Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/clintbyars?sub_confirmation=1
“But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.”
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about what it means to be a friend of God. Not casually. Not arrogantly. But biblically.
Jesus said in John 15:15,
“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
We’ve been unpacking that. Friendship means shared purpose. A servant doesn’t know what the master is doing. A friend does. And Jesus said, “All things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
We also looked at John 16:15,
“All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
The Holy Spirit declares what belongs to Jesus — and Jesus is heir of all things. That means the Spirit is not hiding truth from you. He is not teasing you with mystery. He declares plainly.
We’ve talked about how Jesus became like us, as Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 2, suffering fully, entering death fully — “He was dead. He died our death.” We’ve looked at the Psalms prophesying the Messiah: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” We’ve seen how even “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” was not poetic exaggeration but prophetic fulfillment.
And we looked at how Jesus gained authority — not by seizing power — but by becoming the servant of all.
That brings us to the heart of this message.
The Authority Problem in the Modern Prophetic Movement
In many circles today, there is an emphasis on “apostolic authority.” The idea is that God is restoring apostles to lead the church with spiritual authority over other believers. In some expressions, this teaching goes even further.
It suggests that this restored apostolic structure is necessary to cleanse or prepare the body of Christ for the return of Jesus. That Jesus is coming back for a spotless bride — and if the bride is not spotless enough, He will delay His return.
That is where we must slow down.
Yes, Scripture speaks of a spotless bride. But the leap from “He is coming back for a spotless bride” to “He is not coming back until the bride is spotless” is an extrapolation — and that extrapolation creates room for control.
Because once you teach that the return of Christ depends on the church being spiritually mature enough, then someone has to manage that maturity. Someone has to enforce it. Someone has to become the gatekeeper.
And that is where corruption enters.
I love the church. I love the charismatic church. I love the gift of prophecy. But we cannot elevate one gift — and then sweep corruption under the rug to protect a movement built around that gift, as we saw with those who didn’t expose Shawn Bolz.
We are seeing the fallout of that right now.
When authority is positioned above identity, abuse follows. When movements are built around gifts instead of Christ, leaders become untouchable. When apostles are framed as spiritual governors necessary to prepare the bride, people begin to believe they must align under the right covering in order to be spiritually safe.
That is not the gospel.
Jesus Rebuked the Authority Mindset
James and John once asked Jesus for positions of power. They wanted to sit at His right and left hand. That was not about intimacy — it was about authority.
And Jesus answered in Mark 10:42–45:
“You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
He did not say authority doesn’t exist. He said it does not function that way.
“It shall not be so among you.”
Jesus reframed the entire concept.
Jesus has all authority in His kingdom and He shares it with us. It expresses itself through service. It is not positional dominance; it is sacrificial love.
When the disciples sought power, Jesus corrected them. When the enemy tempted Him with authority over the kingdoms of the world in the wilderness, He refused. That third temptation — bow and receive the kingdoms — was a fast track to what was already promised: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
But Jesus would not gain authority apart from the cross. He would not seize what was promised through force. He chose servanthood. Any system that elevates authority over service has drifted from the pattern of Christ.
The Fivefold Is for Equipping, Not Control
The fivefold ministry mentioned in Ephesians exists to equip and mature believers. It is not a ladder of power. It is not a chain of command. It is not a cleansing structure to make the church worthy of Christ’s return.
Jesus is not waiting for apostles to perfect the bride.
The Father will send the Son at His appointed time.
The idea that apostolic alignment accelerates or delays the Second Coming places weight on leaders that Scripture does not place there. It also pressures believers into submission under fear-based urgency.
And fear-based urgency is fertile ground for manipulation.
I am not attacking people. I am confronting a structure.
Because once you believe that your spiritual safety, maturity, or readiness for Christ depends on proximity to a particular leader, you have surrendered confidence in the Holy Spirit within you.
You Can Hear God for Yourself
Jesus said in John 16:15 that the Holy Spirit will take what belongs to Him and “declare it to you,” and in John 16:25–27 He promised to speak “plainly about the Father,” because the Father Himself loves you—plainly, not mystically, not through layers of spiritual hierarchy. John confirms this in 1 John 2:20, 27, saying you have an anointing from the Holy One and that the anointing abides in you, which does not eliminate teachers but eliminates dependency and gatekeeping. So prophecy should confirm what God is already speaking in you, not replace your discernment—because you are not a servant in the dark, you are a friend, indwelt by the Spirit, and you can hear God for yourself.
