BiblicalInsights.net

The rightful idea of authority has fallen on hard times in the 21st Century.  Illegitimate forms of authority range from the abusive exercise of totalitarianism to individual authority emerging from the postmodern mindset of selfishness (self-rule).
Who’s in charge here?  This is a legitimate question.  Original authority and ultimate authority reside in God and God alone.  God did not inherit His authority, there was no one to bequeath it to Him.  God did not receive His authority, there was no one to give it to Him.  God did not obtain His authority by election, there was no one to vote for Him.  God did not get His authority by seizure, there was no one to seize it from.  God inherently possesses authority because He is the great I AM (Exodus 3:14, John 8:58).
The Sovereignty of God Expressed in Scripture
“In whom  also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”  Eph. 1:11.  God works all things after the counsel of His own will.
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Rom. 11:33-36).  “Of Him” indicates source.  “Through Him” indicates agency.  “To Him” indicates the goal or aim.  God originates all things.  He is the active agency by which they exist.  He is the ultimate goal or aim because His works glorify Him.  God’s sovereignty originates in Him because He is all-knowing and all-powerful.  Human beings are created in the image of God.  They do not tell God what to do.  God tells them what to do!
“Nay but, O man, who art thou that replies against God?  Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?” (Rom. 9:20).  Human beings are subject to God by virtue of the fact that He created them.  God not only creates us, but He owns us.
“The earth is the LORD’S and. the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.”  Ps. 24:1. In the end (the end of the world) God will consume it all.
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night: in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (II Pet. 3:10-12).  To God be the glory!
“To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, and dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”  (Jude 25).
Characteristics of God’s Authority
God’s authority is original authority.  It cannot be delegated or derived authority.  This means that all “authority” that men exercise is delegated or derived authority.  The powers that be in government have delegated authority from God (Rom. 13:1).  The powers that be are ordained by God.  They would have no power except that God ordained that they possess it.  Jesus told Pilate, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin” (John 19:11).  God possesses creative power and redemptive power.  Both types of power are unique to God.  Both types of power are expressed through His word (see Ps. 33:8,9 and Rom. 1:16 and James 1:21).  Consequently, the written word of God, or Scripture, is the highest authority and the final authority because it is the word of the living God (I Thess. 2:13).
God’s authority is unalterable.  It does not change with times, cultures, nations, or ethnic backgrounds.  All men are amenable to the law of God.  Sin by definition is a transgression of the law of God (I John 3:4).   All people sin (Rom. 3:23).  Therefore, all must submit to God’s authority expressed in His holy Word in order to escape the wrath of God.
God’s authority is exclusive authority.  His authority is not one among many forms of authority from which we have the luxury to choose.  Exclusive means “one and only.”
God’s authority is permanent authority.  It cannot be challenged or rightfully overthrown.  It is eternal because He is eternal and His word is eternal.
God’s authority is ultimate authority.  It is not relativistic.  It is superior to all other types of authority.
God’s authority is obligatory authority.  God does not merely suggest, He commands.  He binds and He looses.  He has the authority to hold us accountable to what He has commanded.  This is the reason that we sin when we disobey Him or leave undone what He commands.  God will judge us by His Word (John 12:48).
God’s authority is consequential authority.  It is not benign in its outcomes.  The eternal destinies of human beings will be decided by belief and obedience to God’s laws or unbelief and disobedience to God’s laws.
Human beings can reject God’s authority, but they do so at their own spiritual peril.  Who’s in charge here?  Who’s in charge of your life?  God’s sovereignty is the antidote to man’s autonomy (self-rule).  The God who created the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that in them is; the God who is the Great I Am; the God who saves to the uttermost; He is in control.  In order to be saved, we must confess that Jesus is Lord and acknowledge His authority over us.  Rom. 10:9-10.  In order to remain saved, we must do all in the name of the Lord (Col. 3:17).  (for reference see:  Terry Mortenson, Coming to Grips With Genesis, pp. 116-118).