 The honor that a believer receives from the church is always earned by humble service. It’s never demanded or asserted. Those who are truly spiritual don’t claim to have spiritual authority over others. Nor do they boast about their spiritual labor and maturity. In fact, people who make such claims reveal their immaturity. The person that declares that he is “God’s anointed man of strength and power for the hour”—or similar self-accolades simply proves one thing: He or she has no authority.  A sure sign of greater spiritual maturity is a spirit of servanthood and childlike meekness. -Frank Viola
 Admittedly, authority does function in the church. But the authority that works in the ekklesia is drastically different from the authority that works in the natural order(Government, Law enforcement etc.). This only makes sense because the church is not a human organization, but a spiritual organism. The authority that operates in the church is not official authority. It’s organic authority.
What is organic authority? It’s authority that’s rooted in spiritual life. Organic authority is communicated authority. That is, when a person communicates God’s life through word or deed they have the support and backing of the Lord Himself. By virtue of the fact that they have the life of the Spirit, all Christians are capable of communicating organic authority. . This is why the New Testament enjoins us to subject ourselves one to another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21). But those who are more seasoned in spiritual life tend to express God’s will more consistently than the carnal and the immature (Heb. 5:14). Organic authority finds its source in Christ’s immediate direction rather than in a static office. Organic authority is not intrinsic to a person or a position. It doesn’t reside in humans or in an office they may hold (as is the case with official authority). Instead, organic authority operates outside of the individual. This is because it belongs to Christ. Only when Christ directs a person to word or action does that person exercise authority. Put another way, a person has the right to be heard and obeyed only when that person reflects the Lord’s mind. Organic authority, therefore, is communicative. -Frank Viola ( Read more under Article "Who is Your Covering". The Greek word most often translated “submit” in the New Testament is the word hupotasso. Hupotasso is better translated “subjection.” In its New Testament usage, subjection is a voluntary attitude of giving into, cooperating with, and yielding to the admonition or advice of another. Biblical subjection has nothing to do with control or hierarchical power. It’s simply an attitude of childlike openness in yielding to others. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21 NIV) Again, the Bible never teaches “protective covering.” Instead, it teaches mutual subjection. Mutual subjection rests upon the New Testament notion that all believers are gifted. As such, they can all express Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are to be in subjection to one another in Christ. -Frank Viola Read More on this subject in the Article section Church Paradigm titled "Who is Your Covering?"  Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire builders have been people unable to give and receive love.
—Henri Nouwen  I have learned that I don’t have to have it figured out, that instead of pressuring myself to take action, I just need to listen and obey. I’ve learned that I won’t find God’s purpose for me unless I seek Him “not only above all things, but instead of all things.”
Before the Wright Brothers created the first airplane. It was deemed unthinkable, humanly impossible, and unrealistic! The Wright Brothers took on the challenge and broke through the invisible barrier and manifested the hidden reality! Christ took on the challenge that separated us from Him and broke through its barrier, manifesting a new way of life for us! We could do nothing in our own strength to save ourselves, let alone, fulfill the purpose and desire He had in mind for us. In Christ, all things are possible. In Him we now live and move and have our being.
Celebrating our life in Christ! We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.
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AuthorsJohn & Amy Meyer Archives
January 2017
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