AUTHORITY-GOD

God speaks by the Church (the true Church we mean); but He speaks nothing by her but what He speaks in the Scriptures, which she does only ministerially declare to us; and therefore the authority of God and His law is above hers, who, though she publish, yet did not make it, but is herself subject to it.

John Owen

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 57.

A God with whom we are on…easy terms and whose reality is little different from our own…who is merely there to satisfy our needs – has no real authority to compel and will soon begin to bore us.

David Wells

God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams, Eerdmans, 1994, p. 93.

The word command carries the idea of authority. The most basic meaning of the word is “to direct with authority.” A command does not just give guidance that one may accept or reject; a command implies that the one giving it has the authority to require obedience and the intention of doing so. This is true of the commands of God. As the Sovereign God of the universe, He has the authority to require obedience and He does insist that we obey Him.

Jerry Bridges

To reject the authority of God is the height of arrogant wickedness. To do so is to imitate the works of Satan, and there is no excuse for it. God is holy and just. His word is true and trustworthy. He does not deceive or speak with a forked tongue. When He commands us He commands us for our good and His glory. As His adopted children and subjects, we are called to submit to Him. We are called to trust Him and obey Him.

Keith Mathison

By What Authority? September 2008, Tabletalk, p. 32. Used by Permission.

The very word authority has within it the word author. An author is someone who creates and possesses a particular work. Insofar as God is the foundation of all authority, He exercises that foundation because He is the author and the owner of His creation. He is the foundation upon which all other authority stands or falls.

R.C. Sproul

The Divine Foundation of Authority, Tabletalk, March, 2009, p. 6. Used by Permission.

The authority by which God governs all things is His autonomous authority. To say that God’s authority is autonomous is to say that God is a law unto Himself. He is not bound by some abstract system of law that exists outside of Himself or independent from Him (ex lex). Nor is God under some external law (sub lego); rather, He is a law unto Himself. This does not mean that He acts or behaves in an arbitrary manner. Rather, God’s activity is directed by God’s own character. And His character is completely righteous. All that He does flows out of His own internal righteousness. His external authority comes from His internal righteousness. In this sense God’s authority is intrinsic. It is found within Himself. It is not borrowed, delegated, or assigned from any other source.

R.C. Sproul

The Divine Foundation of Authority, Tabletalk, March, 2009, p. 7. Used by Permission.

A sacred regard to the authority of God ought to lead us to reject an error, however old, sanctioned by whatever authority, or however generally practiced.

C.H. Spurgeon

Are we under His authority, or our own? You can’t “yes, but” to Scripture. He said it, or He didn’t say it. And we either obey, or we do not. It is not we who have the authority. It is the Lord. His name is Jesus and His title is “the Christ.” And He has it all. He will share it with no one.

Cal Thomas

The Authority of the State, Tabletalk, March, 2009, p. 21. Used by Permission.

People love God everywhere except on His throne.

Author Unknown