If you take all the information that enters your brain from the outside through your eyes, ears, and touch, it can all organize into proper thinking through what I’m calling biblical prisms. God gave us scripture and in the Bible certain principles are organizing to your view of the world, telling the truth about it. The ones I’m writing are very general, that themselves can break down into finer points that bring even more wisdom.
Having a few principles, what I’m calling prisms because they relate to worldview and we see those through a lens or through prisms, will provide a basis or foundation for getting life right. This will only occur if the eyes, ears, and mind are surrendered to the gospel or to Jesus Christ. The ability to see it right comes from this. For instance, people who won’t look through God’s unilateral covenant in general are unsaved or unconverted people, not saved by the grace of God. From many of those, you will hear an anti-Zionist philosophy, language, or presentation.
The second prism, God’s Cultural Mandate, divides into two subheadings: the image of God In every man and then the specifics of the cultural mandate. The first of these, the image of God, can and will result in considering and treating everyone equally and well. The Bible continues to build on this point. I come though now to the third prism. Like the other two, these represent a theocentric view of the world, seeing it like God does.
3. GOD’S HIERARCHY OF AUTHORITY
Most people do not have a proper view of authority or power. Very, very few people understand God’s hierarchy of authority. One does not at all understand authority or power without seeing it through this biblical prism. Some people do understand what I’m talking about, but less and less and now a very small percentage of people in the United States. This lack of knowledge relates greatly to something on the level of a break-down in society. Not understanding it will also bring both psychological and sociological problems to individuals and then massive numbers people in the billions.
God designed authority. One could draw up a very complex flowchart based on what scripture says, placing Himself, God Himself, on the top of the flowchart. All authority proceeds from Him. This is true. When someone moves outside of that flowchart or hierarchy, he is wrong. He’s also now messed up, perverted in an important way, moving outside of this flowchart.
When I say “hierarchy,” I’m using the best word, I believe, to describe the biblical or right view of authority. How some people would explain it would differ somewhat from what I’m saying. On the root level, hierarchy is a system in which people, entities, or elements are ranked according to levels of authority, importance, status, or complexity—one above another. The higher levels have more power. That’s all true, but what’s missing?
God at the Top
God is at the very top of the hierarchy of the biblical, correct, or right viewpoint. In a rightly ordered hierarchy of authority, whether in family, church, state, or the world, God sits at the absolute apex as the underived, self-existent Source of all legitimate power. Every lower rung derives its authority from Him, is accountable to Him, and is measured against His revealed character and law. This is not a “flattened” egalitarianism nor a tyrannical theocracy, but a delegated stewardship where human rulers function as vice-regents under divine sovereignty.
God alone possesses authority from Himself. All creaturely authority is from another, namely, from God (Romans 13:1: “There is no power [authority] but [except] from God”). Accountability loops back to God. Subordinates owe obedience in the Lord, that is, they always obey God rather than men (Colossians 3:20; Acts 5:29). Superiors will give account to God for how they wield power (Hebrews 13:17; Luke 17:2).
This creates a closed loop: authority flows down, accountability flows up—ultimately to the Throne.
Subjection and Spheres
Various components exist within the context of God’s hierarchy of authority. The right relationship to authority is subjugation, which is qualitatively different than submission. Those on a lower rung do submit on individual matters, but the overall relationship is subjection. This shows that they are not in fact under the next rung up, but they are under the top of all the rungs, God. They submit because they are under God, who gave authority to this person or organization over us.
I mentioned “rungs” as a descriptive, which speaks of a ladder in the metaphor. The ladders with the rungs one can mix metaphors and call these “spheres of authority.” These ladders or spheres are separate from one another, hence the sphere portrayal. God establishes distinct jurisdictions (family, church, civil government), each with limited scopes: parents over children (Ephesians 6:1–4), pastors over the church (Hebrews 13:17), and magistrates over citizens (Romans 13:4).
Because God is at the top, all authority below Him is limited. Parents have authority over their children, but not to abuse them or provoke them to wrath. God limits a pastor not to lord himself over his flock (1 Peter 5:3). God puts the congregation over the pastor in many ways too (1 Timothy 5:17-19). Magistrates are a terror to evil and not good. Also the spheres are not collapsible. The state does not have authority over parents. Many call these “parental rights.” This is an example of how the ladders or spheres work, as designed by God, which are part of this hierarchicalism.
Respect and Honor, Hindering Rebellion
With God on the top rung of the ladder or over all the spheres helps understand a vital aspect of the relationship to those under authority. God wants respect and honor to authority, because He is at the top. A wife submits to her husband as unto the Lord and so reverences her husband. This isn’t because of how wonderful the husband is, but because God is at the top. Children honor their parents. If we see a police officer, we respect him because of his position. He might be a bad officer, but the hierarchy itself deserves respect. God designed all this.
All three of the prisms of this series, as I said, are crucial. People get in the weeds on numbers of different issues. As just an example — and don’t try to make too big a point from this, because I’m not saying this isn’t important — someone can take a trip down a trail of the various assassins or assassination attempters in recent days, Kyle Robinson or Thomas Crooks. That should happen, but don’t let it get in the way of obtaining these three crucial prisms for comprehending the world.
Earning Respect?
People can say that they don’t trust authority. The cure for that is that God gives all authority. This is not permission for naivety. However, it doesn’t result in a society full of rebellious people. The world goes out of control without this crucial prism through which to view the world.
Today very often and against the prism of God’s hierarchy of authority, someone will say very conveniently that he believes authority earns respect. In other words, someone won’t give respect unless the authority within that sphere meets the standard of the subject. This itself is rebellion. It puts the subject over or at least equal to the authority, which is rebellion against the one who gives the authority. Maybe an authority is good and bears his authority in a biblical way. That won’t mean that someone will still respect that, because he has a different standard.
Rampant in society, a virtual pandemic, is adult children non-stop dishonoring and even ghosting their parents. Fundamentally this is a rejection of the biblical view of authority. Some of these will profess faith in Christ too. They see themselves as free agents as they will. Just the opposite, it is a me-first viewpoint, that doesn’t do as Jesus commanded, “Deny self.” Instead of theocentric, it is egocentric. This isn’t freedom, but bondage, and without a bright future.
Christ the Mediator of the Hierarchy
Jesus is the mediator of the hierarchy. As Son, He submits perfectly to the Father (John 5:19; 6:38). As King, He receives all authority (Matthew 28:18; Daniel 7:14). As Head of the Church, He models leadership (Mark 10:42–45).
All human authority images and is judged by Christ’s authority. The hierarchy is provisional. In the final state, every knee bows directly to Christ (Philippians 2:10–11), and mediating authorities are folded into His immediate rule. Until then, hierarchy should train its proponents or advocates in submission and stewardship.
More to Come