Jesus Christ has redeemed us by His blood and made us kings and priests, and this is why it is essential that we are aware of our assigned responsibility and authority in Christ (see Revelation 1:5-6).
Revelation 1:5-6:
… 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
What is Authority?
=> Authority, from lat. 'Auctoritas' (originally from 'auctor', meaning 'author', 'creator', 'promoter'), is present wherever order is required and needed to organize life and areas in society.
=> A) Authority is the lawful right and the power to enforce obedience, alter and restrain behavior.
B) Authority also includes conduct by one person or group using the authority of a higher one.
Authority is linked to positions and to persons who are in positions. People enter authority when being assigned for particular jobs or set in an official post.
This means also authority is held within positions, so that titles of positions provide information about the work, scope of duties and range of power. These titles exist prior to the person's entering into a position, so that authority precedes authorization and persists.
Authority creates the place where lawful actions and legitimate initiatives and also power can be exercised.
Leaving or exiting positions removes an individual's authority because it was resident within the office. A person may have a considerable influence (note: through life and work experience and/or by contacts acquired during the period of service) after leaving, but legal actions are not longer permitted.
Authority exercised apart from an official position (note: may include lawlessness or influence) is limited in its ability to lawfully effect change or enforce rules that govern conduct and behavior.
In order to achieve the effects of an authority figure, an influential person as a recipient of the influence must be legally installed in an office with authority to enact, legislate, or perform what the influential person desires or envisions. <= (based on an explanation of the term 'authority' from the book 'Divine Order for Spiritual Dominance' by Paula A. Price, Ph.D.; page 26 and page 27)
True Authority And Abusive Authority
=> In a biblical context, governing authority occur where leaders get favored by God and by men (see 1 Samuel 2:26; Luke 2:52).
1 Samuel 2:26:
26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.
Luke 2:52:
52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
By the assigned power of God people occupy the Promised Land and it's authority. As an example we could take the rulership of a king, so the right hand of the king would symbolize the side of power that instructs and the left hand would represent the side of authority. This means authority is located within the Kingdom and power is exercised with the intention to expand the Kingdom.
Therefore it is important, that responsible leaders within the Body of Christ as well as in the secular area are not reigning by power in terms of control but through the authority that they have. However, when they only rule by power, they are dictators.
Governance in authority will take place when persons find favor in the eyes of God and men.
Dictators govern by positional authority over people who have been forced to being subordinated.
True spiritual leaders with a humble heart, are focused on doing God's will and not the will of men. It is God who puts favor into people's hearts for their executives, so that they can work effectively in their given authority. This favor supports them to take influence in the hearts of men.
Therefore it is important that leaders do not demand their authority by humans. If this kind of demand occurs, it would only lead to and be developed from this area of 'power' that ultimately leads to an oppressive dictatorship. God does not want His people to be governed dictatorially, but fatherly-royal (see 1 Corinthians 4:15).
1 Corinthians 4:15:
15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
We have to know what authority is, how and when it works in order to walk in the authority of God within the assigned realm of responsibility. In the kingdom of God authority is the result of responsibility.
Generally speaking, in every area of the church we only have authority to the degree, to where we have responsibility. If we are not responsible for an area or defined scope of duties, we simply do not have authority in it.
And in order to have much authority, a person must stay submitted to saints of a higher level of authority than herself/himself.
We can see this also in the examples of the leading of the people of Israel by Moses and Aaron, in the following of Elisha after the prophet Elijah and the discipleship of Jesus. <= (note: based on a message from John Paul Jackson†, that he once taught at a conference)
Speaking the Right Words
Especially persons in leadership positions should speak in the right way, so that the God of Israel is glorified. To speak the right words means to be like Naphtali, the son of Jacob, who was blessed by his father to speak beautiful words (see Genesis 49:21).
Genesis 49:21:
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns (note: words). …”
The Hebrew word for “good/beautiful” is “šäṗär” and derives from the Hebrew root word “sâṗar”, which means “to be beautiful, to please, to glisten” (note: partial excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible with the word key number: 8475* – šäṗär and 8473 – sâṗar as well as the Strong's concordance with the word key number: H8231 – shâphar).
That is why it is important to God that leaders in the body of Christ should have covered their words with the glory of God, just as God engraved His ten words with fire through His index finger into the two tablets of stone (see Exodus 31:18 i.c.w. 2 Corinthians 3:6b; Proverbs 25:11).
Exodus 31:18:
18 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
2 Corinthians 3:6b:
… 6b for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Proverbs 25:11:
11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
In this context, the Holy Spirit revealed to me the principle of proper government and authority through the 24 elders before the throne of God (see Revelation 4:4.9-11).
Revelation 4:4.9-11:
4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. …
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
Seated in the Heavenly Places
This means that according to the standard of the Word of God we are supposed to stay in the heavenly places in the Spirit where the living God governs (see Ephesians 2:4-6 i.c.w. Colossians 3:1-2).
Ephesians 2:4-6:
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, …
Colossians 3:1-2:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
This area of government is in the midst of pure water, reflecting the presence of God's fertility and being (see Revelation 4:6).
Revelation 4:6:
6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.
The Crystal Sea in the Throne Room of God
It is the crystal sea that simultaneously reflects any movement in the throne room of God in one moment. This “upper water” prophesies with its character the essence of the God of Israel – YHVH – I AM.
This reflection is also an indication of the unity of the heavenly movements, because they are simultaneously reflected in the crystal sea in different areas.
All movements in the throne room are united by the presence of the crystal sea with the governing being of the Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ (see Revelation 4:2-3 i.c.w. Mark 16:19).
Revelation 4:2-3:
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
Mark 16:19:
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
24 Elders in the Throne Room of God
The twenty-four elders in the throne room of God described in Revelation are among other things a clear indication of the structure of the one new man according to Ephesians 2:15 (note: 12 sons of Jacob, 12 apostles of the Lamb => the sonship of God that results from the work of the redemption of Jesus).
Ephesians 2:15 (Jewish New Testament by David H. Stern):
... 15 by destroying in his (note: Jesus Christ) own body the enmity occasioned by the Torah, with its commands set forth in the form of ordinances. He did this in order to create in union with himself from the two groups a single new humanity and thus make shalom, …
It is said that the 24 elders sit on a throne in white garments with golden crowns (note: crowns of victory => because of the victories achieved by the triumph of Jesus on the cross) and unite with the high praise of the four living beings of God. They do this by rising from their thrones with a humble heart in order to appear on the crystal sea kneeling down worshiping God and giving Him glory.
For us as saints living on earth it is required to be in agreement with heaven, which also means that we are living in the understanding of the one new man in the royal priesthood (note: 24 => 24 priest classes; see 1 Chronicles 24:1-19) as sons of God in Christ in the realm of divine government.
This is closely associated with true humility that comes from the sound of God's being and enables us to leave our respective thrones assigned by God for the reverence of God, and then return to divine government again.
This process involves a continuous interchange between kingdom government and worship, equivalent to the two different movements of the human heart (note: systole and diastole).
The Meaning of True Spiritual Worship
This kind of worship has the effect that each individual saint recognizes himself in his identity in the structure of the one new man in the royal priesthood of God as in the crystal sea without forgetting about who one is in Christ Jesus in the Father. This prevents from becoming proud or arrogant by defining ourselves through our God-given gifts, abilities and works.
Our God-given responsibility and the resulting authority comes first and foremost from heavenly worship, which doesn't demand anything from God, but rather involves giving everything to Him for His glory.
At this point, it is repeatedly noted that it is the sound of the worship of the four living beings before the throne of God that inspires the 24 elders to leave their thrones to go down on their knees worshiping before God's throne as they lay down their experiences of victory in Christ before God and join with the high praise of God.
This process involves the coming together of the worship of heaven and earth, consciously linked together by God. This is also illustrated by the story of creation, in which the “waters” play an important role (see Genesis 1:1-2.6-8).
Genesis 1:1-2.6-8:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. …
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”
7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.
8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the second day.
Personally, I don't consider it a coincidence that Moses, while leading the people of Israel through the desert together with his brother Aaron, also faced challenges related to the people's desire for sweet water.
In all the events the desire of the people of Israel for drinkable water was centered on the wood, which is an indication of the importance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, His resurrection and the authority entrusted by Him (see Exodus 15:23-25; Exodus 17:1-2a.5-6; Numbers 20:1-2.7-12).
Exodus 15:23-25 (The transformation of the bitter waters of Mara):
23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.)
24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.
Exodus 17:1-2a.5-6 (The water of the rock in the desert of Sin):
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” …
5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Numbers 20:1-2.7-12 (The water of the rock in the desert of Zin):
1 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. …
7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him.
10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”
11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
Those three events mentioned above were experienced by the people of Israel and their leaders (note: Moses and Aaron) at different times and in different places. This makes it clear that it is necessary, especially for saints who have received the grace from God to be allowed to stand in spiritual leadership, to correctly recognize and evaluate by the Holy Spirit the times and places of God.
This is also linked to the need to act correctly and to speak to people according to God's will. This is about the right application of the power of Jesus' triumph on the cross.
The Place of Mara
Mara, was the place where the Lord, through righteous action, removed interpersonal bitterness through the wood (note: cross) to provide His love to the people of Israel (see John 3:16 i.c.w. John 4:10).
John 3:16:
16 For God (note: the Father) so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 4:10:
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
The Desert of Sin
The desert of Sin (note: means “excrement” => region of sinful behavior) was the place where the Lord, through His given authority to Moses (note: symbolized by the dry rod), already encoded the revelatory truth about the power of the forgiveness of sins by the death of Jesus on the cross, in order to lead the people of Israel through forgiveness into an expansion (note: “Rephidim” means “expansions/extensions” => cooperative expansion; see Romans 3:22-26 i.c.w. Colossians 3:16).
Romans 3:22-26:
22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,9 through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Colossians 3:16:
16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
The Desert of Zin
It is said that the people of Israel in the first biblical month (note: Nissan/Abib => It is the month in which Passover – The blood of the Lamb is celebrated and where Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead) lost their prophetic voice (note: Miriam; see Exodus 15:20) in Kadesh (note: means “consecrated” => place of separation with God) in the desert of Zin (note: means “rock embankment” => region of security in God).
This place was an encoded indication from God to His people that He wanted to give them a new vision, so that they would go as consecrated ones secured with a renewed conscience in the power of the blood of the Lamb into their God predestined future (see Hebrews 9:14).
Hebrews 9:14:
14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Self-control in Dealing with Words
It means high responsibility in every form of leadership to control oneself in action and communication before God and the people. This involves, in the assigned authority by God, releasing the revelatory truth (note: water from the rock) through the power of the spoken word of God (note: prophecy) based on the victorious death of Jesus and His resurrection (note: green rod; see Numbers 17:5.8 i.c.w. Luke 23:31).
Numbers 17:5.8:
5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.” …
8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.
Luke 23:31:
31 For if people do these things when the tree (note: wood) is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Unfortunately, Moses didn't control himself in the desert of Zin and acted out of false zeal of the generation line of Levi, so that he was forbidden to enter the Promised Land (see Numbers 20:12).
Numbers 20:12:
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
It was Levi, the son of Jacob, who, out of unbridled anger or revenge, together with his brother Simeon, carried out his own judgment on the Shechemites (see Genesis 34:25-31).
Genesis 34:25-31:
25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male.
26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.
27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled.
28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields.
29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”
31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
The reason for the prohibition of entry into the Promised Land against Moses is hidden in the fact that he was in a consecrated place of safety in God, in the time frame of the blood of the Lamb, and in a higher responsibility towards the people of Israel, because the staff of Aaron had already been flourished and was lying in the presence of God (see Numbers 17:23.25-26).
Moses violated by his uncontrolled action and speaking before God and the people the rock and the authority of God transferred to him by the resurrection power.
The Water of the Rock and Unbridled Anger
It says in Numbers 20:8 that the rock would give its water. This means that the water was not some ordinary water, but the water of the Son of God, because the rock is already a reference to Jesus Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 10:4, the apostle Paul writes: “… and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”
When Moses first came into contact with the rock in the desert of Sin, he followed the command of God and acted by faith.
The second time, however, he fell into the unbridled drive so that he was displeased and negatively called the people of Israel “rebels” (see Numbers 20:10a).
4.Moses 20:10a:
10a He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, …
Furthermore, he struck the rock twice, once for Aaron and once for himself. As a result, God forbid both of them to enter the Promised Land and as well as the blessing.
This clearly shows how devastating it can be to fall into unbridled anger.
It is fundamentally wrong to let things get beyond control and at the same time being convinced that one must prove one's relationship with God to someone. In such situations, God cannot stand with you, which always has a corresponding consequence.
From the Word of God we can see that there was no such humble man as Moses (see Numbers 12:3).
Numbers 12:3:
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
Moses waited longingly for years and had an exemplary humble heart, but in spite of all this his unbridled anger destroyed his future.
Unbridled anger has the consequence that a person who is close to you and very much appreciates you is “transformed” by words into something that doesn't correspond to the will of God at all. As a result, you cannot receive God's blessing in a certain area of life.
Thus it becomes clear that as a saint it is necessary to be sober and considerate in one's choice of words and not to fail in the end, after all the challenges and miracles in life.
Moses didn't disappoint the God of Israel in his failure, but himself.
The reason why Moses challenged the God of Israel in his action is because God wanted to show the people of Israel that Moses had already reached a higher place and level in Him, so that he no longer had to use his rod but was already in the authority of the Word.
According to the access to the throne of grace by the blood of the Lamb of God (note: Jesus Christ), we can learn from the consequence that Moses had to carry the principle of authority, which consists in the fact that the more responsibility we have, the stricter/higher the standards for our actions are (see Luke 12:48b).
Luke 12:48b:
… 48b From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
(note: This message is based on a revelatory teaching from the book “Tribes of Israel – Tribes of Israel” by Gwen Shaw.†)
Amen and Amen.
In His Wisdom,
Daniel Glimm
