by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
Authority is defined slightly differently depending on the definer, but it’s usually considered to be “the right one has, by virtue of office, position, or relationship, to command obedience.”<\/p>\n
OK, that makes sense. We see it everywhere around us. Authority is invested in military commanders and police officers, yet soldiers go AWOL, and criminals flout the law. Teachers should have authority over their students, yet students rebel every day. Parents have an inherent authority over their children, but some children treat that authority with contemptuous disregard.<\/p>\n
Now, consider Jesus. If anyone has inherent authority by virtue of “office, position, or relationship,” it would be Him. His office as the Messiah, His position as Lord, and His relationship as the Son of God surely establish His authority, which should, therefore, compel everyone to recognize it based on the way we recognize authority everywhere else in our lives. But many don’t.<\/p>\n
Some don’t even see God as authoritative by refusing to believe in His existence in the first place. Others ignore Jesus’ authority by dismissing His claims and the evidence for them entirely. Sadly, some who profess Christianity also fail to submit to Jesus’ authority simply by refusing, consciously or unconsciously, to obey His commands.<\/p>\n
Yet, none of this excuses any one of us. If Jesus has all authority as He claimed-the evidence of His life affirms it-and obedience to Him is necessary-the reliability of the New Testament confirms it-then nothing we do, say, or believe negates the simple claim Jesus makes at the end of Matthew’s gospel.<\/p>\n
Our best option, for now and forever, is to recognize and submit to Jesus’ unmatched authority.<\/p>\n
“All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age<\/em>” (Matthew 28:18-20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores Authority is defined slightly differently depending on the definer, but it’s usually considered to be “the right one has, by virtue of office, position, or relationship, to command obedience.” OK, that makes sense. We see it everywhere around us. Authority is invested in military commanders and police officers, yet soldiers go AWOL,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[78,73],"class_list":["post-69336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-jesus"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53972,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-approach-to-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":69336,"position":0},"title":"Jesus’ Approach to Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton Here was Jesus' approach to authority: The Son can do nothing of Himself (positive authority must allow the action). But what He sees the Father do (Divine precedent or example). The Father\u00a0shows\u00a0Him all things that He Himself does (John 5:19-20). Thus, Jesus placed a lot of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7253,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wouldnt-it-be-reasonable-for-jesus-to-appoint-a-prime-minister-thus-establishing-the-papacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":69336,"position":1},"title":"Wouldn’t it be reasonable for Jesus to appoint a prime minister, thus establishing the papacy?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 3, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If Jesus came as the son of David to reign upon the throne of David (St. Peter says as much in his pentecostal sermon in Acts of the Apostles with regard to the resurrection of Jesus), and if one of the key institutions of the Davidic Covenant Kingdom was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92011,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/something-missing-in-our-culture\/","url_meta":{"origin":69336,"position":2},"title":"Something Missing in Our Culture","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David V. Hurst via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 3, September 1992 None can deny the drastic shift in our culture's attitude toward God over the last thirty years. This often causes special problems for the Christian and his children. How do we instill in our children and others\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58207,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/submission-to-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":69336,"position":3},"title":"Submission to Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Heath Rogers We have discussed the need for authority in religious matters, the proper source for authority, and how to establish Bible authority. In this article, we will consider the importance of responding properly to God's authority. Authority is defined as \"the power or right to give commands, enforce\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38409,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/king-and-high-priest-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":69336,"position":4},"title":"King and High Priest Now","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Premillennial thinking is that Jesus was not able to set up His kingdom in the first century like He planned, postponed that plan, and will come back again later to set up His kingdom on earth and reign for 1000 years. That is a mistaken view.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3929,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-always-have-all-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":69336,"position":5},"title":"Did Jesus always have all authority?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Matthew's 28:18, why was all authority given to Jesus? Did he not have all authority already? And in I Corinthians it says that He will give all authority back to his Father. Please explain this to me. Answer: \"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, \"All\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}