There are creatures, and a creator, and they are not the same thing. When it comes to authority, God is completely and utterly other. Whether we are husbands, mothers, managers, or pastors, we serve at God’s pleasure, derive our authority from his power, and expect obedience from others only insofar as he allows. Authority in this sense is always derivative. It comes from God, must be shaped like God, and is always for God’s life–giving purposes alone.

There’s a good principle in ministry that says, for the issues that people find the hardest, raise the bar, don’t lower it.
To be sure, lowering the bar can feel like the right move. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t mention the war. Placate the masses and the seats will stay warm.
But there is one thing lowering the bar struggles to do, and that’s make disciples.
Whether it’s a tricky bit of theology or ethics, what brings maturity in the Christian life is rarely swallowing a pill that hurts less, or chewing on something so diluted it’s more liquid food than solid. People grow when the hard thing is shown to be relevant, and when the stakes are raised so high, they say: “Look, I don’t get all of it—but I’m starting to understand why God said it.”
In a word? People often just need the unadulterated truth.
Which brings us to Jonathan Leeman’s new book on Authority. Power, submission and obedience? Those are Bible words that make us squirm and shudder. But if you’re game, this book might make them worthwhile.
Authority in the West
The Western world has a hate–hate relationship with authority. Every age has had their difficulties, “but we in the enlightenment West have given that resistance moral and philosophical respectability” (2–3). Governments are corrupt. The police are racist. Language is a weapon. Even Mum and Dad are just washed-up mouthpieces of an outmoded disciplinarian past.
And there is some truth here. Life is full of oppressors, victims, sadnesses and abuses—as many of us know all too well. Leeman’s own vulnerability in this book is palpable. Like him, many of us have felt authority gone terribly wrong, and it hurts.
And yet what would our world be if we went without authority at all? Letting authority run rampant is oppressive. But rejecting authority can be problematic too (6-7). It leaves us powerless, and ineffective: no one taking responsibility to see our world thrive. What we need isn’t less authority (or more). What we need is a model that works.
Authority in the Bible
Leeman’s definition is simple: whether in your marriage, church or workplace, godly authority authors life (9, 19, 24). You can see it in the contrasts: bad authority takes and destroys; good authority gives and creates. This is, after all, is what God is like.
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Our focus should be on loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. That is true whatever our marital status might be. We should not see marriage as the end goal of our lives; we should instead be asking, “How do I serve and glorify God best through my marriage?” Marriage can be a great platform to serve God and other people rather than a selfish end in itself. While there are many ways to answer this question, let me just give you a few to think about. 

When people get married, you often see a familiar pattern emerging. Instead of spending time with their friends as they used to do, all of their time is now devoted to their spouse. They stop going to parties and their previously-large social circle begins to shrink. It is this phenomenon that the Skyhooks sang about in their 1975 song “All my friends are getting married”:
Well all my friends are getting marriedYes they’re all growin’ oldThey’re staying home on weekendsThey’re all doin’ what they’re told.
There is something good about devotion to your spouse, of course. And being married will undoubtedly change the way your social life works. Yet this complete withdrawal into a marriage “bubble” reveals something about our hearts. It is like the goal in life is to be married, and once that goal is achieved, you can just enjoy it and work hard on it. Everything else now becomes a distant second place.
Do you see the problem with this? The goal in life for Christians should not be to get married. Marriage is a good gift from God, sure. But so is singleness, in a different way. Marriage was never supposed to be the ultimate thing. Marriage itself is supposed to point to the love of Christ and the church.
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MODERATE: Dear Presbyter, look!—it grows dark and the way seems far worse ahead. Whether you accompany me or no, I must turn back with all haste. Fare thee well and take care. I fear for your safety, dear brother. I must fly. 
An Excerpt From the P.C.A. Presbyter’s Progression:

From the Denomination That Was
To That Which Is To Come:
Delivered under the Similitude of a
DREAM
Wherein is Discovered
The manner of his setting out,
His Dangerous Journey; And
Surprising Outcome of His Travels
CHAPTER THE FIFTH – PRESBYTER ON THE SLOPE SLIPPERY
Now I saw in my dream, that when Confessionalist was gone back, Presbyter and Moderate went talking over the steepening track; and thus they began their discourse.
PRESBYTER: Come, neighbour Moderate, how do you do? I am glad that you are with me on this treacherous, beautifully-broken-but-orthodox way. You seem an authentic and plain man, and I am happy for your company. What think you of this way?
MODERATE: Well, good Presbyter, the views are certainly beautiful, but I fear this slope which falls away so sharply to our left as the trail grows more narrow and steep. The footing is not at all to my liking, what with loose stones of many sizes and types.
PRESBYTER: Now, now good Moderate, see you not these excellent Shoes I wear of hearty Evangelical stock? These shoes were made by the most excellent cobblers of the City Cultural for Mission and Progress. No such shoes are to be had in the country!
MODERATE: Well, Presbyter, the shoes are most beautiful. The design is lovely to behold and such a shine they have!— though I venture to say that the dust of this way does but begin to dull them. But the great thing about shoes is how they stand wear and how they protect one’s feet, is it not? And how (on so rocky and treacherous a track as this) they allow a man to keep his feet. It may be that a simple country cobbler knows the better how to fashion shoes for the wilds we now traverse.
PRESBYTER: Stuff and nonsense, dear Moderate! These shoes will serve me well. I have paid dearly for them, and they are all the rage in the City Cultural.
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