The Law of Authority and Submission is one of the most Basic or Rudimentary Laws of the Kingdom of God. This particular Law states that wherever you have two or more persons in an environment, whether an organization, a nation, family or community, one person must be in Authority while the rest must be under Submission (1 Cor. 15:23-28). This Principle or Law is referred to as the Law of Order. This is extremely crucial because Order is said to be the First Law of the Realm of the Spirit. Anytime there is disorder in any place, there's nothing else that can work, God can never be present and there can never be any Progress because anarchy would prevail (1 Cor. 14:40).
Order is always defined everywhere by the presence of Authority and Submission. It is impossible to have one without the other hence they both coexist. Identifying who exactly is in Authority as well as who exactly is supposed to be under Submission is essentially what it means to discern both. Whenever a person is in Authority, this invariably means there are persons who are in Submission to that Authority. Bearing this in mind, one very vital thing you need to do anytime you enter any new environment is to find out who answers to you and those to whom you answer (Ps. 110:1). Failure to do this would put you in danger of stoking the flames of disorder and suffering the consequences thereof. The ramified implications of disorder, rebellion to Authority and disloyalty to those over you can be very dire. The stories of Miriam, Korah, Absalom and Judas in the Holy Bible are also there to serve as a solemn warning to would-be rebels (Num. 12; 16; 2 Sam. 18; Acts 1:15-20).
Every Authority has its own unique jurisdiction. Someone could be an Authority in one area of life and simultaneously be in Submission in yet another area e.g King David himself (2 Sam. 6). The Key Factor which determines the degree of Authority you wield is basically the degree of responsibility you yield to. The implication here is that you would naturally have Authority over those for whom you are responsible. Additionally, you exercise Authority in areas where you have Expertise, Experience, Wisdom and Uncommon Results. We are expected to humble ourselves enough to recognize those who possess Authority in those areas we don't and submit to them. Ephesians 5:21 makes this abundantly clear: "Submitting yourselves one to another in the Fear of God." It requires submitting under an Authority to be able to exercise your own Authority for you can never be qualified to sit on any chair that you aren't willing to clean first of all (Matt. 8:9). The Lord grant us deeper Understanding.