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Not of his own authority
Wow, after all that time. Imagine what he has seen Jesus do firsthand. How the words of our Lord must have stung. But it wasn’t cruelty. It was love. He was answering Philip’s question. And He wanted to be clear. And He was. What was happening wasn’t the ordinary. It was a new plan unfolding. It was good news even if it didn’t feel like it some days.
Jesus is challenging me to change my mind about who is in control. His authority is now established. It is real. I must keep leaning into His power. I must keep the relationship in tact. I must know Him. Now.
Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. John 14:9-11
Related articles
- Who Touched Me? Who Is Near? (thelordswitness.com)
- Empty Soul (thelordswitness.com)
- My Confession of Who I Believe Jesus to Be According to Scripture; I Believe He Is God’s Christ (verticalviewer.wordpress.com)
- 9. The Anthem of Christ (Phil 2: 5-11) (tithebarn.wordpress.com)
Authority in God's world
I live and work in a world where authority comes from a vote or an appointment. I see, every day, titles of people who have been “hired” or appointed to do something. Is that where my authority comes from?
No. It comes from Jesus and God. That is all there is to know. In God’s world (and that is the world I really live in), He is in control. He makes the appointments. My authority comes from Him. That is all there is to it but it is way to easy to forget that.
I, Paul, and my companions in faith here, send greetings to the Galatian churches. My authority for writing to you does not come from any popular vote of the people, nor does it come through the appointment of some human higher-up. It comes directly from Jesus the Messiah and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Galatians 1:1-5