Sin is disobedience to God’s authority
“Sin reveals its true definition in the parable of the wedding supper as disobedience to God’s authority (Bevere 28).”
Salvation is only available to those who confess and do the will of God
“We have taught and believed that all you have to do is confess a ‘sinner’s prayer’ and you are ensured a secure place in heaven. We have neglected or placed no emphasis on keeping His commands. This counterfeit grace leads many astray, causing them to make light of obedience. Jesus said those who will be in heaven are those who confess and do the will of God, thus keeping the commands of God (Bevere 31).”
Our level faith is directly proportional to our submission to authority
“The authority in which we walk is directly proportional to our submission to authority. The great our level of submission, the greater our faith (Bevere 214).”
Grace is the power of God to obey him
“True grace has been given to empower us to obey what He demands of us. The writer of Hebrews said it best: “Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably” (Heb 12:28). Grace empowers us to serve God in an acceptable manner, which is in accordance with His will (Bevere 31).
All authority is instituted by God
“First, who are these ‘governing authorities’? In this specific text [Rom 13:1-7] Paul referred to civil or governmental authorities. However, these words of exhortation apply not only to governmental leaders but also encompass other areas of delegated authority. What we glean from this text should be applied to all areas of delegated authority (Bevere 87).”
“Every soul is to be subject to authorities because God has appointed all governing authorities in our lives (Bevere 88).”
God establishes his rule in the church through people he has delegated to be his authority
“Since God has has appointed all authorities, we refuse the authority behind them if we dishonor or refuse to submit to them. Whether we know it or not, we resist the ordinance or the rule of God (Bevere 88)”
The 5-fold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) represents God’s authority on earth
“Jesus is the head of the church, and the day will come when He will turn the kingdom over to His Father, after putting all rebellion under his feet (1Cor 15:24-26). Next in this order of authority is the prophet. Prophets are initially depicted in Scripture as the Lord’s spokespersons (Ex 4:16,7:1).
This would represent one of the fivefold ministry gifts that He gave the church when He was raised from the dead (Eph 4:8-13). (They are the spokespersons of the church) When we receive a ministry gift, we receive from the Lord what He Himself gives through that office of delegated authority (Bevere 119).”
Obedience to the Lord requires obedience to God’s delegated authorities (employers, church leaders, civil authorities)
“They have lost sight of the fact that their obedience is to the Lord, and their reward comes from Him. The Message brings this point out beautifully:
‘Servants [employees, church members, civilians, etc.], respectfully obey your earthly masters [employers, church leaders, civil authorities, etc.] but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ.’” (Bevere 100-101)
Note: “[employees, church members, civilians, etc.]” and “[employers, church leaders, civil authorities, etc.]” are Bevere’s interpolations on the text of the Message.
Rebellion against God’s delegated authority is rebellion against God
“Since God has has appointed all authorities, we refuse the authority behind them if we dishonor or refuse to submit to them. Whether we know it or not, we resist the ordinance or the rule of God (Bevere 88)”
Rebellion to authority opens one up to the demonic realm resulting in deception
“This text should read [1Sam 10:21-22] “For rebellion is witchcraft.” This clarifies the context of this scripture. It is one thing to liken rebellion to witchcraft, but an entirely different issue to say it is actually witchcraft. Obviously a true Christian would never knowingly practice witchcraft. But how many are under its influence unknowingly because of the deception of rebellion?…
Witchcraft directly opens one to the demonic realm. It’s goal is to control circumstances, situations, or people through various avenues, often without the participant’s understanding of what is happening in the spirit realm. There is a range from total ignorance of what one is doing to complete understanding and awareness of the powers of darkness involved. In essence witchcraft can be practiced either with total unawareness or with complete knowledge. Its goal is control, but inevitably the controller becomes the controlled due to the involvement with the demonic realm (Bevere 67-68)”.
People should live by the principle of obedience rather than reason
“These men and women thought their insubordination was against Moses and not in any way connect to God. They thought they had successfully separated the two. They lived by reasoning instead of by the principle of obedience. Those who walk by the limited reasoning produced by sight and circumstances find themselves on the path of folly (Bevere 145).”
People should always obey authority unless they are clearly instructed to violate scripture
“Whether the authority is civil, family, church, or social, God admonishes a submissive regard to be our attitude, and we are to obey in action, unless authority tell us us to do what is clearly seen in Scripture as sin. Let me emphasize the word clearly. In the cases noted the believers did not obey when commanded to deny Christ, murder, worship other gods, or directly subvert a command of Jesus. They were not gray areas or judgement calls (Bevere 141).”
The line of authority extends in the home where the father holds the highest authority
“These commands, also found elsewhere in the New Testament set forth God’s authority structure in the home. Children are to obey their parents in all things, which includes every area of life (Bevere 195).”
“Let’s turn our attention to divine order in marriage. Scripture tells us, wives are to submit to their husbands ‘in everything’ (Eph 5:24). this command applies not just to spiritual things, but to natural areas of life as well (Bevere 201).”
Spiritual authority and blessing flows to those who suffer under authority
“Spiritual authority is promised to those who suffer like Christ. The greater hardship you endure, the greater the authority God entrusts to you. Again, you see that God sets you up for a blessing when you encounter unreasonable authority. But will you respond correct and receive the blessing, or will you become resentful and bitter? The choice is yours. Choose the way of the overcomer, which is life (Bevere 177)!”
God does not judge people on the fruit of their life but on how faithfully they followed authority
“Our judgement will be relative to our submission, for authority if of God. To resist delegated authority is to resist God’s authority. We should not take upon ourselves the pressure to discern beforehand whether leaders are right nor not. Nor should we judge after the fact. This is not our burden, but God’s He alone knows and can change hearts as he so desires (Bevere 147)” .
Those outside the local church and the covering of its leaders are at serious risk of spiritual attack
Balaam declared there was no sorcery or divination effective against the people of God! What an exciting and powerful statement! To bring this truth forward into today’s time frame, we would say, “There is no witchcraft that works against God’s people, nor any divination against His Church!’ (Num 23:23, author’s paraphrase).
See also this Ed Young video promo
Bevere, John. Under Cover. Thomas Nelson: Nashville, 2001.
