Religion & Spirituality
A major way God, the Lawgiver, governs this world and expresses His authority is through the DIVINE INSTITUTIONS, which are spheres of delegated human authority in the earth. He governs through human beings, who carry His authority, in 7 distinct realms: (1) FREE-WILL – our God-given authority over our own life, (2) WORK, (3) MARRIAGE (between a man and a woman), (4) FAMILY (this includes their children), (5) Human GOVERNMENT, (6) the NATION STATE, and (7) the CHURCH. These define the distinct realms of delegated authority that God entrusts to man. The first 4 Divine Institutions were introduced by God at the beginning before the Fall of man. The opposite spirit to God’s Spirit is the spirit of lawlessness, which rejects God’s Law in this world, especially through the Divine Institutions. The Bible predicts that in the end-times the spirit of lawlessness will increase in the world and even infect many in the Church. Lawlessness is not just breaking God's Law of God, but it is to reject the Law of God itself. It is rebellion against God's authority and right to govern the world. The spirit of lawlessness attacks and seeks to undermine true authority, especially as embodied in and expressed through the Divine Institutions, as defined by God’s Word. A big part of our submission to God is submitting to the human authorities in our life, for they carry the authority of God. All authority comes from God. Only God has absolute authority, but He delegates His authority to man, so man is meant to exercise authority under God, in His Name. God entrusts man with authority and holds him accountable for how he uses it. We are called to honour and submit to God’s delegated authorities, even though they are imperfect. The spirit of lawlessness seeks to overthrow God's delegated authorities, often using their failures or imagined failures as a basis and excuse. You cannot submit to God without also submitting to His delegated authorities. A major key to success in life is to understand and honour God-ordained authority (Ephesians 6:1-3). The Divine Institutions are real structures, built into man’s social existence, designed, initiated and ordained by God, revealed through His Word, and they apply to all mankind. God designed the Divine Institutions for our good, to provide stability, peace, blessing and prosperity. Satan works through the spirit of lawlessness to attack and undermine all the Divine Institutions. It is vital to understand the Divine Institutions and respect, defend and uphold them, not violate them. In this Series, we will study all 7 of the Divine Institutions, and in this teaching (Part 1), we study the first and fundamental Divine Institution: FREE-WILL.