Man should not do anything out of a knowledge of right and wrong. Rather, he should do all things out of obedience. The principle of discerning good and evil is the principle of living by right and wrong. Before Adam and Eve took the fruit, their right and wrong were in God. If they did not live before God, they knew nothing; both their right and wrong were just God Himself. But after man received of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he found a source of discerning between right and wrong apart from God. As a consequence, after man’s fall, there was no need for him to seek after God. He could get along by himself. He could isolate himself from God and judge between right and wrong. This is the fall. The work of redemption enables us to turn back to God for our right and wrong.
All authority is from God because everything is ordered by God. If we trace any authority upward, we eventually will come to God. God is above all authorities, and every authority is under Him. Once we touch God’s authority, we touch God Himself. Basically, God’s work is not carried out by power, but by authority. He upholds everything by the word, which is of His authority. Creation came about through the word of His authority. His word is His authority. We do not know how God’s authority works. But we know that God accomplishes everything through His authority.
The centurion whose servant was sick knew that there was an authority above him to which he should submit, inasmuch as there were those under him who submitted to him. Therefore, he only needed the Lord to say one word, and he believed that the matter would then be taken care of. He knew that all authority was in the Lord’s hand; he believed in the Lord’s authority. This is why the Lord said that He had found no faith greater than this. Meeting God’s authority is the same as meeting God. Today God appoints authorities everywhere in the universe. All the orbits in the universe are established by Him; all the ways in the world are set up by Him. Hence, they are all under His authority. Offending God’s authority is the same as offending God Himself. A Christian should submit to authority.
Our position is to be under others’ authority on the one hand, while having others under our authority on the other hand. Other than God Himself, everyone, including the Lord Jesus, has to submit to authority on earth. We should see authority everywhere. Both at home and in school there are authorities. When you see a policeman on the street, even though you may know that he is incapable and that his learning is not as high as yours, you have to consider him as God’s appointed authority. When a few brothers are together, they should know how to line themselves up immediately. Everyone should know where he stands. A worker should know who is his authority. Some never realize who their authority is. They have never submitted to anyone. With us there should never be right or wrong, good or evil. Wherever we go, we should first know who is the authority. If you know who you have to submit to, you will spontaneously know what position you should occupy in the Body, and you will stand in your proper position. But there are many Christians today in whom there is not even a thought about submission. For them everything is confused; with them there is no such thing as keeping one’s position. Submission is the first lesson for those who work. It is actually the major part of their work.
When Adam fell, the order in the universe was destroyed. We should never try to differentiate between good and evil. Rather, we should submit to authority. Man is prone to judge good and evil by himself. He feels that this is good and that is not good. It seems as if man’s judgment is clearer than God’s. This, however, is a condition of foolishness and the fall. This must be removed from us, for this is nothing but rebellion.
The scant submission that we see now is not enough. Some think that it is enough to be baptized and forsake the denominations. But this is not enough. There are many young students who think that God is chastising them by requiring them to submit to their teachers. There are many wives who think that God is chastising them by requiring them to submit to a husband who is impossible to live under. There are many Christians who are still living in rebellion. They have not learned even the basic step in submission.
Submission in the Bible is submission to God’s appointed authority. How shallow is the submission which has been preached hitherto! Submission is the basic principle. If the matter of authority is not solved, nothing can be done well. Faith is the principle by which we receive life, while submission is the principle by which we conduct our living. All of the divisions and denominations of the church today come from rebellion. In order to restore authority, submission must be restored first. Many are accustomed to acting as the head; they have never known submission. But we must learn submission. It must become our reaction.
God has not hidden one thing from us concerning authority. In the church, whether directly or indirectly, God has shown us how to submit to authority. Many only know about submission to God; they do not know about submission to authorities. Because all authorities are from God, everyone has to submit to authority. All of man’s problems are due to living outside the realm of God’s authority.
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