By Donna Kraus
When I think of someone in authority I think of a person with a high-ranking position, like the President of the United States, a Sergeant in the Marines, a Federal judge, a Police Officer, etc. I’ve always looked at it as a position you work very hard to get by proving yourself worthy of moving up to the top, thus earning this position of power. You then have power and control over the people that work for you.
When I first started my walk with God and began reading scripture, I would read about Jesus giving His people Authority in His name. This was amazing to me! In Luke 9:1-2 “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. In Luke 10:17, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” In Acts 3:6-8 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
Just to use somebody’s authority through their name is quite an honor! It’s like being able to go to the bank and draw out a million dollars on behalf of a wealthy businessman! Now that would be awesome!! But Notice that Peter didn’t pray for this man. It was God’s power that healed this man, but that power was under Peter’s authority. Peter went on to say in verse 16 that it was faith in the name of Jesus that had brought this miracle. But Peter didn’t ask God to heal this man. He believed the Lord had already done His part and had placed that power within him. Now it was Peter’s responsibility to release that power, and that’s just what he did. I try to imagine how they must have felt, amazing to say the least.
Jesus gave His disciples authority to carry out His will here on earth, but they weren’t the only ones. He also gave ALL believers authority to heal the sick and cast out devils as well…wait… “what”!!! At this point in my walk I am studying this and still not understanding fully that we, today in modern time, have this same authority, not just those we read about in the bible.
So in other words, since I believe then I have this same authority? Seemed to me this can’t be true, I have certainly not earned this right. How is this possible. How could I have a position of authority in Christ after I’ve lived a sinful life, how could I have any authority when I haven’t earned it and pretty much did everything to not deserve it. This hit me like a ton of bricks thinking how can this be!
Our spiritual authority is accessed by faith. There is a lot to be learned from the story told in Mark 9:17-29 about how faith allows us to access our authority. When the disciples came across an unusually strong demon that wouldn’t budge, Jesus made it clear that they lacked faith by calling them faithless. He also made it clear that some demons are so strong that a higher than usual level of faith is required to cast them out and that we can gain that higher level of faith through prayer and fasting.
In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said unto them, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
He wants us to take our authority and command His power. It’s like electricity. The power company generates the power and delivers it to your house. It’s not your power, but it’s under your control. You don’t call the power company and ask them to turn the lights on. They won’t do that. They generate the power, but it’s under your command. You simply flip the switch on the wall and command the power to work. Does this mean you are the power source? Certainly not! You can put a light bulb in your mouth and it will never come on. You aren’t the power source, but you are the one in control of what that power does. You can plead with the power company all you want, but they won’t flip the switch for you. You have to assume your authority and acknowledge the power is under your command.
That’s what the Lord was speaking of. He has already healed everyone who will ever be healed. He did it two thousand years ago when He bore our stripes on His back. Then He deposited His resurrection power inside every believer (Eph. 1:19-20). He’s done His part, and now it is up to us to do ours. We need to take the authority He has given us and become commanders instead of beggars. This is a powerful truth that works, and it’s the reason we see so many miraculous healings. We aren’t just praying for the sick; we are healing them in Jesus’ name.
I know this line of thinking raises as many questions as it does answers. When you study this matter further, God will certainly answer all questions and continue to reveal to you the TRUTH of His authority as He did to me! I am still in awe of this and continue to be amazed every day! We truly serve an Amazing God!