• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

  • About
  • Publications
    • Endorsements
  • Audio/Video
  • Categories
    • Exegesis
    • Biblical Theology
    • Historical Theology
    • Systematic Theology
    • Practical Theology
    • Other
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Practical Theology / When people are skittish over complementarianism, apologizing for it, I know they are probably thinking about authority in a wrong way.

When people are skittish over complementarianism, apologizing for it, I know they are probably thinking about authority in a wrong way.

June 21, 2016 by Andy Naselli

deverBelow is an insightful excerpt from Mark Dever, Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus, 9Marks (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 101–3. I bolded the most punchy paragraph and underlined the sentence that made me laugh out loud. So true.

7. Encourage Godly Authority

Too often, people today don’t understand what a gift godly authority can be. Raising up leaders requires us to teach about godly authority, and encourage it. Jesus certainly taught his disciples about a right use of authority (Matt. 20:25–27).

The fallen world both misuses authority and lies about authority well used. Satan’s basic lie to Adam and Eve was that God couldn’t really love them and tell them no.

When people are skittish over complementarianism, apologizing for it, I know they are probably thinking about authority in a wrong way. It’s as if they think authority is only an advantage for the person who possesses it. Apparently they haven’t had children! Authority looks like an advantage only to someone who doesn’t have it. When you have the authority, pretty much all the “advantages” seem to vanish, and you begin to realize how much of it is service—a glorious service, but a service.

This became clear to me years ago when I was preaching through 2 Samuel. David’s “last words” are striking: “When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth” (23:3–4). Good authority blesses those under it. It nourishes them. People will gravitate toward good healthy authority that spends itself for the good of those under its care, rather than using them for its own good. Look at how a family prospers under good parents, or a team under a good coach.

That’s why the abuse of authority by pastors is such a terribly destructive and blasphemous sin. Furthermore, the stories of prosperity preachers buying private jets for tens of millions of dollars point to something incredibly twisted and Satanic. Such “pastors” play right into the lie that Satan hissed into Adam and Eve’s ear in the garden of Eden: that authority is just a way to abuse you for the leader’s benefit.

Gratefully, the King on the cross shows us that the opposite is true for godly authority.

Just as Jesus tutored his disciples in the godly use of authority, so must we with any men whom we are raising up in leadership. And pastors must model such authority.

Related:

  1. The Myth of Mutual Submission
  2. Must a Wife Always Follow Her Husband’s Leadership?
  3. Why Angry Men Often Seek Out Conservative Churches

Share:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: church, complementarianism, Mark Dever

The New Logos

Follow Me

  • X

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe via Email

God's Will and Making Decisions

How to Read a Book: Advice for Christian Readers

Predestination: An Introduction

Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

Tracing the Argument of 1 Corinthians: A Phrase Diagram

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433580349/?tag=andynaselli-20

Tracing the Argument of Romans: A Phrase Diagram of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles: The Kambur Chronicles

The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer

40 Questions about Biblical Theology

1 Corinthians in Romans–Galatians (ESV Expository Commentary)

How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?

Three Views on Israel and the Church: Perspectives on Romans 9–11

That Little Voice in Your Head: Learning about Your Conscience

How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology

No Quick Fix: Where Higher Life Theology Came From, What It Is, and Why It's Harmful

Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ

NIV Zondervan Study Bible

Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement

From Typology to Doxology: Paul’s Use of Isaiah and Job in Romans 11:34–35

Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism

Let God and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

Introducing the New Testament: A Short Guide to Its History and Message

See more of my publications.

The New Logos

Copyright © 2025 · Infinity Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...