Today we will consider the kind of persons God uses to be His deputy authorities. In order to be God’s deputy authority, a person must fulfill three fundamental requirements (in addition to knowing God’s authority and submitting to His authority).
A deputy authority must remember that all authorities come from God. God is the One who has established all authorities. If there is any authority in a man at all, that authority comes from God. There is no inherent authority in a person, and no one can appoint himself to be an authority. Our personal opinions cannot become others’ law, and our own ideas, views, and proposals do not deserve others’ esteem; they are no better than those who are under us. We have to remember that all authority comes from God. In fact, the only authority that is authority at all is the authority that comes from God, and only such authority can claim submission from others. We can only ask the brothers and sisters to submit to the authority in us which comes from God. A deputy authority can only be a deputy to God’s authority. He cannot presume that he has any authority in himself just because he has become a deputy authority. This is a basic problem with us today. All deputy authorities must remember that they are merely God’s representative authorities; they have no authority in themselves.
No matter whether we are in the world, in the church, or in God’s work, we must always remember that we have absolutely no authority in ourselves. None of us have any authority in ourselves. We must remember that no one in the whole universe has authority except God. The authorities that we see today are but men executing God’s authority; there are no self-made authorities. Policemen merely carry out the law. Likewise, judges merely execute the law. They can only execute the law; they cannot legislate the laws. All the officers and authorities in this world are established by God and are there only to execute the law. They execute the law on behalf of God’s authority. They cannot institute any law by themselves. All authorities in the church today are likewise deputies of God’s authority. The reason we have authority is simply because we are representing God’s authority. There is no intrinsic element in ourselves that sets us apart from others or that gives us the right to be an authority.
A person becomes an authority because of his knowledge of God’s will, God’s mind, and God’s thoughts. One does not become an authority based on his own ideas or opinions, but through an apprehension of God’s will and desire. One cannot expect others to submit to his own will or opinion. The extent one represents authority depends on the extent of one’s knowledge of God’s will and thoughts. God appoints a person to be a deputy authority because such a person knows His will and His thoughts more than others, not because he has more suggestions, better ideas, or higher thoughts. Actually, this is the kind of people we are most afraid of in the church. They think that they have better ideas and opinions, and they assume to be the authority and impose themselves upon others.
Many young co-workers and saints have not learned the lessons; they do not know God’s will or thoughts. This is why God has placed them under you. As the authority to them, you have the responsibility to tell them God’s will and thoughts. Please remember that you have nothing in yourself that can claim submission from others. It is only when you become acquainted with God’s will that you can ask others to submit to the authority in you. Every time that you have to deal with someone, you must have the assurance from God that you understand His will and that you know what God wants to do in that instance. Once you become clear about the Lord’s way of dealing with the situation, you can act as the authority. Only then can you serve others with your authority. Without this you do not possess any authority to which others should submit.
No one who does not learn to submit to God’s authority or who is ignorant of His will can become God’s deputy authority. Suppose a man represents a company to negotiate business with others. He cannot make an offer according to his own ideas. He cannot make a promise based on his own likes, and he cannot make his own decision to sign a contract. He must first find out his manager’s plan and know what his manager wants him to say and under what circumstances and conditions he can sign the contract. In the same way, if a man wants to be God’s deputy authority, he must first understand God’s will and His way. Only then can he execute God’s authority. To be a representative authority, one must first be acquainted with the person whom he represents. He cannot have his own ideas, thoughts, or words. God’s deputy authority must first know God’s will. He cannot pass on an order to the brothers and sisters that God has not issued. Suppose you tell someone to do something, and suppose he has the chance to go to the Lord together with you to inquire of the matter. If God does not acknowledge what you have said to the brothers, you will be left representing only yourself, not God. This is why you have to understand God’s will and execute it on God’s behalf. If you do this, God will acknowledge what you do. You can have authority only when God acknowledges your decision. Anything that issues from yourself bears no authority whatsoever.
In spiritual matters, we have to learn to always climb higher and strike deeper. We must always seek for a deeper and richer knowledge of God’s ways and will. We need much revelation and learning. We need to learn many things and acquire all kinds of experiences. We have to see what others have not seen and touch what others have not touched. What we do must be based on what we have learned before the Lord, and what we say must be based on what we have perceived and experienced before the Lord. If we have sufficient experience before the Lord, and if we have sufficiently learned His ways, we will have the boldness to declare that this is what we know from God, that this is what we have learned of Him, and that this is what we have experienced in Him. When we do this, we will have authority. Without God, there is no authority. Those who have not seen anything before God have no authority before men. All authorities are based on our knowledge and learning before God. Some older ones may think that they can impose their ideas upon the younger ones. Some brothers may think that they can impose themselves upon the sisters, and some quick ones may think that they can impose themselves upon the slow ones. But such self-acts will never work. If you want to be an authority to others and want others to submit to your authority, the first thing you have to do is know authority yourself. You have to realize that you have no authority in yourself. What you should have is knowledge of God and an apprehension of His will. Only then can you be a deputy to God’s authority.
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