Authority

A question has been raised about authority in the Bible, and more specifically, about the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.  I don't know if I can hit this question on the head, since I am not sure what the question is; but I'll state a few truisms that might ring a bell.

First, it can be noted that Jesus made it very clear that He has all authority...period.  "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."  (Matthew 28:18).  He then follows that with His charge to the apostles:  "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them..."  And in Acts 1:8, as Jesus is about to leave the apostles for the last time here on earth, He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..."  Jesus for sure had/has all authority; but He gave what I might call reflective authority to the apostles, since they were eyewitnesses of Him and were able to go forth with the power of the Spirit. 

But we don't have any of that now....except that we have the written Word, given to us by the Spirit who directed the writing of the Bible.  There is no man on earth today who has any authority.  The only direction we get is through the Word, the Bible, which is plenty powerful enough to provide all that we need.  We can read about God's authority through Jesus, and we can know exactly what He is wanting of us today.

And speaking of the Word, we can see a powerful statement at the end of the book of Revelation: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.  And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."  This statement refers specifically to the book of Revelation; don't add or detract.  But it applies to the whole Bible itself. 

Thanks for reading.  Feel free to send any questions.