Page 110 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy

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The ultimate reality and source of authority is God. Jesus, as the self-revelation of God, shares
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in the authority of God. According to the writings of the Evangelists, Jesus as the Son of God

reveals the nature and authority of God. He has the ability, right, and freedom to exercise power

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to rule not only the people but also the whole realm of the universe. The nature of Jesus’

authority is that it is the authority of God, magnificent creator, “all-knowing, all-powerful,

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without limit or fault.”

The Attributes of Jesus’ Authority

Jesus, the preacher, exercises an authority that the people recognized. What, then, are the

attributes of Jesus’ authority? First, Jesus’ authority is incarnational. As mentioned above, Jesus

is the authority and has authority since he was the self-revelation of God, the ultimate source of

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authority. Authority necessarily depends on the revelation. God reveales himself through the
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incarnated Jesus Christ and by doing so he “expresses his authority in revelation.” The

authority of Jesus, therefore, needs to be understood as ontological. Incarnation, therefore, is

authority because incarnation is revelation. God, as the ultimate authority, chose incarnation to

14 R. Baine Harris, “The Function and Limits of Religious Authority,” in Authority: A
Philosophical Analysis, ed. R. Baine Harris (University, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1976),
133-35.

15
Lovejoy, “A Critical Evaluation,” 38
16 For example, exousia as power over demons and sickness (Luke. 4:30-36, Matt. 10:1),
as right to forgive sins (Matt. 9:2-8), and as freedom to confer authority (Matt. 10:1, 28:19-20).

17
Lovejoy, “A Critical Evaluation,” 37
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Ramm, “Pattern,” 20. He acutely elucidates that “Revelation is the key to religious
authority.”

19 Lovejoy, “A Critical Evaluation,” 38