Authority (exousia) and power (dunamis), are two sides of the coin. Authority is the right to be in charge, and power the ability to act according to authority. After His death and resurrection, Jesus was given both authority and power over all things…
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Matthew 28:18 NIV
We have explored the reality and nature of Jesus’ authority over all things in heaven and on earth. We have also examined the way in which His authority must be applied to our lives.
His plan, on His return to heaven, was to delegate His authority and power to His disciples through the Holy Spirit, and through His Word, to continue His ministry on earth until He returns.
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”…
He told them…
”You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”
Acts 1:4-5, 8-9 NIV
On the day of Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples in the presence of all the people from all over the Roman Empire who had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Acts 2:1-4 NIV
The Holy Spirit gave the disciples supernatural power to communicate with the people in all the foreign languages they represented.
“When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?”
Acts 2:6-8 NIV
This report is significant because it is through hearing the message about Jesus that faith is born. The Holy Spirit gave Jesus’ disciples the ability to speak in languages they had never learned so that the people would hear and understand the message of Jesus in their own mother tongue.
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? “And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!””
…Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
Romans 10:14-15, 17 NIV
So, what did Jesus’ delegated authority enable the disciples to do?
- “…You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
It seems, then, that the Holy Spirit was given, first, to empower God’s people to proclaim the message of Jesus…and sometimes supernaturally in languages they had never learned…and this was a part of their witness.
- However, Jesus said that His disciples were to “be” His witnesses.
Preaching the message therefore, included representing the “Messenger”, that is Jesus…by the way they lived. Jesus rejected those who acted as though they were being His witnesses without living the lives that corroborated the message.
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:22-23 NIV
Being a witness involved living out the message in daily life.
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”
John 8:31 NIV
This part of the believer’s witness is called “sanctification” or transformation into the image of Jesus. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us…He makes us holy by helping us to overcome sin and to live only for Jesus.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect…,who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood…”
1 Peter 1:1a-2 NIV
…through the Word of God…
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
John 17:17 NIV
God the Holy Spirit purifies us from sin and sets us aside for God through His Word that renews our minds with truth as we apply it to our lives.
So, second, the Holy Spirit was given to enable Jesus’ disciples to live the message.
- The third aspect of Jesus’ delegated authority was to give His disciples power over Satan’s efforts to destroy them and to nullify their witness.
Jesus delegated His authority to the twelve during their training.
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.”
Luke 9:1-2, 6 NIV
Later, Jesus also delegated His authority to seventy-two others.
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go….The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
Luke 10:1, 17-19 NIV
To understand the meaning of the miracles which were part of their witness, we must understand their purpose. They were signs of the presence of God’s kingdom on earth.
“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
Mark 16:15-20 NIV
- A fourth area of Jesus’ authority is the use of His name in prayer. What do I mean…?
Jesus gave His disciples (and that includes us), the right to use His name, that is His authority, when they approach the Father. First, we come to God through His shed blood, guaranteeing our acceptance with God, the forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of Jesus which allows us access to the Father.
Second, He gave us the power of attorney to use His name.
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
John 14:13-14 NIV
The name of Jesus is not a magic formula to repeat, but an understanding that He alone is our Mediator, and that He alone can sanction and guarantee the answers to our prayers when we line up with His character and will.
“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
2 Corinthians 1:19-20 NIV
To be continued…