Kingdom Authority
Notes
Transcript
What is Kingdom Authority?
What is Kingdom Authority?
Mark 1:21-28; Acts 8:9-25
Point: The Kingdom of God comes with Authority. Am I living with that authority? In that authority.
Then they went into Capernaum, and right away He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. They were astonished at His teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority. Just then a man with an unclean spirit was in their synagogue. He cried out, “What do You have to do with us, Jesus—Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
But Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit convulsed him, shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so they began to argue with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” News about Him then spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee.
Types of Kingdom Authority (Exousia)
The power of doing something or not doing something; ability and faculty (Mt. 9:8, Jn 19:11; Acts 8:19; Rev. 13:12; Acts 1:7; 5:4; Romans 9:21; 1 Cor. 7:37; 2 Thess. 3:9; Rev. 22:14)
Power entrusted (Mt. 21:23; 8:9; Mk. 3:15; 11:28; Lk. 20:2; 2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10)
Commission, authority, right, full power (Jesus, Moses, Paul, 12 Disciples)
Biblical
Church and/or historical traditions (Catholic, Pope)
Power over persons, things, dominions, authority, rule (Mt. 28:18; Mk. 13:34; Mt. 10:1; Jn 17:2)
Jesus!
Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Watch! Be alert! For you don’t know when the time is coming. It is like a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his slaves, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert.
Is the authority Jesus gave the 12 Apostles the same for us?
Jesus said we would do greater things than He, meaning the same or more.
Note: the authority was exercised with the preaching of the good news. The healings were to be evidence of Jesus’ authority.
They were done in connection with a witness and testimony of the authority of Jesus and His Kingdom.
Would one be able to heal without giving or bringing glory to God?
What is the purpose of the authority?
According to Paul it is to build up (2 Cor. 13:10), not to tear down.
Summoning His 12 disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness.
Why 12 apostles?
Signifying God’s claim over all of Israel and His plan of restoration (Mt. 19:28).
Apostle = apostello = “to send forth with a commission”
Used by the Greeks for the personal representatives of the the king, ambassadores who functioned with the king’s authority.
Jesus’ apostles were chosen from a larger group called “disciples” - learners who follow a teacher and learn his wisdom. Jesus had many disciples, and some who were truly converted to his followers (Jn. 6:66). Not all disciples become followers or continue to follow a teacher, such is the case with Jesus.
From that moment many of His disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. Therefore Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”
Qualifications to be an Apostle of Jesus
One must have seen the risen Christ (1 Cor. 9:1)
Fellowshiped with Christ (Acts 1:21-22)
Chosen by the Lord (Eph. 4:11)
Observed the Lord’s resurrection (Acts 1:21-22; 9:17)
They laid the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20) and then ended.
No person today can claim the position of Apostle of Christ because no one has seen the risen Christ (1 Peter 1:8) and no one alive has fellowshiped with Jesus in person (Acts 1:21-22). The Apostles were give special power and authority from Christ to perform miracles. The miracles were part of their “official credentials” (Acts 2:43; 5:12; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb 2:1-4). They healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, cast out demons and raised the dead. These four ministries paralleled the miracles of Jesus in Matthew 8 and 9. The Apostles represented the Christ and extended His work. Their message was “the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Our message is “Christ died for our sins”; the King has come; has already suffered, died and risen from the grave. He now offers salvation to all who will believe. The Apostles commission was to the nation Israel. The Lord’s commission to us includes “all nations” (Mt. 28:19-20).
“Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us—from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
Believers today who follow Jesus are sent forth to represent the King (Jn. 17:18; 20:21), but we are not apostles.
As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
We are disciples who build upon the foundation established by the apostles and prophets, with Jesus as the cornerstone.
So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
Therefore the question is…Do we have the same authority that Jesus gave to the apostles?
Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.
Jesus’ Authority encompassed, but was not limited to:
Healing by a mere word
Declaration of Forgiveness
Disruption of business in the Temple
Empowering others with authority to heal and exorcise the demonic
Engage in disciple making
Jesus’ teaching was different from the scribes because their teaching was from learning (education) and knowledge; tradition. Leadership role because of their knowledge and education in teaching.
Jesus had palpable authority, not learnt because of education or knowledge.
The scribes were the pastor’s of today. We have authority because of our education and knowledge; not because we are the Authority exercising dominion and rule over persons. Pastor’s are the representatives, affirmed of their call, to minister on behalf of the Authority, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor’s have authority as long as they remain faithful to the Scriptures (Sola Scriptura); the Bible alone provides the ultimate authority of the Church and it’s people and ministers. As the pastor minister the word of God faithfully, the Holy Spirit is upon them and working through them, as a vessel of God’s Word and actions.
The pastor’s gifting and calling to minister the Word of God faithfully, the Holy Spirit gives authority or weight to their word and actions.
Simon the Sorcerer and the Disciples (Acts 8:9-25)
The Apostle Philip comes preaching the Kingdom of God has come near in the Messiah Jesus to the Samaritians. The Samaritans were half-Jews and half-Gentiles who had inter-married with the Canaanites and the resettled people taken captive by the Assyrians. They were descendants of the northern tribes of Israel, that had fallen to the Assyrians in 722 BC.
They had their own form of the Pentatuech for their holy Scriptures, circumcised their sons and built their temple on Mt. Gerazim to rival the one in Jerusalem (Jn. 4:20).
The Jews considered the Samaritans half-breeds and heretics, and did not associate with them.
Philip’s preaching is accompanied by “signs” and miracles pointing to the power (authority) and life found in the Jesus he proclaimed (v.6). Demons were exorcised, paralytics and the lame healed (v.7).
The Samaritans respond to the Kingdom Gospel and believe the name of Jesus, and are baptized.
But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
The Scripture also says that “even Simon himself believed” (v.13). Simon the Sorcerer, the Magician, whom as reported by the early church fathers, “was worshiped by “almost all” of the Samaritans of his day as “the first god” (NAC). Justin Martyr, during the reign of Claudius, reported of Simon’s journey to Rome, where “he was worshiped as a god and had a statue erected to him with the inscription “to the holy god Simon” “(NAC).
A magician, with his bag of tricks, has bewitched the minds of a people, and they have worshiped him as god, “the Great Power of God” (v.10), giving him power and authority over them. These people have responded with understanding and belief that Jesus is the true Messiah, with the accompanying witness of signs of healings and miracles.
The display is so impressive that Simon even believes and is baptized also, the “god” the Samaritans worship. This is a significant happening, a significant display of preaching with power and authority, spiritually and physically. They obviously had not seen healings before of the paralysized and lame; nor the demon afflicted. Simon could not accomplish this with his bag of tricks.
True displays of power and authority will accompany the Gospel for belief in Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
The question is: what did Simon believe?
Did Simon believe in the power display before him or the Kingdom Gospel and Jesus as the promised Messiah? The passage says that Simon, “went around constantly with Philip and was astounded as he observed the signs and great miracles that were being performed” (v.13).
There is no object of what Simon believed, made note of in the passage. No “he believed in the name of Jesus” or “believed in the Kingdom of God”. But he did seem taken by, astounded in fact, by the signs and miracles that Philip was performing. Is this what Luke is indicating?
The Apostles, Peter and John, arrive on the scene, sometime later, to pray that the Samaritan believers might receive the Holy Spirit “for He had not yet come down on any of them” (v.16). A curious thing, that was not normal. We are told that the Holy Spirit comes to live within the believe in Jesus at the time they believe (Jn. 14:16-17; Romans 8:15-17; Titus 3:5)
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.
The Holy Spirit obviously did not fall upon Simon. Why not? The Apostles did not lay their hands on Simon. Why not? Did he truly believe? Luke’s record leads us to believe not,
When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power too, so that anyone I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Why did Simon offer the Apostles money to lay their hands on him? So that he could be a purveyor of the power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe he saw an opportunity to manipulate the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is always God’s gift; He can never be manipulated by our will. Simon saw the power of the Holy Spirit as an opportunity to add to his bag of tricks and be like Philip and the Apostles. Maybe he thought the Apostles were magicians just like him. He wanted the trade secret he did not have or know. Whatever we surmise we know for certain, Simon saw an opportunity for power and authority and he wanted to buy it.
Do we surmise the Holy Spirit as the power of God or as God? Is Holy Spirit just a force to be manipulated or the Authority in your life as a believer and follower of Christ? The Holy Spirit is God (Romans 8:8-9). The Holy Spirit was given by God to guide us and remind us of Jesus’ words and will. He also “gifts to us” gifts for service of God’s Kingdom and edification of believers in the church and as evidence of the truth of Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world (1 Cor. 12). Gifts are the abilities given to the church to do the will of God and bring men to God (reconciliation - 2 Cor. 5:18).
At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to His will.
Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person. A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial:
to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages.
But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills.
We have authority through the gifting of the Holy Spirit. He works through us, as we walk with Him (Acts 1:8; 4:31; Jn 14:26; Gal. 5:16).
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Power represents the authority of Christ over this earth and the things of the earth and the spiritual realm, including Heaven and Hell.
Power = dunamis - intrinsic power, physical or moral; external sources and circumstances (authority Luke 4:36)
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the Devil, because God was with Him.
My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit, so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.
Remember, many false prophets and false Christ’s will come upon our world, the Bible says in Matthew 24, in the last days, to deceive the world and Christians alike. To capture peoples minds, hopes and trust. Why? Because the world is going to be in desperate times. The world is going to be looking for a ‘savior’ to make things better and save them from “the time of trouble”. Fear of death, fear for food, a job, money, shelter, resources, etc… Times are going to be desperate and when things get desperate, people are willing to believe in anything, in anyone, or do anything to save themselves (i.e. Hitler for Germany after WWI). Who or what displays power and authority, people will follow and ordain as king.
The Samaritans were following Simon as a ‘god’ because of the power and authority he displayed by his bag of tricks. When Philip came along with true power and authority, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and Jesus Christ, real power and authority came to be displayed and the people believed and were baptized. Does Jesus have that same power over your life today? Is the Holy Spirit’s gifting upon you? Do you truly believe in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit as God?
But Peter told him, “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought the gift of God could be obtained with money! You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
A right heart walks in kingdom authority!
Simon was not a believer in Jesus or the Kingdom of God; he was a believer in power, authority and tricking the world. There are a lot of Simon’s in our world today and they all seemingly have their hands on the levers of power. You cannot buy real power and authority as Simon found out. He was rebuked for his corrupt heart and thinking that the power and authority of God can be bought. The intent of his heart was wickedness. He was bitter and bound by iniquity the passage says (v.23). Simon was tied to the things of unjust and injustice.
He was not happy about being shown up and losing his place of prominence with the people. He was just like every person on this world, we want to be ‘god’ and worshiped as so. We know being a ‘god’ is where the real power and authority is at. The problem is there is only one true God and He is the father of Abraham, Israel, and you and me. And Jesus is His only Son. And the Holy Spirit is the only Spirit of God.
God’s power and authority are demonstrated, by the Spirit, over this earth, and the things of the earth, and the spiritual realm, through a vessel that is lovingly submitted to loving God by following Him and His will. Power and authority is not earned, taken or bought. Real power and authority is given to a heart that is believing of Jesus, humble like Jesus and loving like Jesus of the Father and man.