Apostle paul

 

Paul, who was called to be an apostle, not of men, nor through men, but of Jesus Christ, and of God the Father, who raised him from the dead, writes: (Gal 1:1)

At the beginning of his epistles to the Romans or Philippians or Titus or Philemon, Paul always addressed himself as the servant or prisoner of Christ. He identified himself as an apostle in Galatians, Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians. Do you know what the reason is? He was an apostle and "sent one" of Jesus Christ to those who opposed his authority, while he was a servant to those 

who accepted and welcomed him.

The question of authority is often raised by those who want to keep people under the constraints of religion and ritual. "What authority do you have to do what you do, to preach the way you preach?"  That is their question.

    "who are you?" It is the question of the priests and Levites to John the Baptist. The answer to everything is no.

    "So, under whose authority are you doing all this?" (John 1:19-25)

They questioned John in chapter 1 and questioned Jesus in chapter 2. After the cleansing of the temple, they came to him and asked, "By what authority do you do this?" (John 2:18).

Questioning authority is a strategy often used by religious organizations and rituals. They are all tricks to scare us. We should not get caught up in such tricks. That is why Paul said at the beginning of this epistle, “My authority was not given to me by men, but by Jesus Christ.

Understand that cowards are the biggest terrorists. They do so because of the fear of losing their power and status.

No authority that is not given from heaven is eternal. So why should we be afraid? No harm will come to us without knowing Him and without His permission. When the conviction that we have nothing to gain here, and that our riches are in heaven, begins to rule us, we are enabled to be bold and active. We have authority from heaven. 

Let's move forward with courage.