"How can anyone be so arrogant as to think they can speak for God."

Well, sometimes we are arrogant. We need to work on that.

The basic question here, though, refers to the possibility that a human being could speak to other human beings with authority about God or on behalf of God. Who could presume to talk for God?

Of course, no one can presume to know what God is thinking or what He wants to say. He is God. We are not. So this objection is based on a valid premise.

But there is more.

Let us imagine I am a custodian (translate: janitor) for a large corporation, the CEO of which lives in another city far from me. I have not seen him personally. I cannot begin to understand his life or the way he thinks. In the corporation, he is at the very top; I am at the very bottom. He is distant from me; I never see him up close.

If I tried to speak on behalf of the CEO to others, I would have no authority and no experience to do so. If I told people that the CEO of the company I worked for was a very caring man who wanted to be certain his employees were treated well, who would have reason to believe me? If I didn't know the man, and I didn't know his heart or his mind, how could I ever speak for him?

But let's say the CEO distributed a booklet to every employee, including me. And let's say that in this booklet, the CEO stated the very fact I just mentioned. He said he did care about his employees, and he did want them to be treated fairly. And to prove it, he was issuing a memo to all department heads with details concerning how he wanted even the lowliest employee to be treated. His book spelled it all out.

Now could I presume to speak on his behalf? Could I with authority say "This is what the CEO wants us to do?" Of course I could. Why? Because the CEO put it in writing. I could stand anywhere at any time in any situation and say, "This is what the CEO says in his book." I would speak, not with my own authority, but with his.

This is what I believe God has done. He has put His heart and mind in writing. I can read exactly what He has written. As I read carefully His book, I can understand, at least to some extent, what He desires of me and of others. Thus I can stand anywhere, anytime, in any situation and say, "This is what God wants us to do." I speak, not with my own authority, but with His.

We do not need to have an arrogant attitude when we speak with His authority. We do not need to sound "mightier than they" or to elevate ourselves in the eyes of others. Indeed, to quote the Lord in arrogance is to deny the very Word we are quoting, for He has told us that He loves humility, not pride, and that a soft answer is His preference in response to the wrath of others. But this does not mean we should sit silently in the corner and say nothing when others challenge our faith in Him.