Speaking With Authority
Jesus Christ spoke with authority when he taught. The Gospel writers made note of the contrast of the authority Jesus taught with and the way their teachers presented the word of God. Note this passage from the Gospel of Matthew:
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Obviously Jesus could speak with authority because of who he is, but there is a deeper Spiritual principle that contributes to the authority of his presentation. We can apply this principle to make our teaching more authoritative. notice what Jesus says here:
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
We should follow the example that Jesus laid down. When we teach we should speak only what we find in the word of God. We should keep conjecture and opinion out of our teaching as much as possible. That is the only way we can have a prayer of being able to speak with any sort of authority. In other words that is the only way we can pass on to people the things that they must do. Not to mention informing people about what pleases God and pleasing God ourselves.
Now let me give you an example of how this might work in our day to day teaching. This is actually a pretty minor point but it often comes up and might be useful as an illustration. The letter to the Hebrews does not indicate the identity of the author. Some consider the writing style to be indicative of the apostle Paul. Some point to elements that may indicate otherwise. We do not know. The text does not say. Some teachers go as far as to indicate their opinion concerning the identity of the author. The class is now divided according to their own various opinions. And no definitive position is able to prevail because God chose not to provide that particular piece of information in his word.
Is this how we should teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Do we have the authority from the Father to include our opinion on this issue as part of our Gospel teaching? We do not. God has made it clear that he knows exactly what is going on and he has given us everything we need for life and godliness. So what he hasn’t given us we don’t need. A step away from passing on exactly what we have heard from the word of God is a step away from the example that Jesus Christ laid down. let’s keep our opinion points to a minimum. let’s resist the urge to go beyond what is written. The Bible does not say who wrote the letter to the Hebrews and we can say no more than that and still be speaking with authority.