Understanding Spiritual Authority and Hierarchy pt.1

Spiritual authority is the power conferred on a person or persons by God to act on God’s behalf. In God’s kingdom, He usually chooses one person and grants him or her spiritual authority to speak or act etc on His behalf. Such a person represents God to people and stands before God on behalf of people. For example, in the book of Exodus 3, we see Moses receiving spiritual authority from God to go and get the children of Israel out of bondage and into the Promised Land. The said authority was conferred by God in these words in Ex.3:6-10

“Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”   

Here, we see the following truths about spiritual authority:

• It is given to man by God. It is not what a person takes on himself. In the above text of scripture, God started by introducing Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to clarify to Moses the source of the power he was receiving. See also, Ps.75:5-7; Heb.5:4-6.
• Spiritual authority is conferred on a person by grace of divine election. Note here that authority to operate in any of the fivefold ministry offices is given by the grace of God. You do not learn in school to get in. Therefore, your academic qualification or the length of time you have been in the ministry is not relevant.  See the example of Joseph in Gen.37:5-11; Gen.49:26 and 42:6-9. He was set apart from his siblings by God to lead them. See also Rm.9:11-12; 
• Everyone operating spiritual authority is acting on behalf of God. Therefore, God authenticates his or her authority by His manifestations usually through signs and wonders. See the example of the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 2:22; Jn.5:36-37; Rm.15:19 and 2Cor.12:12.
• Anyone called to raise a Ministry for God is usually an apostle or a prophet because the Church is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets. An apostle is a messenger of God. In other words, he or she is one who runs errands for God. An example is the Lord Jesus Christ, the twelve apostles of the lamb. See Eph.2:20; Eph.3:1-10 and Heb.3:1. On the other hand, a prophet is God’s spokesperson. There are many examples of prophets recorded in the bible both in the Old and New Testaments. See Mt.21:10-11 and Luk. 2:36.  
• There are others called into any of the other five fold ministry offices who are not foundation layers. Their distinction from others is that they have other people working with them to accomplish divine purpose. Those people are also called by God to help them. These are those in the other fivefold ministry offices like Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. These may not be foundation layers but their service is essential for the building up of the saints for the work of the ministry. Eph.4:11-14 and 1Cor.12:27-28.
• The ability to exercise spiritual authority is as authorized by God per time. This is why Apostle Paul tells us in Rom.12:3 to exercise our power according to the measure of faith we have at that time. For instance Moses was told to speak to the rock on one occasion and he went and struck the rock twice thus disobeying God and abusing spiritual privilege thereby. He was therefore excluded from entering the Promised Land. See Num.20:8-12.
• Spiritual authority is God’s way of creating order that enables his purpose to find free expression for our benefits and his glory. When people understand and embrace spiritual authority, they are blessed. See Deu.30:19-20; Ex.7:1
• Spiritual authority cuts across all spheres of life because all power devolves from God who is a Spirit. There is the one in the body of Christ which we looked at earlier. There is the one in the home where God is the head of Christ; Christ is the head of the man and the man is the head of his wife. There is the spiritual authority of God over nations and peoples. See Dan.417; Rm.13:1 and 1Cor.11:3.