Building Bible Confidence: Part 8

Part 8: The Authority Pattern

Introduction

The Bible is a book of patterns. Throughout the Scriptures, there are examples that repeat themselves again and again so that we can better understand God’s will and plan. God has commonly used a pattern to communicate His authority and His will for mankind. Whether one looks through the Patriarchal Age, the Mosaic Age, or the Christian Age, the order is always the same: revelation, confirmation, and preservation.

Revelation is defined as the means by which God made known His will known. It could come through either direct conversation, messengers, or dreams (e.g. Genesis 12, 15, 18). Confirmation refers to how God gave miraculous abilities as signs and evidence to confirm that the message came with God's authority (e.g. Mark 16:19-20). Preservation involves the actions taken by Spirit inspired men to write down the revealed authority of God so that others can believe (e.g. John 20:31).

The Law and the Prophets

In the book of Exodus, God instructed Moses to lead the Israelite slaves to freedom from Egypt. Initially doubtful of his own ability, Moses voiced several questions to God about these concerns. The Bible records this:

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”  And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you,’” (Exodus 3:13-15).

Moses was worried that Israel would not recognize his authority as a spokesman of God. God's response was a revelation: I AM WHO I AM (also referred to as YAHWEH in Hebrew) is a name that also expresses His eternal person, nature, and work. It expresses continuing action. He revealed to Moses His mission: Yahweh, the great I AM, the eternal, all powerful, and all-knowing God, was with him and guiding him. God then gave Moses miraculous signs to confirm that he had the authority of God in his message (Exodus 4:29-31). After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God commanded him to preserve the Law by writing it down (Exodus 34:27). God's people continued to preserve the Law by making copies of it. While God continued to reveal His will through prophets in Old Testament, the average person relied on the written Word of God; the Law and the Prophets.

Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” (Matthew 21:23)

Jesus Christ and His Gospel

The Holy Spirit revealed that Jesus was the fulfillment of God 's authority (Hebrews 1:1-2). When asked where He received His authority, Jesus referred to Himself in same way God did. Jesus said:

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM,” (John 8:56-58).

Jesus’ “I AM” claim was a bold comparison to the “Yahweh” identity. In addition to such a revelation, Jesus followed the authority pattern by performing miracles to confirm that His divine authority. Once, a lame man was brought to Jesus. When Jesus forgave his sins, the Jewish leaders were indignant and said that God alone could do such a thing. Jesus responded:

“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then [Jesus] said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men, (Matthew 9:6-8).

Jesus used the miracle as confirmation. The logical conclusion was as follows: if He can heal diseases, then His message must be from God. The gospel writers completed the authority pattern by explaining to us that they preserved Jesus’ gospel so that others can believe:

[...] but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31).

Some of Jesus’ final words can help us understand that His gospel is a fulfillment of God’s will. Some of His final words are about authority:

“All authority has been given to me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Apostolic Authority

One time, Jesus revealed to His disciples that after His ascension into Heaven, they would receive special power for the Holy Spirit:

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come,” (John 16:8),

After Jesus' ascension, the Holy Spirit began to reveal God's will in the Christian Age. Like others before them, the apostles were given miraculous gifts from the Holy Spirit to confirm their message:

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs, (Mark 16:19-20).

These miraculous signs began at Pentecost when Jews from many nations had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate a special feast. It was the perfect opportunity to show that the apostles' message came with authority of God.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? [...] we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” (Acts 2:4-12).

The miraculous gift of speaking foreign languages without prior study gave the apostles credibility in the eyes of the gathered crowd. People could see that they preached the good news of Jesus by the authority of God. By revelation and confirmation, they began to preserve the apostles’ teachings:

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles, (Acts 2:41-43)

The Holy Spirit guided the apostles and other New Testament writers to preserve the gospel of Jesus and the complete Christian teachings. Once God's New Testament was written down, the confirmation of God's authority passed from miraculous gifts into the inspiration of the preserved writings. The Bible says:

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away, (1 Corinthians 13:8-10.)

“That which is in part” refers to the miraculous signs that confirmed the revelation. They served an essential role in God's authority pattern. “The perfect that has come” refers to the perfect word of God. It is perfect because it was revealed by the Holy Spirit, confirmed by the miraculous signs, and preserved by the New Testament writers. It is perfect because it gives everyone opportunity to know God's will. It is perfect because it teaches us how to be saved by God's grace through faith. As the psalmist wrote: The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul (Psalm 19:7, emphasis added).

In Review: The Authority Pattern

God’s authority and will for mankind was communicated in a pattern. Whether one looks through the Patriarchal, Mosaic, or Christian Age, the order is always the same: revelation, confirmation, and preservation. Through Moses, Jesus, the apostles, and others, God revealed His will to the world. They confirmed God’s message with miraculous signs to demonstrate that they spoke with the authority of God. Finally, they preserved God’s authority and will in written form so that anyone can believe.

*This article was taken from The Bible Series, a twelve-part study written by Jonathan Edwards. This study is available for free PDF download at www.pureandsimplebible.com