THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER
Introduction
All authority comes from God" (Rom 13:1)
God commanded the believer to do certain things.
Along with God's commands, he delegated authority to the
believer to accomplish those commands.
With this authority comes responsibility.
And with responsibility comes accountability.
The believer will be held accountable for obeying God's
commands on that day when he stands before the Lord Jesus.
It is the possession of every true child of God.
Its reception dates from the soul's contact with Calvary.
Because of the power which they confer on a militant
believer, the enemy has specially sought to hold back this knowledge from God's
people.
He has been successful through the employment of the
"blinding" tactics
2
Corinthians 4: 3, 4
3 “But
if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In
whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them.”
There is a story told of the late Right Honorable W. E.
Gladstone, Prime Minister of Great Britain. On one occasion, he brought in to
Queen Victoria,
an important measure for her signature, in order that it might become law. The
Queen objected to it, and, after some discussion, refused to sign. The Minister
of the Crown was unusually urgent: "Your Majesty," he said,
respectfully but firmly, "you must sign this Bill." She turned on him
haughtily: "Sir, I am the Queen of England." Unmoved, the Statesman
answered quietly: "Your Majesty, I am the people of England."
After a little thought, she accepted the situation, and affixed her signature
to the document.
EXOUSIA AND DUNAMIS
In traditional Christianity, some of God's commands have
been taught to the exclusion of others.
The authority of the believer has not been taught
properly.
There are two words in the King James Version that are
translated inconsistently.
The Greek words exousia and dunamis both
are sometimes translated "power."
It would be more accurate to translate the word exousia
as "authority," and the word dunamis as "power."
In the Great Commission, The New American Standard Bible
and the New International Version both translate exousia as
"authority" whereas the King James Version translates it
"power." (An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words 1966
ed., s.v. "Authority" and "Power.")
The difference between the two can be illustrated by a
common situation.
The scene is a traffic intersection and a policeman is
directing traffic.
The policeman holds up the palm of his hand, signaling a
large semi-truck to stop.
The driver stops the truck.
Why? Because the policeman has the power to stop the
"big rig"? No! The trucker knows that he has the power in his
control to run over the policeman, but the policeman has the authority to
arrest him!
Likewise, the believer has been given authority (exousia)
in several areas where he would normally be overpowered.
First, we must establish certain boundaries.
We are products of His grace - therefore we have no
authority of ourselves.
All authority comes from God.
The limits of our authority in Him do not extend beyond
His will, His plans, and His desires.
God will not allow us to exercise His authority in His
name to achieve our own selfish goals and ambitions
This is the reason spiritual pride and spiritual
self-promotion renders us powerless and "authority-less."
When our motives are wrong -God knows it and the devil
knows it even if we don't know it
Where to use it
What about when some tragedy happens and seemingly
innocent born-again believers are hurt or killed?
People ask—
Why did God allow it?
Or did the devil do it?
Or why didn't God stop it from happening?
Where is our spiritual authority when something bad
happens?
We must realize certain truths.
God does not create accidents--man does--through man's
greed, ignorance, carelessness, selfishness, mechanical failure,
miscalculations, and human error-man constantly lives in a dangerous world
filled with accidents, pollution, disease, and sickness.
There are natural calamities which are a product of
nature operating the way God designed them. (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods,
fires, etc.)
God didn't design them to hurt man--but occasionally they
do but not because God planned it that way or that He wants it to happen!
Man calls them acts of God--but in reality they are acts
of nature--not God.
I believe in all these things--God looks for an
intercessor (Ezek. 22:30)
one to stand in the gap and pray for protection of the innocent and for His own
children.
Ezekiel
22:29-31
29 “The
people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed
the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
30 And I
sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the
gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31
Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them
with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads,
saith the Lord GOD.”
Whether it is a potential accident, natural calamity, or
demonic plan to destroy someone, I believe God is right there ready to save,
protect, help, and strengthen the innocent and His children.
And God is looking for someone to intercede, to pray, so
that He can fully do His desire and plan.
The unfortunate truth is that God does not always find an
intercessor
In Ezekiel 22:30
God says "...but I found no one."
God never promised us that we would never go through an
accident-or that we would never go through a natural calamity.
He promised that in every situation and circumstance He
would be more than enough to get us through it.
And praise God many times gets us out of it.
There is no doubt that within God's realm of protection
or "hedge of protection" Satan cannot harm us in any way.
However, we can walk outside of God's established
authority and we walk in dangerous territory where Satan can attack.
I
John 5:18--"He who is born of God keepeth himself and the evil one touches
him not."
And
Job 1:8-12--The hedge around Job
My greatest danger is not from the enemy but from me
walking outside of God's lines of authority.
And unfortunately, I am not the only one I can harm--many
different people can suffer from the actions of one person walking in the flesh
or walking under Satan's influence
THE SOURCE
OF THE BELIEVER'S AUTHORITY
God is the Source of All Authority.
Jesus gave the Great Commission to all believers.
Jesus said that the Father had given him all authority:
Matthew
28:18-20, NIV
“Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age”
Jesus received this absolute authority in three ways:
1. by inheritance
2. by bestowal
3. by conquest
Jesus received authority on the basis of his inheritance
Hebrews
1:3-4
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high;
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath
by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they
Jesus received authority by bestowal:
Philippians 2:9-11
9
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name:
10 That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth;
11 And
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.
Ephesians 1:19-23
19 And
what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according
to the working of his mighty power, {his mighty power: Gr. the might of his
power}
20 Which
he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places,
21 Far
above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that
is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 And
hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things
to the church,
23 Which
is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all”
Notice that Jesus is over both good and bad angels as
well as human beings.
And timewise, his authority extends through this age and
the next age.
Jesus received authority by conquest
Colossians 2:15–“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public
spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross”(NIV).
In this verse, Paul is comparing Jesus' defeat of Satan
and his demons with a Roman triumphal procession.
In this procession, the victorious Roman general would
return, leading his officers and men, with captives and sometimes animals
peculiar to the area of victory.
JESUS'
DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY
I. Jesus Delegated Authority to the Twelve.
He commanded them to perform certain tasks and with that
commandment gave them the authority to do it:
Luke 9:1-6
1 Then
he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over
all devils, and to cure diseases.
2 And he
sent them to preach the kingdom
of God, and to heal the
sick.
3 And he
said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip,
neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
4 And
whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.
5 And
whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very
dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
6 And
they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing
every where.
As the disciples obeyed, exercising their newly received
authority, God backed their speech and actions with power
II. Jesus Delegated Authority to The Seventy-Two.
He sent seventy-two other disciples on a mission
Luke
10:1-12, 16-20
1 After
these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two
before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore
said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into
his harvest.
3 Go
your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry
neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
5 And
into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6 And if
the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn
to you again.
7 And in
the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the
labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
8 And
into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set
before you:
9 And
heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God
is come nigh unto you.
10 But
into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into
the streets of the same, and say,
11 Even
the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you:
notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God
is come nigh unto you.
12 But I
say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
Jesus stated that the authority delegated to the seventy
was not withdrawn after their first mission - the commission and delegated
authority remained.
III. Jesus Transferred Authority to All Believers.
He stated this in the Great Commission
Matthew
28:18-20
18 “And
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth.
19 Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: {teach...: or, make disciples, or,
Christians of all nations}
20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I
am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Closely associated with Jesus' delegated authority to all
believers is the Father's exaltation of the believer in this life:
Ephesians 2:5-6
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Romans 5:17 – “For if by one man's offence death reigned by
one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”
If one is reigning with Christ in this life, he is no
longer dominated by enemies, but rather rules over them.
What are some of the believer's enemies over which Jesus
has given him authority?
Areas of Authority
Jesus is Lord of
1. Demons
2. Disease
3. Death
4. the Deep
Over Demons- Satan
and His Fallen Angels
The Lord Jesus has defeated the devil and the believer is
no longer under Satan's lordship:
Colossians 1:13 – “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of his dear Son”
Paul states that by not yielding to sin, we do not have
to be controlled by the Devil:
Ephesians 4:25-27
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every
man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon
your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
James tells how to overcome the destructive
attacks of Satan
James
4:7–“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you.”
Peter clarifies how one resists Satan:
1 Peter
5:8-9
8 Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom
resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are
accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
One resists Satan by standing firm in his faith
Not only did Jesus defeat Satan, but also Jesus placed
Satan's subordinates (demons) under the believer's authority:
He [Jesus] said to them,
Mark 16:15-18
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my
name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover.
Demons are illegal holders of authority and take
advantage of the believer who does not know the Word of God.
The believer must take authority over evil spirits
(fallen angels) who hold sinners in bondage.
The sinner will then be able to make a free choice to
accept or reject Christ as Savior.
When one sees the truth he will usually choose Christ.
Jesus said that when the prodigal son "came to his senses" he
returned home (Luke 15:17).
The believer does not have authority over human spirits —
he cannot force sinners to accept Christ.
However, the believer does have some authority over his
own household.
The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas,
Acts
16:30-31
30 And
brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And
they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house.
Over Disease
Jesus gave the believer authority over disease
Everyone must be convinced in his own heart.
Luke
9:1, 2
1 Then
he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over
all devils, and to cure diseases.
2 And he
sent them to preach the kingdom
of God, and to heal the
sick.
Mark
16:17-18
17
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out
devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover.
James 5:14-16
14 “Is
any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And
the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and
if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Over Death
Jesus conquered death, and consequently the believer is
no longer held in bondage to death
Hebrews
2:14-15
14
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also
himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him
that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And
deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage.
There are many instances of the LORD raising people from
the dead throughout the Bible. The New Testament records Jesus raising the
following people from the dead:
1. The son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17);
2. Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:40-56; Matthew 9:18-26;
Mark 5:21-43), and
3. Lazarus (John 11:1-44).
There are other instances of the LORD raising the dead in
our
The LORD removed the power and fear of death from the
believer.
Over the Deep—Creation
Jesus is Lord of demons, disease, death and the deep.
"The deep" here means the oceans and includes
all creation by implication.
The Stilling of the Storm is an example of Jesus
exercising authority over creation:
Mark
4:35-41
35 And
the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto
the other side.
36 And
when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the
ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37 And
there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it
was now full.
38 And
he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him,
and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And
he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the
wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 And
he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41 And
they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this,
that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Another example is his Walking on the Water
There are modern-day examples of believers controlling
aspects of nature supernaturally, but this is not a commonplace thing in the
life of the believer.
Jesus is Lord. He possesses all authority and has passed
limited authority to the believer.
This is part of the believer's legal inheritance now,
The believer must act on God's Word by faith for it to
become a reality.
Every demon and angel is subject to the Imperial Name of
Jesus and, wonder of wonders, He gave us the Power of Attorney to use that Name
of Might.
All our Authority is based on His Finished Work, but it is all enwrapped in His name.
By His giving us the Legal use of this name He has put omnipotence at our disposal in our combat with Satanic hosts
All hell knows the power of that Name; they know our
Legal Rights and Authority.
So they are fighting to keep us in ignorance of our Legal Rights
So they are fighting to keep us in ignorance of our Legal Rights
Or if we know them, to keep us
under condemnation so we will not dare use
The authority invested in the Name is as mighty now as in
Paul's day.
CONCLUSION
Believers need to rediscover the authority that Jesus
gave them.
The Father longs to minister to us and through us to
hurting people
As a consequence of the believer rediscovering and using
his God-given authority, self-esteem will rise.
Here is the logic behind that statement: God entrusts the
believer with authority and in doing so, demonstrates that he trusts the
believer to use that authority responsibly.
If God, who is the ultimate authority, shows that he
trusts the believer, then the believer must be trustworthy—God makes no mistakes
Once the believer realizes that God trusts him and that
he is therefore trustworthy, self-esteem will rise correspondingly.
Professor Jacob Abraham
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