So we understand now, that God has created certain realms of authority in the spirit world, which the church and Christian believers are called to arise and to fill. He's created also in the earth, certain structures and forms, and He's put it all together. It says not only that, that He created it, it was created by Him, it was created for Him, and it is upheld by Him; so that in Him, He will have the pre-eminence everywhere. Now when we look at the natural world, we see a thing like the law of gravity. Scientists cannot tell you why the law is there. They can't explain how the law operates. They can only describe the law. They can't really work out how come the thing works, but what they can do is describe what it does; and the Bible tells us that these natural laws are upheld by God's power. God is the power source that keeps it all working. He upholds it all.
In the realm of the spirit there are laws and principles, and the power of God upholds them. You have to understand that, that the power of God upholds the thing. In other words, when I co-operate with it, work with it, the power of God is released in my life. If I try and go against it, it's like pushing water up hill; so I need to understand the order that God has set. Now have a look in Romans 13, and it tells us about authority, whether it be natural, or whether it be in the spirit realm; it's source is the same - Verses 1 and 2: let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God; and the powers that be, or the powers that are in place, are ordered by God. Whoever therefore resists the power, resisted something God has put in place; and those that resist, shall receive judgement against themselves.
Now let's just take it through piece by piece. The Bible tells us that there's an order in the human world, and in the realm of the spirit. Everywhere you go, you encounter an authority of some kind; like for example, if I just step off here now, I will encounter an authority, a law that operates, the law of gravity. If I go out on the road, there's road rules. If I break them, I encounter the law. I go and try and put something on the side of my house and build it, I come into a conflict with the authorities in the town. If I try and do various things, I come into conflict, or I find that there are authorities everywhere. Go to the school, I cannot just walk into a school, there are authorities established there. I might have my child in a class, I just can't walk in and interrupt the class, there are authorities there. Everywhere you go, there's order in society; and if that order is violated, or if the boundaries of it are violated, terrible problems take place.
So the Bible tells us, that there is no authority except it comes from God; so that word there 'power' is the word exousia: a legal or delegated right to act or exert power. That word 'power' there means literally, in the original language: something delegated to you, that gives you a legal right to act. So if for example you buy a house, if you go to that house, you can do what you like with it. You can tear it down, you can renovate it, you can paint it, you can change it, you can add to it if you get the right permits, you can all kinds of things. Why can you do that? It's your house, you own it. You've got legal title to it - but if you went into someone else's house, and said: I don't like this house, it's been annoying me for a long time, I think I'll paint it a different colour. Now you would very soon find that now you are moving outside your authority. You're moving into someone else's area of authority, and they would be right to resist you very, very strongly. [Laughter]
You could drive down the road, and you see a car, and you say: oh, I like that car. That's very nice, I've always wanted one like that. You get in and drive it away. After a little while, you get arrested. Why? Because you have violated an authority boundary; it does not belong to you, you have no right to act. But if someone said: here's my car, borrow it, you could drive it and it would be alright - within reason. You understand that? You need to understand: what I am responsible for, I have authority over. What I am responsible for, I have authority. Now God has set in place four authority structures in the earth: one is civil government. This is what it says: all authority comes from God - here it is - all authority comes from God, the powers that be. So whenever you encounter authority, guess whose authority you're encountering? You're encountering [God's] God's authority. Now a lot of people say: Jesus is law; but friend, where the rubber meets the road, is the first time you come into conflict, or encounter an authority, then you'll find out whether He is Lord or not; because to resist, the Bible says: whoever resists the authority, is resisting what God put in place; and God will sort them out.