Digging For Truth

Authority of God (135)

    Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the phrase . . .

           A U T H O R I T Y    o f    g o d            (  3  RELATED  PHRASES  )    

     The  phrase  'authority of God'  appears  135  times in the writings of EGW          See page on Original site              Related phrase:    authority of Christ  (  )   =- -   contempt for authority of God  ( below )

   The people first beheld the destruction of the works of their own hands. Their splendid buildings, and the beautiful gardens and groves where they had placed their idols, were destroyed by lightning from heaven, and the ruins were scattered far and wide. . . . The terror of man and beast was beyond description. Above the roar of the tempest was heard the wailing of a people that had despised the authority of God. . . . In that terrible hour they saw that the transgression of God's law had caused their ruin. Yet while, through fear of punishment, they acknowledged their sin, they felt no true contrition, no abhorrence of evil. They would have returned to their defiance of Heaven, had the judgment been removed. So when God's judgments shall fall upon the earth before its deluge by fire, the impenitent will know just where and what their sin is -- the despising of His holy law. Yet they will have no more true repentance than did the old-world sinners.  {CC 40.4}

 

 
  Skepticism could not deny the existence of Eden while it stood just in sight, its entrance barred by watching angels The order of creation, the object of the garden, the history of its two trees so closely connected with man's destiny, were undisputed facts. And the existence and supreme authority of God, the obligation of His law, were truths which men were slow to question when Adam was among them.  Patriarchs and Prophets, page 84.1

 

  And the Lord said unto Samuel: "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee." The prophet was reproved for grieving at the conduct of the people toward himself as an individual. They had not manifested disrespect for him, but for the authority of God, who had appointed the rulers of His people. Those who despise and reject the faithful servant of God show contempt, not merely for the man, but for the Master who sent him. It is God's words, His reproofs and counsel, that are set at nought; it is His authority that is rejected.  Patriarchs and Prophets, page 605.1

 

  Every man, woman, and child is God's property, and has been bought with a price, even with the infinite price of the precious blood of the Son of God. God will not tolerate injustice from man to his fellow-men. He will not pass over oppression and wrong. Men in office cannot permit the practice of injustice and yet be clear from the judgment of God. For the sake of their own souls, and for the sake of the souls of others, men in positions of trust should seek to do good to their fellow-men, representing the character of the great Lawgiver. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." It is not God's design that men should be cold, hard-hearted, and oppressive toward their fellow men, and they will not be excused in being oppressive simply because they are invested with authority. Every work is to be brought into judgment, and every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil, and every man will be rewarded according as his work has been. Those who practice injustice and oppression set at naught the authority of God, and declare by their actions that they have no regard for the word of Christ, who has purchased redemption at an infinite cost. Men should remember that no matter what customs have prevailed, no matter what laws have been brought into existence, the great Lawgiver is to be obeyed. God's law is to hold the supreme place, and is not made void by the maxims, customs, and inventions of men. Those who devise laws contrary to the law of God, will be brought into judgment, and will receive according to their dues.  {RH, October 1, 1895 par. 7}

 

  Parents are entitled to a degree of love and respect which is due to no other person. God Himself, who has placed upon them a responsibility for the souls committed to their charge, has ordained that during the earlier years of life parents shall stand in the place of God to their children. And he who rejects the rightful authority of his parents is rejecting the authority of God. The fifth commandment requires children not only to yield respect, submission, and obedience to their parents, but also to give them love and tenderness, to lighten their cares, to guard their reputation, and to succor and comfort them in old age.  {AH 293.1}
 

  There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the youth to have their own way. When parents regard every wish of their children, and indulge them in what they know is not for their good, the children soon lose all respect for their parents, all regard for the authority of God or man, and are led captive at the will of Satan. The influence of an ill-regulated family is wide-spread, and disastrous to all society. It accumulates in a tide of evil that affects families, communities, and governments.  {CE 219.1}

 

  There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the youth to have their own way. When parents regard every wish of their children and indulge them in what they know is not for their good, the children soon lose all respect for their parents, all regard for the authority of God or man, and are led captive at the will of Satan.  {CG 231.3}

 

  Either Israel must cease to be the people of God, or the principle upon which the monarchy was founded must be maintained, and the nation must be governed by a divine power. If Israel would be wholly the Lord's, if the will of the human and earthly were held in subjection to the will of God, He would continue to be the Ruler of Israel. So long as the king and the people would conduct themselves as subordinate to God, so long He could be their defense. But in Israel no monarchy could prosper that did not in all things acknowledge the supreme authority of God.  {PP 621.3}

 

                                                 Contempt  for  the  authority  of  God                                           

 

Satan's enmity against God's law had impelled him to war against every precept of the Decalogue. To the great principle of love and loyalty to God, the Father of all, the principle of filial love and obedience is closely related. Contempt for parental authority will soon lead to contempt for the authority of God. Hence Satan's efforts to lessen the obligation of the fifth commandment. Among heathen peoples the principle enjoined in this precept was little heeded. In many nations parents were abandoned or put to death as soon as age had rendered them incapable of providing for themselves. In the family the mother was treated with little respect, and upon the death of her husband she was required to submit to the authority of her eldest son. Filial obedience was enjoined by Moses; but as the Israelites departed from the Lord, the fifth commandment, with others, came to be disregarded.  Patriarchs and Prophets, page 337.1

 

 

 

 

 

     

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Related Information

Authority (Separate page) New Arbitrary Authority (43) Authority given (6) Authority of the church (42) Authority of the law Authority of the state Authority of the truth (7) Authority of the word of God (8) Civil authority (24) Exercise authority Highest Authority (79) Invested with authority (21) Kingly authority (50) Parental authority (68) Pastoral authority (8) Subjects of His authority True Authority (3) Who gave you this authority (4)