The Apostles’ Creed: God The FatherSample

God’s Exclusive Authority: John 5:26-27

Besides having absolute authority, the Father also has exclusive authority over everything he has created. The Father’s authority as creator is exclusive in the sense that no creature possesses absolute authority. Absolute authority belongs only to the creator, and God is the only creator. And beyond this, when we view the Trinity economically, the Father also has authority over the other persons of the Trinity. For example, consider Jesus’ words in John 5:26-27:

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man (John 5:26-27).

Jesus taught that his authority to judge the world had been delegated to him by the Father. This authority ultimately resided in the Father, and was his exclusive prerogative. But the Father appointed the Son to judge on his behalf. We find a similar idea in 1 Corinthians 15:24, where Jesus’ kingship over the universe is subordinate to the Father’s greater kingship.

And something similar is true with the Holy Spirit as well. Passages like John 16:13, Romans 8:11, and 1 Peter 1:2 teach that the Holy Spirit also does the will of the Father.

And just as the Son’s authority and the Spirit’s authority are delegated from the Father, the authority of created beings is delegated as well. Angels, earthly rulers, and even average human beings have a measure of authority. But all these types of authority are delegated by God, so that the Father’s authority is always superior to creaturely authority.