve are to expand the Garden to encompass the Earth. They need authority to do so, and have just received that delegated authority from God Himself. As Paul would say, “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (Rom. 13:1)
Authority, then, is a gift from God. Order is superior to disorder, and God, the self-existent Authority delegates authority to man. Rightly used, it spreads the glory of God with loving subjugation. From the smallest acts of a humble vocation, to the stately acts of princes and presidents, humans shaping creation are authorities. Further, humans will not only order fields and streams, they are to order human life – which means exercising authority over one another. By creating Adam and Eve separately rather than simultaneously, God was symbolizing an authority structure for the home. So far, nothing is fallen or cursed in any of these concepts.
The problem began in Genesis 3. There Adam and Eve sought a new kind of authority. They were pleased to be King and Queen over the Earth, but Satan suggested they be independent kings and queens, rulers in their own right, determining what was good and evil for themselves. The act of eating the fruit, as mundane and simple as it was, represented a high-handed break from God’s authority, a full-fledged declaration of independence from God, a revolt against the Author.
Every abuse of authority begins there. Every tyrannical king or president, every abusive husband, every cruel parent, every manipulative manager, every bullying pastor – and indeed, every act of rebellion to God-given authority – is a ripple from the Tree. God’s authority causes humans to flourish. All forms of its distortion, in small or great ways, bring some kind of death.
Authority is good, and it is permanent. Authority is no necessary evil, nor is it a temporary arrangement. God will always rule, and He will always mediate that rule. The imperfections and evils of authority will pass away with sin, sorrow, and death, but authority will endure forever.
About David de Bruyn
David de Bruyn pastors New Covenant Baptist Church in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a graduate of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minnesota and the University of South Africa (D.Th.). Since 1999, he has presented a weekly radio program that is heard throughout much of central South Africa. He also blogs at Churches Without Chests.
