The Significance of Parental Authority

The Fifth Word in the Decalogue deals with the children honoring their parents. It is very straight forward and easy to understand. However, it is more involved than one would think. In Leviticus 19:3 the Lord equates reverencing parents on the same par as observing the Sabbath. Keil-Delitzsch, Thomas Watson and John Calvin also see this commandment applying in a broader sense in that whatever authority the Lord has placed over us we should respect and honor. Therefore, we are going to go through several passages of Scripture which give credence to this belief.

First of all, the ultimate authority in and above everyone is Jesus Christ. This is given to us in Matthew 28:18. Jesus is Lord over all creation and all mankind. All Believers should give their utmost respect to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Next, we see how authority is to be respected in the family. In 1 Corinthians 11:3 the husband is under the authority of Christ and the wife the husband. In Ephesians 6:1-3 the children are under the authority of both parents.

The next aspect of authority the Lord has placed over us is political. Our instructions concerning this authority is in Romans 13:1-7. Two facts found in this passage is no one comes to a place of authority with God allowing that to take place and that individual in a servant of the Lord for the good of the people.

Another aspect of authority over us is in Ephesians 6:5-8. The principle given to slaves in their relationship to their owners is the same as an employee with the employer.

The final authority we are going to examine is the spiritual authority. Two passages of Scripture which addresses this truth is 1 Timothy 5:17-19 where due and proper respect is to be shown to the man God has called to shepherd the flock. Hebrews 13:17 points out that the Shepherd will give an account for the souls under his care.
This shows that the Shepherd is under the authority of the One who called him, even the Lord Jesus Christ.

Based on these passages of Scripture whenever one rebels against the authority God has placed over him/her they are rebelling against God. The only reason for disobeying authority is when the one over us would ask something of us that is against God and His Word.

Let each of us pause to meditate on our attitude toward the authority and then ask ourselves, "What is my attitude toward those the Lord has place over me?"