A brief summary of the question of sovereignty

"Sovereignty is claimed by every political entity. The question is this: How can those speaking in the name of the original sovereign prove that they possess delegated sovereignty, i.e., that they are the voice of political authority in history? This is thte issue of legitimacy. The issue of sovereignty is inescapably the issue of legitimacy. Who possesses legitimate political authority? This raises the question of incorporation: What document or historical event identifies a particular entity as the voice of authority in politics?"(North, 2004).

Gary North, in his book Conspiracy in Philadelphia, thus summarizes the relation of legitimacy to sovereignty.

Original/ultimate sovereignty - resides with God. He is the ground of any and all subordinate authority.

Delegated sovereignty - whatever sovereignty is given by God, the Creator, to his creatures. Man possesses this delegated sovereignty, and he only possesses it by virtue of its being given from God. In other words, there is no final, earthly sovereignty. All final sovereignty resides in, and has its source in, God, who resides in heaven as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

The point is this. Whatever authority you either have, or in which you invest your trust, make sure that this delegated authority sees itself as just that; delegated authority, and not final authority; that is, that it is conscious of submitting itself and its decisions to the ultimate, final authority in heaven, residing in and with God alone.