My morning devotions led me to the opening verses of Matthew 9, where Jesus heals a paralytic. These verses jumped out at me:
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. (Matthew 9:6-8)
It had me wondering: What authority has God given to man? After all, the Bible says that the Son of Man has authority to heal and forgive sins. It doesn’t say that “the Son of God” has authority over sickness and sin. People watched an ordinary guy make a paralytic get up and walk as proof that his sins were forgiven.
Yes, but that Son of Man just happened to be Jesus, Who is also the Son of God. In other words, He has something we ordinary Joes don’t. But is that really true?
The fact that He calls Himself the Son of Man in His rebuke of the scribes who accused Him of blasphemy is not a slip of the tongue or momentary confusion of His identity.
He is modeling something that He is going to confer on His followers later on.
First, He teaches His disciples that a son of man cannot do anything without the Father:
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. (John 5:19)
Secondly, in this passage, that as a Son of Man dependent on His heavenly Father, He can heal the sick and pronounce forgiveness of sins.
He then widens the circle and gives His disciples the authority vested in His name to go out two by two to proclaim the kingdom of God and heal the sick. Then this happens when they come back from their mission:
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 10:17-19)
As Jesus received authority from His heavenly Father, He passed it on to His disciples and told them to practice with it. It was the precursor for the Great Commission given to His future Church just before His ascension into heaven. The gospels contain three renditions that, when put together, depict the whole mission of the Church:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
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.” (Matthew 16:15-18)
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
(John 20:21-23)
In short, God gave Jesus, the Son of Man, all authority in heaven and earth over sickness, sin, and the powers of darkness. He passed that authority on to His Church. It resides in every member of His Body who is born again by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Yes, God’s authority resides in us through the Holy Spirit! We may feel weak and feeble, but we still have Christ’s limitless spiritual authority. It does not reside in our flesh. It is not a matter of having a strong personality or natural leadership abilities. And it is not tied to an official position of leadership in a church.
God exercises His authority in the world through the presence of the Spirit of Jesus in His children – the sons and daughters of man.
“But to what extent?” you may ask. If we set all theological disagreements aside and let these verses speak for themselves, it covers a bunch of things:
- We have the authority to proclaim the kingdom of God. We have His authorization to speak for Him and tell people their sins can be forgiven by repentance and baptism.
- We have the authority to make disciples, i.e., to teach others God’s principles for human life in relationship with Him.
- We have the authority to heal the sick. On His behalf, we may speak healing over people. Whether or not all should get healed is another question. Many have, and others have not, for reasons we don’t always know.
- We have the authority to drive out demons. Demonic forces flee at commands uttered in the Name of Jesus by those in whom His Spirit resides. They don’t care about you. They care about the presence of Jesus in you.
You may think: “Little old me? Do I have spiritual authority over sin, sickness, and demonic powers? Isn’t that a little presumptuous?
If it was “just little old you” it would be. If Jesus had said: I am giving you all the authority that I have; go do with it what you think is right, it would be.
Our authority comes through the Holy Spirit, Who resides in us. Jesus in you has the authority. You are not qualified at all. The Holy Spirit in You is. He gives you the words to proclaim and pray and the anointing to heal and drive out demons. It is one of the many reasons why we must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven.
My friend, it is time we woke up to the authority we have in Jesus. Many will reject it, as Jesus has implied. But God wields it through you and me to advance His kingdom, triumph over sin and sickness, and defeat the Evil One. However, we must be aware that we have it, keep in step with the Holy Spirit, Who wields it through us, and obey His calling to exercise it in the world around us. Part of the powerlessness of the Church in America today is that we don’t realize the extent of our spiritual authority. One of the reasons for the rapid growth of the Church in other parts of the world is that they do realize it.
You can change that!
Ask the Lord today to deepen your insight into the spiritual authority you have in Christ and what He wants you to do with it in the world. No bravado is needed, just dependence on the Holy Spirit in you.
Your life may change forever!