Submission to the Spirit's Authority in All Life Areas
Submission to the Spirit's Authority in All Life Areas
The concept of submission to the Spirit's authority is rooted in biblical teachings on the sovereignty of God and the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. According to Romans 13:1, "Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God" [1]. This passage establishes the principle that all authority comes from God.
The Reformed tradition, as represented by Charles Hodge, emphasizes the Holy Spirit's role in the believer's life, including sanctification and the exercise of spiritual gifts. Hodge notes that the Spirit is the agent of sanctification, citing Ephesians 5:25-27, where Christ is said to sanctify and cleanse the church [4]. The Westminster Confession of Faith also highlights the Spirit's role in effectual calling, stating that God "enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh" [7].
The early church fathers also emphasized the importance of submission to God's authority. Augustine wrote about the soul's mutability and its need for divine guidance, noting that "whatever consists of any kind of gross matter must necessarily be divisible into parts" [2]. Tertullian, in his preface, highlights the importance of collecting examples of faith that testify to God's grace and tend to man's edification [5].
The biblical principle of submission to authority is not limited to ecclesiastical or spiritual contexts but extends to all areas of life. Hodge notes that the fifth commandment enjoins respect for superiors, regardless of the nature of their superiority [3]. This principle is rooted in the understanding that all authority is of God and that obedience to those in authority is part of obedience to God.
The Reformed tradition also emphasizes the believer's dependence on the Holy Spirit for guidance and empowerment. Hodge writes that "every believer feels that he stands to the Holy Spirit in the relation which one person sustains to another: a person on whom he is dependent for all good; whose assistance must be sought, and whose assistance may be granted or withheld at pleasure" [6].
Sources
- Romans “Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. -- Romans 13:1”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 4: Augustine — Anti-Manichaean, Anti-Donatist — CHAP. 16.--THE SOUL, THOUGH MUTABLE, HAS NO MATERIAL FORM. IT IS ALL PRESENT IN EVERY PART OF THE BODY. (part 1): But why speak of truth and wisdom which 137 surpass all the powers of the soul, when the nature of the soul itself, which is known to be mutable, still has no kind of material extension in space? For whatever consists of any kind of gross matter must necessarily be divisible into parts, having one in one place, and another in another. Thus, the finger is less than the whole hand, and one finger is less than two; and there is”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 47: § 9. The Fifth Commandment. Its Design. The general principle of duty enjoined in this commandment, is that we should feel and act in a becoming manner towards our superiors. It matters not in what their superiority consists, whether in age, office, power, knowledge, or excellence. There are certain feelings, and a certain line of conduct due to those who are over us, for that very reason, determined and modified in each case by the degree and nature of that superiority. To superiors are due, to each according to the relation in which he ”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 30: might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Predominantly sanctification 216 is referred to the Holy Spirit, as his peculiar work in the economy of redemption. Hence He is called the Spirit of all grace; the Spirit of joy, of peace, of love, of faith, and of adoption. All Christian graces are set forth as fruits of the Spirit. We are said to be born of the Spirit, ”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — PREFACE.[1] (part 1): IF ancient illustrations of faith which both testify to God's grace and tend to man's edification are collected in writing, so that by the perusal of them, as if by the reproduction of the facts, as well God may be honoured, as man may be strengthened; why should not new instances be also collected, that shall be equally suitable for both purposes,--if only on the ground that these modern examples will one day become ancient and available for posterity, although in their present time they are esteemed of less authority, by reason of the presumed ve”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 54: as well as with the doctrine which either confounds the operations of the Spirit with the providential efficiency of God, or regards them as analogous, have impressed themselves on the general consciousness of the Church. Every believer feels that he stands to the Holy Spirit in the relation which one person sustains to another: a person on whom he is dependent for all good; whose assistance must be sought, and whose assistance may be granted or withheld at pleasure; and who may come or withdraw either for a season or forever. Such has be”
- Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed) “Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed, 1646), CHAPTER 10: CHAPTER 10 Of Effectual Calling 1. All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, he is pleased, in his appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by his Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation, by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and, by his almighty power, determining them to that which”