Four Sources Of Authority: Inadequate And Adequate
Decisions about your spiritual life don’t come easily, do they?
Is there a final, ultimate authority you can use to distinguish between what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad? Is there a final, ultimate authority you can depend on as a guide for your daily life?
Yes! That authority isn’t experiences, traditions, feelings, or intellect. It’s the Bible, God’s holy Word. This week you’ll learn about that ultimate authority for your life and the way God intends for you to relate experiences, traditions, feelings, and intellect to His Word.
The theme for this week is:
Four Sources of Authority: Inadequate and Adequate
Try labeling the palm, thumb, and next two fingers of the hand drawing. Then label the fourth finger “Four Sources of Authority.”
Read Colossians 2:1-4,6-8,20-23.
How many times have you heard or said something like “I want to talk to somebody around here who has a little authority”? How many times have you been told, “I’ll have to talk to my manager about that” or “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the authority to decide that”? Everybody sometimes feels the need to get in touch with whoever or whatever is the final authority.
All religions and religious systems are based on one or more of four sources of authority. This week you’ll learn about three subtle, dangerous sources of authority that others may use as you seek to share your faith with them. These three inadequate sources of authority will also confuse you and distract you in your Christian growth if you don’t understand their relationship to the one true source of authority. As you learn about that one true source, you’ll recognize how the three inadequate sources relate to it.
The following chart summarizes the four sources of authority. Take each heading in the boxes above the chart and record it above the description you think fits it best. You can find an answer key here.
EXPERIENCES-INTELLECT-SCRIPTURE-TRADITION-
Sources inside Yourself
Sources outside Yourself
The apostle Paul knew a great deal about inadequate sources of authority. In his missionary journeys he found many people who depended on those inadequate sources rather than the one true source of authority. He wrote many of his letters to oppose leaders who were promoting inadequate sources of authority and to urge Christians to hold to the one true source.
Read Colossians 2:1-4.
In verse 2 Paul said he wanted the Colossian Christians to be wealthy. What kind of wealth was he talking about?
Paul wanted the Colossian Christians to have complete or full assurance of understanding.
In verse 3 Paul told them they would find a twofold treasure hidden in Christ Himself. What was that treasure?
__________
and __________Why did Paul want his fellow believers to have this treasure? Verse 4 tells you.
We need to pay attention to what Paul said in Colossians 2:8 because we’re all in danger of being misled or of forming incorrect ideas:
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
COLOSSIANS 2:8
In this verse Paul clearly identified one of the inadequate sources of authority, and he clearly implied another. Which did he clearly identify?
☐ Experience
☐ Intellect
☐ Tradition
Which did he clearly imply?
☐ Experience
☐ Intellect
☐ Tradition
Did you identify tradition as the inadequate source Paul clearly identified? You should have selected intellect as the one he clearly implied. The appeal of philosophy is to the mind and reasoning processes—that is, the intellect. Paul said the false philosophers were engaging in meaningless deception. That deception was to mislead the thoughts and ideas of people who listened to them.
What did Paul mean when he said you could be taken captive by these wrong sources of authority? Look again at verse 4.
Have you ever met anyone whose mind was so captivated by a false idea that he couldn’t even understand what you were trying to say? That’s the type of deception Paul was talking about.
Your first Scripture-memory assignment for this week is 1 Corinthians 2:14. Later this week you’ll study this verse in more detail. Begin now to memorize it.
Read Colossians 2:20-23.
What powerful argument did Paul give against your living in accordance with “human commands and doctrines” (verse 22)? Note the first part of verse 20.
Intellect, tradition, and experiences are human standards. Paul argued that you shouldn’t live by mere human standards because you’ve died with Christ. Colossians 2:23 says these human standards can appear to be wise and appropriate, but they’re forever destined to be inadequate and unfit when they aren’t subject to the one true source of authority—Jesus Christ.
God gave you your mind, your intellect; He expects you to use it. God gives you experiences; He expects you to consider them. Some principles and practices are unchanging, regardless of passing centuries. Some traditions—especially those based on Scripture—are worth preserving. But neither intellect, experiences, nor tradition should become your ultimate authority for faith.
After looking more closely at the three inadequate sources, we’ll see how that the Bible, God’s Word, is the ultimate, accurate, sufficient source of authority because it’s the record of who Jesus was, what He taught, and what He did.
Experiences, intellect, and tradition can help us discover and understand truth only when they’re understood and interpreted in light of what the Bible teaches.
End your quiet time today by meditating on Colossians 2:6-8. How should this passage influence what you believe, how you feel, or the way you behave? What will you promise God you’ll do about it?
You should have arranged the titles on the chart like this:
Intellect Tradition Experiences Scripture
Is there a final, ultimate authority you can use to distinguish between what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad? Is there a final, ultimate authority you can depend on as a guide for your daily life?
Yes! That authority isn’t experiences, traditions, feelings, or intellect. It’s the Bible, God’s holy Word. This week you’ll learn about that ultimate authority for your life and the way God intends for you to relate experiences, traditions, feelings, and intellect to His Word.
The theme for this week is:
Four Sources of Authority: Inadequate and Adequate
Try labeling the palm, thumb, and next two fingers of the hand drawing. Then label the fourth finger “Four Sources of Authority.”
DAY 1
Three Inadequate Sources
Read Colossians 2:1-4,6-8,20-23.
How many times have you heard or said something like “I want to talk to somebody around here who has a little authority”? How many times have you been told, “I’ll have to talk to my manager about that” or “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the authority to decide that”? Everybody sometimes feels the need to get in touch with whoever or whatever is the final authority.
All religions and religious systems are based on one or more of four sources of authority. This week you’ll learn about three subtle, dangerous sources of authority that others may use as you seek to share your faith with them. These three inadequate sources of authority will also confuse you and distract you in your Christian growth if you don’t understand their relationship to the one true source of authority. As you learn about that one true source, you’ll recognize how the three inadequate sources relate to it.
The following chart summarizes the four sources of authority. Take each heading in the boxes above the chart and record it above the description you think fits it best. You can find an answer key here.
EXPERIENCES-INTELLECT-SCRIPTURE-TRADITION-
Sources inside Yourself
Sources outside Yourself
| You determine truth by your ability to reason and conclude what’s right or wrong, good or bad. | You structure your beliefs by those that have been important to your ancestors. | ||
| You determine truth by your senses, feelings, and emotions. | God reveals His truth in written form. That truth is your final, ultimate authority. |
Read Colossians 2:1-4.
In verse 2 Paul said he wanted the Colossian Christians to be wealthy. What kind of wealth was he talking about?
Paul wanted the Colossian Christians to have complete or full assurance of understanding.
In verse 3 Paul told them they would find a twofold treasure hidden in Christ Himself. What was that treasure?
__________
and __________Why did Paul want his fellow believers to have this treasure? Verse 4 tells you.
We need to pay attention to what Paul said in Colossians 2:8 because we’re all in danger of being misled or of forming incorrect ideas:
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
COLOSSIANS 2:8
In this verse Paul clearly identified one of the inadequate sources of authority, and he clearly implied another. Which did he clearly identify?
☐ Experience
☐ Intellect
☐ Tradition
Which did he clearly imply?
☐ Experience
☐ Intellect
☐ Tradition
Did you identify tradition as the inadequate source Paul clearly identified? You should have selected intellect as the one he clearly implied. The appeal of philosophy is to the mind and reasoning processes—that is, the intellect. Paul said the false philosophers were engaging in meaningless deception. That deception was to mislead the thoughts and ideas of people who listened to them.
What did Paul mean when he said you could be taken captive by these wrong sources of authority? Look again at verse 4.
Have you ever met anyone whose mind was so captivated by a false idea that he couldn’t even understand what you were trying to say? That’s the type of deception Paul was talking about.
Your first Scripture-memory assignment for this week is 1 Corinthians 2:14. Later this week you’ll study this verse in more detail. Begin now to memorize it.
Read Colossians 2:20-23.
What powerful argument did Paul give against your living in accordance with “human commands and doctrines” (verse 22)? Note the first part of verse 20.
Intellect, tradition, and experiences are human standards. Paul argued that you shouldn’t live by mere human standards because you’ve died with Christ. Colossians 2:23 says these human standards can appear to be wise and appropriate, but they’re forever destined to be inadequate and unfit when they aren’t subject to the one true source of authority—Jesus Christ.
God gave you your mind, your intellect; He expects you to use it. God gives you experiences; He expects you to consider them. Some principles and practices are unchanging, regardless of passing centuries. Some traditions—especially those based on Scripture—are worth preserving. But neither intellect, experiences, nor tradition should become your ultimate authority for faith.
After looking more closely at the three inadequate sources, we’ll see how that the Bible, God’s Word, is the ultimate, accurate, sufficient source of authority because it’s the record of who Jesus was, what He taught, and what He did.
Experiences, intellect, and tradition can help us discover and understand truth only when they’re understood and interpreted in light of what the Bible teaches.
End your quiet time today by meditating on Colossians 2:6-8. How should this passage influence what you believe, how you feel, or the way you behave? What will you promise God you’ll do about it?
You should have arranged the titles on the chart like this:
Intellect Tradition Experiences Scripture