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power and authority
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Luke 9:1-2
AFTER the fall of Adam, mankind lost dominion over the earth which GOD gave to Adam. Satan took control over the earth. The Bible tells us that after JESUS was resurrected, there was a shift in authority in the spirit realm. He proclaimed to His disciples that all authority in Heaven and on earth is given unto Him by the Eternal Father. Here, JESUS specifically mentioned authority and not power, although He had both. This shows that there is a distinction between the two. With His victory on the cross, JESUS had redeemed humanity by atoning for our sins and at the same time regained all authority in Heaven and on earth, taking the key back from Satan.
He then commissioned his disciples to 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 observe all things that He had commanded them. This is called the Great Commission. Here, He imparted to them kingdom authority before He ascended into Heaven, and the signs will accompany all those who believe. JESUS gave them the power and authority to proclaim the Kingdom, heal the sick, cast out demons, speak in new tongues. If they were to drink poison, it will not hurt them and they will overcome all the power of the devil.
This Great Commission goes out to every believer, and not just to pastors and Church leaders only. We need to understand this - you and I, as believers can also perform the same signs and wonders, just like the apostles did back then if we believe… If we do not believe, then nothing happens. It is simply that.
To some, JESUS made them apostles, prophets, while others, teachers and evangelists, equipped them for ministry work to advance the Kingdom. Ephesians 4:11-16 Here we also need to understand the distinction between authority and power.
Two distinct forces
While some Bible translations got it right, power and authority are often mistranslated and treated the same, but they are rather different. Power [which derived from the Greek word 'dunamis' – pronounced: du-de-mus] can be explosive like dynamite [which we see in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples on Pentecost day], but also creative [how JESUS was conceived in Mary's womb].
Power is a gift and is irrevocable. We can use it to serve GOD by doing His Will or serve ourselves. We see this recorded in Matt. 7:22, where false prophets abused their power for their own glory. They cast out demons, healed the sick, prophesied in Jesus' name. Yet, the LORD rebuked them saying: I do not know you. Here, we see that power is used with the wrong intent.
Satan – the prince of darkness – still retains his power given to him as a cherub [the second-highest rank in the angelic hierarchy]. When he rebelled against GOD and was expelled from Heaven, he lost his authority and he is continually losing his authority day by day as he moves further and further away from GOD - the source of life and light - into darkness, the outer darkness, gross darkness, and beyond.
Authority -on the other hand – is different. It originated from the Greek word 'exousia' and is greater than power. It is bestowed on someone and has to do with the removal of something. It can be lost and it can be gained, and it has to do with our relationship with the one who gives that authority. Kings rule with authority; they conquer with power.
John Paul Jackson explains, "It is the highest governmental and judicial authority possible that can exert rule of law and dominance. True authority trumps power. JESUS had both power and authority. The deeper your relationship with JESUS, the greater that authority."
" A relationship with GOD, spending more time with Him, prayer and fasting as a sacrifice unto GOD... when you build that kind of relationship with Him, you will have that kind of authority from Him.
When you have authority, you can command things to stop. The wind and waves obeyed JESUS. That 'obey' tells us you obey authority. The demons obeyed JESUS.
When you command the demons to leave with authority because of your relationship with GOD through JESUS CHRIST, you have the authority of JESUS that operates through you that changes things. "
Power impacts the visible world while authority impacts the visible and invisible realms. GOD wants His people to operate in both. Bad authority - on the other hand - is literally power disguises as authority. It is not really authority. ie. Dictators rule by power. A bad leader will rule by power and will call it authority. They will say things like 'You are under my authority' when in actual fact they are merely operating by power.
WHEN you walk in the authority of Christ, there is a light beaming off you that may not be visible in the natural realm but is visible in the spirit realm. The devils and their minions can 'see' that clearly and cannot stand in its presence.
All the praise and accolades that people give is because of My Light they see being reflected off you. That's all. You are just the dust. Always remember that.
⏤ JESUS to a chosen soul
Submission | the nature of JESUS
One of the nature of JESUS is His implicit obedience to the will of the Father. This higher level of obedience is called submission. We can obey on the outside – externally - but we can never submit on the outside. Obedience from the inside is called submission. It has to do with the heart attitude, and that is the key to JESUS.
This level of obedience calls for doing what is required of us - what is good for the Kingdom - even though, there are times such undertakings call for much sacrifice. It may mean going the extra mile helping someone we had a clash with, or giving up our personal time to reach out to someone in need.
The only way we can fully submit is when we are near Him. John Paul Jackson elucidates, “ Here is the key- we do not get closer to GOD by disobeying Him. The devil lost his authority through disobedience.” Disobedience comes when a man believes in the devil’s lie more than God’s Truth. i.e., how Adam believed in the serpent’s lie in the Garden of Eden. He lost his authority through disobedience.
Someone with authority declares a sentence and it happens, beyond what power alone can do. This is demonstrated when Michael – the Archangel - fights with the devil. Both sides engage power to confront one another. It is when Michael calls upon the authority of the Father, that the devil gives in. The devil has no authority anymore as he lost his proximity to GOD, but he still has power. the same is true also with men and women that have fallen away from GOD, who still possess power after they have fallen. And here we got to be careful and discerning – we need to check if the power they possess is used for God’s glory or for their own motives.
Spiritual authority is being in the presence of the One who has the authority and it’s proximity-centric and relationship-centric. Authority is only as deep and as good as your relationship with GOD.
⏤ John Paul Jackson
