Saturday, July 14, 2007

No Hierarchy

There will be no hierarchy in the Kingdom of God.

Large human organisations need a hierarchy of authority to transmit information and to direct actions. Messages and instructions pass down through the hierarchy to the people on the bottom. Reports go back up in the same way. Hierarchy also allows decisions to be made at the appropriate level. The person at the top sets the general policies and rules, but delegates simple decisions down the hierarchy to an appropriate level of responsibility. Difficult or important decisions are delegated back up to the top.

God is not constrained in this way. He is omniscient, so he knows everything that is happening, everywhere in the universe, all the time. He is not dependent on reports up a hierarchy. He knows what is happening everywhere, so he does not need anyone to report to him. God is also omnipotent, so he has the ability to decide what should be happening in every situation in the universe at the moment it occurs. He has no need for hierarchy.

The Holy Spirit can speak to any person in the universe, whenever he chooses, so he does not need to speak through intermediaries. The Holy Spirit lives in every Christian, so God can communicate his will directly to anyone as he chooses. can speak to any Christian anywhere at anytime. He can speak to us directly without needing a priest or pastor to tell us what God is saying. An infinite God can communicate his will directly to his people, so he does not need hierarchy to accomplish his purposes.

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