Skip to main content

The Authority Respects Authorities

(Midweek Devotion - 1st Timothy 5:1-2, 30 Aug 2023)

1st Timothy 5:1-2

1 Do not address an older man harshly but appeal to him as a father. Speak to younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters - with complete purity.

One of the great thing about the Bible is not just its claim for Truth and Authority over the church of Christ but also it gives great acknowledgement and high respect to the authorities of anyone who were given such privilege to govern or to lead.

The Bible itself lead everyone who believed on its Truth and Authority through its own example of giving valuable importance to those who are in the position of authority. In many instances of Biblical texts, it was commanded to submit to one who is in the position of authority and give them due respect. The word respect is synonymous to “be subject to”, “submit to”, or “reverence to”. Some of the New Testament references can be found in the following context:

Romans 13:1-2 - 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God's appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment.

1 Peter 2:13-14 - 13 Be subject to every human institution for the Lord's sake, whether to a king as supreme 14 or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good.

Ephesians 5:21;22-23;32-33

21 and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church - he himself being the savior of the body. ...

32 This mystery is great - but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Colossians 3:18 - Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Any organize group, community, or nation; learning to submit to one's authority is of great importance. Though there are many differrent kinds of leadership styles, the Bible is clearly directing us to respect one's authority in different areas of supervision, expertise, and perimeter levels.

Paul, in his letter to Timothy in Chapter 5, gave us one practical way to act with respect towards the church, and by extension to any family or familial settings. He distinguishes the age level with respect to their approaches and how they are to be treated as one who posseses a role in a family setting.

For those who are older than us in age, we speak to them just like how we speak to our parents (our father or mother). If we are commanded to honour our mother and father, then by extension, we treat our elder brethren with the same honour. As Paul said, that we should not speak harshly.

Instead of giving us a long list of what we should do, he gave us of what we should NOT do - that is NOT to speak harshly to them. For there is one visible way to show how we treat them. And such kind gesture is a demonstration of respect to an older brethren.

Likewise, we treat our younger brethren like our siblings, just like our true brothers and sisters. This kind of attitude encourages us to exercise the fruit of Spirit to one another such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Moreover, we are to treat them as if we are the older siblings who are more responsible and mature enough in our actions, words, and thinking. We are ready to extend help when needed. We are willing to teach with diligence and patience. We are helping out in training them to prepare them to challenges of life.

These attitudes are direly needed in the church, not only in our level of ages but, by extension, also in our level of maturity in our walk of faith. Learning to regard with respect and value those who are ahead of us in the ministry, is one way to show our humility before God who puts authority over us.

Likewise, the one who considered themselves mature in walk of faith must learn to treat the new believers in they journey to walk faithfully in their fragile state of Christian infancy. We are to help them to understand the faith they have in Christ Jesus and help them to learn to examine themselves as well that they are truly in faith in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, as members of the body of Christ, let us regard the Authority of the Scripture which also gave us the command to submit one who is in authority, even to one another as members of the household of Christ Jesus. Older or younger, parents or children, let us submit to one another in love in reverence to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Comments

Explore The Most Read Post for the past year

Put Our Hope In God, not in uncertainties

(Midweek Devotions, 1 Timothy 6:17-21 - 25 Oct 2023) 1 Timothy 6:17-20 17  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  18  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  19  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 20  Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,  21  which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all. We are in the final last 5 verses in book of First Timothy, an important pastoral letter which is very helpful for any man of God...

Man of God - Pursue, Fight, Take Hold

(Midweek Devotion - 1 Timothy 6:11-16, 18 Oct 2023) 1 Timothy 6:11-16 11  But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12   Fight the good fight of the faith . Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13   I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14   to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15  which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16  who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. In the parting words of Apostle Paul to Timothy, aft...

Spiritual Gifts Are Free Gifts

Acts 8: 18-23 18  Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,  19  saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."  20  But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!  21  You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.  22  Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.  23  For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." All disciples of Jesus have given the power from God through the Holy Spirit. This is something Jesus had told us that He will send us an advocate or a helper and He will teach us with righteousness and will help us to remember everything that He taught us. T...

Respect - To Serve Them Even Better

(Midweek Devotion, 1st Timothy 6:1-2, 27 Sept 2023) 1st Timothy 6:1-2 1 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. 2 Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. One of the great things about the Sacred Scriptures is that, it does not talk about God alone but also talks about His creatures behaviour, particularly human being, more specificallly those who are His people. 1st Timothy 6 gave us an idea of how both one who are UNDER authority and one who are IN authority should behave as bearers of the name of God. The Bible clearly values authority and how important one should submit to an authority over him. The Bible itself claims authority for Truth, thus, no wonder tha...

Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain

(Midweek Devotion, 1 Timothy 6:6-10) 1 Timothy 6:6-10 6  But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. One of today’s common deception in modern Christianity movement is the use of the Gospel as a solution to life of prosperity. Though the Bible have shown us many great examples of people of God who received and accumulated great wealth in their obedience to God, that does not mean that we also have to focus of such things in our walk of faith. What does the Bible said about prosperities ...