The Unction of the Spirit in the Function of Authority: Part Two

II. The function of authority in the kingdom of God

Remember that the unction of the Spirit is “The outworking of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer to fulfill an assignment designated by God.”  In our text, we see that the Spirit of God rushed upon David in this way when he was anointed to be the next King of Israel. 

But right after we read that the Spirit rushed upon David, the Bible says,  “Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him” (1 Samuel 16:12-14).

Why did the Spirit depart from Saul? The Spirit of the Lord departed because of his stubborn pride and disobedience. In addition, his rebellion and stubbornness opened the door to a harmful spirit that robbed him of peace.

In 1 Samuel 15, Saul's excuse for disobeying God was that the people wanted to save the best of the animals to sacrifice them to the Lord.  Samuel rebuked him for his excuses: 

“And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22-23 KJV).

Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft because it exposes us to demonic influence, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry because we deceitfully elevate ourselves above God when we insist on getting our own way. Unlike David, who was a man after God's heart, Saul did not have a heart that wholly desired to fulfill the will of God. He wanted to give the appearance that he was a man that worshipped and honored God.  He wanted the honor and the blessing of being the King, but he wanted to do his own thing, he wanted his own way.

We cannot have the privilege of enjoying God's presence or the privilege of experiencing His power, namely the unction of the Spirit if we are not functioning under God-ordained authority.  God is the supreme authority. But He has also ordained human authorities to govern our lives for His glory and our good.

God ordained human government for the orderly functioning of society. He's ordained an authority structure in the home. Children are to obey their parents; wives are to come under the servant leadership of their husband.

In addition, God has ordained the church with an authority structure under the headship of Christ. Every believer, including leaders, are called to be submitted to the biblical authority of a local church and willingly make themselves accountable to live a life that honors God and serves the cause of Christ.

David, who God testified was a man after His heart, serves as an example to us of a man that honored God and that was honored by God for remaining under God-ordained authority.

"You'll never be over what God had put under you until you are under what God has put over you." Adrian Rogers

David understood the principles of authority. Before David actually took the throne, he demonstrated his willingness to wait on the Lord as he served under God-ordained authority.

Below I highlight 4 ways David demonstrated what it means to function under the principles of authority in the kingdom of God. Some of these thoughts come from a message by Jimmy Evans.

1. David didn't act in pride although he knew he was to be the next King. 

When Goliath came against Israel, David found out about his threats and volunteered to take him on.  When Saul heard that David was ready to take on the giant, he mockingly questioned David's ability to do so. 

Notice how David responded: “But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” (1 Samuel 17:34-36)

David responded with humility and not in pride as he appealed to King Saul, referring to himself as his servant. He continued to appeal to Saul in this way and did not engage Goliath until Saul gave him the order to do so.  

Knowing that he would be the future King, David could have been tempted to respond in pride by saying something like, "Listen Saul, your days are numbered. I'm the man now. You're a has been. Step 

aside so I can take care of business."

But that's not what he did. Instead, he made a humble appeal and waited until he was given the go-ahead by King Saul.  David was anointed, but not yet enthrone.  Therefore he remained under the authority of Saul until the appointed time. 

Similarly, if we desire to honor God and be used by Him, we are not to pridefully dismiss the authorities he has placed over us when they don't agree with us. Instead, we are to make humble appeals and wait on God to do what only

2. David didn't seek vengeance when he had the opportunity to do so.

As you may know, Saul became Jealous of David because God was using David through the anointing of the Spirit to win great military victories. As a result of Saul's jealousy, he made several attempts on David's life, which led David to go on the run.

While being pursued by Saul, David had an opportunity to avenge himself and was being encouraged to do so by his men, but he refused.  In 1 Samuel 24, we learned that Saul had entered a cave alone to relieve himself where David and his men were hiding out. While Saul was relieving himself, David, instead of killing Saul as his men were encouraging him to do, somehow managed to cut a piece of the robe that Saul was wearing. Later, when Saul exited the cave, David emerged with the piece of Saul's robe and displayed it to him as proof that, although he could have killed him, he did not.

David explained, "Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you." (1 Samuel 24:10-12)

Understanding the function of authority in the kingdom of God, David would not avenge himself, but instead, put his trust in the Lord to do so. By the way, David's response to Saul momentarily moved his heart, which led to a temporary reprieve where Saul for a season did not pursue David. 

3. David didn't take advantage of the King's vulnerability to promote himself. 

On another occasion when Saul was pursuing David again, he had another opportunity to take Him out. David and his men encountered Saul camping out at night in the wilderness where Saul and his army were asleep. During this time when one of David's men wanted to avenge David by killing Saul, David responded: "But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish." (1 Samuel 26:9-10)

Once again, David did not take advantage of Saul's vulnerability to promote himself—he did not take matters into his own hands, but instead entrusted himself to God's keeping power. 

4. He disassociated himself from those who dishonored authority.

When Saul was wounded in battle and later killed himself with his own sword, David encountered an Amalekite who apparently gives him a different version of the story. This Amalekite, who was part of the battle, told David that he encountered Saul alive leaning on his sword. And because he was about to die, he finished him off. It appears that he was trying to gain David's favor by telling him that he killed Saul. But David was not impressed.  After weeping for Saul and Jonathan his son, David says to the Amalekite:

“How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’” (2 Samuel 1:14-16)

We see here that David not only had great respect for authority, but he also did not want to be aligned with people who disrespected authority.  He would not honor someone who dishonored God-ordained authority.

In 1 Corinthians 15:33 we read, "Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). We shouldn't keep company with those, especially if they call themselves Christians, who have a rebellious spirit and dishonor God-ordained authority by their speech or actions. Why? "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" (Gal. 5:9).

Let me emphasize, although David was willing to suffer adversity, he didn't allow himself to be habitually abused. There came a time where he had to separate himself from Saul in order to get out of harm’s way. 

There also comes a time when leaders today must be held biblically accountable.  Incidentally, it was the lack of accountability that led David down a slippery slope of sin to the point where he was about to be taken out by God. Things turned around after a courageous prophet named Nathan pointed out to David, regarding his sin, “Thou art the man” (2 Samuel 12:1-13). 

God will bless us and honor us when we remain under authority even in adverse circumstances. Sometimes he uses these circumstances to prove us, prepare us and perfect us for future kingdom assignments. But I am not advocating that a wife, for example, stay in an abusive relationship or for anyone to submit to authorities when they are asking you to go against the highest authority, which is God and his word.  

However, what I am saying is that if we are going to know the unction of the Spirit in service to King Jesus, we must function under the principles of authority in the kingdom of God. David is a great example to us on how we are to do so.

If the Holy Spirit doesn't move in power in our church and in our lives, we will not know God's presence and power working in our lives for our good and his glory.  The Holy Spirit will not move in power in our lives if, like Saul, we have a stubborn and rebellious spirit that will not humbly come under the authority structures that God has ordained. 

When we humbly come under the authorities that God has placed over us, we come under the authority and protection of Christ, who humbled himself to the point of death so that we can know him fully and for all eternity.

May we daily seek the anointing of the Spirit to know Christ more fully and to make him more fully known as we submit our lives under His loving Lordship.