Daniel

Recognizing Divine Authority - Part #2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2005-10-16

Synopsis: John Weaver continues his exposition of Matthew 8 and Luke 7, focusing on the centurion's recognition of Christ's divine authority as the basis for his great faith. He explains that Christ taught with authority because He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and is the living Word of God. The centurion understood delegated authority from his military experience, recognizing that Christ need only speak the word for healing to occur, since neither time nor distance diminishes His authority. Weaver emphasizes that those who are under authority easily recognize authority, and that Christ's delegated authority through preachers is equally His authority, so rejecting the preached Word is rejecting Christ. The sermon concludes with applications for unshakable faith based on Christ's sovereign authority.

[John Weaver] All right, well, let's open our Bible today. If you'll remember, we are on Matthew eight and Luke seven, and I will take just a few moments and review the message that I preached before I left, because I told you that I was basically setting the stage for the message today. We are on part two of recognizing divine authority, and our text, of course, is Matthew eight and Luke seven. So let's read from Matthew 8, beginning there with verse 5.

[John Weaver] And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him and saying, Lord, my servant life at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed. For I'm a man under authority, having soldiers under me. Now I say to this man, go when he goeth, and to another, come when he cometh. And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.

[John Weaver] And his servant was healed the same hour. You'll remember I told you last week as we began that the entire world turns upon authority, either the perception of authority or an understanding of authority. And there can be a great distance and a great vast difference between a perception of authority and understanding authority. Authority may be perceived and not necessarily be real and genuine, but once you understand authority and you understand what is real, what is genuine, and its limitations, there is indeed a vast difference. I told you about my friend who had the t-shirts made and the only thing written across the front was simply, question authority, and that is certainly true because Most authority today, a lot of it is very illegitimate as well. And just because someone has authority in one area does not necessarily mean that it has authority in the other area as well.

[John Weaver] And then I pointed out this simple fact, and I want to take the time to explain it again. In Matthew chapter eight, the Bible says the centurion came to Christ. In Luke chapter seven, the Bible says he sent the elders to Christ. There is no contradiction between those two things because whatever is done in your name with your consent and by your authority is the same as you doing it. We looked at that in the Bible and saw where Pilate, the Bible says, scourged Jesus. Yet Pilate never lifted his hand. Yet he gave the order and it was the soldiers who scourged our Lord. So it is attributed to Pilate as if he had done it himself. because it was done by his authority and in his name. Likewise, the Bible tells us in John chapter four that Jesus Christ made and baptized more disciples than John. And then verse two says, though Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples. Well, how is it that Jesus is attributed with baptizing all of these people when he did not baptize anyone?

[John Weaver] Well, his disciples were doing it in his name, with his consent and under his authority. So there is really no difference between these two passages, because once you bring them together, you understand that it is the same truth. We look, first of all, last time, at the place of the miracle, that is, Capernaum. We notice that Capernaum has always been a place under the curse of God, and certainly our Lord said, Woe unto thee, Capernaum!

[John Weaver] Thou art exalted unto heaven, for thou shalt be brought down to hell. Now the point I just simply made with this, no matter how wicked the city, no matter how wicked the town, no matter how wicked the area, God always has some elect there. Just like in Acts chapter 18, when Paul went to Corinth, God told Paul, be not afraid, hold not thy peace, Or I have much people in this city.

[John Weaver] So the place of this miracle, of course, was Capernaum, which was a place under the curse. Then secondly, the person who requested this miracle was a Roman soldier. He was a centurion. He had a minimum of 100 men under him. And we look very quickly at his faith. And our Lord Himself testified to His great faith. For He said He had not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. So here was a man then who had extraordinary faith. Then we look at His generosity and His testimony.

[John Weaver] For in Luke chapter 7, verse 5, those Jews said, He loveth our nation and He builded us a synagogue. And of course, the synagogue was there for the teaching and the instruction of the law. And then, of course, we looked at His compassion. because here he had a servant who was sick. And I pointed out the fact that it's absolutely marvelous to find a Roman soldier that would have compassion at all, because these men were usually so hardened by death and destruction.

[John Weaver] But since a few of you were not here, I want to just take the time to point this out again. In Luke chapter seven in verse two, The centurion says, my servant, lieth at home sick. And the Greek word there is the word doulos, which literally means my slave lieth at home sick. So here's the man who is concerned then for his slave. But the interesting thing in Matthew 8 and verse 6, when the centurion says in this passage, my servant, it is actually hapis, which is translated, my boy, my boy, life at home sick. That does not necessarily mean that this slave was his physical son, but it does indicate it was a younger slave and it was a younger slave with a dear relationship to his master. In other words, here was a slave and a master who understood and there was a loving, close relationship between them. The term boy is an affectionate term. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 29 and verse 21, he that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child will at length have him to become his son.

[John Weaver] In other words, he will give him an inheritance, so to speak. And I pointed out the fact, historically, this is where the word boy came from in servant-master relationships. It was not a term of discrimination. You will remember a lot of the blacks, even the older blacks, who were adults, they were called boys. Not out of terms of discrimination, not out of terms of of belittling and putting out, but it was a term of affection.

[John Weaver] And that's exactly what he said. It's my boy who's sick. And so we look then at his compassion. And then, of course, of his humility, because Christ said, I'll come and heal him. And he says, no, no, no. I'm not worthy that thou shouldest enter under the roof of my house now. That is where we ended. So let me just point out the fact once again that we need to understand authority. If you understand authority, then you're going to understand the impact and the greatness of this centurion's faith.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to deal with this today, and that is basically the core issue, and that is recognizing divine authority. Do you realize that our Lord taught as no other man has ever taught. Our Lord preached as no other man has ever preached. The Bible says He taught them as one who had authority. Now, let's ask, why in the world did our Lord teach and preach as no other man?

[John Weaver] There are two answers for that. The first one is this. He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in John 3 in verse 34, For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. Now listen, For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. You remember when Jesus Christ was baptized, it was John who testified that he saw the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon Christ. So Christ then was endued with the absolute and total fullness of the Holy Spirit. The second reason Christ taught as no other man ever taught was because of the authority which He possessed. That is why Matthew 7 and verse 29, the Bible said that He taught them with authority. Jesus Christ did not have to guess at what the Scripture meant.

[John Weaver] He did not have to make an hypothesis. He did not have to interpret. He did not have to speculate. He knew what the Scripture meant, for he wrote the Scriptures. And I might point out that he not only wrote the Scriptures, he is the living Word of God. So very clearly then, He had absolute and total authority. In fact, in Luke 4 and verse 36, let me just read this. And they were all amazed and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this?

[John Weaver] Now listen, for with what authority and power commandeth he the unclean spirits, and they come out. Well, of course, he had authority. Of course, he had power. Why should not our Lord preach and teach differently? Why should he not preach and teach with authority and power? He had the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and he had divine authority. He knew the Word of God. He inspired it. He authored it. He is the living Word.

[John Weaver] Now, I've told you this before, but I'm going to tell you again because I want it put together right at this point. There are three Scriptures that you need to understand in light of this. The first one is 2 Timothy 3, verse 16. Here it is. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now, let me just stop right there. The word inspiration is the Greek word Theopneptos, which literally means God exhaled or God breathed. Here's what he said. All Scripture is God breathed and is profitable. for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, verse 17, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Now, what does the Bible say in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16? That the Scriptures are God-breathed. So we have then 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 teaching us that the Bible is the written Word of God exhaled Breathe from the mouth of God Himself. Now, when you come to John 1, beginning with verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

[John Weaver] The same was in the beginning with Him. All things were made by Him that was made, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And when you get to verse 14, and the Word became flesh and what? Dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Now, just like the Bible is the written Word of God, Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. Now, I want you to note how these two things are put together in John 12 and verse 48. Listen carefully. In John 12 and verse 48, our Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that rejected Me, that is the living Word, and receiveth not My words, the written word, hath one that judges him in the last day, even the word which I have spoken." Now, the only reason I'm showing you this is so that you can understand you cannot have one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Nor can you have one attitude toward the Word of God and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ. You can't come and say, well, I believe in Jesus Christ, but I don't believe the Bible. Or, I believe the Bible, I don't believe in Jesus Christ. No, no, no. Jesus is the living word, the Bible is the written word, and they stand or fall together. You may not have one without the other.

[John Weaver] Now, why did this centurion have such a great faith? Our Lord Himself said, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. I want to tell you, I believe basically. It's because this centurion recognized our Lord's divine authority, I want you to look in your Bibles to Luke chapter seven. Luke chapter seven. Notice, if you would please. Beginning there with verse six, Luke seven, verse six.

[John Weaver] Then Jesus went with them, that is, after they beseeched him and told him, This man is worthy. And he was now not far from the house. The centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof. Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

[John Weaver] Now look what he said. Say in a word, Lord, you don't have to come into my house. Issue an order. Speak. Now look what else he said. Verse 8, For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth. And to another, come, and he cometh. And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that follow him, I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. Why is it this centurion had such a great faith?

[John Weaver] I'm going to submit to you. It is because he recognized our Lord's divine authority. Are you listening? Why is it that we have such a weak faith? We can postulate. It is probably one of the reasons is because we do not recognize Our Lord's divine authority. So let's consider for the first few minutes the recognition of Christ's divine authority. The interesting thing is this. This centurion recognized our Lord's authority, but the Jews did not. The interesting thing is as well that many times when our Lord was acting. The Jews knew that he was acting or a dated late, And they would question His authority, but they would not recognize the source of His authority, nor would they recognize that what He was doing, He was doing with divine authority. Why? Because if they ever acknowledged the source of His authority, they would have to acknowledge that He was indeed the Son of God.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 21, and let's begin reading there with verse 23. I find this exceedingly amazing. Notice Matthew chapter 21, beginning there with verse 23. Look carefully. Matthew 21, verse 23. And when he was coming to the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came on him as he was teaching and said, Now look, it's the chief priests, it's the elders.

[John Weaver] By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority? Now we want to know what authority you have to do it. And we want to know the source of your authority. So our Lord answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, which was it from heaven or of men? And they reasoned with themselves saying, if we shall say from heaven, He will say unto us, why do you not then believe him? But if we shall say of men, we fear the people, for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus and said, we cannot tell. And he said unto them, neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. Now, notice what our Lord did.

[John Weaver] They were demanding an answer. They wanted to know, by what authority are you doing this? Our Lord said, let me ask you one question. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or is it from men?

[John Weaver] Now they knew they were in a quandary. If they said from heaven, then our Lord said, if you recognize John's divine authority, why will you not recognize my divine authority? And if God can give John divine authority, Can I not likewise give me divine authority? In other words, why would you not believe me? But if we say that this authority comes from man, well, everybody's going to stone us because everybody knows and believes that John was a prophet of God.

[John Weaver] So they realized they were backed into a corner and they said, we cannot answer them. Well, our Lord said, I'm not going to answer your question, either, man. When they understood the implications of the answer they would have been forced to give, it would have meant that these Jews then would have had to have recognized that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and as the Son of God, He had full authority to reprove, rebuke, correct, and do whatever needed to be done. Moreover, it would mean that they would have been required by God to submit to Him.

[John Weaver] And his teachings and his instructions. You see, the Bible teaches very plainly. That Jesus Christ is God incarnate, that is, he is God in the flesh. The Bible says in 1st, 73 and verse 16, and without all controversy, great is the mystery of Godness. Listen now, God was manifest in the flesh. justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory. But listen to what he said, and without all controversy, great is the mystery of God'sness. God was manifest in the flesh. The centurion recognized that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. He recognized the That our Lord had divine authority. That's why he said, Lord, you do not need to enter into my house.

[John Weaver] You just speak the word. And it'll be done because you are God and you have divine authority.

[John Weaver] Now, let me take this a step further. Follow with me now. Once Christ's divine authority is recognized. Then one is in a position to understand delegated authority. God's authority is inherent and intrinsic. That is, that is something He has in and of Himself by nature. Moreover, it is total, absolute, and complete. There is absolutely nothing over which God has jurisdiction. God has jurisdiction over everything. He's the sovereign. He has total, absolute authority. Man's authority, however, is never inherent, never intrinsic, and never absolute, total, or complete. Any authority that man receives is always delegated authority. Now, let me tell you, here's a simple way to understand delegated authority. Delegated authority simply means that the one who holds total, absolute, and complete authority simply allows someone else to act on his behalf. That is, he bestows a little of that authority, it is delegated, and says, now you may act on my behalf. Governmental authority, whether it is personal, familial, civil, or ecclesiastical, is always delegated authority. Now listen to me. Kings. Presidents. Congressman. It's all delegated authority.

[John Weaver] Daniel 2 in verse 21, you don't have to turn there, but the Bible says concerning God and he. Change at the times and the seasons. He removed the kings and said the king. He giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. Now notice what the Bible says concerning God. It is God that removes kings. It is God that sets up kings. That is, He is the one that delegates them power temporarily. It is God who designates and delegates power, the congressmen, presidents, temporarily.

[John Weaver] They do not have any inherent or intrinsic authority. The Bible says in Proverbs, not in Proverbs, but in Psalm 75, verses six and seven, listen carefully, for promotion cometh neither from the east nor from the west or from the south, but God is the judge. He put it down one and he set it up another. That's delegated authority. It doesn't matter if we're talking about pastoral authority. family authority, headship, or church, all of these are types of delegated authority. Now I want you to understand that the centurion understood delegated authority because that authority which he possessed had been bestowed upon him by those who were higher in authority that he was. In other words, he understood that the only power that he had, the only authority he had, had been given to him. And along with that delegated authority was a limited authority to issue orders and command and to delegate to those below him. Now listen carefully.

[John Weaver] It has always been in the military. There's always a chain of command. Anybody that's ever been in the military understands it. That's the first thing you learn when you get in boot camp. There is a chain of command. A private just does not knock on a general's door and says, I've got a grievance to file. It doesn't work like that. You have to go through the proper channels, the chain of command.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles. The first point, first Corinthians chapter 11, verse three, God has a chain of command. God has a chain of order in this world. Look at it. First Corinthians 11 and verse three. Look what the apostle Paul writes. He says, but I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God. So here's God's chain of command. There's God the Father, there's Christ, there's man, there's woman, and of course, then there's children under that. That is God's chain of command.

[John Weaver] Now, listen to what I'm about to say, because I'm trying to explain how the centurion had such a great faith and how we have such a weak faith. Do you realize those who are under authority? Easily and quickly recognize those who are in authority. Now, let me say that again, those who are under authority. Easily and quickly Recognize those who are in authority. Even a private in the army.

[John Weaver] The first thing he's taught is not just that chain of command. But you recognize your superiors. You salute those second Louis. You salute those first Louis. I mean, you salute your captain. You better not speak disrespectfully to your sergeant. You see what I'm saying? When you're under authority, you're taught to recognize those who are in authority. Likewise, are you listening now? Likewise, it should be easy, if we're under God's divine authority, to recognize those who are in positions of God-given authority.

[John Weaver] Now let me go further. Follow me. If you are not under authority. And do not know how to take orders. It will be more difficult. For you to recognize authority. And they go a step further, listen carefully. If you do not know how to submit to authority. I'm not talking about God-given authority. I'm not talking about usurped authority. I'm not talking about illegitimate authority. I know there's plenty of that, but I'm talking about God-given authority. I'm talking about lawful authority. If you do not know how to submit to God's lawful authority, and if you do not know how to take orders from lawful authority, God will never use you to give orders lawfully.

[John Weaver] What in the world did this centurion say? Lord, speak the word. I know how it is. I'm a man under authority. When my higher ups say jump, I ask how high. When those below me, when I command them, they ask me how high. I understand this, Lord. I'm under authority. I can have authority. I give orders. I take orders. I give orders. Understand this. And so, Lord, since I understand the principle of authority here, I see authority in you. Now, let me say it again. If you do not know how to submit to authority and take orders, God's never going to use you to give orders.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that even Jesus Christ himself knew this simple lesson? Now, let me show you. I want you to turn very quickly in your Bibles, first of all, to Hebrews chapter three and verse one. Then we're turning back to John chapter five. OK. Hebrews chapter 3. I can quote these verses, but I want you to see them. Look in Hebrews chapter 3 in verse 1. Look what the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Now, there's a lot of preaching to be done on that verse, but there's one word I want to point out. Look at it. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle. Consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Do you realize that Jesus Christ is called the apostle? Do you know what the word apostle means? It's from the Greek word apostolos. Literally, the word apostle means a sent one. Do you realize the phrase that is used to describe Jesus Christ more than any other in the New Testament is the phrase the sent one?

[John Weaver] For instance, look in your Bibles back to John chapter 5. John chapter 5 and look at verse 27. You're going to find that Jesus Christ was not only sent by the Father, but He was given authority by the Father. Look in John 5 and verse 27 to begin with. John 5 verse 27. The Bible speaking, in fact, let's read verse 26, for as the father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the son to have life in himself, and hath given him, that is the son, authority to execute judgment also, because he is the son of man. Now note, if you would, he's been given authority. Look in John 6 and verse 38. Here it is, John 6, verse 38.

[John Weaver] What did our Lord say? For I came down from heaven, watch now, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him who sent me." Why did Jesus Christ come? Primarily to do the will of the Father. I came not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Look in verse 40. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone who seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise Him up at the last day. He said, I came to do my Father's will. It's just that simple. And when I came to do His will, He gave me certain authority. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 2 because I want you to see how thoroughly our Lord learned this simple lesson of being under authority and being under submission. OK.

[John Weaver] This passage is a very important passage. It's called the kenosis or the kenotic passage. And I can assure you, if you ever study theology, This is one of the main passages that you're going to have to learn to. Not only interpret, but explain and defend because there are so many errors concerning concerning this passage, but look in Philippians two and verse five. Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus. Now watch this. Whatever was the mind of Christ in this area, God is saying it should be our mind.

[John Weaver] It should be our way of thinking. Now look, let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death on the cross.

[John Weaver] Now, let's just stop right there. This is the passage that is called the Kenosis passage because the Bible says he emptied himself, that is, he made himself of no reputation. Stop and think with me. Jesus Christ, who is God eternal, the second person in the Godhead, willingly emptied himself of his glory and his authority in order to submit himself to the will of his Father. And in submitting himself to the will of his Father, he not only became a man, he became a servant.

[John Weaver] Now listen to this statement. The power that Jesus Christ exercised upon this earth, even until his death, was the power and the authority That his father had given him as the father's servant. Look in John 10, let me show it to you, John 10, this to me, this is absolutely astounding, folks. You wait a minute and put together what I'm trying to show you. Look in John chapter 10. John chapter 10, verse 17. Look what our Lord says. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again." Well, sure, he can take it again. He's God. He's God in the flesh.

[John Weaver] He can do whatever he wants to. Oh, but listen to what else he says. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. The power that Jesus Christ exercised while He was on this earth was the power that God the Father had given Him, the authority that God the Father had given Him as the Servant, as the Sent One, as the Messiah, as the Redeemer.

[John Weaver] This is what is so absolutely astounding in this passage. When you consider that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, There never was a time when He was not. There never shall be a time when He is not. He had eternal power and glory. He had total satisfaction in and of Himself. Total communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And yet, He willingly laid aside the glory that He had in the independent exercise of His Godhood and became the servant. the servant. He became obedient, how far? Even unto death. And the worst type of death, the death upon the cross. Do you realize that Jesus Christ did not and would not act independently of the Father?

[John Weaver] You see, that was the temptation, really, in Matthew chapter 4, when Satan said, If thou art the Son of God, or since thou art the Son of God, command these stones they be turned into bread. What did our Lord say? It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God. In other words, Satan, if you think you're going to tempt me to display my power and act independently of my Father, you're mistaken. I will not.

[John Weaver] Come on, jump off this Jump off this temple. All these kingdoms I'll give you. If you think you're going to tempt me to act independently of my father and jump ahead of him, you're crazy. I'll go through the valley of death that he's designed for me. I'll bide his time and wait until he gives me the kingdom. I will not act independently of my father. Why? He was a servant. He came to be the father's servant. He came to do the father's will. He's the sent one. Look in your Bible, John 8, verse 29, one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible. Here it is, John 8, verse 29. Look at it. Our Lord says, and he that sent me is with me. Once again, he that sent me is with me.

[John Weaver] The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him. What did Christ come to do? The will of the Father. He came to please the Father. He came to do the Father's will. He was the sent one. Now watch this. Here is our Lord's perfect submission. To his father. Here is our Lord. Let me put it in a military. Frame. Here's our Lord's. Perfect taking of orders and submitting to authority. And when he had done so, even unto death, if you look in your Bibles to Matthew 28 and verse 18, you'll see a reward that the Father gave him. Because of his perfect obedience, look what our Lord said. After his resurrection, because of his perfect obedience, and Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power, that is, all authority, all jurisdiction is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Now, because our Lord obeyed the Father perfectly, what did the Father do? The Father then turned around and bestowed upon him again all authority and power.

[John Weaver] everything that he had before he laid aside that heavenly splendor and came down to the earth. But now let me ask you a question. Let me see how different you are from Jesus Christ. Here we go. If you had all power and all authority, and could do whatever you wanted to, and no one could ever call you into account or anything, what would you do with it?

[John Weaver] I can hear the wheels turning. I hear people saying, I tell you what I'd do, brother, I'd clean house. I'd clean some clocks. I know what I'd do. Well, let me show you what Christ is going to do. Look in your Bibles to first Corinthians chapter 15. This is absolutely amazing. First Corinthians 15. Let's begin reading with verse 24. Remember, he had all authority. He willingly laid his side and became the servant. Then as a reward for his perfect obedience, the father gave him all authority again. First Corinthians 15 verse 24. Then come at the end when he cries, shall I deliver up the kingdom to God, even the father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and all power. And I thank God for that. I thank God for the new world order. Everything's going to be put down. Everything's going to be brought into conformity to the word of God when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. Watch for he Christ must reign.

[John Weaver] till he hath put all enemies under his feet, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Now look, for he hath put all things under his feet, but when he saith all things are put under him, that is, Christ has everything, it is manifest that he that is God the Father is accepted who did put all things under him. Now watch, and when all things shall be subdued unto him, that is, unto Christ, when Christ conquers everything and everyone, Then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

[John Weaver] What will our Lord do? He'll come back to the Father and say, Father. I surrender everything to you again. That you may be all and in all.

[John Weaver] Now, listen to me, I'm just going to restate this position and go on. I said. When one has learned to be under authority. It is easy to recognize authority. When one has learned to take orders, God will most likely use that one to give orders. But if you cannot submit, and if you cannot take, God will never use you To give. What did our Lord do? Our Lord learned to take. And then learn to give. This centurion said, Lord.

[John Weaver] You don't even have to come into my house. I'm a man under authority. I know how to take orders. But Lord, I've got folks under me. I know how to give orders. Lord, you're the sovereign. You just give the order and my servant shall be healed. And let me make another point before I make some applications. Do you understand? Think with me now that Christ's recognized authority leads us to understand. That neither time. Nor distance. diminishes his authority. Now stop and think about that. Once you recognize Christ's divine authority, that God the Father has given him all authority in heaven and earth, then you must also understand that neither time nor distance diminishes that authority. So he said, Lord, you speak the word. You don't have to come into my house. You don't have to be physically in my house to heal my servant. You don't have to be anywhere near my house to heal my servant. Your authority is pervasive. Neither time nor distance counteracts it. You just speak the word. And my servant shall be healed.

[John Weaver] Now, what did he say? He said. I know how it is to give orders. I say to one go when he goes, I say to another come and he comes. He says my soldiers are at my beck and call. But then I'm also at the beck and call of my superiors. So, Lord, I know how to give and I know how to take, but Lord, All you have to do is speak the word because you have total and absolute authority. He recognized that Christ could just simply speak and it was done. You know, we get to thinking, oh, God, oh, Lord, would you please come down here and straighten this mess out? He doesn't have to come down here and straighten this mess out. All he has to do is speak from where he is. That's all. Nod his head. Lift his finger. Neither time nor distance diminishes his authority. And this centurion recognized that. He understood authority. He said, boy, when my superiors command me, I jump. When I command my soldiers, they jump.

[John Weaver] Lord, you are sovereign. When you speak, all must obey. When you speak, all darkness flees. When you speak, all demons run. When you speak, all sin and sickness must disappear. Why? You're the sovereign of the universe, and neither time nor distance can affect you. or your authority in any matter whatsoever. Just speak the Word. Would to God that our present-day politicians and preachers and people recognize this principle. Our Lord's authority has not been diminished. He may not be walking on this earth, but He's seated at the right hand of God the Father with all authority in heaven and earth. All he needs is to speak the Word. You know, it should be our greatest desire to be that type of servant to our Lord.

[John Weaver] That we come and go at His bidding. We walk in the direction of His Word. We run where He sends us. We return when He calls us. We do what He appoints us. Our attitude should be that of Samuel. Speak, Lord, thy servant hearing. Lord, we're willing, we're ready, and we'll do that. Christ sits enthroned at the Father's right hand. Neither time nor distance diminishes His authority.

[John Weaver] That old centurion recognized that, and that was the basis, I believe, of His great faith. Now, let me make some applications, and I want you to listen carefully. By the way, Matthew 8, Luke 7 is the first recorded miracle really at a distance in the New Testaments. There was one in the Old Testament, you remember, where Elisha healed Naaman at a distance when he went and washed in the Jordan River seven times.

[John Weaver] So here Christ does not need to be physically present for his authority to be exercised. Now, here are my implications. The first one is this. The centurion's great faith was exercised and based upon his understanding of the authority of Christ. If you and I wish to increase in faith, if we wish to grow in faith, if we wish to exercise our faith, in some degree we have to comprehend the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ. We must grasp the fact that all He need do is speak.

[John Weaver] May I ask you, how did this world come into existence? He spake and it was commanded. He commanded and it stood fast. All He needs do is speak.

[John Weaver] It doesn't matter if it's healing, doesn't matter if it's judgment, doesn't matter if it's health, doesn't matter what it is. All he needs to do is speak and it is done. Here's the second point, and I really want to emphasize this. I want you to understand. That Christ's delegated authority. is equally his authority. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Second Corinthians, Chapter five in just a moment. I want to explain a verse to you. Second Corinthians, Chapter five, get ready for it. But let me explain my statement that Christ's delegated authority. Is equally his authority. And here's an illustration that you can understand. I have four children.

[John Weaver] They're all gone from home, but let's suppose they're back home and they're young ones. And my oldest daughter, suppose I say now, Wendy, your mother and I are going to be gone for two hours. While I'm gone, you're in charge. You make sure the younger girls clean up their rooms. You make sure they do what they're supposed to do. And you watch over them. And you make sure nothing happens to them. And your mother and I'll be back in two hours. Until I'm gone, you're running the show. Now, if I did that, and if my oldest daughter then looked at my younger girls and said, all right girls, Get to your rooms, get cracking. Get those rooms cleaned up. When you get through, we're going to straighten up this room. And then, you know, if you don't, you're going to answer to me because I'm going to have to answer to dad.

[John Weaver] You understand that when I give that daughter that temporary delegated authority, it is still my authority. I've asked her to do that. She is there in my place as my representative. Do we understand that?

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you why I'm giving you this point. If my younger girls look at Wendy and say, they don't have to obey you. You're not daddy. You're not mama. You're just an older sister. That's who you are. They don't have to obey you.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you, if they heard me If they knew I left her in charge, whose authority are they resisting, hers or mine? Mine. Mine. So that means two hours later when I come back home, I'll deal with it.

[John Weaver] Now, you can see that very plainly. Here's the problem that we have in preaching, and I'm going to be dealing with some of this in the not too distant future. But I've had countless people come up to me sometimes after I get through preaching and say, Preacher, you know, that sounds good. And if I heard God say it, I'd believe it. But you know, that's just what you say. And all I've done is explain and quote Scripture.

[John Weaver] It's kind of like a friend of mine. I laugh. People are so funny. He was getting a haircut. He's a preacher. He's getting a haircut. And the barber brought up the doctrine of election. And the barber was against the doctrine. I don't know how you can be against a doctrine that occurs 73 times in the New Testament alone. I mean, you've got to believe something. But anyhow, the barber at all. And finally my friend said, look, just hush. And he reaches in his pocket and pulls out his New Testament.

[John Weaver] And he opened it to Romans chapter 9. And all he did was read Romans chapter 9. Read it aloud. And when he got through reading it, all he did was close his Bible and says, there, don't you believe that? The barber said, not the way you read it, I don't. How else can you read what is there? I mean, you know, it's there. Well, let me show it to you. How else can you read this? Look in Second Corinthians, chapter five and verse 20. I want you to look what the Apostle Paul said.

[John Weaver] This will put a whole different light upon preaching if you will grasp it now. Second Corinthians five, verse 20. The Apostle Paul says now then we and he's not talking about God's people in general. But he's talking about preachers in particular, and I don't have time to go through in the entire context. But here it is.

[John Weaver] Now, then we are ambassadors for Christ. Now, look carefully as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you and Christ dead be reconciled unto God.

[John Weaver] Now, first of all, let me point out an ambassador or someone with an office, someone with an office is someone with authority. This is a special sense. It's not, well, we're ambassadors in general, we represent. Yeah, I understand that. But you know what an ambassador of the United States is an ambassador with an office. He's got authority, etc. He's been officially appointed to represent the United States. Well, this is exactly what Paul is saying about preachers.

[John Weaver] Now, look what he says. Now that we are ambassadors for Christ. Now, look, as though God did beseech you by us. What is he saying? He is saying we have been duly appointed the delegates of Jesus Christ. And now God is beseeching you by us or through us. Now watch carefully. Do you remember I said earlier, if my children resisted the authority that I bestowed upon my oldest daughter, they would be resisting me. You remember that?

[John Weaver] Do you know what our Lord said in John 13 in verse 20? Let me just quote it for you. He said, Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, Receive with him that sent me.

[John Weaver] Now, let's work this out. Christ said, if you receive me, you receive him that sent me. That is the father. If you receive whom I send, you receive me. But the opposite is also true. If you don't receive the representative of Christ, you don't receive Christ. If you don't receive Christ, you don't receive the father. Now, what is Christ done? Christ is seated at the right hand of God, the father. We understand that. What has Christ done?

[John Weaver] He has delegated authority through His preachers to speak His Word for Him. Now listen to me. And I don't want to have to get into this right now, but speaking the word for Christ does not mean I stand here and give you my idea and my opinion. No, no, no, no. When I speak for Christ, it's when I'm explaining and expounding and applying the Scripture. You understand that? It's the Scripture that's the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look what he said, look in 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 20 again. Now, then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us or through us. Now, look what he said. We pray you in Christ dead. The irreconciled unto God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just deal with this word stead just momentarily. The word is you pair in the Greek. You know what the word means? It is the exact same word that is used when it talks about the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. What did he do? He died in our what? Our stead, our place.

[John Weaver] Now, what did the Apostle Paul say? We pray you in Christ's stead. That is, we're here in his place. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. But he's delegated authority to his preachers to declare his word. And so we are praying you, in his stead, be reconciled unto God. Are you listening? Those who then reject and refuse the preaching and teaching of the Word of God are rejecting Jesus Christ. You say, well, Brother Weaver, If I don't attend the preaching of the Word of God, does that mean I'm rejecting Christ? Yeah. If I don't believe the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, does that mean I'm rejecting Christ? Yeah, sure does.

[John Weaver] For he said, he that received the whomsoever I sinned. Now, I'm not talking about any preacher, but I'm talking about God's preachers. And I'm not talking about preachers just standing up spouting their opinions. I'm talking about preachers who are actually expounding the Word of God. That is the Word of God. And when you say, well, Brother Weaver, if God said it, I believe it. What do you think the Bible is? It is the Word of God. God did say it. And all I'm telling you is what God said. The point I'm trying to make is this. The reason most people reject the preaching and teaching of the Word of God is they don't understand authority. Nor do they understand delegated authority. And they don't understand that Christ has sent men in His stead to teach His Word and proclaim His truth. Now, one last application. Here it is. If we understand Christ's sovereign authority and His delegated authority, It should lead us to an unshakable confidence and faith in Him since neither time nor distance can diminish His authority.

[John Weaver] I want you to look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1 before I read it. Let me make the statement. Think about this, folks. What He said, He will do. What He has promised, He will perform. What He has predicted, He will bring to pass. He cannot be hindered. He cannot be thwarted. He cannot be overthrown. He cannot be stopped. He cannot be conquered. Consequently, if you look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1 in verse 20, you will find this.

[John Weaver] For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen unto the glory of God by us. Did you hear that? the promises of God in Him are what? Yea and Amen. They will come to pass. Nothing can stop them. Nothing can hinder them. No new world order. No Bilderbergers. No skull and bones. No one, nothing can stop Jesus Christ from fulfilling and performing his promises or his curses.

[John Weaver] Unilapse a basis for unshakable faith. Lord, you may be in heaven. That doesn't matter. You can shake their tree with your word anytime you please. And you can fulfill your promise to me or to anyone else. with Your Word. Just speak, Lord, because Your authority cannot be diminished by time or distance. He is the Sovereign of the universe. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that You would be pleased to help us, Lord, Please to teach us and please Lord to demonstrate and show us and help us, enable us to comprehend your divine authority. May we have a great faith, an unshakable faith, an unbounding confidence in you.

[John Weaver] We know that you're too loving to be unkind and too wise to make a mistake. Give us grace, Lord. to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

Recognizing Divine Authority - Part #2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	1906131044
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Daniel
Genre	Sermon
Date	2005-10-16
Dictation Name
Book	Book 129: Recognizing Divine Authority — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	85

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews the previous message, setting the stage for part two on recognizing divine authority, and reads Matthew 8:5-13.

All right, well, let's open our Bible today. If you'll remember, we are on Matthew 8 and Luke 7, and I will take just a few moments and review the message that I preached before I left, because I told you that I was basically setting the stage for the message today. We are on part two of recognizing divine authority, and our text, of course, is Matthew 8 and Luke 7. So let's read from Matthew 8, beginning there with verse 5.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 8:5-13

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed. For I'm a man under authority, having soldiers under me. Now I say to this man, go, and he goeth; and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.

The Place and Person of the Miracle

The miracle occurs in Capernaum, a city under God's curse, yet God has His elect there. The centurion, a Roman soldier, demonstrates extraordinary faith, generosity, and compassion for his servant.

Thou art exalted unto heaven, for thou shalt be brought down to hell. Now the point I just simply made with this, no matter how wicked the city, no matter how wicked the town, no matter how wicked the area, God always has some elect there. Just like in Acts chapter 18, when Paul went to Corinth, God told Paul, be not afraid, hold not thy peace, for I have much people in this city. So the place of this miracle, of course, was Capernaum, which was a place under the curse. Then secondly, the person who requested this miracle was a Roman soldier. He was a centurion. He had a minimum of 100 men under him. And we look very quickly at his faith. And our Lord Himself testified to His great faith. For He said He had not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. So here was a man then who had extraordinary faith. Then we look at His generosity and His testimony.

For in Luke chapter 7, verse 5, those Jews said, He loveth our nation and He builded us a synagogue. And of course, the synagogue was there for the teaching and the instruction of the law. And then, of course, we looked at His compassion, because here he had a servant who was sick. And I pointed out the fact that it's absolutely marvelous to find a Roman soldier that would have compassion at all, because these men were usually so hardened by death and destruction.

The Centurion's Compassion and Humility

The centurion's use of 'boy' for his servant indicates an affectionate relationship. His humility is shown when he declares himself unworthy for Christ to enter his house.

But since a few of you were not here, I want to just take the time to point this out again. In Luke chapter 7 in verse 2, the centurion says, my servant, lieth at home sick. And the Greek word there is the word doulos, which literally means my slave lieth at home sick. So here's the man who is concerned then for his slave. But the interesting thing in Matthew 8 and verse 6, when the centurion says in this passage, my servant, it is actually hapis, which is translated, my boy, my boy, lieth at home sick. That does not necessarily mean that this slave was his physical son, but it does indicate it was a younger slave and it was a younger slave with a dear relationship to his master. In other words, here was a slave and a master who understood and there was a loving, close relationship between them. The term boy is an affectionate term. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 29 and verse 21, he that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child will at length have him to become his son.

In other words, he will give him an inheritance, so to speak. And I pointed out the fact, historically, this is where the word boy came from in servant-master relationships. It was not a term of discrimination. You will remember a lot of the blacks, even the older blacks, who were adults, they were called boys. Not out of terms of discrimination, not out of terms of belittling and putting out, but it was a term of affection. And that's exactly what he said. It's my boy who's sick. And so we look then at his compassion. And then, of course, of his humility, because Christ said, I'll come and heal him. And he says, no, no, no. I'm not worthy that thou shouldest enter under the roof of my house now. That is where we ended. So let me just point out the fact once again that we need to understand authority. If you understand authority, then you're going to understand the impact and the greatness of this centurion's faith.

Christ's Divine Authority in Teaching

Christ taught with authority because He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and is the living Word of God, knowing the Scriptures perfectly.

Now, I want to deal with this today, and that is basically the core issue, and that is recognizing divine authority. Do you realize that our Lord taught as no other man has ever taught. Our Lord preached as no other man has ever preached. The Bible says He taught them as one who had authority. Now, let's ask, why in the world did our Lord teach and preach as no other man?

There are two answers for that. The first one is this. He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in John 3 in verse 34, For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. Now listen, For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. You remember when Jesus Christ was baptized, it was John who testified that he saw the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon Christ. So Christ then was endued with the absolute and total fullness of the Holy Spirit. The second reason Christ taught as no other man ever taught was because of the authority which He possessed. That is why Matthew 7 and verse 29, the Bible said that He taught them with authority. Jesus Christ did not have to guess at what the Scripture meant.

He did not have to make an hypothesis. He did not have to interpret. He did not have to speculate. He knew what the Scripture meant, for he wrote the Scriptures. And I might point out that he not only wrote the Scriptures, he is the living Word of God. So very clearly then, He had absolute and total authority. In fact, in Luke 4 and verse 36, let me just read this. And they were all amazed and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this?

Now listen, for with what authority and power commandeth he the unclean spirits, and they come out. Well, of course, he had authority. Of course, he had power. Why should not our Lord preach and teach differently? Why should he not preach and teach with authority and power? He had the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and he had divine authority. He knew the Word of God. He inspired it. He authored it. He is the living Word.

The Written and Living Word

The Bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus is the living Word; one cannot have a different attitude toward one than the other.

Now, I've told you this before, but I'm going to tell you again because I want it put together right at this point. There are three Scriptures that you need to understand in light of this. The first one is 2 Timothy 3, verse 16. Here it is. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now, let me just stop right there. The word inspiration is the Greek word Theopneustos, which literally means God exhaled or God breathed. Here's what he said. All Scripture is God breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, verse 17, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Now, what does the Bible say in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16? That the Scriptures are God-breathed. So we have then 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 teaching us that the Bible is the written Word of God exhaled, breathed from the mouth of God Himself. Now, when you come to John 1, beginning with verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with Him. All things were made by Him that was made, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And when you get to verse 14, and the Word became flesh and what? Dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now, just like the Bible is the written Word of God, Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. Now, I want you to note how these two things are put together in John 12 and verse 48. Listen carefully. In John 12 and verse 48, our Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that rejecteth Me, that is the living Word, and receiveth not My words, the written word, hath one that judges him in the last day, even the word which I have spoken. Now, the only reason I'm showing you this is so that you can understand you cannot have one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward the Word of God.

Nor can you have one attitude toward the Word of God and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ. You can't come and say, well, I believe in Jesus Christ, but I don't believe the Bible. Or, I believe the Bible, I don't believe in Jesus Christ. No, no, no. Jesus is the living word, the Bible is the written word, and they stand or fall together. You may not have one without the other.

Recognition of Christ's Divine Authority

The centurion's great faith stemmed from recognizing Christ's divine authority, unlike the Jews who questioned it but refused to acknowledge its source.

Now, why did this centurion have such a great faith? Our Lord Himself said, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. I want to tell you, I believe basically it's because this centurion recognized our Lord's divine authority. I want you to look in your Bibles to Luke chapter 7. Luke chapter 7. Notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 6, Luke 7, verse 6.

Then Jesus went with them, that is, after they beseeched him and told him, This man is worthy. And he was now not far from the house. The centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

Now look what he said. Say in a word, Lord, you don't have to come into my house. Issue an order. Speak. Now look what else he said. Verse 8, For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth. And to another, come, and he cometh. And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that follow him, I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. Why is it this centurion had such a great faith?

I'm going to submit to you. It is because he recognized our Lord's divine authority. Are you listening? Why is it that we have such a weak faith? We can postulate. It is probably one of the reasons is because we do not recognize our Lord's divine authority. So let's consider for the first few minutes the recognition of Christ's divine authority. The interesting thing is this. This centurion recognized our Lord's authority, but the Jews did not. The interesting thing is as well that many times when our Lord was acting, the Jews knew that he was acting or a dated late, and they would question His authority, but they would not recognize the source of His authority, nor would they recognize that what He was doing, He was doing with divine authority. Why? Because if they ever acknowledged the source of His authority, they would have to acknowledge that He was indeed the Son of God.

Delegated Authority and the Chain of Command

God's authority is inherent; man's is delegated. The centurion understood this from military chain of command, and God has a chain of command: God, Christ, man, woman.

Now, let me take this a step further. Follow with me now. Once Christ's divine authority is recognized, then one is in a position to understand delegated authority. God's authority is inherent and intrinsic. That is, that is something He has in and of Himself by nature. Moreover, it is total, absolute, and complete. There is absolutely nothing over which God has jurisdiction. God has jurisdiction over everything. He's the sovereign. He has total, absolute authority. Man's authority, however, is never inherent, never intrinsic, and never absolute, total, or complete. Any authority that man receives is always delegated authority. Now, let me tell you, here's a simple way to understand delegated authority. Delegated authority simply means that the one who holds total, absolute, and complete authority simply allows someone else to act on his behalf. That is, he bestows a little of that authority, it is delegated, and says, now you may act on my behalf. Governmental authority, whether it is personal, familial, civil, or ecclesiastical, is always delegated authority. Now listen to me. Kings. Presidents. Congressmen. It's all delegated authority.

Daniel 2 in verse 21, you don't have to turn there, but the Bible says concerning God, and he changeth the times and the seasons. He removeth kings and setteth up kings. He giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. Now notice what the Bible says concerning God. It is God that removes kings. It is God that sets up kings. That is, He is the one that delegates them power temporarily. It is God who designates and delegates power, the congressmen, presidents, temporarily.

They do not have any inherent or intrinsic authority. The Bible says in Proverbs, not in Proverbs, but in Psalm 75, verses 6 and 7, listen carefully, for promotion cometh neither from the east nor from the west or from the south, but God is the judge. He putteth down one and setteth up another. That's delegated authority. It doesn't matter if we're talking about pastoral authority, family authority, headship, or church, all of these are types of delegated authority. Now I want you to understand that the centurion understood delegated authority because that authority which he possessed had been bestowed upon him by those who were higher in authority than he was. In other words, he understood that the only power that he had, the only authority he had, had been given to him. And along with that delegated authority was a limited authority to issue orders and command and to delegate to those below him. Now listen carefully.

It has always been in the military. There's always a chain of command. Anybody that's ever been in the military understands it. That's the first thing you learn when you get in boot camp. There is a chain of command. A private just does not knock on a general's door and says, I've got a grievance to file. It doesn't work like that. You have to go through the proper channels, the chain of command.

Now, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles. The first point, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 3, God has a chain of command. God has a chain of order in this world. Look at it. 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 3. Look what the apostle Paul writes. He says, But I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. So here's God's chain of command. There's God the Father, there's Christ, there's man, there's woman, and of course, then there's children under that. That is God's chain of command.

Now, listen to what I'm about to say, because I'm trying to explain how the centurion had such a great faith and how we have such a weak faith. Do you realize those who are under authority easily and quickly recognize those who are in authority? Now, let me say that again, those who are under authority easily and quickly recognize those who are in authority. Even a private in the army.

Submission to Authority as a Prerequisite for Leadership

Those under authority easily recognize authority. If one cannot submit to lawful authority, God will not use them to give orders. Christ Himself learned obedience as a servant.

The first thing he's taught is not just that chain of command. But you recognize your superiors. You salute those second lieutenants. You salute those first lieutenants. I mean, you salute your captain. You better not speak disrespectfully to your sergeant. You see what I'm saying? When you're under authority, you're taught to recognize those who are in authority. Likewise, are you listening now? Likewise, it should be easy, if we're under God's divine authority, to recognize those who are in positions of God-given authority.

Now let me go further. Follow me. If you are not under authority and do not know how to take orders, it will be more difficult for you to recognize authority. And they go a step further, listen carefully. If you do not know how to submit to authority—I'm not talking about God-given authority. I'm not talking about usurped authority. I'm not talking about illegitimate authority. I know there's plenty of that, but I'm talking about God-given authority. I'm talking about lawful authority. If you do not know how to submit to God's lawful authority, and if you do not know how to take orders from lawful authority, God will never use you to give orders lawfully.

What in the world did this centurion say? Lord, speak the word. I know how it is. I'm a man under authority. When my higher ups say jump, I ask how high. When those below me, when I command them, they ask me how high. I understand this, Lord. I'm under authority. I can have authority. I give orders. I take orders. I give orders. Understand this. And so, Lord, since I understand the principle of authority here, I see authority in you. Now, let me say it again. If you do not know how to submit to authority and take orders, God's never going to use you to give orders.

Do you realize that even Jesus Christ himself knew this simple lesson? Now, let me show you. I want you to turn very quickly in your Bibles, first of all, to Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 1. Then we're turning back to John chapter 5. OK. Hebrews chapter 3. I can quote these verses, but I want you to see them. Look in Hebrews chapter 3 in verse 1. Look what the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Now, there's a lot of preaching to be done on that verse, but there's one word I want to point out. Look at it. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle. Consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Do you realize that Jesus Christ is called the apostle? Do you know what the word apostle means? It's from the Greek word apostolos. Literally, the word apostle means a sent one. Do you realize the phrase that is used to describe Jesus Christ more than any other in the New Testament is the phrase the sent one?

For instance, look in your Bibles back to John chapter 5. John chapter 5 and look at verse 27. You're going to find that Jesus Christ was not only sent by the Father, but He was given authority by the Father. Look in John 5 and verse 27 to begin with. John 5 verse 27. The Bible speaking, in fact, let's read verse 26, for as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him, that is the Son, authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Now note, if you would, he's been given authority. Look in John 6 and verse 38. Here it is, John 6, verse 38.

What did our Lord say? For I came down from heaven, watch now, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him who sent me. Why did Jesus Christ come? Primarily to do the will of the Father. I came not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Look in verse 40. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone who seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise Him up at the last day. He said, I came to do my Father's will. It's just that simple. And when I came to do His will, He gave me certain authority. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 2 because I want you to see how thoroughly our Lord learned this simple lesson of being under authority and being under submission. OK.

Christ's Example of Submission and Exaltation

Christ emptied Himself, became a servant, and obeyed unto death. As a reward, the Father gave Him all authority, which He will ultimately surrender back to the Father.

This passage is a very important passage. It's called the kenosis or the kenotic passage. And I can assure you, if you ever study theology, this is one of the main passages that you're going to have to learn to not only interpret, but explain and defend because there are so many errors concerning this passage. But look in Philippians 2 and verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus. Now watch this. Whatever was the mind of Christ in this area, God is saying it should be our mind.

It should be our way of thinking. Now look, let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death on the cross. Now, let's just stop right there. This is the passage that is called the Kenosis passage because the Bible says he emptied himself, that is, he made himself of no reputation. Stop and think with me. Jesus Christ, who is God eternal, the second person in the Godhead, willingly emptied himself of his glory and his authority in order to submit himself to the will of his Father. And in submitting himself to the will of his Father, he not only became a man, he became a servant.

Now listen to this statement. The power that Jesus Christ exercised upon this earth, even until his death, was the power and the authority that his Father had given him as the Father's servant. Look in John 10, let me show it to you, John 10, this to me, this is absolutely astounding, folks. You wait a minute and put together what I'm trying to show you. Look in John chapter 10. John chapter 10, verse 17. Look what our Lord says. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. Well, sure, he can take it again. He's God. He's God in the flesh.

He can do whatever he wants to. Oh, but listen to what else he says. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. The power that Jesus Christ exercised while He was on this earth was the power that God the Father had given Him, the authority that God the Father had given Him as the Servant, as the Sent One, as the Messiah, as the Redeemer.

This is what is so absolutely astounding in this passage. When you consider that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, there never was a time when He was not. There never shall be a time when He is not. He had eternal power and glory. He had total satisfaction in and of Himself. Total communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And yet, He willingly laid aside the glory that He had in the independent exercise of His Godhood and became the servant. The servant. He became obedient, how far? Even unto death. And the worst type of death, the death upon the cross. Do you realize that Jesus Christ did not and would not act independently of the Father?

You see, that was the temptation, really, in Matthew chapter 4, when Satan said, If thou art the Son of God, or since thou art the Son of God, command these stones they be turned into bread. What did our Lord say? It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God. In other words, Satan, if you think you're going to tempt me to display my power and act independently of my Father, you're mistaken. I will not. Come on, jump off this temple. All these kingdoms I'll give you. If you think you're going to tempt me to act independently of my Father and jump ahead of Him, you're crazy. I'll go through the valley of death that He's designed for me. I'll bide His time and wait until He gives me the kingdom. I will not act independently of my Father. Why? He was a servant. He came to be the Father's servant. He came to do the Father's will. He's the sent one. Look in your Bible, John 8, verse 29, one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible. Here it is, John 8, verse 29. Look at it. Our Lord says, and he that sent me is with me. Once again, he that sent me is with me.

The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him. What did Christ come to do? The will of the Father. He came to please the Father. He came to do the Father's will. He was the sent one. Now watch this. Here is our Lord's perfect submission to His Father. Here is our Lord. Let me put it in a military frame. Here's our Lord's perfect taking of orders and submitting to authority. And when he had done so, even unto death, if you look in your Bibles to Matthew 28 and verse 18, you'll see a reward that the Father gave him. Because of his perfect obedience, look what our Lord said. After his resurrection, because of his perfect obedience, and Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power, that is, all authority, all jurisdiction is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Now, because our Lord obeyed the Father perfectly, what did the Father do? The Father then turned around and bestowed upon him again all authority and power.

Everything that he had before he laid aside that heavenly splendor and came down to the earth. But now let me ask you a question. Let me see how different you are from Jesus Christ. Here we go. If you had all power and all authority, and could do whatever you wanted to, and no one could ever call you into account or anything, what would you do with it? I can hear the wheels turning. I hear people saying, I tell you what I'd do, brother, I'd clean house. I'd clean some clocks. I know what I'd do. Well, let me show you what Christ is going to do. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is absolutely amazing. 1 Corinthians 15. Let's begin reading with verse 24. Remember, he had all authority. He willingly laid it aside and became the servant. Then as a reward for his perfect obedience, the Father gave him all authority again. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 24. Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and all power. And I thank God for that. I thank God for the new world order. Everything's going to be put down. Everything's going to be brought into conformity to the word of God when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. Watch, for he Christ must reign.

Till he hath put all enemies under his feet, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Now look, for he hath put all things under his feet, but when he saith all things are put under him, that is, Christ has everything, it is manifest that he that is God the Father is excepted who did put all things under him. Now watch, and when all things shall be subdued unto him, that is, unto Christ, when Christ conquers everything and everyone, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. What will our Lord do? He'll come back to the Father and say, Father, I surrender everything to you again. That you may be all and in all.

Neither Time nor Distance Diminishes Christ's Authority

The centurion recognized that Christ's authority is pervasive; He need only speak the word, and healing occurs regardless of physical presence.

Now, listen to me, I'm just going to restate this position and go on. I said, when one has learned to be under authority, it is easy to recognize authority. When one has learned to take orders, God will most likely use that one to give orders. But if you cannot submit, and if you cannot take, God will never use you to give. What did our Lord do? Our Lord learned to take. And then learn to give. This centurion said, Lord.

You don't even have to come into my house. I'm a man under authority. I know how to take orders. But Lord, I've got folks under me. I know how to give orders. Lord, you're the sovereign. You just give the order and my servant shall be healed. And let me make another point before I make some applications. Do you understand? Think with me now that Christ's recognized authority leads us to understand that neither time nor distance diminishes his authority. Now stop and think about that. Once you recognize Christ's divine authority, that God the Father has given him all authority in heaven and earth, then you must also understand that neither time nor distance diminishes that authority. So he said, Lord, you speak the word. You don't have to come into my house. You don't have to be physically in my house to heal my servant. You don't have to be anywhere near my house to heal my servant. Your authority is pervasive. Neither time nor distance counteracts it. You just speak the word. And my servant shall be healed.

Now, what did he say? He said, I know how it is to give orders. I say to one go and he goes, I say to another come and he comes. He says my soldiers are at my beck and call. But then I'm also at the beck and call of my superiors. So, Lord, I know how to give and I know how to take, but Lord, all you have to do is speak the word because you have total and absolute authority. He recognized that Christ could just simply speak and it was done. You know, we get to thinking, oh, God, oh, Lord, would you please come down here and straighten this mess out? He doesn't have to come down here and straighten this mess out. All he has to do is speak from where he is. That's all. Nod his head. Lift his finger. Neither time nor distance diminishes his authority. And this centurion recognized that. He understood authority. He said, boy, when my superiors command me, I jump. When I command my soldiers, they jump.

Lord, you are sovereign. When you speak, all must obey. When you speak, all darkness flees. When you speak, all demons run. When you speak, all sin and sickness must disappear. Why? You're the sovereign of the universe, and neither time nor distance can affect you or your authority in any matter whatsoever. Just speak the Word. Would to God that our present-day politicians and preachers and people recognize this principle. Our Lord's authority has not been diminished. He may not be walking on this earth, but He's seated at the right hand of God the Father with all authority in heaven and earth. All he needs is to speak the Word. You know, it should be our greatest desire to be that type of servant to our Lord.

That we come and go at His bidding. We walk in the direction of His Word. We run where He sends us. We return when He calls us. We do what He appoints us. Our attitude should be that of Samuel. Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth. Lord, we're willing, we're ready, and we'll do that. Christ sits enthroned at the Father's right hand. Neither time nor distance diminishes His authority.

Applications: Faith, Delegated Authority, and Unshakable Confidence

Faith grows by comprehending Christ's authority. Christ's delegated authority through preachers is His own; rejecting the preached Word is rejecting Christ. This leads to unshakable confidence in His promises.

That old centurion recognized that, and that was the basis, I believe, of His great faith. Now, let me make some applications, and I want you to listen carefully. By the way, Matthew 8, Luke 7 is the first recorded miracle really at a distance in the New Testaments. There was one in the Old Testament, you remember, where Elisha healed Naaman at a distance when he went and washed in the Jordan River seven times.

So here Christ does not need to be physically present for his authority to be exercised. Now, here are my implications. The first one is this. The centurion's great faith was exercised and based upon his understanding of the authority of Christ. If you and I wish to increase in faith, if we wish to grow in faith, if we wish to exercise our faith, in some degree we have to comprehend the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ. We must grasp the fact that all He need do is speak. May I ask you, how did this world come into existence? He spake and it was commanded. He commanded and it stood fast. All He needs do is speak.

It doesn't matter if it's healing, doesn't matter if it's judgment, doesn't matter if it's health, doesn't matter what it is. All he needs to do is speak and it is done. Here's the second point, and I really want to emphasize this. I want you to understand that Christ's delegated authority is equally his authority. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 in just a moment. I want to explain a verse to you. 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, get ready for it. But let me explain my statement that Christ's delegated authority is equally his authority. And here's an illustration that you can understand. I have four children.

They're all gone from home, but let's suppose they're back home and they're young ones. And my oldest daughter, suppose I say now, Wendy, your mother and I are going to be gone for two hours. While I'm gone, you're in charge. You make sure the younger girls clean up their rooms. You make sure they do what they're supposed to do. And you watch over them. And you make sure nothing happens to them. And your mother and I'll be back in two hours. Until I'm gone, you're running the show. Now, if I did that, and if my oldest daughter then looked at my younger girls and said, all right girls, get to your rooms, get cracking. Get those rooms cleaned up. When you get through, we're going to straighten up this room. And then, you know, if you don't, you're going to answer to me because I'm going to have to answer to dad.

You understand that when I give that daughter that temporary delegated authority, it is still my authority. I've asked her to do that. She is there in my place as my representative. Do we understand that?

Now, let me tell you why I'm giving you this point. If my younger girls look at Wendy and say, they don't have to obey you. You're not daddy. You're not mama. You're just an older sister. That's who you are. They don't have to obey you.

Now, let me ask you, if they heard me, if they knew I left her in charge, whose authority are they resisting, hers or mine? Mine. Mine. So that means two hours later when I come back home, I'll deal with it.

Now, you can see that very plainly. Here's the problem that we have in preaching, and I'm going to be dealing with some of this in the not too distant future. But I've had countless people come up to me sometimes after I get through preaching and say, Preacher, you know, that sounds good. And if I heard God say it, I'd believe it. But you know, that's just what you say. And all I've done is explain and quote Scripture. It's kind of like a friend of mine. I laugh. People are so funny. He was getting a haircut. He's a preacher. He's getting a haircut. And the barber brought up the doctrine of election. And the barber was against the doctrine. I don't know how you can be against a doctrine that occurs 73 times in the New Testament alone. I mean, you've got to believe something. But anyhow, the barber at all. And finally my friend said, look, just hush. And he reaches in his pocket and pulls out his New Testament.

And he opened it to Romans chapter 9. And all he did was read Romans chapter 9. Read it aloud. And when he got through reading it, all he did was close his Bible and says, there, don't you believe that? The barber said, not the way you read it, I don't. How else can you read what is there? I mean, you know, it's there. Well, let me show it to you. How else can you read this? Look in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 and verse 20. I want you to look what the Apostle Paul said.

This will put a whole different light upon preaching if you will grasp it now. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20. The Apostle Paul says now then we, and he's not talking about God's people in general, but he's talking about preachers in particular, and I don't have time to go through in the entire context. But here it is.

Now, then we are ambassadors for Christ. Now, look carefully as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled unto God. Now, first of all, let me point out an ambassador or someone with an office, someone with an office is someone with authority. This is a special sense. It's not, well, we're ambassadors in general, we represent. Yeah, I understand that. But you know what an ambassador of the United States is an ambassador with an office. He's got authority, etc. He's been officially appointed to represent the United States. Well, this is exactly what Paul is saying about preachers.

Now, look what he says. Now that we are ambassadors for Christ. Now, look, as though God did beseech you by us. What is he saying? He is saying we have been duly appointed the delegates of Jesus Christ. And now God is beseeching you by us or through us. Now watch carefully. Do you remember I said earlier, if my children resisted the authority that I bestowed upon my oldest daughter, they would be resisting me. You remember that?

Do you know what our Lord said in John 13 in verse 20? Let me just quote it for you. He said, Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.

Now, let's work this out. Christ said, if you receive me, you receive him that sent me. That is the Father. If you receive whom I send, you receive me. But the opposite is also true. If you don't receive the representative of Christ, you don't receive Christ. If you don't receive Christ, you don't receive the Father. Now, what is Christ done? Christ is seated at the right hand of God, the Father. We understand that. What has Christ done?

He has delegated authority through His preachers to speak His Word for Him. Now listen to me. And I don't want to have to get into this right now, but speaking the word for Christ does not mean I stand here and give you my idea and my opinion. No, no, no, no. When I speak for Christ, it's when I'm explaining and expounding and applying the Scripture. You understand that? It's the Scripture that's the Word of God.

Now, if you look what he said, look in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 20 again. Now, then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us or through us. Now, look what he said. We pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled unto God.

Now, let me just deal with this word stead just momentarily. The word is huper in the Greek. You know what the word means? It is the exact same word that is used when it talks about the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. What did he do? He died in our what? Our stead, our place.

Now, what did the Apostle Paul say? We pray you in Christ's stead. That is, we're here in his place. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. But he's delegated authority to his preachers to declare his word. And so we are praying you, in his stead, be reconciled unto God. Are you listening? Those who then reject and refuse the preaching and teaching of the Word of God are rejecting Jesus Christ. You say, well, Brother Weaver, if I don't attend the preaching of the Word of God, does that mean I'm rejecting Christ? Yeah. If I don't believe the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, does that mean I'm rejecting Christ? Yeah, sure does.

For he said, he that receiveth whomsoever I send. Now, I'm not talking about any preacher, but I'm talking about God's preachers. And I'm not talking about preachers just standing up spouting their opinions. I'm talking about preachers who are actually expounding the Word of God. That is the Word of God. And when you say, well, Brother Weaver, if God said it, I believe it. What do you think the Bible is? It is the Word of God. God did say it. And all I'm telling you is what God said. The point I'm trying to make is this. The reason most people reject the preaching and teaching of the Word of God is they don't understand authority. Nor do they understand delegated authority. And they don't understand that Christ has sent men in His stead to teach His Word and proclaim His truth. Now, one last application. Here it is. If we understand Christ's sovereign authority and His delegated authority, it should lead us to an unshakable confidence and faith in Him since neither time nor distance can diminish His authority.

I want you to look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1 before I read it. Let me make the statement. Think about this, folks. What He said, He will do. What He has promised, He will perform. What He has predicted, He will bring to pass. He cannot be hindered. He cannot be thwarted. He cannot be overthrown. He cannot be stopped. He cannot be conquered. Consequently, if you look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1 in verse 20, you will find this.

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen unto the glory of God by us. Did you hear that? The promises of God in Him are what? Yea and Amen. They will come to pass. Nothing can stop them. Nothing can hinder them. No new world order. No Bilderbergers. No skull and bones. No one, nothing can stop Jesus Christ from fulfilling and performing his promises or his curses.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Divine Authority of Christ

Summary: Christ possesses total, absolute authority as God incarnate, which is the basis for the centurion's great faith.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The centurion recognized that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. He recognized that our Lord had divine authority.'

Delegated Authority

Summary: All human authority is delegated by God, and understanding this principle is key to recognizing and submitting to God's chain of command.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Man's authority, however, is never inherent, never intrinsic, and never absolute, total, or complete. Any authority that man receives is always delegated authority.'

Submission as a Prerequisite for Leadership

Summary: One must learn to submit to authority and take orders before God will use them to give orders.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If you do not know how to submit to God's lawful authority, and if you do not know how to take orders from lawful authority, God will never use you to give orders lawfully.'

Christ as the Sent One and Servant

Summary: Jesus Christ modeled perfect submission to the Father, acting only under delegated authority during His earthly ministry.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'The power that Jesus Christ exercised upon this earth, even until his death, was the power and the authority that his Father had given him as the Father's servant.'

The Unchanging Authority of Christ's Word

Summary: Neither time nor distance diminishes Christ's authority; He need only speak the word for His will to be accomplished.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Once you recognize Christ's divine authority... then you must also understand that neither time nor distance diminishes that authority.'

Rejecting Delegated Authority is Rejecting Christ

Summary: Christ's delegated authority through preachers is equally His authority; to reject the preached Word is to reject Christ Himself.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Those who then reject and refuse the preaching and teaching of the Word of God are rejecting Jesus Christ.'

Key Arguments

The centurion's faith was great because he recognized Christ's divine authority.

Summary: The centurion understood authority from his military experience and applied that understanding to Christ, recognizing that Christ's word alone was sufficient for healing.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'Why is it this centurion had such a great faith? I'm going to submit to you. It is because he recognized our Lord's divine authority.'

Christ taught with authority because He is the living Word and had the Spirit without measure.

Summary: Christ's teaching was authoritative because He authored Scripture and was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit... The second reason Christ taught as no other man ever taught was because of the authority which He possessed.'

The written Word and the living Word are inseparable.

Summary: One cannot have a different attitude toward Jesus Christ than toward the Bible; they stand or fall together.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You can't come and say, well, I believe in Jesus Christ, but I don't believe the Bible. Or, I believe the Bible, I don't believe in Jesus Christ. No, no, no. Jesus is the living word, the Bible is the written word, and they stand or fall together.'

Understanding delegated authority is essential for faith and obedience.

Summary: The centurion's military background taught him that authority is delegated, and he applied this to Christ, leading to great faith.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'The centurion understood delegated authority because that authority which he possessed had been bestowed upon him by those who were higher in authority than he was.'

Submission to authority is a prerequisite for being used by God to lead.

Summary: Those who cannot submit to lawful authority will not be entrusted by God to give orders.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If you do not know how to submit to authority and take orders, God's never going to use you to give orders.'

Christ's earthly ministry was conducted under the Father's delegated authority.

Summary: Jesus, though fully God, emptied Himself and acted as the Father's servant, obeying perfectly and receiving all authority as a reward.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The power that Jesus Christ exercised upon this earth... was the power and the authority that his Father had given him as the Father's servant.'

Christ's authority is not limited by time or distance.

Summary: The centurion recognized that Christ did not need to be physically present to heal; His word is effective regardless of location.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'Neither time nor distance diminishes his authority. So he said, Lord, you speak the word. You don't have to come into my house.'

Rejecting the preached Word is rejecting Christ.

Summary: Since preachers are ambassadors for Christ, speaking in His stead, to reject their biblical teaching is to reject Christ Himself.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Those who then reject and refuse the preaching and teaching of the Word of God are rejecting Jesus Christ.'

Scripture References

Matthew 8:5-13

Context: The primary text of the sermon, recounting the centurion's faith and Christ's healing of his servant.

Luke 7:2-10

Context: Parallel account of the centurion's servant, highlighting the centurion's compassion and the elders' intercession.

John 3:34

Context: Used to show that Christ spoke the words of God because the Spirit was given to Him without measure.

Matthew 7:29

Context: Demonstrates that Christ taught with authority, unlike the scribes.

Luke 4:36

Context: Shows the people's amazement at Christ's authority and power over unclean spirits.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Context: Affirms that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine and instruction.

John 1:1, 14

Context: Identifies Jesus as the living Word who became flesh, paralleling the written Word.

John 12:48

Context: Connects rejection of Christ (the living Word) with rejection of His words (the written Word).

Matthew 21:23-27

Context: The chief priests question Christ's authority; He counters with a question about John's baptism, exposing their unwillingness to recognize divine authority.

1 Timothy 3:16

Context: Declares the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, affirming Christ's deity.

Daniel 2:21

Context: Shows that God removes and sets up kings, demonstrating His sovereign delegation of authority.

Psalm 75:6-7

Context: Promotion comes from God alone; He puts down one and sets up another.

1 Corinthians 11:3

Context: Establishes God's chain of command: God, Christ, man, woman.

Hebrews 3:1

Context: Calls Christ the Apostle (sent one) and High Priest of our profession.

John 5:26-27

Context: The Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment.

John 6:38, 40

Context: Christ came not to do His own will but the will of the Father who sent Him.

Philippians 2:5-8

Context: The kenosis passage: Christ emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death.

John 10:17-18

Context: Christ has power to lay down His life and take it again, a commandment received from the Father.

John 8:29

Context: The Father is with Christ because He always does what pleases the Father.

Matthew 28:18

Context: After His resurrection, Christ declares that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him.

Historical References

Roman centurion and military chain of command

Context: Weaver uses the centurion's military background to illustrate delegated authority and the chain of command, noting that a centurion commanded at least 100 men.

Capernaum as a city under God's curse

Context: Weaver references Christ's 'woe' to Capernaum (Matthew 11:23) to show that even in wicked places, God has His elect.

Elisha healing Naaman at a distance

Context: Weaver mentions the Old Testament miracle of Naaman being healed after washing in the Jordan as a precedent for healing at a distance.

Use of 'boy' as an affectionate term in servant-master relationships

Context: Weaver explains that historically, 'boy' was not a term of discrimination but of affection, derived from the Greek word 'pais' used by the centurion.

Important Quotes

I'm a man under authority, having soldiers under me. Now I say to this man, go, and he goeth; and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it.

Significance: The centurion's own words, quoted by Weaver, illustrate his understanding of delegated authority, which is central to the sermon's theme.

Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Significance: Christ's commendation of the centurion's faith, which Weaver uses to highlight the exceptional nature of faith rooted in recognizing divine authority.

He taught them as one who had authority.

Significance: Weaver references Matthew 7:29 to emphasize that Christ's teaching was authoritative, unlike the scribes, because of His divine nature.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

Significance: Quoted to establish the divine origin of the Bible, which Weaver links to Christ as the living Word.

Discussion Questions

How does recognizing Christ's divine authority impact the strength of our faith, as seen in the centurion's example?

Context: Weaver argues that the centurion's great faith was based on his recognition of Christ's authority.

In what ways do we struggle to submit to God-given authority, and how does that affect our ability to lead or be used by God?

Context: Weaver states that those who cannot submit to authority will not be used by God to give orders.

What does it mean that Jesus Christ is both the living Word and the written Word, and why can't we separate our attitude toward them?

Context: Weaver emphasizes the unity of Christ and Scripture, warning against having different attitudes toward them.

How does understanding delegated authority change the way we view the preaching and teaching of God's Word?

Context: Weaver explains that preachers are ambassadors for Christ, speaking in His stead with His authority.

Why is it significant that neither time nor distance diminishes Christ's authority, and how should that affect our prayer life?

Context: Weaver points out that the centurion recognized Christ could heal from a distance simply by speaking the word.

How does Christ's example of emptying Himself and becoming a servant challenge our own attitudes toward authority and submission?

Context: Weaver uses Philippians 2 to show Christ's humility and obedience as a model for believers.

What are the implications of rejecting the preached Word of God, according to 2 Corinthians 5:20 and John 13:20?

Context: Weaver argues that rejecting the biblical preaching of God's ambassadors is equivalent to rejecting Christ.

How can we cultivate an unshakable confidence in God's promises, knowing that His authority cannot be hindered?

Context: Weaver concludes with the assurance that all God's promises are 'yea' and 'Amen' in Christ.

Applications

Grow in faith by comprehending Christ's sovereign authority.

Summary: Weaver urges believers to increase their faith by grasping the fact that Christ need only speak the word for His will to be done.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If you and I wish to increase in faith, if we wish to grow in faith, if we wish to exercise our faith, in some degree we have to comprehend the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ.'

Submit to God-given authority to be used by God.

Summary: Believers must learn to submit to lawful authority and take orders before God will entrust them with giving orders.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If you do not know how to submit to authority and take orders, God's never going to use you to give orders.'

Recognize the authority of biblical preaching.

Summary: Understand that when preachers faithfully expound Scripture, they speak with Christ's delegated authority, and rejecting that message is rejecting Christ.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Those who then reject and refuse the preaching and teaching of the Word of God are rejecting Jesus Christ.'

Trust in Christ's promises regardless of circumstances.

Summary: Because Christ's authority is not diminished by time or distance, believers can have unshakable confidence that He will fulfill all His promises.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'What He said, He will do. What He has promised, He will perform... He cannot be hindered.'

Model Christ's humility and obedience.

Summary: Imitate Christ's example of emptying Himself and becoming a servant, submitting to the Father's will in all things.

Evidence: Weaver points to Philippians 2, saying, 'Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:04:39Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:46:37Z

Clean Transcript

Recognizing Divine Authority - Part #2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right, well, let's open our Bible today. If you'll remember, we are on Matthew 8 and Luke 7, and I will take just a few moments and review the message that I preached before I left, because I told you that I was basically setting the stage for the message today. We are on part two of recognizing divine authority, and our text, of course, is Matthew 8 and Luke 7. So let's read from Matthew 8, beginning there with verse 5.
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And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed. For I'm a man under authority, having soldiers under me. Now I say to this man, go, and he goeth; and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.
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And his servant was healed the same hour. You'll remember I told you last week as we began that the entire world turns upon authority, either the perception of authority or an understanding of authority. And there can be a great distance and a great vast difference between a perception of authority and understanding authority. Authority may be perceived and not necessarily be real and genuine, but once you understand authority and you understand what is real, what is genuine, and its limitations, there is indeed a vast difference. I told you about my friend who had the t-shirts made and the only thing written across the front was simply, question authority, and that is certainly true because most authority today, a lot of it is very illegitimate as well. And just because someone has authority in one area does not necessarily mean that it has authority in the other area as well.
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And then I pointed out this simple fact, and I want to take the time to explain it again. In Matthew chapter 8, the Bible says the centurion came to Christ. In Luke chapter 7, the Bible says he sent the elders to Christ. There is no contradiction between those two things because whatever is done in your name with your consent and by your authority is the same as you doing it. We looked at that in the Bible and saw where Pilate, the Bible says, scourged Jesus. Yet Pilate never lifted his hand. Yet he gave the order and it was the soldiers who scourged our Lord. So it is attributed to Pilate as if he had done it himself, because it was done by his authority and in his name. Likewise, the Bible tells us in John chapter 4 that Jesus Christ made and baptized more disciples than John. And then verse 2 says, though Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples. Well, how is it that Jesus is attributed with baptizing all of these people when he did not baptize anyone?
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Well, his disciples were doing it in his name, with his consent and under his authority. So there is really no difference between these two passages, because once you bring them together, you understand that it is the same truth. We look, first of all, last time, at the place of the miracle, that is, Capernaum. We notice that Capernaum has always been a place under the curse of God, and certainly our Lord said, Woe unto thee, Capernaum!
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Thou art exalted unto heaven, for thou shalt be brought down to hell. Now the point I just simply made with this, no matter how wicked the city, no matter how wicked the town, no matter how wicked the area, God always has some elect there. Just like in Acts chapter 18, when Paul went to Corinth, God told Paul, be not afraid, hold not thy peace, for I have much people in this city.
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So the place of this miracle, of course, was Capernaum, which was a place under the curse. Then secondly, the person who requested this miracle was a Roman soldier. He was a centurion. He had a minimum of 100 men under him. And we look very quickly at his faith. And our Lord Himself testified to His great faith. For He said He had not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. So here was a man then who had extraordinary faith. Then we look at His generosity and His testimony.
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For in Luke chapter 7, verse 5, those Jews said, He loveth our nation and He builded us a synagogue. And of course, the synagogue was there for the teaching and the instruction of the law. And then, of course, we looked at His compassion, because here he had a servant who was sick. And I pointed out the fact that it's absolutely marvelous to find a Roman soldier that would have compassion at all, because these men were usually so hardened by death and destruction.
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But since a few of you were not here, I want to just take the time to point this out again. In Luke chapter 7 in verse 2, the centurion says, my servant, lieth at home sick. And the Greek word there is the word doulos, which literally means my slave lieth at home sick. So here's the man who is concerned then for his slave. But the interesting thing in Matthew 8 and verse 6, when the centurion says in this passage, my servant, it is actually hapis, which is translated, my boy, my boy, lieth at home sick. That does not necessarily mean that this slave was his physical son, but it does indicate it was a younger slave and it was a younger slave with a dear relationship to his master. In other words, here was a slave and a master who understood and there was a loving, close relationship between them. The term boy is an affectionate term. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 29 and verse 21, he that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child will at length have him to become his son.
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In other words, he will give him an inheritance, so to speak. And I pointed out the fact, historically, this is where the word boy came from in servant-master relationships. It was not a term of discrimination. You will remember a lot of the blacks, even the older blacks, who were adults, they were called boys. Not out of terms of discrimination, not out of terms of belittling and putting out, but it was a term of affection.
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And that's exactly what he said. It's my boy who's sick. And so we look then at his compassion. And then, of course, of his humility, because Christ said, I'll come and heal him. And he says, no, no, no. I'm not worthy that thou shouldest enter under the roof of my house now. That is where we ended. So let me just point out the fact once again that we need to understand authority. If you understand authority, then you're going to understand the impact and the greatness of this centurion's faith.
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Now, I want to deal with this today, and that is basically the core issue, and that is recognizing divine authority. Do you realize that our Lord taught as no other man has ever taught. Our Lord preached as no other man has ever preached. The Bible says He taught them as one who had authority. Now, let's ask, why in the world did our Lord teach and preach as no other man?
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There are two answers for that. The first one is this. He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in John 3 in verse 34, For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. Now listen, For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. You remember when Jesus Christ was baptized, it was John who testified that he saw the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon Christ. So Christ then was endued with the absolute and total fullness of the Holy Spirit. The second reason Christ taught as no other man ever taught was because of the authority which He possessed. That is why Matthew 7 and verse 29, the Bible said that He taught them with authority. Jesus Christ did not have to guess at what the Scripture meant.
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He did not have to make an hypothesis. He did not have to interpret. He did not have to speculate. He knew what the Scripture meant, for he wrote the Scriptures. And I might point out that he not only wrote the Scriptures, he is the living Word of God. So very clearly then, He had absolute and total authority. In fact, in Luke 4 and verse 36, let me just read this. And they were all amazed and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this?
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Now listen, for with what authority and power commandeth he the unclean spirits, and they come out. Well, of course, he had authority. Of course, he had power. Why should not our Lord preach and teach differently? Why should he not preach and teach with authority and power? He had the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and he had divine authority. He knew the Word of God. He inspired it. He authored it. He is the living Word.
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Now, I've told you this before, but I'm going to tell you again because I want it put together right at this point. There are three Scriptures that you need to understand in light of this. The first one is 2 Timothy 3, verse 16. Here it is. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now, let me just stop right there. The word inspiration is the Greek word Theopneustos, which literally means God exhaled or God breathed. Here's what he said. All Scripture is God breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, verse 17, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Now, what does the Bible say in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16? That the Scriptures are God-breathed. So we have then 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 teaching us that the Bible is the written Word of God exhaled, breathed from the mouth of God Himself. Now, when you come to John 1, beginning with verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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The same was in the beginning with Him. All things were made by Him that was made, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And when you get to verse 14, and the Word became flesh and what? Dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now, just like the Bible is the written Word of God, Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. Now, I want you to note how these two things are put together in John 12 and verse 48. Listen carefully. In John 12 and verse 48, our Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that rejecteth Me, that is the living Word, and receiveth not My words, the written word, hath one that judges him in the last day, even the word which I have spoken. Now, the only reason I'm showing you this is so that you can understand you cannot have one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward the Word of God.
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Nor can you have one attitude toward the Word of God and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ. You can't come and say, well, I believe in Jesus Christ, but I don't believe the Bible. Or, I believe the Bible, I don't believe in Jesus Christ. No, no, no. Jesus is the living word, the Bible is the written word, and they stand or fall together. You may not have one without the other.
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Now, why did this centurion have such a great faith? Our Lord Himself said, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. I want to tell you, I believe basically it's because this centurion recognized our Lord's divine authority. I want you to look in your Bibles to Luke chapter 7. Luke chapter 7. Notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 6, Luke 7, verse 6.
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Then Jesus went with them, that is, after they beseeched him and told him, This man is worthy. And he was now not far from the house. The centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
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Now look what he said. Say in a word, Lord, you don't have to come into my house. Issue an order. Speak. Now look what else he said. Verse 8, For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth. And to another, come, and he cometh. And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that follow him, I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. Why is it this centurion had such a great faith?
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I'm going to submit to you. It is because he recognized our Lord's divine authority. Are you listening? Why is it that we have such a weak faith? We can postulate. It is probably one of the reasons is because we do not recognize our Lord's divine authority. So let's consider for the first few minutes the recognition of Christ's divine authority. The interesting thing is this. This centurion recognized our Lord's authority, but the Jews did not. The interesting thing is as well that many times when our Lord was acting, the Jews knew that he was acting or a dated late, and they would question His authority, but they would not recognize the source of His authority, nor would they recognize that what He was doing, He was doing with divine authority. Why? Because if they ever acknowledged the source of His authority, they would have to acknowledge that He was indeed the Son of God.
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Now let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 21, and let's begin reading there with verse 23. I find this exceedingly amazing. Notice Matthew chapter 21, beginning there with verse 23. Look carefully. Matthew 21, verse 23. And when he was coming to the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came on him as he was teaching and said, Now look, it's the chief priests, it's the elders.
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By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority? Now we want to know what authority you have to do it. And we want to know the source of your authority. So our Lord answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, which was it from heaven or of men? And they reasoned with themselves saying, if we shall say from heaven, He will say unto us, why do you not then believe him? But if we shall say of men, we fear the people, for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus and said, we cannot tell. And he said unto them, neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. Now, notice what our Lord did.
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They were demanding an answer. They wanted to know, by what authority are you doing this? Our Lord said, let me ask you one question. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or is it from men?
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Now they knew they were in a quandary. If they said from heaven, then our Lord said, if you recognize John's divine authority, why will you not recognize my divine authority? And if God can give John divine authority, can I not likewise give me divine authority? In other words, why would you not believe me? But if we say that this authority comes from man, well, everybody's going to stone us because everybody knows and believes that John was a prophet of God.
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So they realized they were backed into a corner and they said, we cannot answer them. Well, our Lord said, I'm not going to answer your question, either, man. When they understood the implications of the answer they would have been forced to give, it would have meant that these Jews then would have had to have recognized that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and as the Son of God, He had full authority to reprove, rebuke, correct, and do whatever needed to be done. Moreover, it would mean that they would have been required by God to submit to Him.
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And his teachings and his instructions. You see, the Bible teaches very plainly that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, that is, he is God in the flesh. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16, and without all controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. Listen now, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory. But listen to what he said, and without all controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. The centurion recognized that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. He recognized that our Lord had divine authority. That's why he said, Lord, you do not need to enter into my house.
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You just speak the word. And it'll be done because you are God and you have divine authority.
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Now, let me take this a step further. Follow with me now. Once Christ's divine authority is recognized, then one is in a position to understand delegated authority. God's authority is inherent and intrinsic. That is, that is something He has in and of Himself by nature. Moreover, it is total, absolute, and complete. There is absolutely nothing over which God has jurisdiction. God has jurisdiction over everything. He's the sovereign. He has total, absolute authority. Man's authority, however, is never inherent, never intrinsic, and never absolute, total, or complete. Any authority that man receives is always delegated authority. Now, let me tell you, here's a simple way to understand delegated authority. Delegated authority simply means that the one who holds total, absolute, and complete authority simply allows someone else to act on his behalf. That is, he bestows a little of that authority, it is delegated, and says, now you may act on my behalf. Governmental authority, whether it is personal, familial, civil, or ecclesiastical, is always delegated authority. Now listen to me. Kings. Presidents. Congressmen. It's all delegated authority.
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Daniel 2 in verse 21, you don't have to turn there, but the Bible says concerning God, and he changeth the times and the seasons. He removeth kings and setteth up kings. He giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. Now notice what the Bible says concerning God. It is God that removes kings. It is God that sets up kings. That is, He is the one that delegates them power temporarily. It is God who designates and delegates power, the congressmen, presidents, temporarily.
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They do not have any inherent or intrinsic authority. The Bible says in Proverbs, not in Proverbs, but in Psalm 75, verses 6 and 7, listen carefully, for promotion cometh neither from the east nor from the west or from the south, but God is the judge. He putteth down one and setteth up another. That's delegated authority. It doesn't matter if we're talking about pastoral authority, family authority, headship, or church, all of these are types of delegated authority. Now I want you to understand that the centurion understood delegated authority because that authority which he possessed had been bestowed upon him by those who were higher in authority than he was. In other words, he understood that the only power that he had, the only authority he had, had been given to him. And along with that delegated authority was a limited authority to issue orders and command and to delegate to those below him. Now listen carefully.
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It has always been in the military. There's always a chain of command. Anybody that's ever been in the military understands it. That's the first thing you learn when you get in boot camp. There is a chain of command. A private just does not knock on a general's door and says, I've got a grievance to file. It doesn't work like that. You have to go through the proper channels, the chain of command.
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Now, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles. The first point, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 3, God has a chain of command. God has a chain of order in this world. Look at it. 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 3. Look what the apostle Paul writes. He says, But I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. So here's God's chain of command. There's God the Father, there's Christ, there's man, there's woman, and of course, then there's children under that. That is God's chain of command.
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Now, listen to what I'm about to say, because I'm trying to explain how the centurion had such a great faith and how we have such a weak faith. Do you realize those who are under authority easily and quickly recognize those who are in authority? Now, let me say that again, those who are under authority easily and quickly recognize those who are in authority. Even a private in the army.
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The first thing he's taught is not just that chain of command. But you recognize your superiors. You salute those second lieutenants. You salute those first lieutenants. I mean, you salute your captain. You better not speak disrespectfully to your sergeant. You see what I'm saying? When you're under authority, you're taught to recognize those who are in authority. Likewise, are you listening now? Likewise, it should be easy, if we're under God's divine authority, to recognize those who are in positions of God-given authority.
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Now let me go further. Follow me. If you are not under authority and do not know how to take orders, it will be more difficult for you to recognize authority. And they go a step further, listen carefully. If you do not know how to submit to authority—I'm not talking about God-given authority. I'm not talking about usurped authority. I'm not talking about illegitimate authority. I know there's plenty of that, but I'm talking about God-given authority. I'm talking about lawful authority. If you do not know how to submit to God's lawful authority, and if you do not know how to take orders from lawful authority, God will never use you to give orders lawfully.
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What in the world did this centurion say? Lord, speak the word. I know how it is. I'm a man under authority. When my higher ups say jump, I ask how high. When those below me, when I command them, they ask me how high. I understand this, Lord. I'm under authority. I can have authority. I give orders. I take orders. I give orders. Understand this. And so, Lord, since I understand the principle of authority here, I see authority in you. Now, let me say it again. If you do not know how to submit to authority and take orders, God's never going to use you to give orders.
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Do you realize that even Jesus Christ himself knew this simple lesson? Now, let me show you. I want you to turn very quickly in your Bibles, first of all, to Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 1. Then we're turning back to John chapter 5. OK. Hebrews chapter 3. I can quote these verses, but I want you to see them. Look in Hebrews chapter 3 in verse 1. Look what the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Now, there's a lot of preaching to be done on that verse, but there's one word I want to point out. Look at it. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle. Consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Do you realize that Jesus Christ is called the apostle? Do you know what the word apostle means? It's from the Greek word apostolos. Literally, the word apostle means a sent one. Do you realize the phrase that is used to describe Jesus Christ more than any other in the New Testament is the phrase the sent one?
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For instance, look in your Bibles back to John chapter 5. John chapter 5 and look at verse 27. You're going to find that Jesus Christ was not only sent by the Father, but He was given authority by the Father. Look in John 5 and verse 27 to begin with. John 5 verse 27. The Bible speaking, in fact, let's read verse 26, for as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him, that is the Son, authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Now note, if you would, he's been given authority. Look in John 6 and verse 38. Here it is, John 6, verse 38.
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What did our Lord say? For I came down from heaven, watch now, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him who sent me. Why did Jesus Christ come? Primarily to do the will of the Father. I came not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Look in verse 40. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone who seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise Him up at the last day. He said, I came to do my Father's will. It's just that simple. And when I came to do His will, He gave me certain authority. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 2 because I want you to see how thoroughly our Lord learned this simple lesson of being under authority and being under submission. OK.
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This passage is a very important passage. It's called the kenosis or the kenotic passage. And I can assure you, if you ever study theology, this is one of the main passages that you're going to have to learn to not only interpret, but explain and defend because there are so many errors concerning this passage. But look in Philippians 2 and verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus. Now watch this. Whatever was the mind of Christ in this area, God is saying it should be our mind.
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It should be our way of thinking. Now look, let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death on the cross.
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Now, let's just stop right there. This is the passage that is called the Kenosis passage because the Bible says he emptied himself, that is, he made himself of no reputation. Stop and think with me. Jesus Christ, who is God eternal, the second person in the Godhead, willingly emptied himself of his glory and his authority in order to submit himself to the will of his Father. And in submitting himself to the will of his Father, he not only became a man, he became a servant.
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Now listen to this statement. The power that Jesus Christ exercised upon this earth, even until his death, was the power and the authority that his Father had given him as the Father's servant. Look in John 10, let me show it to you, John 10, this to me, this is absolutely astounding, folks. You wait a minute and put together what I'm trying to show you. Look in John chapter 10. John chapter 10, verse 17. Look what our Lord says. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. Well, sure, he can take it again. He's God. He's God in the flesh.
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He can do whatever he wants to. Oh, but listen to what else he says. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. The power that Jesus Christ exercised while He was on this earth was the power that God the Father had given Him, the authority that God the Father had given Him as the Servant, as the Sent One, as the Messiah, as the Redeemer.
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This is what is so absolutely astounding in this passage. When you consider that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, there never was a time when He was not. There never shall be a time when He is not. He had eternal power and glory. He had total satisfaction in and of Himself. Total communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And yet, He willingly laid aside the glory that He had in the independent exercise of His Godhood and became the servant. The servant. He became obedient, how far? Even unto death. And the worst type of death, the death upon the cross. Do you realize that Jesus Christ did not and would not act independently of the Father?
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You see, that was the temptation, really, in Matthew chapter 4, when Satan said, If thou art the Son of God, or since thou art the Son of God, command these stones they be turned into bread. What did our Lord say? It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God. In other words, Satan, if you think you're going to tempt me to display my power and act independently of my Father, you're mistaken. I will not.
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Come on, jump off this temple. All these kingdoms I'll give you. If you think you're going to tempt me to act independently of my Father and jump ahead of Him, you're crazy. I'll go through the valley of death that He's designed for me. I'll bide His time and wait until He gives me the kingdom. I will not act independently of my Father. Why? He was a servant. He came to be the Father's servant. He came to do the Father's will. He's the sent one. Look in your Bible, John 8, verse 29, one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible. Here it is, John 8, verse 29. Look at it. Our Lord says, and he that sent me is with me. Once again, he that sent me is with me.
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The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him. What did Christ come to do? The will of the Father. He came to please the Father. He came to do the Father's will. He was the sent one. Now watch this. Here is our Lord's perfect submission to His Father. Here is our Lord. Let me put it in a military frame. Here's our Lord's perfect taking of orders and submitting to authority. And when he had done so, even unto death, if you look in your Bibles to Matthew 28 and verse 18, you'll see a reward that the Father gave him. Because of his perfect obedience, look what our Lord said. After his resurrection, because of his perfect obedience, and Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power, that is, all authority, all jurisdiction is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Now, because our Lord obeyed the Father perfectly, what did the Father do? The Father then turned around and bestowed upon him again all authority and power.
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Everything that he had before he laid aside that heavenly splendor and came down to the earth. But now let me ask you a question. Let me see how different you are from Jesus Christ. Here we go. If you had all power and all authority, and could do whatever you wanted to, and no one could ever call you into account or anything, what would you do with it?
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I can hear the wheels turning. I hear people saying, I tell you what I'd do, brother, I'd clean house. I'd clean some clocks. I know what I'd do. Well, let me show you what Christ is going to do. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is absolutely amazing. 1 Corinthians 15. Let's begin reading with verse 24. Remember, he had all authority. He willingly laid it aside and became the servant. Then as a reward for his perfect obedience, the Father gave him all authority again. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 24. Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and all power. And I thank God for that. I thank God for the new world order. Everything's going to be put down. Everything's going to be brought into conformity to the word of God when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. Watch, for he Christ must reign.
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Till he hath put all enemies under his feet, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Now look, for he hath put all things under his feet, but when he saith all things are put under him, that is, Christ has everything, it is manifest that he that is God the Father is excepted who did put all things under him. Now watch, and when all things shall be subdued unto him, that is, unto Christ, when Christ conquers everything and everyone, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
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What will our Lord do? He'll come back to the Father and say, Father, I surrender everything to you again. That you may be all and in all.
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Now, listen to me, I'm just going to restate this position and go on. I said, when one has learned to be under authority, it is easy to recognize authority. When one has learned to take orders, God will most likely use that one to give orders. But if you cannot submit, and if you cannot take, God will never use you to give. What did our Lord do? Our Lord learned to take. And then learn to give. This centurion said, Lord.
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You don't even have to come into my house. I'm a man under authority. I know how to take orders. But Lord, I've got folks under me. I know how to give orders. Lord, you're the sovereign. You just give the order and my servant shall be healed. And let me make another point before I make some applications. Do you understand? Think with me now that Christ's recognized authority leads us to understand that neither time nor distance diminishes his authority. Now stop and think about that. Once you recognize Christ's divine authority, that God the Father has given him all authority in heaven and earth, then you must also understand that neither time nor distance diminishes that authority. So he said, Lord, you speak the word. You don't have to come into my house. You don't have to be physically in my house to heal my servant. You don't have to be anywhere near my house to heal my servant. Your authority is pervasive. Neither time nor distance counteracts it. You just speak the word. And my servant shall be healed.
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Now, what did he say? He said, I know how it is to give orders. I say to one go and he goes, I say to another come and he comes. He says my soldiers are at my beck and call. But then I'm also at the beck and call of my superiors. So, Lord, I know how to give and I know how to take, but Lord, all you have to do is speak the word because you have total and absolute authority. He recognized that Christ could just simply speak and it was done. You know, we get to thinking, oh, God, oh, Lord, would you please come down here and straighten this mess out? He doesn't have to come down here and straighten this mess out. All he has to do is speak from where he is. That's all. Nod his head. Lift his finger. Neither time nor distance diminishes his authority. And this centurion recognized that. He understood authority. He said, boy, when my superiors command me, I jump. When I command my soldiers, they jump.
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Lord, you are sovereign. When you speak, all must obey. When you speak, all darkness flees. When you speak, all demons run. When you speak, all sin and sickness must disappear. Why? You're the sovereign of the universe, and neither time nor distance can affect you or your authority in any matter whatsoever. Just speak the Word. Would to God that our present-day politicians and preachers and people recognize this principle. Our Lord's authority has not been diminished. He may not be walking on this earth, but He's seated at the right hand of God the Father with all authority in heaven and earth. All he needs is to speak the Word. You know, it should be our greatest desire to be that type of servant to our Lord.
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That we come and go at His bidding. We walk in the direction of His Word. We run where He sends us. We return when He calls us. We do what He appoints us. Our attitude should be that of Samuel. Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth. Lord, we're willing, we're ready, and we'll do that. Christ sits enthroned at the Father's right hand. Neither time nor distance diminishes His authority.
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That old centurion recognized that, and that was the basis, I believe, of His great faith. Now, let me make some applications, and I want you to listen carefully. By the way, Matthew 8, Luke 7 is the first recorded miracle really at a distance in the New Testaments. There was one in the Old Testament, you remember, where Elisha healed Naaman at a distance when he went and washed in the Jordan River seven times.
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So here Christ does not need to be physically present for his authority to be exercised. Now, here are my implications. The first one is this. The centurion's great faith was exercised and based upon his understanding of the authority of Christ. If you and I wish to increase in faith, if we wish to grow in faith, if we wish to exercise our faith, in some degree we have to comprehend the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ. We must grasp the fact that all He need do is speak.
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May I ask you, how did this world come into existence? He spake and it was commanded. He commanded and it stood fast. All He needs do is speak.
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It doesn't matter if it's healing, doesn't matter if it's judgment, doesn't matter if it's health, doesn't matter what it is. All he needs to do is speak and it is done. Here's the second point, and I really want to emphasize this. I want you to understand that Christ's delegated authority is equally his authority. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 in just a moment. I want to explain a verse to you. 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, get ready for it. But let me explain my statement that Christ's delegated authority is equally his authority. And here's an illustration that you can understand. I have four children.
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They're all gone from home, but let's suppose they're back home and they're young ones. And my oldest daughter, suppose I say now, Wendy, your mother and I are going to be gone for two hours. While I'm gone, you're in charge. You make sure the younger girls clean up their rooms. You make sure they do what they're supposed to do. And you watch over them. And you make sure nothing happens to them. And your mother and I'll be back in two hours. Until I'm gone, you're running the show. Now, if I did that, and if my oldest daughter then looked at my younger girls and said, all right girls, get to your rooms, get cracking. Get those rooms cleaned up. When you get through, we're going to straighten up this room. And then, you know, if you don't, you're going to answer to me because I'm going to have to answer to dad.
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You understand that when I give that daughter that temporary delegated authority, it is still my authority. I've asked her to do that. She is there in my place as my representative. Do we understand that?
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Now, let me tell you why I'm giving you this point. If my younger girls look at Wendy and say, they don't have to obey you. You're not daddy. You're not mama. You're just an older sister. That's who you are. They don't have to obey you.
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Now, let me ask you, if they heard me, if they knew I left her in charge, whose authority are they resisting, hers or mine? Mine. Mine. So that means two hours later when I come back home, I'll deal with it.
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Now, you can see that very plainly. Here's the problem that we have in preaching, and I'm going to be dealing with some of this in the not too distant future. But I've had countless people come up to me sometimes after I get through preaching and say, Preacher, you know, that sounds good. And if I heard God say it, I'd believe it. But you know, that's just what you say. And all I've done is explain and quote Scripture.
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It's kind of like a friend of mine. I laugh. People are so funny. He was getting a haircut. He's a preacher. He's getting a haircut. And the barber brought up the doctrine of election. And the barber was against the doctrine. I don't know how you can be against a doctrine that occurs 73 times in the New Testament alone. I mean, you've got to believe something. But anyhow, the barber at all. And finally my friend said, look, just hush. And he reaches in his pocket and pulls out his New Testament.
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And he opened it to Romans chapter 9. And all he did was read Romans chapter 9. Read it aloud. And when he got through reading it, all he did was close his Bible and says, there, don't you believe that? The barber said, not the way you read it, I don't. How else can you read what is there? I mean, you know, it's there. Well, let me show it to you. How else can you read this? Look in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 and verse 20. I want you to look what the Apostle Paul said.
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This will put a whole different light upon preaching if you will grasp it now. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20. The Apostle Paul says now then we, and he's not talking about God's people in general, but he's talking about preachers in particular, and I don't have time to go through in the entire context. But here it is.
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Now, then we are ambassadors for Christ. Now, look carefully as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled unto God.
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Now, first of all, let me point out an ambassador or someone with an office, someone with an office is someone with authority. This is a special sense. It's not, well, we're ambassadors in general, we represent. Yeah, I understand that. But you know what an ambassador of the United States is an ambassador with an office. He's got authority, etc. He's been officially appointed to represent the United States. Well, this is exactly what Paul is saying about preachers.
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Now, look what he says. Now that we are ambassadors for Christ. Now, look, as though God did beseech you by us. What is he saying? He is saying we have been duly appointed the delegates of Jesus Christ. And now God is beseeching you by us or through us. Now watch carefully. Do you remember I said earlier, if my children resisted the authority that I bestowed upon my oldest daughter, they would be resisting me. You remember that?
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Do you know what our Lord said in John 13 in verse 20? Let me just quote it for you. He said, Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.
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Now, let's work this out. Christ said, if you receive me, you receive him that sent me. That is the Father. If you receive whom I send, you receive me. But the opposite is also true. If you don't receive the representative of Christ, you don't receive Christ. If you don't receive Christ, you don't receive the Father. Now, what is Christ done? Christ is seated at the right hand of God, the Father. We understand that. What has Christ done?
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He has delegated authority through His preachers to speak His Word for Him. Now listen to me. And I don't want to have to get into this right now, but speaking the word for Christ does not mean I stand here and give you my idea and my opinion. No, no, no, no. When I speak for Christ, it's when I'm explaining and expounding and applying the Scripture. You understand that? It's the Scripture that's the Word of God.
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Now, if you look what he said, look in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 20 again. Now, then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us or through us. Now, look what he said. We pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled unto God.
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Now, let me just deal with this word stead just momentarily. The word is huper in the Greek. You know what the word means? It is the exact same word that is used when it talks about the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. What did he do? He died in our what? Our stead, our place.
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Now, what did the Apostle Paul say? We pray you in Christ's stead. That is, we're here in his place. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. But he's delegated authority to his preachers to declare his word. And so we are praying you, in his stead, be reconciled unto God. Are you listening? Those who then reject and refuse the preaching and teaching of the Word of God are rejecting Jesus Christ. You say, well, Brother Weaver, if I don't attend the preaching of the Word of God, does that mean I'm rejecting Christ? Yeah. If I don't believe the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, does that mean I'm rejecting Christ? Yeah, sure does.
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For he said, he that receiveth whomsoever I send. Now, I'm not talking about any preacher, but I'm talking about God's preachers. And I'm not talking about preachers just standing up spouting their opinions. I'm talking about preachers who are actually expounding the Word of God. That is the Word of God. And when you say, well, Brother Weaver, if God said it, I believe it. What do you think the Bible is? It is the Word of God. God did say it. And all I'm telling you is what God said. The point I'm trying to make is this. The reason most people reject the preaching and teaching of the Word of God is they don't understand authority. Nor do they understand delegated authority. And they don't understand that Christ has sent men in His stead to teach His Word and proclaim His truth. Now, one last application. Here it is. If we understand Christ's sovereign authority and His delegated authority, it should lead us to an unshakable confidence and faith in Him since neither time nor distance can diminish His authority.
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I want you to look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1 before I read it. Let me make the statement. Think about this, folks. What He said, He will do. What He has promised, He will perform. What He has predicted, He will bring to pass. He cannot be hindered. He cannot be thwarted. He cannot be overthrown. He cannot be stopped. He cannot be conquered. Consequently, if you look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1 in verse 20, you will find this.
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For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen unto the glory of God by us. Did you hear that? The promises of God in Him are what? Yea and Amen. They will come to pass. Nothing can stop them. Nothing can hinder them. No new world order. No Bilderbergers. No skull and bones. No one, nothing can stop Jesus Christ from fulfilling and performing his promises or his curses.
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Unilapse a basis for unshakable faith. Lord, you may be in heaven. That doesn't matter. You can shake their tree with your word anytime you please. And you can fulfill your promise to me or to anyone else with Your Word. Just speak, Lord, because Your authority cannot be diminished by time or distance. He is the Sovereign of the universe. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that You would be pleased to help us, Lord, please to teach us and please Lord to demonstrate and show us and help us, enable us to comprehend your divine authority. May we have a great faith, an unshakable faith, an unbounding confidence in you.
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We know that you're too loving to be unkind and too wise to make a mistake. Give us grace, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:04:39Z

Recognizing Divine Authority - Part #2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver continues his exposition of Matthew 8 and Luke 7, focusing on the centurion's recognition of Christ's divine authority as the basis for his great faith. He explains that Christ taught with authority because He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and is the living Word of God. The centurion understood delegated authority from his military experience, recognizing that Christ need only speak the word for healing to occur, since neither time nor distance diminishes His authority. Weaver emphasizes that those who are under authority easily recognize authority, and that Christ's delegated authority through preachers is equally His authority, so rejecting the preached Word is rejecting Christ. The sermon concludes with applications for unshakable faith based on Christ's sovereign authority.

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews the previous message, setting the stage for part two on recognizing divine authority, and reads Matthew 8:5-13.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 8:5-13

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed. For I'm a man under authority, having soldiers under me. Now I say to this man, go, and he goeth; and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.

The Place and Person of the Miracle

The miracle occurs in Capernaum, a city under God's curse, yet God has His elect there. The centurion, a Roman soldier, demonstrates extraordinary faith, generosity, and compassion for his servant.

The Centurion's Compassion and Humility

The centurion's use of 'boy' for his servant indicates an affectionate relationship. His humility is shown when he declares himself unworthy for Christ to enter his house.

Christ's Divine Authority in Teaching

Christ taught with authority because He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and is the living Word of God, knowing the Scriptures perfectly.

The Written and Living Word

The Bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus is the living Word; one cannot have a different attitude toward one than the other.

Recognition of Christ's Divine Authority

The centurion's great faith stemmed from recognizing Christ's divine authority, unlike the Jews who questioned it but refused to acknowledge its source.

Delegated Authority and the Chain of Command

God's authority is inherent; man's is delegated. The centurion understood this from military chain of command, and God has a chain of command: God, Christ, man, woman.

Submission to Authority as a Prerequisite for Leadership

Those under authority easily recognize authority. If one cannot submit to lawful authority, God will not use them to give orders. Christ Himself learned obedience as a servant.

Christ's Example of Submission and Exaltation

Christ emptied Himself, became a servant, and obeyed unto death. As a reward, the Father gave Him all authority, which He will ultimately surrender back to the Father.

Neither Time nor Distance Diminishes Christ's Authority

The centurion recognized that Christ's authority is pervasive; He need only speak the word, and healing occurs regardless of physical presence.

Applications: Faith, Delegated Authority, and Unshakable Confidence

Recognizing Divine Authority - Part #2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	1906131044
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Daniel
Genre	Sermon
Date	2005-10-16
Dictation Name
Book	Book 129: Recognizing Divine Authority — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	85

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver reviews the previous message, setting the stage for part two on recognizing divine authority, and reads Matthew 8:5-13.
The Place and Person of the Miracle: The miracle occurs in Capernaum, a city under God's curse, yet God has His elect there. The centurion, a Roman soldier, demonstrates extraordinary faith, generosity, and compassion for his servant.
The Centurion's Compassion and Humility: The centurion's use of 'boy' for his servant indicates an affectionate relationship. His humility is shown when he declares himself unworthy for Christ to enter his house.
Christ's Divine Authority in Teaching: Christ taught with authority because He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and is the living Word of God, knowing the Scriptures perfectly.
The Written and Living Word: The Bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus is the living Word; one cannot have a different attitude toward one than the other.
Recognition of Christ's Divine Authority: The centurion's great faith stemmed from recognizing Christ's divine authority, unlike the Jews who questioned it but refused to acknowledge its source.
Delegated Authority and the Chain of Command: God's authority is inherent; man's is delegated. The centurion understood this from military chain of command, and God has a chain of command: God, Christ, man, woman.
Submission to Authority as a Prerequisite for Leadership: Those under authority easily recognize authority. If one cannot submit to lawful authority, God will not use them to give orders. Christ Himself learned obedience as a servant.
Christ's Example of Submission and Exaltation: Christ emptied Himself, became a servant, and obeyed unto death. As a reward, the Father gave Him all authority, which He will ultimately surrender back to the Father.
Neither Time nor Distance Diminishes Christ's Authority: The centurion recognized that Christ's authority is pervasive; He need only speak the word, and healing occurs regardless of physical presence.
Applications: Faith, Delegated Authority, and Unshakable Confidence: Faith grows by comprehending Christ's authority. Christ's delegated authority through preachers is His own; rejecting the preached Word is rejecting Christ. This leads to unshakable confidence in His promises.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

The centurion's faith was great because he recognized Christ's divine authority.

The centurion understood authority from his military experience and applied that understanding to Christ, recognizing that Christ's word alone was sufficient for healing.

Weaver argues, 'Why is it this centurion had such a great faith? I'm going to submit to you. It is because he recognized our Lord's divine authority.'

Christ taught with authority because He is the living Word and had the Spirit without measure.

Christ's teaching was authoritative because He authored Scripture and was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Weaver states, 'He was endued with the fullness of the Holy Spirit... The second reason Christ taught as no other man ever taught was because of the authority which He possessed.'

The written Word and the living Word are inseparable.

One cannot have a different attitude toward Jesus Christ than toward the Bible; they stand or fall together.

Weaver says, 'You can't come and say, well, I believe in Jesus Christ, but I don't believe the Bible. Or, I believe the Bible, I don't believe in Jesus Christ. No, no, no. Jesus is the living word, the Bible is the written word, and they stand or fall together.'

Understanding delegated authority is essential for faith and obedience.

The centurion's military background taught him that authority is delegated, and he applied this to Christ, leading to great faith.

Weaver explains, 'The centurion understood delegated authority because that authority which he possessed had been bestowed upon him by those who were higher in authority than he was.'

Submission to authority is a prerequisite for being used by God to lead.

Those who cannot submit to lawful authority will not be entrusted by God to give orders.

Weaver states, 'If you do not know how to submit to authority and take orders, God's never going to use you to give orders.'

Christ's earthly ministry was conducted under the Father's delegated authority.

Jesus, though fully God, emptied Himself and acted as the Father's servant, obeying perfectly and receiving all authority as a reward.

Weaver says, 'The power that Jesus Christ exercised upon this earth... was the power and the authority that his Father had given him as the Father's servant.'

Christ's authority is not limited by time or distance.

The centurion recognized that Christ did not need to be physically present to heal; His word is effective regardless of location.

Weaver argues, 'Neither time nor distance diminishes his authority. So he said, Lord, you speak the word. You don't have to come into my house.'

Rejecting the preached Word is rejecting Christ.

Since preachers are ambassadors for Christ, speaking in His stead, to reject their biblical teaching is to reject Christ Himself.

Weaver states, 'Those who then reject and refuse the preaching and teaching of the Word of God are rejecting Jesus Christ.'

Scripture References

Matthew 8:5-13: The primary text of the sermon, recounting the centurion's faith and Christ's healing of his servant.
Luke 7:2-10: Parallel account of the centurion's servant, highlighting the centurion's compassion and the elders' intercession.
John 3:34: Used to show that Christ spoke the words of God because the Spirit was given to Him without measure.
Matthew 7:29: Demonstrates that Christ taught with authority, unlike the scribes.
Luke 4:36: Shows the people's amazement at Christ's authority and power over unclean spirits.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: Affirms that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine and instruction.
John 1:1, 14: Identifies Jesus as the living Word who became flesh, paralleling the written Word.
John 12:48: Connects rejection of Christ (the living Word) with rejection of His words (the written Word).
Matthew 21:23-27: The chief priests question Christ's authority; He counters with a question about John's baptism, exposing their unwillingness to recognize divine authority.
1 Timothy 3:16: Declares the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, affirming Christ's deity.
Daniel 2:21: Shows that God removes and sets up kings, demonstrating His sovereign delegation of authority.
Psalm 75:6-7: Promotion comes from God alone; He puts down one and sets up another.
1 Corinthians 11:3: Establishes God's chain of command: God, Christ, man, woman.
Hebrews 3:1: Calls Christ the Apostle (sent one) and High Priest of our profession.
John 5:26-27: The Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment.
John 6:38, 40: Christ came not to do His own will but the will of the Father who sent Him.
Philippians 2:5-8: The kenosis passage: Christ emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death.
John 10:17-18: Christ has power to lay down His life and take it again, a commandment received from the Father.
John 8:29: The Father is with Christ because He always does what pleases the Father.
Matthew 28:18: After His resurrection, Christ declares that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him.

Historical References

Roman centurion and military chain of command: Weaver uses the centurion's military background to illustrate delegated authority and the chain of command, noting that a centurion commanded at least 100 men.
Capernaum as a city under God's curse: Weaver references Christ's 'woe' to Capernaum (Matthew 11:23) to show that even in wicked places, God has His elect.
Elisha healing Naaman at a distance: Weaver mentions the Old Testament miracle of Naaman being healed after washing in the Jordan as a precedent for healing at a distance.
Use of 'boy' as an affectionate term in servant-master relationships: Weaver explains that historically, 'boy' was not a term of discrimination but of affection, derived from the Greek word 'pais' used by the centurion.

Important Quotes

I'm a man under authority, having soldiers under me. Now I say to this man, go, and he goeth; and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it.

The centurion's own words, quoted by Weaver, illustrate his understanding of delegated authority, which is central to the sermon's theme.

Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Christ's commendation of the centurion's faith, which Weaver uses to highlight the exceptional nature of faith rooted in recognizing divine authority.

He taught them as one who had authority.

Weaver references Matthew 7:29 to emphasize that Christ's teaching was authoritative, unlike the scribes, because of His divine nature.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

Quoted to establish the divine origin of the Bible, which Weaver links to Christ as the living Word.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does recognizing Christ's divine authority impact the strength of our faith, as seen in the centurion's example?

[Context]

Weaver argues that the centurion's great faith was based on his recognition of Christ's authority.

[Question]

In what ways do we struggle to submit to God-given authority, and how does that affect our ability to lead or be used by God?

[Context]

Weaver states that those who cannot submit to authority will not be used by God to give orders.

[Question]

What does it mean that Jesus Christ is both the living Word and the written Word, and why can't we separate our attitude toward them?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes the unity of Christ and Scripture, warning against having different attitudes toward them.

[Question]

How does understanding delegated authority change the way we view the preaching and teaching of God's Word?

[Context]

Weaver explains that preachers are ambassadors for Christ, speaking in His stead with His authority.

[Question]

Why is it significant that neither time nor distance diminishes Christ's authority, and how should that affect our prayer life?

[Context]

Weaver points out that the centurion recognized Christ could heal from a distance simply by speaking the word.

[Question]

How does Christ's example of emptying Himself and becoming a servant challenge our own attitudes toward authority and submission?

[Context]

Weaver uses Philippians 2 to show Christ's humility and obedience as a model for believers.

[Question]

What are the implications of rejecting the preached Word of God, according to 2 Corinthians 5:20 and John 13:20?

[Context]

Weaver argues that rejecting the biblical preaching of God's ambassadors is equivalent to rejecting Christ.

[Question]

How can we cultivate an unshakable confidence in God's promises, knowing that His authority cannot be hindered?

[Context]

Weaver concludes with the assurance that all God's promises are 'yea' and 'Amen' in Christ.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:46:37Z