Scripture reading: Matthew 20:25-27
The church cannot reach to its height in the Spirit without the function of the prophet ministry. By this, I do not mean prophesying in the church. The ministry of the prophet is one which carries a power and authority in the church next to the apostle.
The mistaken idea about spiritual authority is that men who claim to have authority in the church are mostly those who rule over different sections of the church, BUT authority is from God. WHEN THE WORD SPOKEN is powerful in heaven and on earth, then that is spiritual authority.
An example of this is a situation where a certain minister’s preaching was being challenged, and the brethren decided that they would not have him any more. He said nothing but went away and prayed to God. The result was that they were sorry, and reversed their decision. The authority was exercised in the Spirit.
On the other hand, there are those who speak great swelling words, only to find that the Spirit of God was not with them, and their words did not carry with the spiritual people.
Jesus had this to say of spiritual authority:
Matthew 20:25-27, (RSV) “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but who so ever would be great among you must be your servant, and who so ever would be first among you must be your slave.”
This simply means that God will exalt such a person to a place of authority, so that “whatsoever he binds on earth is bound in heaven.” We can see clearly that God intends a Prophet to speak as the very oracle of God.
(Excerpt from The Pattern, pg. 74-75)
Thought for today: WHEN THE WORD SPOKEN is powerful in heaven and on earth, then that is spiritual authority.
Sonlight Devotional 