Léo's Insights
A place where issues related to the Christian walk and its application to home education is discussed.
Topics are meant to challenge you to think differently, to make a difference in this world, starting with the children you have been blessed with.
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Understanding Our Authority: Authority (Part 14)
There is little doubt about the confusion surrounding the topic of authority. Most people’s eyes just glaze over and they don’t give it any more thought. Many have simply accepted what they are being told without even questioning the legitimacy of the demands. Some go so far as to justify their subjugation by invoking scripture. “Render unto Caesar…” comes immediately to mind.
However, this is exactly what false claimants to authority hope will happen. If we are not aware of the inherent dangers of simply doing what we are told, we are in serious danger of being subjugated into supporting something that we would not, if we knew the truth.
Back at the beginning of this blog series, I told the story of my teenage revelation about discovering that if I knew the truth, I would know what to do. Knowing which mushroom is good and which is not greatly reduces the chance of being hurt. Not all snakes are poisonous, but it is a good thing to know which ones should be avoided. Knowledge of the truth protects us from harm. Continue reading “Understanding Our Authority: Authority (Part 14)”
Authority Summarized: Authority (Part 13)
In this last slide presentation, I am going to take a bit of license. I cannot say with any degree of certainty that I fully understand what I am presenting, nor can I vouch for the truthfulness of these ideas. It is just that I personally dislike having someone blow my ideas apart without offering a reasonable alternative. It is with this intent that I present you with this idea of what I think (for now) is what the world should look like under God.
This is what I believe was meant to be on this earth. There is no doubt that God has allowed the creation of jurisdictions outside of the family, but He has never lost his love for the life-giving family unit.
All other Jurisdictions are manmade, outside the Family/God unit and essentially dead in that they are bloodless, heartless even occasionally brainless entities that simply can only reproduce in kind. They are called institutions.
Continue reading “Authority Summarized: Authority (Part 13)”
The Abdication of Authority: Authority (Part 12)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, then created a bunch of things on the earth, ending with the creation of man in His image and in His likeness. He then provided Adam with a helpmeet called woman and instructed them to reproduce and subdue the earth. This is the condensed version!
God and Adam were buddies. They would get together daily, have a few beers and talk about old times and the day’s activities. Okay, maybe I am embellishing the story a bit, but Adam did have fellowship with God; that is, until Adam decided to listen to his wife, who had been fooled by the serpent into believing they could be equal with God.
Perhaps the legal axiom of the created not being greater or equal to the creator hadn’t yet been discovered! In any case, we know the rest of the story. That one act separated us from God, who throughout history has made the odd appearance in one way or another, culminating in Jesus Christ, sent to redeem man and creation.
Continue reading “The Abdication of Authority: Authority (Part 12)”
The Corruption of Authority: Authority (Part 11)
In our last presentation, I showed how the family jurisdiction is different from other jurisdictions in that it is the only jurisdiction led by a true representative of God, rather than a leader under God. If, however, the man decided that he wanted to be God rather than be His representative, the ordained family structure is threatened.
Today, I want to show how other rules or jurisdictions can also corrupt God’s plan. To simplify things, we will look at just the jurisdictions of Government and Church and how they can influence Family and each other in a negative fashion.
To help us understand what is happening, let’s say that God is the “president” of each rule and that the King and Leaders then occupy the vice-presidential position, under God. Let’s also say that the King is not happy with being in second place so he aspires to be president.
Continue reading “The Corruption of Authority: Authority (Part 11)”
The Authority of the Father: Authority (Part 10)
Once again, I believe I need to make a few clarifications respecting last week’s presentation. I don’t regret having made any of my comments. I truly believe that the father of a household has the greatest authority on earth. Although one may see this as a great honour, it does come with a great deal of corresponding responsibility.
Of all the leaders in all jurisdictions, it is only the head of the human household who is addressed with God’s title. You will never hear God being addressed as God the president, or God the pastor or God the mother, for that matter. Indeed, as much as modern feminism has affected our society and although it may have disenfranchised men, it will never unseat God the Father!
My reason for wanting to clarify last week’s statements is to make it abundantly clear that there are few guarantees in life and having a perfect or even functional family is not one of them. There is little doubt that being in relationship with God will make life a bit easier to handle, first by avoiding pitfalls and then by providing a place of refuge when things don’t go well.
Continue reading “The Authority of the Father: Authority (Part 10)”
The Authority of Family: Authority (Part 9)
Two weeks ago, I presented the Family jurisdiction in a similar pattern with all the other jurisdictions.
I put God as in authority over the Man who was to lead his wife in a Family. However, God, a man and a woman does not constitute a family! It takes children to make a family, at which point the man becomes the father.
Please understand what I am saying here. The man is addressed with the same title used for God. I have tested this observation whenever I find anyone who speaks a different language. So far, I have found that the title of father is used for God as well as the head of the family in every language tested. I believe this indicates that the authority of the family’s father is the greatest authority on earth.
Continue reading “The Authority of Family: Authority (Part 9)”
Authority? What Authority? Authority (Part 8)
Let’s spend a few minutes recapping what has been presented so far.
We know that authority is the ability to empower others and that one has to have it in the first place before one can dispense or delegate it. Our Christian world view puts God as the ultimate source of all rule, authority and power and we know that in the end He abolishes all of that.
I want to spend a few minutes to more fully explain what I believe this means. Again, I need to remind you of my human fallibility and that this is my “latest” understanding of this passage.
Continue reading “Authority? What Authority? Authority (Part 8)”
The Distribution of Authority: Authority (Part 7)
Last time we established that authority, true authority, could only be delegated by someone who has the authority to delegate it, and we established that God was the ultimate source of authority.
We also briefly looked at 1 Corinthians 15:24, where God abolishes all rule, and all authority and power. We defined “Rule” as a jurisdiction or kingdom, “Authority” as having the ability to exercise or distribute power, and “Power” as having the ability to exercise authority within a jurisdiction. We also stated that Power was more of a restriction than a license. We will see how this works today.
It is very important to understand that you cannot have one without the others. That is, a rule without authority is nothing and power cannot be exercised within a jurisdiction without authority.
Continue reading “The Distribution of Authority: Authority (Part 7)”
Rule, Power and Authority: Authority (Part 6)
Continuing with our lessons on authority, I would like to bring your attention to a very interesting passage from the Bible.
I cannot begin to count the number of times I have read 1 Corinthians, where the Apostle Paul is describing what most would see as end time prophesy. This time, I saw something that gave credence to my discovery of the dual nature of authority.
Beginning with verse 1 of Chapter 15, Paul gives a quick synopsis of why Jesus came and what transpired after His resurrection, then goes on to use himself as testimony to the grace of God. After providing evidence for the resurrection, Paul goes on to explain how this is foundational to the faith, then describes the order of events at the end of time.
Continue reading “Rule, Power and Authority: Authority (Part 6)”
What is Authority? Authority (Part 5)
Before embarking on this academic journey, we would be better prepared if we clearly defined a few things so that we can all begin from the same starting point. Let’s take a closer look at a few words.
Authority – the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience OR a person or organization having power or control in a particular, typically political or administrative, sphere.
Understand that authority is to have power and power is to have authority.
Continue reading “What is Authority? Authority (Part 5)”