Teaching and Speaking With Authority

Teaching and Speaking With Authority

Speaking with authority is speaking with certainty and unambiguously, with great assurance, in faith—without doubting, without wavering, without giving room to another opinion instead of or besides what you have spoken.

It does not make allowance for any ifs and buts, no “perhaps,” no exceptions, no additions or appendages, no sugarcoating and whitewashing. See also 1 Thessalonians 1:5. The Jews had never received such instruction from their scribes; they had never before heard a man speak like that. Therefore they were also struck with amazement at His doctrine. Paul and Titus, as well as Timothy and other like-minded ones, spoke in the same manner.

All those who walk in Jesus Christ’s steps, all those who are doers of the Word, speak like that. Because the doing of the Word is the very source and origin of authority. He who has acted according to the Word knows what happens, and he cannot even bring himself to speak indecisively and with uncertainty. He cannot use expressions which all the others first can and then must use (if they want to be honest) that this happens to be their opinion, their understanding, their view of the matter, etc. The person who has been obedient to the Word speaks with certainty. Paul often used the expression, “I know”; the prophets used the expression, “Thus says the Lord.” Those are decisive words, words of authority.

Most preachers and listeners can be compared to the scribes of those days; they cannot speak with authority because they are not doing God’s will. If they did speak with authority, it would be an artificial and assumed authority which would be worse than nothing.

The scribes asked Jesus from where He had received His authority. He had received His authority by always doing what the Father said, by never doing what He deemed best or what He thought was best, by always denying His self-will.

We, too, receive authority in the same manner. Then what we preach will be the word of God and not he word of man. “When you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.” 1 Thess. 2:13.

When we receive the word of God—words that are always spoken with authority—it will do an effective work in us. Words of men, on the other hand, lack vitality; they do not contain a transforming power. Consequently, we ought to pay attention to two points in particular:

What do we have to watch out for so we can always speak with authority? Never go beyond our measure. Do not say more than what you can say with full assurance. Do not speak about anything unless you can speak about it with authority. We ought to stay silent about everything else. Our reply to all other questions ought to be: “I do not know.” Firmly refuse to say what you might otherwise imagine and think and feel. Deny all that. The heart is so deceitful. Jer. 17. Who has any use for its deceitful opinions and contentions? It is like giving poison to a patient. If you cannot heal your brother, the least you can do is not give him poison. God’s word is healing. The words of man are poison.

Be finished with all arguing, all chit-chat, all conceit, all contentions, all human opinions, all loose and uncertain speech, and let your speech be like Jesus said: “Yes, Yes; No, No.” Because everything that is more than that is evil.

If we cannot with a good conscience begin our message with “Thus says the Lord,” it is better that we are quiet, because all of us have had more than enough of the words of man.