When you hear the word “authority,” do you have a positive or negative reaction? Maybe you think of the police, a teacher, a judge—or yourself if you are in a position of authority. Even mentioning police may bring up some positive or negative memories— the time you got a speeding ticket or when a kind policeman brought your dog back to you after he ran away. Most of us with adverse reactions have never had the benefit of being blessed by authorities over us or being in a position of authority. When the Pharisees in Jesus’ day heard him teach with authority, they were outraged. They had built their lives around the authority of the Law and all the traditions that they treated as laws. But “Their confession of ignorance…demonstrates that they have no basis upon which to assess Jesus’ ministry.” (1) “One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, ‘Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.’ He answered them, ‘I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?’ And they discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say, “Why did you not believe him?” But if we say, “From man,” all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”’ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’” (Luke 20:1-8) “It is cruelty to distrust the ever truthful Jesus. He has done nothing to deserve distrust; on the contrary, it should be easy to rely upon Him…He is interceding for sinners at the right hand of the Father, and for this reason He is able to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by Him…The Father has given Him all power in Heaven and in earth, and he exercises this high endowment in carrying out His work of grace…At His word the soul which is bound by the cords of sin and condemnation can be unloosed in a moment. [Our King] stretches out the silver scepter, and whosoever touches it lives.” (2) Jesus Christ, the subject, author, and broker of the gospel, reigns with superlative and eternal authority over every single being in heaven and earth. I hope that we will appreciate Christ’s authority over all nations, events, and circumstances and yield to his authority in our lives through our values, desires, and choices.
The Gospel Has All Authority Because Jesus Has All Authority.
“When the Bible speaks about heavenly ‘powers’ or ‘authorities,’ it usually means spiritual or demonic powers. When it speaks of Christ’s victory through his death and resurrection, it usually also has those powers in mind. We think of Ephesians 6:12, which says of the Christian’s warfare, ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ Or Ephesians 1:20–21, which tells us that God ‘raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come’…his authority is superior to and over all other authorities whether spiritual, demonic, or otherwise. His resurrection proves his authority over any power that can possibly be imagined. Consequently, we do not fear Satan or anyone else while we are engaged in Jesus’ service…[And] He has authority over us, his people. How can it be otherwise? If we are truly his people, we have confessed to him that we are sinners, that he is the divine Savior, and that we have accepted his sacrifice on our behalf and have pledged ourselves to follow him as Lord. Such a confession is hypocrisy if it does not contain a recognition of his authority over us in every area. Jesus told his disciples, “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). If we do not obey Jesus, we are not his friends. Worse than that, we are not even Christians…Because we are under Jesus’ authority we are to take his gospel to the world and ‘make disciples’ of the nations.” (3) “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.” (Matthew 28:18-19)
All Authority Over Unbelievers
“The declaration of Christ’s authority on earth means that he has authority over those who are not yet believers. That is, his authority extends to the people to whom he sends us with the gospel. It follows, on the one hand, that Christianity is to be a world religion. No one is outside the sphere of his authority or is exempt from his call. On the other hand, this is also a statement of Jesus’ ability to bring fruit from our efforts, for it is through the exercise of his authority that men and women actually come to believe and follow him…John Scott summarizes this well…’If the authority of Jesus were limited in heaven, if he had not decisively overthrown the principalities and powers, we might still proclaim him to the nations, but we would never be able to “turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). Only because all authority on earth belongs to Christ dare we go to all nations. And only because all authority in heaven as well is his have we any hope of success.’” (4) “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet.” (Psalm 8:6)
One Mediator—Jesus Christ
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5–6). “Whatever rule there is, Christ is far above it in authority, whether named as in opposition now or as reigning with Him in the age to come…He holds two headships, one over the universe achieved by His death and exaltation (Phil. 2:9–10) and the other over the Church by its formation into a body at Pentecost (1 Cor. 12:13).” (5) “Not only is Christ at the most exalted position in the universe, He is there representing believers and governing the universe for their sake.” (6) “The crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes…‘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 7:28-29, 9:6-8) “The people were amazed at Jesus’ teaching. And rightly so! He had presented himself as ‘the Lord,’ the unique Son of God (calling God ‘my Father’), and the judge at the final day. He had spoken with absolute authority, and what he was requiring was radical submission to his rule as Lord of God’s kingdom. What does this mean to you personally? Do you believe that? Have you committed your life here and your future hereafter to Christ’s care?” (#7)
How much do you appreciate Christ’s gospel? Is the good news of the gospel’s authority evident in your values, desires, and choices? “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:9-15)
Related Scripture: Exodus 3:14; Psalms 8:6; 110:1; Daniel 7:27; Zechariah 14:9; Mark 12:36; 14:62; Acts 2:34-36; 5:30-32; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:25-27; Hebrews 1:13; 2:5-10; Revelation 1:7-8.
Notes:
1. English Standard Version Study Bible Notes, Luke 20:1-8, (digital edition), Crossway, 2008.
2. Spurgeon, CH, All of Grace, #12, Moody Publishers, 2010.
3. Boice, James, Boice Expositional Commentary Series, Matthew 28:18-19, Baker Books, Software version, 1998.
4. Boice, Ibid.
5. Zondervan Bible Commentary, F. F. Bruce General Editor, Eph. 1:20-21, One-Volume Illustrated Digital Edition.
6. The Reformation Study Bible, Ephesians 1:20-21, Reformation Trust Publishing (Ligonier Ministries), Sanford, Fl., 2015.
7. Boice, Matthew 7:28-29, Ibid.
January 18, 2024
Divine Wisdom for Daily Living by Joanne Colvin 