Why Is God the Ultimate Authority?

For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:18)

Today’s big question: why is God the ultimate Authority?

You may have heard people say that “God’s Word is our authority in every area.” Answers in Genesis speakers have often said this. The reason God’s Word is our authority in every area is because God is the ultimate Authority, and He is the one who ultimately authored Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16). This might make some wonder why God has the right to have authority over everything.

God created man in His image, and He also gave man authority “over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26). Adam did not question God’s authority when God was giving him some authority over God’s creation, and we should not question God’s authority either.

God is the ultimate authority simply because He is “the LORD, and there is no other.” It is He who created everything, including mankind. God is the Father of mankind, and as such, He has authority over us.

The serpent questioned God’s authority back in the Garden of Eden, and deceived Eve (Genesis 3:1–6). Then Adam ate the fruit (Genesis 3:6), despite what God had told him (Genesis 2:17). Adam ignored God’s authority by doing what God told him not to do. Consequently, sin entered the world, and each of us is born with a rebellious nature.

Because God is our authority in every area, we need to make sure that we know what His Word says, and strive to make it our authority in every area of life. We need to recognize when the beliefs and philosophies of men are contrary to God’s Word (Colossians 2:8; Ephesians 4:14), bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:5), and respond by “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) to a world that has tried to deny the authority of the Father.

Today’s big idea: God is our authority in every area because He is the Father of mankind.

What to pray: ask God to help you recognize when something in your life is contrary to His Word.