In our last post we spoke about the priority of being over doing. In this post we want to explore the difference between the authority of doing and the authority of being.

I’ll begin by cutting to the chase: Authority of being works by honor. Authority of doing works by imposition. One is passive, and the other is proactive.

Jesus said that in His kingdom we don’t rule as the Gentiles do:

“Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves,” Luke 22:24-27.

In short, there is a difference as to how authority works. Authority of being is authority for living, more than doing. It is perhaps best seen in families or households where the first commandment with promise rules the day: “Honor your father and mother that it may go well with you and your days be long upon the land.”

Honor releases the best that is in a person.  The commandment with promise has an even broader application than just between parents and children. The following video clip provides a graphic demonstration of how it works:

The drop of water represents the best that is in another person.  Just as with the bead of water, which contains the surface tension of the water, when we touch another person with honor, their tension is released and their content flows in the direction from which the touch has come.

When we touch another person with honor, we release the best that is in them to flow in our direction.

“Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. ‘Where did this man get these things?’ they asked. ‘What’s this wisdom that has been given to him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James and Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?’  And they took offense at him. 

Jesus said to them, “Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” [Matthew has it this way:”But Jesus said to them, ‘Only in his home town and in his own house is a prophet without honor.’]  And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” – Mark 6:1-5 

While Matthew, in this context, attributes Jesus’ unwillingness to do miracles to their lack of faith, the greater context of both Mark and Matthew is lack of honor.

The Kingdom of God is best seen in how we relate to one another… how we are with one another. The Kingdom of God does not look like a lecture hall so much as an intimate conversation among those who love each other.  It is in the context of speaking the truth in love that we grow up into Him who is the Head, even Christ. This conversation can be as numerically small as two people, where Christ (the best within us) is in the midst, or a gathering of many people. In either case, it is the honoring of one another that releases the best that is in the midst of them.

Kingdom authority operates in such a way as to release conversation, not to replace it with a “lecture” that does all the talking. Nor does it impose a person’s will or perspective on a gathering of people. For spiritual conversation to happen, however, those who are gathered need to be sensitive to the authority of Christ in their midst. A conversation full of people who are preoccupied with their own agendas never gets off the ground.

As an illustration of how this works, lets take a look at 1 Corinthians 16:15, 16: “You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it.”  

In other words, authority in the Kingdom of God is not about over doing, but over seeing.

Please note, this is not an admonishment to the household of Stephanas about lording over the saints at Corinth who are younger in the Lord. Rather, it places the responsibility on those who are younger in the faith to honor or submit to those who are senior in time, experience and service. It is this recognition, submission, and honor that releases the authority of the kingdom for the benefit of the saints in a certain place. In this context it is not about titles, like “elder” or “overseer,” but it is about the “facts of life” inherent in spiritual seniority.

This operative principle of Kingdom authority works, not only in this larger sense, but also in the much smaller sense of the truth, (i.e. The TRUTH) that may be present in a very small conversation. Each of us who are a party to a spiritual conversation brings something of Christ. Each of us can learn from Christ who is our midst, from the least to the greatest. Each one of us in the body of Christ has a responsibility to discern and submit to those who are discerning and submitted to the Head. If we don’t, the result is simply a conversation that is usurped by a lecture–a lecture often coming from one who is least sensitive to the presence of Christ in the midst, and who is seeking the preeminence that belongs only to Him.

This kind of “over doing” authority has been the rule in what’s been calling itself “church” for thousands of years, and had it’s early beginnings with the”leadership” of Diotrephes in 3rd, (4th) John.

The most sure and certain way to spoil a small group, or any conversation for that matter, is to talk too much. It is a life killer. It is to partake of the Lord’s supper without discerning the body of Christ present at the table. This not only results in meetings that “do more harm than good,” but also in judgment. (1st Corinthians 11:17-34) For present purposes, let’s just call it “conversational gluttony.”

As “lovers in training,” we are called to be sensitive to what’s in the hearts of those around us. Love listens!

• By Jay Ferris, Originally posted September, 2012