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.
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
Transforming Grace, NavPress, 1991, p. 90. Used by
permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights
reserved.