Shalom,

Today I want to look at "authority" in the Word of God. Jesus operated in authority:

Matt 7:28-29 (KJV)
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Matt 21:23 (KJV)
23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

Mark 1:27 (KJV)
27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

Luke 4:36 (KJV)
36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

John 5:26-27 (KJV)
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

The word "authority" in all of these verses is the Greek word, exousia, which means: ability, competency, capacity, mastery, delegated influence, jurisdiction, power, liberty of choice, physical and mental power. We all agree that Jesus had and operated in authority! He commanded and demons fled. He spoke and sickness and disease disappeared. He turned water into wine, a lunch into a banquet, opened blind eyes, made crippled legs whole and many more. Remember the story of the centurion? Jesus just spoke and it was done:

Luke 7:6-9 (KJV)
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.


Then we see where Jesus gave His disciples His authority:

Luke 9:1 (KJV)
1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

Luke 10:17-20 (KJV)
17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Notice the first word, power, in verse 19 above. It is the same Greek word, exousia, that was translated "authority" in the other references. The second word "power", is the Greek word, dunamis, which means, force, power, inherent power. So Jesus gave the disciples the "authority" over all of the power and influence of the enemy! They, operating in the authority given to them by Jesus, did what Jesus did! They went about teaching, preaching and healing, casting out demons and setting people free!! That brings us to the commandment that Jesus gave to the church before He ascended into heaven. He said:

Matt 28:18-20 (KJV)
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: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.

Jesus says here that ALL power belongs to Him and notice what the Amplified Bible says:

Matthew 28:18-20 (Amplified)
18Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be).

Jesus says, "Go ye"! We are individual parts of His body, of which He is the head. The whole body has the same "authority" as the head! Jesus fully expects His people, His body, His church, to go into all the world, armed with HIS authority over all the power of the enemy, and use that authority to set people free from the bondage and control of the enemy!

We'll talk more about how to exercise that authority in a future blog post.

Shalom in Him!